A moment of panic in Hong Kong, a big gamble by Morgan Stanley, and Andreessen Horowitz looks to India

The Supreme Court has voted to strike down the landmark Roe v. Wade decision, according to an initial draft majority opinion written by Justice Samuel Alito circulated inside the court and obtained by POLITICO. (We know, seemingly afield, but obviously also major news with all kinds of implications.) More here.

Panic over the status of Alibaba Group cofounder Jack Ma triggered wild swings in shares of the e-commerce company in Hong Kong today, underscoring continued investor anxiety toward China’s tech sector. Alibaba plunged as much as 9.4%, erasing about $26 billion of market value, after state broadcaster CCTV reported that authorities in the company’s home base of Hangzhou had imposed curbs on an individual surnamed Ma. The stock rebounded after a statement from Hangzhou police indicated the person involved was not Alibaba's Jack Ma. Bloomberg has the story here.

Elon Musk is in talks with large investment firms and high net-worth individuals about taking on more financing for his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter and tying up less of his wealth in the deal, reports Reuters. It says that major investors such as private equity firms like Apollo Global and Ares Management, hedge funds, and high net-worth individuals are in talks with Musk about providing preferred equity financing for the acquisition. It further reports that Musk has also been in talks with some of Twitter's major shareholders about the possibility of them rolling their stake into the deal rather than cashing out, and that Twitter cofounder and former CEO Jack Dorsey is among those mulling the idea. Relatedly, Musk has tweeted that he would try to keep as many investors in Twitter as possible as he takes the company private. More here.

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Anthropic, a 1.5-year-old, San Francisco-based AI research company that's researching way to build better neural networks, has raised $580 million in Series B funding, to add to the $124 million that it raised at its outset. Sam Bankman-Fried, founder and CEO of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX, led by round, joined by the Center for Emerging Risk Research and numerous individual investors, including Caroline Ellison. Anthropic is led by siblings Dario Amodei and Daniela Amodei, who were vice presidents at AI research lab OpenAI. TechCrunch has more here.

Hello Heart, a nine-year-old Menlo Park, Ca.-based startup that makes an app that tracks blood pressure, sends medication reminders, and provides wellness tips, raised $70 million in Series D funding led by Stripes. Other investors included IVP, Resolute, and BlueRun Ventures. Hello Heart has now raised more than $138 million. MobiHealth News has more here.

LinearB, a four-year-old Santa Monica, Ca.-based startup whose platform features engineering analytics and workflow optimization capabilities to help developers get more work done faster, just raised $50 million in Series B funding. The round was led by Tribe Capital, with participation from Salesforce Ventures and earlier backers Battery Ventures and 83North. In total, LinearB has raised $70.6 million. SiliconAngle has more here.

Open, a five-year-old Bangalore, India-based startup offering small and mid-size businesses with revenue-based financing, working capital, and an early settlement card product, has reportedly pulled together a $50 million Series D round at a $1 billion valuation. IIFL led and was joined by previous backers Tiger Global, Temasek and 3one4 Capital. (Notably, Google invested in the company’s $100 million Series C round, which took place just seven months ago.) Open has raised a total of $190.8 million. TechCrunch has more here.

Traceable AI, a four-year-old, San Francisco-based startup offering services designed to protect APIs from cyberattacks (notably, it is led by cofounder and CEO Jyoti Bansal, who has previously cofounded BIG Labs, Unusual Ventures, and AppDynamics), just raised $60 million in Series B funding. IVP led the round, joined by BIG Labs, Unusual Ventures, Tiger Global, and several undisclosed angel investors. TechCrunch has more here.

Turtlemint, a seven-year-old Indian insurance comparison platform, just closed a $120 million Series E round at a “slightly less than unicorn valuation” according to co-founder Dhirendra Mahyavanshi. Amansa Capital, Jungle Ventures and Nexus Venture Partners co-led, with Vitruvian Partners and Marshall Wace also participating. The company has raised $197 million in total. More here.

VisionNav Robotics, a six-year-old, Hong Kong-based maker of driverless industrial vehicles, has raised $80 million in Series C+ funding led by Meituan (China’s leading e-commerce platform for services) and 5Y Capital. The Robot Report has more here.

