BioNTech’s $550M acquisition of African AI startup InstaDeep is paying off. InstaDeep, known for its cutting-edge AI applications, continues to operate independently while boosting BioNTech’s biotech capabilities. In just over a year, the AI company has accelerated BioNTech’s drug and vaccine development, improving processes like tissue analysis by 5x. Their collaboration now includes breakthrough projects like AI-driven protein design and cancer-fighting innovations. Despite the biotech focus, InstaDeep is still making waves outside pharma, solving industrial challenges like railway scheduling and locust outbreak detection in Africa. With over 400 employees globally, InstaDeep is thriving under BioNTech’s wing and pushing the frontier of AI innovation across industries. Read our interview with InstaDeep's CEO Karim Beguir at the link in the bio 👆 Article by Tage Kene-Okafor Image Credits: InstaDeep; BioNTech #TechCrunch #technews #artificialintelligence #startup #founder #venturecapital

Farewill, a U.K.-based end-of-life services provider that offers online tools for writing wills, organizing probate, and arranging cremation, has been acquired by funeral service provider Dignity in an all-shares deal valuing the startup at £12.9 million ($16.8 million). Founded in 2015, Farewill is one of several startups to emerge in a category dubbed “death tech.” This includes apps to memorialize loved ones and social platforms to support the grieving process. Some have raised significant amounts of venture capital funding, too, such as Empathy which emerged from stealth back in 2021 with $13 million for its digital assistant for bereaved families — going on to raise a further $47 million just a few months ago. Read more on Farewill at the link in the bio 👆 Article by Paul Sawers Image Credits: Katarzyna Bialasiewicz / Getty Images Pro; Farewill #TechCrunch #technews #startup #founder #acquisition #deathtech

Texas executed its $10 million Bitcoin reserve buy on November 20 via BlackRock’s IBIT, securing exposure at $87,000 per coin. ⠀ Senate Bill 21, signed in June, earmarks the funds for diversification, with self-custody slated post-RFP for secure storage. ⠀ As the first state-led acquisition, it pioneers public BTC holdings, potentially inspiring peers amid federal reserve talks. ⠀ Join the free telegram in our bio for daily crypto news and insights 📲

Elon Musk’s AI startup, xAI, has acquired his social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, he announced in a post on X Friday. “xAI has acquired X in an all-stock transaction. The combination values xAI at $80 billion and X at $33 billion ($45B less $12B debt),” Musk said in the post. “xAI and X’s futures are intertwined. Today, we officially take the step to combine the data, models, compute, distribution and talent.” The acquisition places X — the highly influential social media platform Musk purchased in 2022 under its former name, Twitter — firmly under the umbrella of Musk’s AI startup, which he founded in 2023 to compete with OpenAI. While xAI’s products, including its AI chatbot Grok, were tightly integrated into the X platform before this deal, Friday’s acquisition further combines two of Musk’s most high-profile companies. Musk — who also leads Tesla, SpaceX, and Neuralink — notes in his post that this deal values X at $33 billion (lowered from an enterprise value of $45 billion due to the company’s $12 billion in debt). Read more at the link in the bio 👆 *Post was updated for more details. Article by Maxwell Zeff Image Credits: SAUL LOEB / AFP / Getty Images #TechCrunch #technews #artificialintelligence #ElonMusk #Twitter #X #socialmedia

FuriosaAI, a South Korean startup that makes chips for AI applications, has rejected an $800 million acquisition offer from Meta, opting instead to focus on developing and producing its AI chips, according to a local media report. Disagreements over post-acquisition business strategy and organizational structure, rather than price issues, caused the negotiations to break down, the report said. Along with other tech companies building large language models (LLMs) for various AI applications, Meta has been trying to reduce its reliance on Nvidia for chips that are specialized for training and building LLMs. The tech giant last year unveiled its custom AI chips, and in January said it would invest up to $65 billion this year to support its AI initiatives. Meanwhile, FuriosaAI is reportedly in talks with investors to raise approximately $48 million (KRW 70 billion), and aims to complete the fundraise this month. Read more on FuriosaAI at the link in the bio 👆 Article by Kate Park Image Credits: Getty Images; FuriosaAI #TechCrunch #technews #artificialintelligence #startup #Meta #MarkZuckerberg

According to Insider Gaming, former BioWare producer Mark Darrah spoke on his YouTube channel Mark Darrah on Games about EA’s $55 billion acquisition deal, which carries $20 billion in debt. He suggested that EA could sell dormant IPs—possibly worth around $100 million—or even studios like BioWare to ease this debt. Darrah also warned that BioWare’s progressive themes in series like Dragon Age and Mass Effect could be at risk under new ownership involving Saudi Arabia’s PIF. While EA Sports is expected to stay central, other divisions might face restructuring. Do you think EA should sell off studios and brands to handle this debt? #MarkDarrah #EA #BioWare [Follow @gamenewsplusnet] Hashtags: #Gaming #VideoGames #Game #Gamer #GameNewsPlus

According to PlayStation Universe, Sony Group is stepping up its IP acquisitions to position itself as an “entertainment trading house.” Instead of relying only on new IP, Sony has invested about $12.2 billion over the past seven years in games, anime, and films, including a stake in Kadokawa. The company wants to enhance transparency after analysts noted a gap between its real value and stock price. Sony also recently introduced Pollinator Network, an AI-powered internal talent system, connecting expertise across gaming and film. Do you think this bold IP strategy will redefine PlayStation’s role in global entertainment? #Sony #PlayStation [Follow @gamenewsplusnet] Hashtags: #Gaming #VideoGames #Game #Gamer #GameNewsPlus

Legendary has bought the movie rights to SenLinYu's 'ALCHEMISED', a novel that was originally Harry Potter fan-fic. • The original fan-fic followed a forbidden love between Hermione and Draco Malfoy • It is the biggest ever acquisition for a book's movie rights at $3M. FROM @hollywoodreporter . . . Page For Every Major Movie Updates🎬 Share With Your Movie Lover Family/Friends🍿 Follow For More Update📽️ . . . #harrypotterfan #harrypotter #harrypottermovies #alchemised #movieupdates #movielover #moviefan #movie #hermionegranger #dracomalfoy #wizard #hogwarts #ronweasley#thecinemareporter

President Trump’s media company has reportedly made a $6.4 billion purchase of Crypto.com’s native token $CRO. The massive acquisition comes as Trump continues to highlight cryptocurrency as a pillar of his economic agenda. This deal, if confirmed, would represent one of the largest single corporate crypto purchases to date. Download the Movement Market app in my bio and start launching your own memecoins 🚀

xAI, Elon Musk’s AI company, has raised $6 billion, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday. Investors gave a minimum of $77,593, per the filing (97 participated, but the document doesn’t reveal their identities). The new cash brings xAI’s total raised to $12 billion, adding to the $6 billion tranche xAI raised this spring. CNBC reported in November that xAI was aiming for a $50 billion valuation — double its valuation as of six months ago. According to the Financial Times, only investors who’d backed xAI in its previous fundraising round were permitted to participate in this one. Reportedly, investors who helped finance Musk’s Twitter acquisition were given access to up to 25% of xAI’s shares. Read more on xAI landing $6B at the link in the bio 👆 Article by Kyle Wiggers Image Credits: Marc Piasecki / Getty Images #TechCrunch #technews #artificialintelligence #startup #fundraising #ElonMusk