AI Startup Roundup: FTX to Divest Stake in Anthropic for Future Growth

### Weekly Startup News Roundup

Stay informed on the latest developments in the startup ecosystem! In this edition, we'll highlight several notable funding announcements and divestments within the tech industry.

#### FTX Attempts to Divest Anthropic Stake

The collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX is on track to sell its 7.8% stake in Anthropic, the company behind the Claude AI model. Currently in bankruptcy court, FTX aims to repay its customers and creditors following its dramatic downfall in November 2022. The exchange has sought bankruptcy court approval for the sale, which could proceed either via auction or private transaction. FTX originally acquired its stake for $500 million in 2021, a time when AI was gaining significant mainstream traction, exemplified by the rise of ChatGPT. With Anthropic’s valuation currently at $18 billion, FTX’s stake is estimated to be worth approximately $1.4 billion.

#### Funding Highlights

**Zededa**

- **Headquarters:** San Jose, California

- **Focus:** Edge computing tools for enterprises

- **Latest Funding:** $72 million in Series C

- **Lead Investor:** Smith Point Capital

- **Other Investors:** Porsche Ventures, Lux Capital, Juniper Networks, LDV Partners, Rockwell Automation

- **Funding Goals:** Expand sales and marketing efforts and accelerate research and development.

**Unlearn**

- **Headquarters:** San Francisco, California

- **Focus:** Digital twins of clinical trial participants

- **Latest Funding:** $50 million in Series C

- **Lead Investor:** Altimeter Capital

- **Other Investors:** Radical Ventures, Wittington Ventures, Mubadala Capital, Epic Ventures, Necessary Venture Capital

- **Funding Goals:** Invest in staff, enhance data and engineering capabilities, and support ongoing R&D projects.

**Vektor Medical**

- **Headquarters:** San Diego, California

- **Focus:** AI-driven arrhythmia analysis

- **Latest Funding:** $16 million in Series A

- **Lead Investors:** Solas BioVentures, TVM Capital Life Science

- **Funding Goals:** Advance the commercialization of its arrhythmia analysis tool, vMap.

**Synthetaic**

- **Headquarters:** Delafield, Wisconsin

- **Focus:** AI-enabled object search across various imaging platforms

- **Latest Funding:** $15 million in Series B

- **Lead Investors:** Lupa Systems, TitletownTech

- **Other Investors:** IBM Ventures, Booz Allen Hamilton

- **Funding Goals:** Accelerate customer acquisition and explore new market opportunities.

**Podcastle**

- **Headquarters:** Armenia

- **Focus:** AI-driven podcast platform, including voice cloning capabilities

- **Latest Funding:** $13.5 million in Series A

- **Lead Investor:** Mosaic Ventures

- **Other Investors:** RTP Global, Point Nine, Sierra Ventures, AI Fund led by Andrew Ng.

These funding rounds signify a growing interest in technologies that harness artificial intelligence across various sectors, from healthcare to edge computing. Stay tuned for more updates and insights as the landscape continues to evolve!