This week in the world of startups, we saw a mix of companies facing adversity and others thriving, with fintech, AI, and defense tech startups making headlines. From revenue milestones to lawsuits and controversies, here's a rundown of the most interesting startup stories from the past week.

Fintech startup Ramp more than doubled its annualized revenue to $700 million and nearly doubled its valuation to $13 billion in a recent secondary share sale. Meanwhile, revenue prediction startup Gong surpassed $300 million in annualized revenue, putting the AI company on the path to a potential IPO. Mach Industries, a defense tech startup backed by Sequoia, landed a contract with the U.S. Army and has plans for its first factory, according to its 21-year-old founder Ethan Thornton.

However, not all startup news was positive. After years of controversy, including a now-settled legal battle, Ryan Breslow is once again the CEO of Bolt, the fintech company he founded, which was once valued at $11 billion. Meanwhile, Passes, a direct-to-fan monetization platform for creators, has been sued for allegedly distributing child sexual abuse material. Climate-friendly fintech startup Aspiration also faced legal issues, with one board member pleading guilty to wire fraud and one co-founder arrested for allegedly conspiring to defraud investors.

In terms of funding news, AI maker Anthropic raised a $3.5 billion Series E led by Lightspeed Venture Partners at a $61.5 billion post-money valuation. Turing, which contributes to the building of LLMs, raised a $111 million Series E led by Malaysia's sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional Berhad at a $2.2 billion valuation. Other notable funding rounds included Indian HR unicorn Darwinbox, which raised $140 million to expand internationally, and U.S. defense tech startup Epirus, which raised a $250 million Series D to counter drone swarms.

Other startups making headlines this week included Tel Aviv-based Grain, which emerged from stealth with $50 million in funding to help businesses hedge against FX volatility, and New York-based startup Ataraxis AI, which raised a $20.4 million Series A to predict the cancer outcome of individual patients and whether chemo can be avoided. Thirty-year-old firm Foundation Capital also raised an 11th flagship fund of $600 million, 20% more than its predecessor.

In a recent episode of the Equity podcast, Ed Zitron, host of the Better Offline podcast, argued that there's an opportunity for startups to do better than Big Tech in putting users first. Zitron emphasized the need for startups to focus on sustainable growth rather than chasing rapid expansion at all costs.

Overall, this week's startup news highlights the diverse range of companies and industries making waves in the tech world. From fintech and AI to defense tech and controversies, there's no shortage of exciting developments to keep an eye on.