Xepelin, a three-year-old, Chile-based SaaS outfit focused on enabling business-to-business payments, has raised $111 million in Series B funding led by Avenir and earlier backer Kaszek. TechCrunch has more here.

Zepto, a 14-month-old, Mumbai, India-based instant grocery startup founded by two teenagers, has raised $200 million in a funding round led by Y Combinator. New investor Kaiser Permanente participated in the round, joined by earlier backers Nexus Venture Partners, Glade Brook Capital and investor Lachy Groom. Zepto has now raised $360 million and its post money-valuation, it says, is around $900 million. Bloomberg has more here.

Baseten, a three-year-old San Francisco-based startup that provides APIs and UI components for businesses looking to build interactive apps, has raised $12 million in Series A funding led by Greylock. The company has raised $20 million in total. TechCrunch has more here.

Concerto, a year-old, Austin, Tex.-based startup that creates customized credit card programs for its customers, has raised $21 million in Series A funding led by Matrix Partners; additional investors included PayPal Ventures and GoldenTree Asset Management. TechCrunch has more here.

Federated Wireless, a ten-year-old Arlington, Va.-based startup that builds wireless networks for businesses as well as hard-to-reach communities, has pieced together $14 million in Series D funding from Fortress Investment Group, Giant Leap Capital, LightShed Ventures, and GIC. The company has raised a total of $191.7 million in funding. More here.

Switchboard, a two-year-old, Bay Area-based remote collaboration startup that says it allows users to gather apps, files, and people side-by-side on the same web page, has garnered $13.8 million in funding from Sequoia, XYZ Ventures, The General Partnership, Spark Capital, and assorted angels. More here.

Venly, a four-year-old, Antwerp, Belgium-based company that makes blockchain wallets and marketplaces, as well as tools for building NFTs, has raised €21 million in Series A funding, led by Courtside Ventures. Other backers in the round include Transcend Fund, Coinbase Ventures, Tioga Capital, High-Tech Gründerfonds, Fortino, Plug and Play, Leadblock Partners, Imec Istart, Powerhouse, and Alpaca VC. The company previously raised a $1.8 million seed round. More here. 

CrowdPad, a year-old, London-based startup for creators to manage fan communities and sell social tokens, has raised $2.5 million in seed funding led by Infinity Ventures Crypto. YourStory has more here.

GamerGains Lab, a one-year-old, Miami-based startup that allows users to earn crypto by completing challenges and competing in contests and e-sports competitions, raised $5.8 million in seed funding from lead investor Cadenza Ventures. Additional investors included FTX Ventures, Tiger Global, Winklevoss Capital, Alumni Ventures Group, CMS Holdings, Third Prime, Global Founders Capital, Lightbank and BlockFi. Cointelegraph has more here.

hampr, a four-year-old Lafayette, La.-based startup that allows consumers to order laundry service via an app, has raised $5 million in funding from Gurtin Ventures, Benson Capital Partners, Ochsner Ventures, and Techstars. More here.

JackBe, a two-year-old Edmond, Ok.-based startup that invites consumers to order groceries from an app, then have them delivered to their car from a network of locations that the startup is developing, just raised $3.75 million in seed funding. RCC Ventures led the round; Purpose Equity also chipped in. More here.

Kahoona, a one-year-old San Diego, Ca.-based startup that collects first-party data for use in behavioral targeting ad campaigns, raised a $4.5 million seed round led by Global Founders Capital, with additional participation from Cardumen Capital, Plug and Play, and Fourth Realm. More here.

Ownwell, a two-year-old, Austin, Tex.-based startup that says it identifies property owners who are overpaying on their property taxes and earns them reductions on their tax bills, has raised $5.75 million in seed funding led by First Round Capital. Additional investors in the round include Wonder Ventures, Founder Collective, Long Journey Ventures and entrepreneur-investor Scott Banister. The company, whose founder and CEO, Colton Pace, previously worked in venture capital, has now raised $7.5 million altogether. FinLedger has more here.

Pando, a two-year-old San Francisco-based startup that helps employees create and track career development goals, raised $6.9 million in seed funding from Lerer Hippeau, Craft Ventures, GFC, Correlation Ventures, and others. More here.

