Pony.AI eyes $4.5B IPO

Top News

• Pony.AI targets multi-billion dollar IPO valuation: While Waymo expands its footprint in the United States, self-driving tech is advancing around the world. Both in terms of the number of self-driving cars on the streets, and the number of self-driving companies going public. Pony.AI will follow WeRide onto the American markets with a valuation that could read $4.48 billion, according to Reuters calculations. Alex wrote about Pony.AI’s financial results here.

• Bitsight snaps up Cybersixgill for $115M: Cyber risk management made Bitsight a unicorn twice over. Now it’s dropping nine figures on Cybersixgill, which had raised $56 million while private, TechCrunch reports. The combination is another bit of M&A from the cybersecurity market, which has generated a plethora of startups in recent years, and some of the most richly-valued tech companies, measured by revenue multiples.

• Bolt crests the $2B revenue mark: Estonian startup Bolt — not the one-click checkout company Bolt — has passed two billion Euros worth of revenue, and is moving towards an IPO. That’s big news for the startup itself, and its home market. Estonia, while a small country in terms of its population — around 1.35 million — it has generated hit products like Skype, historically. Now, Bolt is once again proving that you can build something huge in Europe. Bring on the IPO, Bolt.

TWiST500

After a politely rigorous recording schedule this week, I come to you not with a shock, but with a new TWiST500 company that you might have already guessed we’d add to the list: Bolt.

I’d like us to be able to go back in time so that we could give it props earlier, but better late than never.

Bolt, Crunchbase details, has raised a few billion dollars while private. That pushed its valuation up as high as EUR7.5 billion. That means that its potential upcoming IPO will unlock a mountain of invested cash, and profit for its backers. Which include, I hasten to add, Sequoia and D1 Capital Partners. That means a strong Bolt debut would kick cash into startup markets on both sides of the pond. What more could we ask for in a TWiST500 company? Onto the list it goes. And points to it for sharing some hard revenue metrics in advance of its formal listing. — Alex

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This Week in Startups

E2044: Jason and Alex open up the show with a quick look at “Emo,” a robot from Columbia University that can predict and mirror human smiles. They then dive into a discussion with Phil Deutch, CEO of NGP Energy Technology Partners III, on the booming solar sector, highlighting Western Australia's record-breaking solar output and the shift toward renewable energy storage. Lastly, they break down the legal drama around Polymarket, its implications for prediction markets, and YC's latest call for startups

E2043: Jason and Alex dive into an action-packed episode featuring VATN Systems' Nelson Mills discussing underwater drone defense applications and advancements in military tech. They explore underwater autonomy, manufacturing insights, and the global defense funding climate, along with a look at emerging robotics in warfare and LG’s stretchable screen technology. The show rounds out with insights on Klarna's IPO, fintech challenges, and AI's transformative impact on the job market and economy.

E2042: Jason and Alex sit down with a great guest—Serve Robotics CEO Ali Kashani. They chat about Serve's journey scaling food delivery automation with robots on the streets and in kitchens, along with their creative route to Nasdaq via a reverse merger. They also dive into the "Trump Trade" and how deregulation is driving a surge in fintech stocks and crypto optimism, and wrap up with insights on shifts in immigration policy

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