| Hi, Agen. Is it 2021 again? It almost seemed like it last week, when a whopping eight funding deals to U.S. startups clocked in at more than $100 million each. Companies in sectors ranging from fintech to biotech and of course AI pulled in major investor cash, but none more so than a space tech startup that landed $350 million. Meanwhile, in Europe, VC funding halved in the second quarter, with late-stage investing falling even more precipitously. And deep cuts by a handful of tech employers turned up the dial on our Tech Layoffs Tracker. European venture funding halved in the second quarter of 2023 compared to a year earlier, and was down two-thirds from the peak two years ago, Crunchbase data shows. Hardest hit: Late-stage startups, which saw funding plummet 64%. Will a successful IPO by Arm, the British chip designer, reinvigorate the European funding scene? We had to check our calendars last week to make sure we aren’t still living in the free-money days of 2021. Eight funding rounds to U.S. startups last week topped nine figures — and three of those were more than a quarter-billion dollars. Let’s look at where the big bucks went. Just when it looked like last week might offer a reprieve from tech layoffs, our hopes were dashed. The biggest job-cutter was T-Mobile, which went all-in on the “cut once, cut deep” philosophy with plans to slash some 5,000 roles. Tesla and Juul also joined our Tech Layoffs Tracker. Venture funding has fallen off a cliff this year, but these startups don’t know that. The Crunchbase Megadeals Board tracks funding rounds of $100 million or more into U.S.-based startups. As of last week, 141 companies populate the board. An analysis of The Crunchbase Billion-Dollar Exits Board finds that many of the billion-dollar-plus companies that went public at the peak of 2021 are now trading well below their IPO prices. We look at what that means for late-stage startups ready to take the leap to the public markets. | 
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