Good day. Now might not seem like the ideal time for startups to go public, but then again maybe that’s changing. Crypto firm Circle shot up in its stock-market debut Thursday, while adtech MNTN and digital-health platform Hinge Health staged strong IPOs in late May.

So for this week’s question, we want to know what attributes you think make a company a strong candidate to go public in today’s market. Email responses to vcnews@wsj.com.

Last week, we asked what corporate investors—that is, the venture arms of major corporations—bring to a deal, particularly given their role in AI investment. The question drew a number of responses. Here are a few, edited for length and clarity.

• Nicole LeBlanc, partner at Toyota’s growth fund Woven Capital: “Corporate investors offer value far beyond the check—providing an ecosystem of potential future customers, partners and peers to work with. For AI startups navigating unprecedented market turbulence and facing impossibly quick timelines to prove value, CVCs provide corporate muscle to back them up. CVCs are true subject matter experts, with access to an entire corporation’s brain trust, allowing them to support startup growth in ways that traditional VCs can’t.”
   
• Bob Ackerman, managing partner and co-founder of DataTribe and founder, managing director and chairman of AllegisCyber Capital: “Corporate investors are rushing into the AI domain partly as a learning exercise and partly out of a ‘fear of missing out.’ These two factors play off each other and create the risk of an investment/valuation bubble. While they will approach the market with hypothetical use cases for evaluation (a good thing), history tells us they will be the first to cut and run when the inevitable disappointment related to returns (strategic or financial) sets in.”
   
• Songyee Yoon, founder and managing partner of Principal Venture Partners and former president of NCSoft: “Success requires CVCs to build lasting, trust-based partnerships with startups through ongoing engagement. The partnership between CVCs and traditional VCs creates a powerful combination of strategic insight, financial discipline and entrepreneurial flexibility. Collaboration will likely foster a more robust AI innovation ecosystem.”
   
• Steve Brotman, managing partner and founder of Alpha Partners: “Founders often mistake a corporate investment for a long-term commitment or a signal of strategic engagement. If the startup believes there’s strategic value to be gained, it’s important to lock in those commitments—contractually or operationally—before or alongside the investment. Don’t assume future follow-on investments or growing strategic involvement.”

And now on to the news...

FOMO helped drive up shares of crypto firm Circle in their stock-market debut, The Wall Street Journal reports. The stablecoin issuer’s stock jumped Thursday, with the company basking in the Trump administration’s embrace of the crypto industry. Shares opened at $69, more than double their initial public offering price, and closed at $83.23.The stock was temporarily paused for volatility shortly after it began trading. Circle Internet Group issues the world’s second-largest stablecoin, called USD Coin or USDC.

Thrive Holdings, a company created by Thrive Capital, and ZBS Partners invested $100 million into an entity set up to infuse artificial intelligence into information technology services companies, WSJ reports. The entity, Shield Technology Partners, has already acquired four IT services companies. Thrive Holdings calls Shield Technology Partners an “AI-enabled managed IT service platform.” IT services companies, also called managed services providers, or MSPs, typically provide IT support and manage tools like software and cloud-computing on behalf of businesses.

23andMe has a path to a higher purchase price than the $256 million offered by biotech giant Regeneron after the genetic-testing company’s former chief executive pushed a bankruptcy court to reopen its sale process, WSJ Pro reports. 23andMe was set to sell itself in bankruptcy to Regeneron before former CEO Anne Wojcicki bid $305 million after the auction ended through her recently founded nonprofit TTAM Research Institute. Wojcicki’s bid dwarfs her previous offer to acquire the company for $40 million just ahead of its March bankruptcy filing.

Funds

Denver Ventures closed its first dedicated seed fund, Denver Ventures Seed Fund I, with over $20 million in capital commitments. With the new fund, Denver Ventures will invest $250,000 to $800,000 in pre-seed and seed-stage companies.

People

Kailera Therapeutics, a biotechnology company advancing therapies for obesity and related conditions, said it has named Adam Koppel and Christopher Hite to its board. Dr. Koppel is a partner on Bain Capital’s life sciences team. Hite will be an independent board member and audit committee chair. He is now executive vice president and vice chairman at Royalty Pharma. 

JetBlue Ventures, an early-stage venture-capital firm, said Arielle Ring has joined the firm as president. She will help lead strategy and support portfolio companies with fundraising and monetization optimization, the firm said. Ring has been chief financial officer of Northvolt North America and Ohmium International.

Allay Therapeutics, a biotechnology company developing sustained analgesics for postsurgical pain management and recuperation, disclosed a $57.5 million Series D financing. Lightstone Ventures and ClavystBio led the Series D financing with participation by existing investors New Enterprise Associates, Arboretum Ventures, Vertex Growth, Vertex Ventures Healthcare and Brandon Capital. The round will support Allay’s Phase 2b registration trial evaluating an investigational analgesic, ATX101, for postsurgical pain following total-knee replacement surgery. It also will advance Allay’s ultra-sustained platform of products for other unmet needs after painful surgeries. ATX101 is designed to provide extended relief after surgery and reduce the need for opioids while improving patient recovery, Allay said.

Sema4.ai, an enterprise AI agent company, secured a $25 million Series A extension, bringing its total Series A funding to $55.5 million. Snowflake Ventures and Mayfield were among the investors in the round. The funding will support enterprise adoption of the company’s AI platform in the Snowflake ecosystem and elsewhere.

Thread AI, a company in composable artificial-intelligence infrastructure, raised $20 million in Series A funding led by Greycroft. The company said it helps enterprises design, deploy and scale AI-powered workflows through its core platform, Lemma.

Signify Bio, a Dallas-based biotechnology company harnessing the human body for the production of in situ protein therapeutics, disclosed a $15 million initial financing. The round was led by Actium Group with participation from the Gates Foundation Strategic Investment Fund; Danaher Ventures, a subsidiary of Danaher; Eli Lilly; and BrightEdge, the American Cancer Society's venture-capital arm. Signify Bio said it is built on three platforms encompassing both nucleic acid payloads and nonviral delivery systems designed to control the production, secretion and localization of protein therapeutics directly within the body.

Morgan Stanley has built its own AI tool to help modernize its legacy code—something it says existing tools on the market still struggle with.

After last year’s relative calm, U.S. companies are now dealing with rising logistics costs, supply-chain upheaval and uncertain consumer demand.

Climate startups are feeling the impact of President Trump’s attacks on the energy-transition sector, as funding and job cuts, operational halts and bankruptcies rack up.

Private equity is feeling the heat as buyout fund backers look for cash returns while firms hold tens of thousands of unsold companies.

• Senate Republicans seek to protect NASA programs targeted for cuts

• Trump’s crackdown on foreign students threatens to disrupt pipeline of inventors

• A new shot prevents HIV—and breathes new life into a stagnant biotech

• What to know about picking a virtual cyber chief

This newsletter was compiled by Brian Gormley and Matthew Strozier.

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, Angus Loten and Marc Vartabedian.

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