U.S. stocks nosedive, Twitter's whistleblower paints a grim picture, and a new crypto exchange preps its debut 🎉

Ethereum users expect its Big Network Upgrade to start tomorrow. The so-called merge has garnered so much interest that it even has its own Google widget ticking down the remaining time, observes the WSJ. 

U.S. stocks posted their worst one-day performance since June 2020 after hotter-than-expected consumer-price data sparked fears that the Federal Reserve will need to be even more aggressive to rein in inflation. The WSJ has more here.

California Governor Gavin Newsom today signed a controversial bill into law that aims to force greater transparency of social media companies, setting up a potential battle over whether such measures violate free speech protections. The Washington Post has more here.

What we learned when Twitter whistleblower Pieter "Mudge" Zatko testified to Congress today, courtesy of TechCrunch.

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In downtown Seattle, offices are only 42% as full as they were before the pandemic, according to data cited late last month by the Seattle Times. It’s a problem, suggests Matt McIlwain, who has been a managing director at the early-stage venture firm Madrona Venture Group in Seattle for 22 of its 27 years. “Nobody has figured out hybrid work yet, which means all the startups and all the VCs are trying to figure it out, too,” he says.

What McIllwain does know is that “in-person human interaction is essential to trust-based relationships.” That’s partly why Madrona’s partners have themselves been meeting in the office every Monday and Thursday for nearly a year. It’s why 80% of the firm’s investments are funneled into startups in the Pacific Northwest, where Madrona’s team can visit with founders face to face. It’s also why, for the first time in its history, Madrona opened an office this past summer in Palo Alto, where others of its deals are getting done. (To lead that new office, Madrona brought aboard veteran VC Karan Mehandru, who has family in both regions and who co-invested in numerous deals with Madrona previously.)

We talked more with McIllwain yesterday about the importance of being present among other things. It seemed a good time given that Madrona has just closed on $690 million in capital commitments across two new funds — a record amount for the firm despite shaky market conditions. (As we learned, a 2020 investment in the data storage company Snowflake ahead of its IPO later that same year surely helped, along with other exits.) More from our chat follows, edited for length.

More here.

Forge Biologics, a two-year-old startup based in Grove City, Oh., that operates a gene therapy-focused contract development and manufacturing service for its clients, raised a $90 million Series C round. Drive Capital and Aisling Capital co-led the transaction. The company has raised a total of $330 million. More here.

Patch, a two-year-old San Francisco startup whose platform enabled clients to purchase carbon credits, raised a $55 million Series B round led by Energize Ventures; Andreessen Horowitz and Coatue also participated. The company has raised a total of $81.5 million. More here.

Patra, a 17-year-old startup based in El Dorado Hills, Ca., that has developed a technology platform focused on process management for the insurance industry, raised $146 million from FTV Capital. Axios has  more here.

Redesign Health, a four-year-old New York startup that incubates healthcare startups, raised a $65 million Series C round led by General Catalyst. Also participating were CVS, UPMC, Eden Global Partners, Euclidean Capital, Samsung Next, TriplePoint Capital, and Declaration Partners. Fast Company has more here.

TeraWatt Infrastructure, a four-year-old San Francisco startup that is building out commercial charging centers for fleets, raised a Series A round in excess of $1 billion from Vision Ridge Partners, Keyframe Capital, and Cyrus Capital. TechCrunch has more here.

Xeneta, a 10-year-old Oslo startup whose shipping logistics platform leverages crowdsourced data to help shipping companies figure out if they are paying market prices for their shipping on particular routes, raised an $80 million round led by Apax Digital. Other participants in the round included Lugard Road Capital and previous investors Creandum, Point Nine and Smedvig. TechCrunch has more here.

Ashby, a four-year-old San Francisco startup that platform uses AI to find times that work for interviewers and interviewees while inferring demographic data such as gender and ethnicity to help clients meet hiring metrics, raised a $21.5 million Series B round led by F-Prime Capital; additional investors include Elad Gil, Lachy Groom, Semper Virens, Base Case Capital, and Gaingels. TechCrunch has more here.

Community Labs, a crypto startup based in Jersey City, N.J., that focuses on software development and data storage in the Arweave ecosystem, raised a $30 million round led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, with Arweave, Bain Capital Crypto, and Blockchain Capital also pitching in. The Block has more here.

Goldsky, a year-old, San Francisco-based data infrastructure platform for crypto teams, has raised $20 million in seed funding led by Felicis and Dragonfly Capital, bringing the outfit's total funding to date to $22 million. Notable angel investors involved with the startup include Elad Gil and Plaid founders Zach Perret and William Hockey, among others. Founder Kevin Li has logged time previously as an engineer at 0x Labs, Facebook, and (briefly) Google. TechCrunch has more here.

