Stocks rally, 11x raises $50M more, and Vebu gets snapped up

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• It’s an asset rally: Stocks and crypto assets are ripping higher in the wake of last week’s American election. Many in the market expect lower taxes and less regulation to come in the new year. However, Alex thinks that the market might have a near-term valuation ceiling that few of the mega-bulls are taking into their own analyses.

• 11x snags $50M: Mere months after raising a $24 million Series A, 11x is back with a new, larger Series B. TechCrunch scooped the round in September. Bloomberg reports that the company’s annual recurring revenue has crested the $10 million mark. The company’s AI agents are focused on go-to-market functions, including an AI sales development representative and a multilingual phone support persona.

• Serve Robotics buys Vebu: Today on the podcast, Jason and Alex interviewed Serve Robotics CEO and co-founder Ali Kashani. His company announced this week that it is buying Vebu, a company that builds robots for commercial kitchens. Given that Serve Robotics works in automated food distribution, you can see the beginnings of a full-stack restaurant platform forming over at Serve.

TWiST500

If Serve Robotics was still private, we’d put it on the TWiST500. It’s blend of autonomy and delivery are not only exciting, but are also potentially critical to a domestic economy that could see its labor supply shrink in the coming quarters.

But, they are not private, so we can’t add them. That brings me to what I am working on next for the TWiST500: Domestic hard-tech. Or, what is sometimes called ‘American Dynamism.’ The gist is that defense, manufacturing, space, and other industries are — thanks to some founders and their backers — working to build more at home, instead of abroad. The thesis that the nation should deindustrialize isn’t trivial, meaning it will require a fleet of startups to complete the vision.

So, after having Skydio with its domestic manufacturing and defense-friendly technology on the show last week, we’re looking for more. If you are building something that fits this theme, email me ([email protected]). I want to know the name of every startup in the domestic hard-tech space, and pronto. We’ll probably have one or two on the podcast, if you wanted even more incentive to raise your hand. — Alex

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This Week in Startups

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, as well as 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.

E2041: Jason and Alex dive into Apple's privacy challenges and discuss trust in tech companies. They explore recent trends in AI, including OpenAI's acquisition of chat.com and Reddit's evolving growth strategies. The episode wraps up with analysis on major IPOs, market trends, and Amazon's AI ambitions.

E2040: Jason and Alex sit down with Skydio CEO Adam Bry to explore the future of autonomous drones, from life-saving public safety applications to the challenges of competing with Chinese tech. They tackle Skydio's role as the largest US drone maker, cybersecurity risks, and the powerful impact of drone tech in defense and beyond. The episode rounds out with fresh takes on high-skilled immigration, geopolitical tension, and the evolving landscape of search engines and media.

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LAUNCH Cloud Kitchens Incubator

Applications are open for Cohort 2 of the LAUNCH CloudKitchens Incubator (LiCK). We're looking for food entrepreneurs who wish to expand into the ghost kitchen space or tech founders with a team and a great idea. The application and more information can be found at https://ck.launch.co/.

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