AMD's $4.9B deal, Waza raises $8M, and down rounds slow

Top News

• Hardware matchmaking: AMD is buying ZT Systems for $4.9 billion, a figure that includes a nine-figure earnout. ZT hasn’t raised known external capital apart from debt, meaning that the folks who built it are looking at a material payday. The deal underscores the pace at which chip giants are racing to secure and maintain a chunk of the burgeoning AI compute economy.

• Waza raises $8M: Payments across borders is not a fully solved issue. Waza, a YC-backed startup, is proof of that. Its recent capital round will bolster its business of helping African companies pay suppliers abroad. Given that Africa’s economy is measured in the trillions per year, Waza is not wanting for TAM.

• Startup failures, down rounds accelerate: The FT reports that the pace at which startups are shutting down appears to be accelerating. A bad sign for founders of young startups? Perhaps not; Jason told Alex on TWiST today that some of the shutdowns in question are businesses from the last boom, making their shuttering a housecleaning of sorts. And Carta data indicates that down rounds are falling as a share of new venture investments. Green shoots them, over evidence of a further startup fundraising slowdown.

Humanoid robots are heating up

A few weeks back, we examined startups working on building humanoid robots. As part of the work, names like 1X, Figure, and others were added to the TWiST500. Why a number of competing names? Today, it’s not clear which of the robotics startups will wind up the winner—and there may simply be enough room in the market for multiple winners.

But while we wait to see if The Bot Company or Agility or some other upstart tech concern comes out on top, other companies are hard at work. Tesla is paying folks to do motion capture for its own humanoid robot — and Zeekr is reportedly testing out its own human-like automatons in its own factories now.

Not that the startups in question are taking anything sitting down. Figure, part of the TWiST500, said earlier this month that its robot has done real work for BMW. Or, as the German auto giant put it:

“During a trial run lasting several weeks at BMW Group Plant Spartanburg, the latest humanoid robot Figure 02 from California company Figure successfully inserted sheet metal parts into specific fixtures, which were then assembled as part of the chassis. The robot must be particularly dexterous to complete this production step.”

Particularly dexterous is a great turn of phrase. Perhaps it is the right bar to clear for any company — startup or otherwise — that wants to truly replace humans with bots. Which I am all for, frankly, as I would like to hire a robot to carry things around for me as of yesterday. — Alex

A message from .tech domains:

Don’t miss the “Jam Session with JCal” contest! To apply for a chance to pitch JCal on This Week in Startups go to https://jamwithjcal.tech - brought to you by .tech domains.

This Week in Startups

E1994: David Weisburd and Jason brought on Elad Gil and David York to dive into the current state of Silicon Valley. They discussed everything from recession jitters affecting startups to the slowdown in SaaS spending, private equity buyouts, and the evolving AI market. The conversation also touched on new trends in startup ecosystems, the role of accelerators, and the ongoing debate over remote work versus office culture in the tech world.

E1993: James Hicks from Final Boss Sour and Rae Lambert from River swung by the podcast to chat with Jason about what they are building. Final Boss Sour is a CPG company that makes incredibly sour pieces of fruit, akin to a candy. We’ve tasted them. They are indeed very sour, but in a good way. Lambert’s River startup is one that we’re a fan of. The service helps people connect IRL, and we use it for Founder Fridays!

E1992: Jason and Alex were back for another news roundtable, digging into the recent Trump-X conversation, WeRide’s upcoming self-driving IPO (Alex notes here), Polymarket and Perplexity teaming up, and European venture capital.

TWiST Partner Offers

• Squarespace: Turn your idea into a beautiful website! Go to squarespace.com/twist for a free trial. When you’re ready to launch, use offer code TWIST to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain.

• CLA: CLA. Innovation takes balance. CLA’s CPAs, consultants, and wealth advisors can help you get from start-up to where you want to end up. Get started now at CLAconnect.com/tech

• OpenPhone: OpenPhone brings your team’s business calls, texts, and contacts into one delightful app that works anywhere. Get 20% off your first 6 months at openphone.com/twist

The TWiST500 newsletter is the new, updated, and improved TWiST Ticker.