Evernote agrees to be acquired by Milan-based app developer Bending Spoons, in a transaction expected to close in early 2023 (Kyle Wiggers/TechCrunch)

Reuters:
Milan-based app developer Bending Spoons, which makes Splice and Remini, raised $340M+ from Italian banks Intesa Sanpaolo and Banco BPM, Ryan Reynolds, and more  —  Italian app developer Bending Spoons has raised more than $340 million from investors including Hollywood actor Ryan Reynolds and Kerry Trainor …

Manish Singh / TechCrunch:
Google acquired Alter, an AI avatar startup that helps creators and brands express their virtual identity; source: the deal closed two months ago for ~$100M  —  Google has acquired Alter, an artificial intelligence (AI) avatar startup that helps creators and brands express their virtual identity …

Matthew Yglesias / Slow Boring:
The US Fed raising interest rates faster than expected is driving the crypto crash, tech layoffs, and more, as companies value “money now” over long-term bets  —  Higher interest rates drive the Bitcoin crash, tech layoffs, and everything else

Kyle Wiggers / TechCrunch:
Banyan, whose network of item-level purchase data helps customers automate expense management, has raised a $43M Series A, $28M in equity and $15M in debt  —  Banyan, a platform for product purchase data that allows customers such as banks, fintechs, hotels and merchants to automate expense management …

Kyle Wiggers / TechCrunch:
NYC-based Regal, an outbound call and text messaging tools provider to brands, raised a $38.5M Series A led by Emergence Capital at a $350M post-money valuation  —  Getting prospective customers to answer sales calls and texts can feel like a Sisyphean task.

Kyle Wiggers / TechCrunch:
Mem, a work-focused app that uses AI to organize notes, raised $23.5M led by the OpenAI Startup Fund at a $110M valuation, bringing its total funding to $29M  —  Last year, OpenAI announced the OpenAI Startup Fund, a tranche through which it and its partners, including Microsoft …