WILE, a year-old Portland, Ore.-based producer of supplements for women over 40, raised $3 million in pre-seed funding led by Serena Ventures; other investors included Springdale Ventures, Coyote Ventures, and numerous angel investors. More here.

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The eight-year-old Australia-based software-focused venture firm EVP (previously known as Equity Venture Partners) is raising $100 million AUD ($71 million USD) for its fourth fund, reports the Australian Financial Review. More here.

Jumpstart Capital, a five-year-old, Nashville, Tn.-based health tech venture firm, is targeting up to $120 million for its second fund, per an SEC filing. More here.

Former Israeli NBA star Omri Casspi has launched a new $50 million venture capital fund called Sheva to invest in early stage startups. The fund is co-founded with David Citron, a veteran early stage venture capital investor, who most recently was Global Founders Capital’s partner leading the European firm’s activities in the Israel ecosystem. Globes has more here.

Vice Media, the digital media company once valued at $5.7 billion, has hired bankers to seek a sale, according to CNBC. Several buyers have expressed preliminary interest in acquiring Vice outright, says the outlet, though it adds that "given potential issues around valuation and the company’s outstanding debt, it also is exploring options to sell the company in parts," according to its sources. More here.

A Chinese provider of hydrogen used in fuel cell vehicles is considering a NASDAQ debut early next year via a SPAC merger that would land it a $1 billion valuation after listing. If the deal with its undisclosed suitor goes through, Shenzhen State Fuel Cell Corporation will become the latest in a long line of electric vehicle companies to choose the short route to an IPO. TechCrunch has more here.

Some of the biggest names in bitcoin — including Jack Dorsey, Tom Lee, and Michael Saylor — have banded together to refute claims made by House Democrats calling on the Environmental Protection Agency to investigate the environmental effects of crypto mining. CNBC takes a look here.

Ashneer Grover, co-founder and former managing director of fintech platform BharatPe, said that he is planning to start his own company without seeking funds from the investors. Grover, who along with his wife Madhuri Jain Grover has been stripped of all company titles over alleged "extensive misappropriation of company funds" and using "company expense accounts" to "enrich themselves and fund their lavish lifestyles", said he will not go back to investors again. The Economic Times has more here.

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Apple has sued Rivos, a year-old, Mountain View, Ca.-based startup using open-source RISC-V technology to design chips, alleging that some of the 40 ex-Apple employees at Rivos took trade secrets from Apple before heading to the startup. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in San Jose, alleges that several employees moved data to personal storage devices, wiped their Apple-owned devices in violation of an agreement they had signed with Apple and downloaded encrypted messaging app Signal to communicate after accepting job offers with Rivos. The Information has more here.

Dfinity Foundation, the Switzerland-based nonprofit behind the Internet Computer blockchain, has filed a lawsuit against Meta for trademark infringement over its infinity logo, saying it's too similar to its own. While many experts credit mathematician John Wallis with first using the "loopy" symbol to represent the concept of infinity in the 17th century, notes a Coindesk report about the lawsuit, the design may go back centuries prior to that usage.

Business Insider dug up some salary information at Snap, reporting that "a vice president of product, for instance, makes $208,000 to $500,000 a year. An account executive is earning up to $110,000. And a quality engineer makes between $50,300 and $135,500." That's base salary only, notes the outlet. The data it viewed did not include stock options, bonuses, or other forms of compensation. 

Andreessen Horowitz, which made its maiden investment in India last year, is looking to get aggressive in the country. The Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm has earmarked about $500 million to back Indian startups, a source tells TechCrunch. The firm, which led a funding round in the Bangalore-based cryptocurrency exchange CoinSwitch Kuber last year, is also looking to hire for several investment roles in the country, reports TC.

Thrasio, one of many companies over the last two years to raise a ton of capital to roll up brands selling on Amazon, is about to lay off an unknown number of employees. It also announced today that it's getting a new CEO in August. TechCrunch has the story here.

To bring that Twitter deal together, Morgan Stanley is extending financial firepower to Elon Musk that goes beyond anything provided to other private clients previously. The Financial Times takes a look at the risks and rewards the banking powerhouse is embracing by cementing its ties to the world's richest individual.

Facebook is pulling the plug on its podcasting business a year after its launch. Bloomberg has more here.

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