Good day. There has been a lot more grind than fun for startup founders this year. Many embraced the always-on, nonstop work culture, often in-person at the office, to outcompete one another.

So how are founders handling the holidays?

Saurav Shroff, co-founder and chief executive of Hawthorne, Calif.-based Starpath, which is developing technology to establish a self-sustaining city on Mars, was on a plane on Tuesday. He wasn’t flying to see family. 

Shroff was taking a day trip to drop off product samples with a customer, he said via text from up in the air. After returning to Los Angeles Tuesday night, he was planning to be at the office on Wednesday. Then he has a flight to Taiwan on Christmas Day for business meetings related to building a factory there, he said.

“All work. Our job is done when life is multiplanetary,” Shroff said.

James Cadwallader, co-founder and chief executive of New York-based Profound, which optimizes brand visibility in AI search, said his team typically works full-time in the office. The company has 95 employees in New York, London and San Francisco offices. Some work weekends, though that isn’t required. Profound has raised capital from Khosla Ventures, Sequoia Capital and others.

During the holidays, Cadwallader's staff transitions to a more work-from-home model.

“People will naturally continue working over the holiday period, but more at their own speed as they have lots of family commitments to juggle,” he said. While his team works hard, “I don’t think it’s cool to be overly ‘chest thumpy’ about working hours,” he added. Cadwallader plans to fly to California for family time for Christmas, he said.

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Note to readers: The VC Daily newsletter is taking a break for the holidays and will return Jan. 2. See you in the new year!

And now on to the news...

More GP stake sales coming. More private-equity managers plan to sell minority stakes in the coming years, as the industry’s ongoing downturn drives firms to seek outside investment.

• But it remains to be seen whether buyer enthusiasm will match that of sellers. 
   
• The market for general-partner stakes—investments in a private asset manager that typically let the buyer share in management fees and deal profits—rebounded in 2025 after three lean years. GP-stake deal volume totaled $3.5 billion through the end of October, on pace to easily exceed the record of $3.6 billion set in 2015, according to PitchBook.

Artificial-intelligence software company ServiceNow agreed to acquire cybersecurity startup Armis for about $7.75 billion in cash in a move intended to take advantage of growing demand for AI security. Armis recently raised $435 million in a funding round that valued the company at $6.1 billion, and it had been planning for an initial public offering at the end of 2026 or early 2027. ServiceNow said on Tuesday that the acquisition would triple its market opportunity for security and risk solutions and entrench its position in the market for securing AI technology.

The massive AI build-out comes with a transparency problem. 

• Tech companies often provide the cost of AI data centers and chips associated with a long-term construction project. The catch: They generally don’t break out the costs for each, nor are they required to do so, despite the vastly different time periods in which facilities and chips depreciate.
   
• That means the cost of chips that may have to be replaced in a few years or less can be lumped together with buildings that can stand for decades. This has some investors seeking more details about tech giants’ surging capital spending on AI infrastructure.

People

EVCS, an electric vehicle fast-charging network provider, appointed Eric Danner as chief executive officer. He succeeds Founder Gustavo Occhiuzzo, who will transition to executive chairman and chief strategy officer.

Kargo, a San Francisco-headquartered provider of industrial AI technology for supply chain and logistics, closed a $42 million Series B round. Avenir led the investment, which included participation from Linse Capital, Hearst Ventures, Matter Venture Partners and others.

Architect Financial Technologies, a provider of institutional trading technology, U.S. electronic brokerage services and a global perpetual futures exchange, completed a $35 million Series A round from investors including Tioga Capital.

Ankar, a London-based AI operating system for patents, landed $20 million in Series A funding. Atomico led the round, which included contributions from Index Ventures, Norrsken VC and Daphni.

Dazzle AI, a Palo Alto, Calif.-based startup developing an AI app for consumers, was seeded with an $8 million investment. Kirsten Green of Forerunner Ventures led the round, which saw participation from Kleiner Perkins and others.

• U.S. Bans New China-Made Drones, Sparking Outrage Among Pilots
   
• Layoffs Expected as Marketers Face Pressure Over AI Savings, Survey Finds
   
• Bitcoin Miners Thrive Off a New Side Hustle: Retooling Their Data Centers for AI
   
• China’s Sprint for Tech Dominance Can’t Hide an Economy Full of Holes

This newsletter was compiled by Yuliya Chernova and Zachary Cole.

WSJ Pro Venture Capital is a premium service of The Wall Street Journal. We cover venture capital and the global startup ecosystem. Share your tips, comments and questions: vcnews@wsj.com

The Team: Matthew Strozier, Yuliya Chernova, Brian Gormley and Marc Vartabedian.

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