Hone, a four-year-old startup based in Encinitas, Ca., that has developed an executive coaching platform, raised a $30 million Series B round. Investors in the deal included 3L Capital, Invus Opportunities, and previous investors F-Prime Capital, Cowboy Ventures, NextGen Venture Partners, Slack Fund, Semper Virens, and Sift Ventures. The company has raised a total of $52.4 million. TechCrunch has more here.

Ideon Technologies, a nine-year-old Canadian startup that provides sub-surface imaging solutions for the mining industry, raised a $16 million Series A round led by Playground Global. The company has raised a total of $18.4 million. More here.

Isometric Technologies, a 2.5-year-old, Bay Area-based startup that help shippers manage tough vendor compliance and on-time performance metrics (and was launched by the pair that created Uber Freight), has raised $15 million in Series A funding led by Blackhorn Ventures with participation from Maersk Growth and The Chainsmokers’s Mantis VC. FreightWaves has more here.

Joonko, a six-year-old New York startup that has developed an automated HR platform focused solely on sourcing underrepresented candidates, raised a $25 million Series B round led by Insight Partners, with additional participation from Target Global, Kapor Capital, and Vertex Ventures Israel. The company has raised a total of $38.5 million. CTech has more here.

Liquid Instruments, an eight-year-old Australian startup now based in San Francisco that has devised a set of software and hardware tools to help engineers test their work, raised a $28.5 million Series B round at a reported valuation of more than $100 million. Acorn Capital was the deal lead; additional investors included Lockheed Martin Ventures, Powerhouse Ventures, and previous investors Spirit Super/ANU Connect Ventures, MA Growth Ventures, Significant Capital Ventures, and Boman Enterprises. The company has raised a total of $51.4 million. TechCrunch has more here.

Litmus Automation, a nine-year-old startup based in San Jose, Ca., that helps manufacturers collect edge device data so they can use it in AI applications, raised a $30 million Series B round led by Belden. The company has raised a total of $40.7 million. TechCrunch has more here.

Modulous, a four-year-old, London- and Seattle-based startup that helps developers build prefabricated homes, has raised an $11.5 million Series A round. Investors included SFV, Regal London, CEMEX Ventures, Blackhorn Ventures, GroundBreak Ventures, Goldacre, and Leela Capital. The company has raised a total of $21.8 million. GeekWire has more here.

MyCarrier, a six-year-old startup based in Scottsdale, Az., that has built a shipping and logistics platform used by clients such as U-Haul and Malouf Home, raised a $22 million Series B round led by NewRoads Capital, with Greycroft and Lerer Hippeau also chipping in. The company has raised a total of $36.3 million. TechCrunch has more here.

Opus Security, a months-old startup based in Tel Aviv that aims to automate cloud security functions for its clients, raised a $10 million seed round led by YL Ventures and joined by Tiger Global. SiliconANGLE has more here.

PurpleLab, a six-year-old startup based in Wayne, Pa., whose healthcare analytics platform aims to help providers better manage their resources, raised a $40 million Series B round led by Primus Capital. Earlier backer Edison Partners also joined the round, which brings the company's total funding to $43 million. More here.

Unlikely AI, a Cambridge- and London-based startup founded by William Tunstall-Pedoe, who invented several key technologies used by Amazon's Alexa service, has raised $20 million to develop a new type of AI software. Amadeus Capital Partners, Octopus Ventures, and former Google CFO Patrick Pichette are among the backers. Bloomberg has more here.

Bitmama, a three-year-old Nigerian startup that sells virtual crypto debit cards funded with stablecoins, raised a $2 million pre-seed round. Unicorn Growth Capital and Launch Africa co-led the deal. TechCrunch has more here.

Flavrs, a two-year-old San Francisco startup whose video app combines premium food content and commerce, raised a $7 million seed round. Investors included Andreessen Horowitz, David Grutman, Eric Ripert, and Tom Colicchio. Forbes has more here.

Forward, a six-year-old Thai startup that is focused on protocol development for decentralized derivative exchanges and DeFi platforms, raised a $5 million round led by Primestreet Capital, with additional funds provided by Ratanakorn Technology Group, GBV Capital, and Varys Capital. TechNode Global has more here.

GrowerIQ, a three-year-old Toronto startup that has developed a cannabis-centric enterprise resource planning platform, raised a $3 million seed round led by Golden Section and MaRS IAF, while LAGO, Delbridge, GTM Fund, and Gaingels also joined in. The company has raised a total of $2.3 million. Benzinga has more here.

HealthMatch, a five-year-old Sydney startup that has developed a platform for matching patients to clinical trials, raised a $6.9 million Series C round led by Folklore Ventures, with Square Peg Capital also pitching in. The company has raised a total of $27.5 million. MobiHealthNews has more here.

Mailchain, a year-old London startup that has created a multi-wallet web3 email platform allowing users to send email using any personal blockchain addresses for no charge or gas fees, raised a $4.6 million seed round. Crane Venture Partners and Kenetic Capital co-led the deal. CryptoDaily has more here.

