Anthropic’s $183B Valuation, Salesforce Layoffs, Google-Apple Deal, Citymall & VC Bets, OpenAI’s $1.1B Buy

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Anthropic raises $13B Series F at $183B post-money valuation
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• Anthropic has closed a $13 billion Series F funding round, led by ICONIQ, pushing its post-money valuation to $183 billion—a massive leap from its $61.5 billion valuation earlier this year.

• The company plans to deploy this capital to expand enterprise adoption, intensify safety research, and support international expansion.

• This positions Anthropic among the most valuable AI startups globally, reflecting surging investor enthusiasm for AI despite broader tech sector caution.

Salesforce CEO confirms 4,000 layoffs ‘because I need less heads’ with AI
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• Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff confirms the company has laid off 4,000 customer support roles, stating candidly that he “needs less heads” as AI agents increasingly handle support functions.

• AI now reportedly handles about half of customer conversations, with Benioff asserting that service quality remains unchanged despite the workforce reduction.

• This move underscores Salesforce’s pivot toward efficiency and automation, cutting costs while shifting support responsibilities to AI technologies.

Google and Apple’s $20 billion search deal survives
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• A federal judge has ruled that Google may continue its $20 billion deal to remain the default search engine on Apple’s Safari browser, despite DOJ antitrust concerns.

• The court rejected DOJ’s demands for a breakup of Google’s Chrome or Android assets and declined to enforce a user “choice screen” for search engines.

• However, Google must end exclusive search deals moving forward and share certain search data with competitors to promote competition.

Indian grocery startup Citymall raises $47M to challenge ultra-fast delivery giants
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• Indian grocery startup Citymall raised $47 million in a Series D round, led by Accel, maintaining its valuation at approximately $320 million.

• The company focuses on value-oriented grocery delivery, targeting tier 2 and tier 3 towns with low average order values ($5–6) and serving 60 cities across India, including Delhi NCR, Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar.

• Its competitive advantage lies in offering private labels, no delivery fees, and community-driven logistics, positioning it as a more affordable alternative to ultra-fast delivery giants.

US and Indian VCs just formed a $1B+ alliance to fund India’s deep tech startups
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• Eight major U.S. and Indian VC firms—including Accel, Celesta Capital, Blume Ventures, and Premji Invest—have formed the India Deep Tech Investment Alliance, committing over $1 billion to Indian deep-tech startups over the next 5–10 years.

• This initiative aims to address the deep-tech funding gap in India, with a focus on sectors like AI, semiconductors, biotech, space tech, and quantum, and includes mentorship, networks, and market expansion support.

• The alliance aligns with India’s government-backed ₹1 lakh crore (~$12 billion) RDI scheme, which incentivizes domestically domiciled startups, and reflects growing strategic U.S.–India collaboration in critical technologies.

OpenAI to buy Bellevue-based product testing startup Statsig for $1.1B
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• All-stock acquisition for $1.1 billion
  OpenAI has agreed to acquire product testing startup Statsig in an all-stock deal valued at approximately $1.1 billion—marking one of the largest acquisitions in its history.

• Leadership integration & strategic roles
  Statsig’s founder and CEO, Vijaye Raji, will join OpenAI as the new Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Applications. He will report to Fidji Simo and lead product engineering efforts across platforms like ChatGPT and Codex.

• Operational continuity with independent Seattle presence
  Following the acquisition, Statsig will continue operating independently from its Seattle office. Employees will have the option to transition to OpenAI, and the deal is subject to regulatory approval.