Some startups and investors are more risk averse than others

This week has proven once more that the startup world shouldn’t be homogeneous in relation to risk-taking. Let’s have a look.

This week’s top startup stories

Layoffs after acquisitions or controversy over dangerous decisions are not surprising, but there may be more encouraging news on the innovation front.

Shrinking teams: Italian app company Bending Spoons plans to put off 75% of the staff of WeTransfer, the Dutch file-transfer startup it bought in July. The move comes after earlier job cuts at other corporations it acquired: Evernote, Filmic and Meetup.

Distorted views:Warp, a payroll startup founded by a YC alum, found itself at the middle of controversy and ultimately pulled from one in every of its partner accounts on X, where it was apparently pursuing an unusual — and dangerous — marketing strategy.

Balanced:Sydney-based Neurode has developed a headscarf that uses light electrical stimulation within the prefrontal cortex to treat ADHD symptoms, comparable to poor concentration. Currently in private beta, the corporate hopes its wearable device will develop into an FDA-approved medical device.

This week’s top fundraisers

The market is what it’s, but fundraising still happens — even when in some cases it’s a combination of equity and debt.

Fake magician:Berlin-based food tech startup Formo has raised $61 million in a Series B funding round to proceed scaling up production of its dairy-free cheese.

Less paper:Frankfurt-based startup Qualifyze has raised $54 million in a Series B funding round. The money shall be used to expand its business, particularly within the U.S., and to expand its analytics and AI offerings into products that help pharmaceutical corporations control their supply chains.

Insurtech:Neat, a Paris-based startup in embedded insurance, has raised €50 million in debt and equity funding. Series A round led by Hedosophia.

Smart cat: Smartcat, a provider of automated translation tools for enterprises, has raised $43 million in Series C funding led by Left Lane Capital. The funding will help the startup grow its team and spend money on product, marketing, and sales.

One more round:Finally, the Miami-based AI-powered accounting, bookkeeping, and finance startup targeting small and medium-sized businesses has raised $50 million in a Series B funding round and secured a $150 million line of credit.

The hottest news from the VC and fund industry this week

Optionality:London-based VC firm Atomico has raised $1.24 billion across two funds. One, Atomico Venture VI, will invest primarily in Series A rounds; the opposite, Atomico Growth VI, shall be geared toward Series B rounds and pre-IPO — and likely for more risk-averse limited partners.

Continuation:Alpha Partners announced its third fund, at $153 million, doubling its investment in what was once a novel idea — helping seed investors exercise pro rata rights in later rounds by writing checks for $5 million to $10 million.

No less vital

The United States is a more fragmented legal environment than you would possibly think, and startups are learning this the hard way as some are fined and sometimes banned by individual states. As TechCrunch’s Rebecca Szkutak notes, “as a result, state-level regulations need to be incorporated into a founder’s business plans as early as possible, whether that’s investing in compliance software or hiring legal experts.”