The Weekly Notable Startup Funding Report

The Weekly Notable Startup Funding Report takes us on a trip across various ecosystems in the US, highlighting some of the notable funding activity in the various markets that we track. The notable startup funding rounds for the week ending 8/2/25 featuring funding details for ESB, Observe, Salient, and twenty-nine other deals representing $10.5B in new funding that you need to know about. READ MORE

How working in private equity helped shape this HR leader’s career

For many HR pros, startups are a career sweet spot. That’s the case for Stacey Richey, who currently is global VP of people at Smartcat, a Series C AI translation company.

She’s worked at companies during hyper-growth periods. What first gave Richey the startup bug, she told HR Brew, was a formative early career experience working at a private equity firm, and consulting its portfolio companies on their talent strategies. READ MORE

Understanding the impact of private equity on employees

The growth of the private equity in recent years has raised concerns about its consequences. This column matches 2.5 million workers who were employed by 3,600 firms in the US that underwent leveraged buyouts with workers at firms that were not acquired to explore the effects of private equity on labour market outcomes. The authors find that unemployment for workers at bought-out firms rises and wages fall substantially after buyouts, with wage losses concentrated among those who leave the bought-out firm. These dynamics appear to be the result of private equity acting to increase efficiency rather than exploiting labour market power. READ MORE

New Option for Excess Fee Income Rebates in Private Equity Funds for Non-US and US Tax-Exempt Investors

This update discusses a new and interesting development with respect to how certain non-US and US tax-exempt investors can receive a “rebate” of previously paid management fees with respect to their investments in private equity funds. We are encountering this new rebate alternative, usually presented in the subscription booklets of private equity funds, with increased frequency. Below is a high-level summary of this new rebate alternative and the potential tax considerations for investors who wish to select it. READ MORE

Q2 venture funding climbs on AI deals while PE stuck on sidelines

It’s time to take the temperature of the venture and private equity sectors, and we’ve got some new numbers. 

VC investing in startups is on the upswing, with venture firms pouring $91 billion into companies during the second quarter, a roughly 11% increase year over year, according to business data and predictive intelligence firm Crunchbase. Second quarter’s $91 billion represents a 20% drop from the first quarter when startups raised $114 billion. However, Q1 was the strongest quarter for venture investment since Q2 2022. (First quarter also included OpenAI’s $40 billion financing, the largest private round ever.)  READ MORE

Explosive AI growth is changing the math of startup investing

Leading AI startups are growing so fast that they’re forcing investors to rethink how they evaluate firms in the sector, venture capitalists say.

San Francisco-based Anysphere’s AI coding assistant Cursor reportedly hit US$100 million in annual recurring revenue in January, just 14 months after launch. The firm’s revenue run rate had topped US$500 million by June. Stockholm-based Lovable Labs, which also makes AI development tools, claimed in May to have reached US$50 million in annual recurring revenue in six months. READ MORE

Venture Capital Market to Reach USD 1,283.27 Billion by 2032

The global Venture Capital (VC) market was valued at USD 250.26 billion in 2023 and is projected to reach USD 1,283.27 billion by 2032, expanding at a CAGR of 20.1% during the forecast period from 2024 to 2032.

The market's robust growth is fueled by surging investment in technology startups, rising entrepreneurial activity worldwide, and the proliferation of disruptive innovations across industries. READ MORE

Valuation Doubts Challenge Private Equity

Private equity giants like Blackstone Inc., Apollo Global Management, and other major players in private capital have committed to pouring hundreds of billions of dollars into Europe over the next ten years. However, despite these ambitious plans, the short-term outlook for leveraged buyouts and private equity deals remains uncertain and challenging.

‍Recent months offered some optimism for M&A bankers, as a few high-profile corporate transactions were finalized and concerns surrounding U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade policies temporarily eased. Still, many professionals in the private equity world are far from optimistic. READ MORE

US is propping up climate tech VC deals—for now

Venture capital investments in climate tech startups are still sinking—and growing uncertainty in the crucial North American market is throwing a new wrench into the sector.

Worldwide, climate tech VC investment decreased for the third consecutive year in 2024 to $37.8 billion, according to a new PitchBook research report. That amount was down 37.6% from the sector’s 2021 peak, and 21.7% from 2023. READ MORE

When not to take VC advice

One often overlooked skill for VC-backed founders is learning to discern good advice from bad.

Unlike in the US, many European VCs haven’t been operators before, so the advice they give doesn’t always come from direct experience. Though this is starting to change — with more investors stepping into operator roles to gain hands-on experience, some with the intention to return to VC later — founders tell me that investors who haven’t built companies themselves often give misguided advice. READ MORE

A Woman-Led VC Firm Fuels The Future Of The Space Economy

Stellar Ventures is bringing deep technical expertise, conviction-based investing, and a fresh perspective to the booming space economy. Led by aerospace engineer and entrepreneur Celeste Ford, the woman-led venture capital firm is backing early-stage space startups with more than just funding. As costs to access space plummet and commercial applications soar, Stellar Ventures is helping shape the next generation of space technology companies poised to transform communications, defense, manufacturing, and more. READ MORE

DOJ Declination of Private Equity Firm Underscores Need for Robust M&A Due Diligence

On June 16, 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”), including its National Security Division (“NSD”) and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas, announced that they would not prosecute White Deer Management LLC (“White Deer”), a Texas‑based private equity firm, in connection with sanctions and export control violations committed by Unicat Catalyst Technologies LLC (“Unicat”), a portfolio company it had acquired in 2020. This declination marks the first application of the DOJ’s M&A Safe Harbor policy, which encourages acquiring companies to voluntarily self‑disclose misconduct identified post‑acquisition. READ MORE

When Private Goes Public: Inside The S&P Listed Private Equity Index

The private equity (PE) industry has experienced a notable shift with a growing wave of high-profile public listings worldwide. This trend traces back to the mid-2000s, with Blackstone (BX) being among the first major firms to list its shares on the NYSE. This unlocked an era where industry giants such as KKR (KKR) and Carlyle (CG) followed suit with their own IPOs. A decade later, European PE firms dominated headlines with their own IPOs. This blog explores the trend of public listings within the private markets space and dives into the S&P Listed Private Equity Index as a tool to track and gain insight into this expanding market segment. READ MORE