VC Update: May 21st

Hello Reader,

Here is a summary of the key Venture Capital relevant developments from May 14th to May 21th, 2025:

Venture Capital Trends

A notable shift is occurring where investors are leaving established VC firms to launch their own funds, driven by the decline in private startup valuations following the tech stock crash three years prior.
VC funding for defense technology is surging in Europe, alongside drone startups achieving unicorn status, amid heightened geopolitical tensions. The defense sector is seeing increased private equity targeting.
AI continues to demonstrate its dominance in venture capital deal value.
Private markets are facing uncertainty due to sweeping tariff changes and public market volatility.
Employee share sales are becoming favored over traditional IPOs by firms.
Data management tools are increasingly enabling efficiency for fund managers in the private capital landscape.
Funding for climate tech has significantly declined, with investor focus shifting towards sectors like defense.

Biggest Deals (by value) (May 14th - May 21st)

Addepar, a company in the tech industry, raised a $230 million Series G funding round. (StrictlyVC, 14.05.2025)
Bestow, a company also in the tech industry, secured $120 million in Series D funding. (StrictlyVC, 14.05.2025)
Owner, a company in the tech industry, completed a $120 million Series C funding round. (StrictlyVC, 14.05.2025)
Stord raised $200 million, comprising $80 million in Series E equity and $120 million in debt, achieving a post-funding valuation of $1.5 billion. (Term SheetFortune, 16.05.2025)
Saildrone secured $60 million in funding for maritime autonomy. (FinSMEs, 13.05.2025)

Fintech/Insurtech Deals Under $20M (May 14th - May 21st)

Button Finance (NYC), a fintech firm, raised $5 million in Series A funding. (FinSMEs, 20.05.2025)
Prosperos (Salinas, CA), described as a fintech targeting the Latino market, received $250K in seed funding. (Exec Sum - Litquidity, 14.05.2025).
Stablecorp (Toronto, Canada), noted as a fintech firm, raised $1.8M in strategic growth capital. (Exec Sum - Litquidity, 14.05.2025).

Notable Exits (IPOs, M&A) and Company Shutdowns (May 14th - May 21st)

Coinbase is acquiring Deribit for $2.9 billion. (StrictlyVC, 09.05.2025),
OpenAI is in talks to buy AI coding startup Windsurf for $3 billion. (StrictlyVC, 14.05.2025)
U.S. ride-hailing giant Lyft has acquired German taxi app FreeNow for €175 million in cash, marking Lyft’s entry into the European market. (Tech.eu, 12.05.2025)
Salesforce has acquired the UK-based AI startup Convergence, which has been operational for less than a year. (Natasha Mascarenhas, 15.05.2025)
Israeli retail trading platform eToro priced its U.S. IPO above range at $52 a share. (StrictlyVC, 14.05.2025)

VC Ecosystem Updates (May 14th - May 21st)

Work-Bench (NYC-based), an enterprise tech-focused VC firm, closed its fourth fund at $160 million. The firm typically invests in NYC-based startups at the pre-seed and seed stages ($2-6M). (StrictlyVC, 14.05.2025)
Denali Growth Partners (Boston) raised $400 million for their second fund. (FinSMEs, 14.05.2025)
Immad Akhund (CEO of Mercury, a fintech company) launched a $26 million fund. (FinSMEs, 14.05.2025)
Lunar Ventures (Berlin) launched Fund II with €50M, focusing on deep tech. (FinSMEs, 20.05.2025)
Hyra Holdings (Vietnam) introduced Hyra Combinator Venture Fund. (FinSMEs, 20.05.2025)
Redpoint Ventures (Menlo Park) closed its tenth fund at $650M. (GCV: Blueprint, 19.05.2025), (FinSMEs, 20.05.2025)
Eagle Merchant Partners (Atlanta) closed its second fund with $415M. (FinSMEs, 20.05.2025)
A100x Ventures (NYC) launched its second fund. (FinSMEs, 19.05.2025)
Rockaway Ventures closed its second fund at €55 million. (GCV: Blueprint, 19.05.2025)
Six partners from prominent firms including Andreessen Horowitz, Coatue Management, Founders Fund, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and Forerunner Ventures have recently departed or are planning to, with the intention of launching their own funds. (Natasha Mascarenhas, 15.05.2025)
Goanna Capital is introducing a recruiting platform to help its portfolio companies address talent shortages. (Term SheetFortune, 19.05.2025)

Cryptocurrency Insights (May 14th - May 21st)

Bitcoin has surpassed $100,000. (StrictlyVC, 09.05.2025), (Exec Sum - Litquidity, 12.05.2025) - [Note: Dated just outside the range, but relevant context.]
Meta is reentering the crypto market with stablecoins. (StrictlyVC, 09.05.2025) - [Note: Dated just outside the range, but relevant context.]
Coinbase will join the S&P 500. (Exec Sum - Litquidity, 13.05.2025) - [Note: Dated just outside the range, but relevant context.]
Coinbase experienced a significant data breach due to employee manipulation, incurring an estimated cost of $20 million and potential remediation costs up to $400 million. (StrictlyVC, 16.05.2025)
The cryptocurrency sector saw significant deal value increases in Q1 2025. (PitchBook Research, 17.05.2025)

Always Be Trending