💎 Quantum Computing Funding Surges Amid AI Growth

Quantum computing startups raised a record $1.5 billion in 2024, fueled by AI's demand for faster, more energy-efficient computing. Major investments include Quantinuum’s $300 million and PsiQuantum’s $620 million. Quantum’s potential to improve AI efficiency and energy consumption is driving this surge, with broad applications ranging from AI to life sciences.

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🔝 5 Key Factors to Evaluate When Assessing AI Startups

As the generative AI market grows, investors should focus on five critical factors when evaluating startups:

*️⃣LLM customization;
*️⃣Access to vertical-specific training data;
*️⃣Speech-to-text/text-to-speech capabilities;
*️⃣API integrations;
*️⃣User-friendly business interfaces.

These factors ensure AI products are accurate, versatile, and accessible for enterprise adoption, with the potential for greater business transformation.

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💵 Fleek Secures $20M to Transform Wholesale Second-Hand Clothing Market

Fleek, a marketplace connecting second-hand clothing wholesalers with retailers, has raised $20 million to expand its global platform, aiming to simplify sourcing for resellers and bring structure to the fragmented industry.

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🔍 AI, Data Center, and Energy Startups See Record $32B Venture Capital Surge in October

Venture funding hit $32 billion in October, driven by large rounds in AI, data centers, and energy, with OpenAI alone raising $6.6 billion, accounting for 20% of the month’s total.

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🔔 SocialCrowd Secures $2.5M Seed Round Amid Demand for Future of Work Software

Performance management startup SocialCrowd raised $2.5M to expand its engineering and customer success teams as demand for tools supporting frontline and shift workers continues to grow.

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💭 Glint Solar Secures $8M to Accelerate Solar Adoption in Europe

Glint Solar raised $8M in Series A funding to expand its platform, helping solar developers speed up project planning and site assessments across Europe.

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🟢 Fewer Small and Midsize Venture Funds Raise Capital in 2024
In 2024, the number of new small and midsized U.S. startup funds has dropped significantly, with only 118 raising capital, the lowest in years, reflecting a challenging fundraising environment amid a slow exit market and cautious investor sentiment. However, sector-focused funds in areas like cleantech, life sciences, and cybersecurity are still finding success despite the downturn.

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🌐 Startup M&A Deal Activity Slightly Declines in Q3 Amid VC Push for Liquidity

M&A dealmaking for VC-backed startups dipped to 479 deals in Q3, a small decline from 500 in Q2, marking a pause after two quarters of growth, per Crunchbase data. However, this quarter showed an increase from Q3 last year and a slight uptick in AI-focused deals, which rose to 15% of M&A deals globally.

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💵 Faber Launches Third Venture Fund, Secures $34M in First Close for Iberian Startups
Lisbon-based VC firm Faber has raised $34 million in the initial close of its third fund, aiming for a $64 million target to support pre-seed and seed-stage deep tech, AI, and biotech startups in Portugal, Spain, and the Netherlands.

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Amazon Retains Cloud Leadership as Microsoft Gains Ground
Amazon Web Services remains the top cloud provider with a 31% market share, though Microsoft’s Azure is closing in at 20%, driven by soaring demand for AI-focused cloud services amid a $313 billion annualized industry growth.

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