The last week of 2024 has been eventful for startups, with a flurry of news, mergers, and acquisitions (M&As), and significant fundraises. As we bid farewell to the year, let's dive into the most interesting startup stories from the week.

One notable development is the Clean Capital Certification, which has been self-attested by over 20 venture capital (VC) firms, many of which invest in defense tech. This certification ensures that these firms have not and will not take money from U.S. geopolitical adversaries such as China and Russia.

Meanwhile, the AI hype has been distorting aggregate VC data, according to Tribeca Venture Partners co-founder Brian Hirsch. Digging deeper, the fundraising landscape is radically different for non-AI startups, with many that raised a Series A round 18 months ago likely facing challenges in raising Series B funding.

In a significant deal, nuclear startup Oklo, backed by Sam Altman, signed a massive but nonbinding agreement with data center operator Switch. However, the deal is subject to the startup receiving approval from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission after having its previous application denied in 2022.

Grammarly is acquiring productivity startup Coda to expand its scope, with Coda CEO and co-founder Shishir Mehrotra set to become the new CEO of Grammarly, replacing Rahul Roy-Chowdhury, who will move on to an adviser role. Additionally, Perplexity acquired Carbon, a Seattle-based startup that connects large language models (LLMs) to external data before they generate an answer.

In terms of fundraises, Databricks raised a staggering $10 billion in one of the largest rounds in VC history, putting the company's valuation at an estimated $40 billion. This Series J round might be its last fundraiser before its highly anticipated IPO, which could happen in 2025 or 2026.

Other notable fundraises include South African fintech Tyme Group, which raised a $250 million Series D round, becoming Africa's latest unicorn with a valuation of $1.5 billion. Finnish wearable startup Oura raised a $200 million Series D funding round at a $5.2 billion valuation, while Canadian travel startup Hostaway secured $365 million at a $925 million valuation.

In the venture capital (VC) space, Marcy Venture Partners, Jay-Z's VC firm, merged with Pendulum Opportunities to form MarcyPen Capital Partners, which now has $900 million in assets under management. Backstage Capital founder Arlan Hamilton announced that she's moving on to an advisory role, with 360 Venture Collective acquiring a significant stake in Backstage's management entity.

Finally, G2 Venture Partners, a spinout of Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers investing in climate and sustainability startups, is raising $750 million for a third fund, confirming LP bullishness for its thesis. As we head into the new year, it will be interesting to see how these developments shape the startup landscape in 2025.

In related news, TechCrunch has compiled a list of the 51 most disruptive startups of 2024, featuring contributions from several members of the TechCrunch team. Be sure to check it out and happy holidays!