TL;DR

Circle’s $7.2B IPO 25x oversubscribed; OpenAI acquires Windsurf for $3B; AI, crypto, and climate tech drive VC activity.

Highlights

• Circle’s $7.2B IPO is 25x oversubscribed, raising $896M; BlackRock to take a 10% stake 1. Chime preps IPO at $11.2B, down from $25B 1.
• Zepto delays IPO to 2026 amid high cash burn; Temasek cuts early-stage investments. OfBusiness and Shiprocket move forward with IPO plans 9.
• OpenAI acquires Windsurf for $3B; Anthropic cuts Windsurf’s Claude API access; Microsoft restricts VS Code extensions to its own platform 2.
• Cohere seeks $500M+ at a $5.5B+ valuation to compete in generative AI 3.
• IBM acquires Seek AI, integrating it into Watsonx AI Labs and expanding enterprise AI offerings 4.
• Mistral launches Mistral Code AI assistant for JetBrains/VS Code; €1.1B+ raised, early enterprise adoption 11.
• US VCs (Thrive Capital, Capital Group) visit China to assess AI startups amid DeepSeek ’s progress and $500B US AI investment push 15.
• Aerones raises $62M to expand AI-driven wind turbine robotics, now servicing 10,000+ turbines globally 6.
• Google invests $150M in TAE Technologies, extending a decade-long partnership on fusion power 5.
• Avantis raises $8M Series A (Pantera, Founders Fund) for DeFi derivatives; 3Jane secures $5.2M seed for crypto credit; tokenized private credit AUM tops $13B 8.
• Pumpfun targets $1B token sale at $4B valuation, leveraging memecoin market demand 12.
• MoonPay secures NYDFS BitLicense, enabling direct crypto services in all 50 US states 13.
• Nucleus Genomics launches embryo screening for 900+ traits; $32M funding, 120,000 embryos genotyped 7.
• Nord Quantique announces plans for a 1,000-qubit quantum computer by 2031; Cortical Labs ships $35K biocomputer with 800K neurons 14.

Commentary

Public market demand for select tech and fintech IPOs remains strong, as shown by Circle ’s significantly oversubscribed debut and BlackRock ’s sizable anchor investment 1. However, Chime ’s reduced IPO valuation and Zepto’s deferral highlight increased scrutiny on profitability and cash flow, with major LPs like Temasek sharply reducing early-stage allocations 19. Companies with clear regulatory positioning and revenue visibility are best positioned to access public markets, while those with high burn rates face extended private timelines or valuation resets 9.

AI continues to drive both venture and M&A activity. OpenAI ’s $3B acquisition of Windsurf 2, Cohere ’s ongoing mega-raise 3, and IBM ’s Seek AI buyout 4 reflect intense competition for developer tools, enterprise solutions, and technical talent. Mistral’s enterprise code assistant launch and early traction 11, alongside US investor interest in Chinese AI (notably DeepSeek ) 15, underscore the global nature of the AI race and the importance of compliance (EU AI Act, on-prem deployments) for enterprise adoption 11.

In climate and energy, investor focus is shifting to capital-intensive, deeptech solutions with commercial traction. Aerones’ $62M round for AI-driven wind robotics 6 and Beta Technologies ’ electric aircraft milestone signal growing appetite for hardware/software convergence in renewables and mobility 10. Google ’s continued commitment to TAE Technologies’ fusion efforts further highlights sustained interest in alternative energy platforms 5.

Crypto and DeFi are seeing a wave of institutionalization and regulatory progress. Circle ’s IPO 1, MoonPay ’s nationwide licensing 13, and the growth of tokenized credit markets 8 reflect a maturing ecosystem where compliance and scale are differentiators. At the same time, speculative activity persists, as seen in Pumpfun’s planned $1B token sale 12 and continued funding for DeFi infrastructure and credit startups 8.

VCs should expect continued deal flow in AI, regulated crypto, and climate tech, but with greater selectivity and valuation discipline, especially for late-stage and high-burn models 39. Regulatory clarity and demonstrated commercial adoption are emerging as key drivers for both funding and exit opportunities 1311.