Peer Robotics, a three-year-old startup based in Gurugram, India, that learns how to replicate repetitive tasks by mirroring workers on the shop floor, raised a $2.3 million seed round led by Kalaari Capital and including Axilor Ventures, Connecticut Innovations, and Innopact VC. EnTrackr has more here.

Rootine, a four-year-old Nashville startup that claims to leverages AI and individual DNA, blood, and lifestyle test results to create accurate nutrient doses for athletes, raised a $10 million Series A led by Relevance Ventures, with additional investment from Techstars and DSM Venturing.​​ The company has raised a total of $13.1 million. More here.

Tidelift, a five-year-old Boston startup that provides enterprises with a tool to help them avoid the use of insecure open source components, raised an additional $5.5 million for its Series C round, which now stands at $33.5 million; AEI HorizonX and Cisco Investments led the extension. The company has raised a total of $73.5 million. VentureBeat has more here.

Cipher Skin, a Denver startup whose clothes track a user’s motion and biometrics through a network of sensors woven into mesh, raised an undisclosed round. Investors included Tribe Capital, Draper Capital, and previous investor Andreessen Horowitz. SportTechie has more here.

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The media and tech investment firm TCG has invested $100 million in Night Capital, the young venture firm cofounded by Reed Duchscher, the manager of the YouTube megastar Jimmy Donaldson, also known as Mr. Beast. TCG is also investing an undisclosed sum in Duchscher’s management firm, Night Media. The plan: Buy companies that sell products directly to consumers and pair them with influential creators. We told you about Night Capital's debut, $20 million fund last year. The New York Times has more here on this latest tie-up.

PowerPlant Partners, a Los Angeles and San Francisco-based investment management firm, says it has closed its third fund with $330 million in capital commitments. The outfit, which has from the outset focused on plant-based consumer food and beverage brands, tells Dot.LA that it just expanded its mandate to "focus on all businesses, consumer-facing as well as even backward in the supply chain." (So everything, basically.) More here.

Runa Capital, a 12-year-old venture firm founded by four Russian entrepreneurs, is relocating its headquarters from Silicon Valley to Luxembourg and has garnered $55 million in capital commitments for a fourth fund that is targeting $250 million altogether. The outfit had closed its third fund with $157 million in capital commitments in 2020. TechCrunch has more here.

Telstra Ventures, a 10-year-old, Sydney, Australia-based venture outfit backed by two strategic limited partners --  the telecommunications company Telstra and the fund of funds outfit HarbourVest --  has closed its third and newest fund with $350 million in capital commitments. The team offers more here.

Dave Hafford has joined the Silicon Valley-based outfit Thomvest Ventures as a senior associate. Hafford most recently spent a year with Morpheus Ventures in L.A. More here.

Former Disney CEO Robert Iger is joining Thrive Capital, the New York-based venture firm founded by Joshua Kushner, as a venture partner. The role, says the WSJ, will involve mentoring startup founders and seeking out new investment opportunities. 

Nick Kim has joined Upfront Ventures in L.A. as partner. Kim was most recently a principal with Crosscut Ventures, also in L.A., for four years. More here.

It was a bad day for billionaires, relatively speaking. Per Bloomberg: "Jeff Bezos’s wealth plunged by $9.8 billion, the most among those tracked by the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Elon Musk’s net worth dropped by $8.4 billion. The fortunes of Mark Zuckerberg, Larry Page, Sergey Brin and Steve Ballmer all declined by more than $4 billion, while Warren Buffett and Bill Gates lost $3.4 billion and $2.8 billion, respectively."

The creator subscription company Patreon is the latest company to be affected by a long line of tech layoffs. CEO Jack Conte wrote in a letter to staff — cross-posted to Patreon’s blog — that 17% of the staff, or roughly 80 employees, will be laid off. TechCrunch has more here.

Taboola also announced cutbacks. It's laying off 6% of its workforce, a total of more than 100 employees. The founder and CEO of the digital advertising platform, Adam Singolda, sent a letter to the employees about the development, which includes a plan to reduce costs by $38 million. Calcalist has more here.

U.S. rental inflation accelerated last month. The data, published in a Labor Department report on consumer prices today, followed several months in which measures of rents in the consumer price index logged the biggest gains in more than three decades. Analysts say rents have more room to run in the months ahead as more leases expire and incorporate higher market prices. Bloomberg has the story here.

Schwab, Citadel Securities, Fidelity, and other Wall Street firms have started a new crypto exchange called EDX Markets. Led by CEO Jamil Nazarali, formerly a senior executive at Citadel Securities, the exchange is just "the latest evidence Wall Street is forging ahead in digital assets despite the crypto winter," reports CoinDesk. More here.

The search for dirt on the Twitter whistleblower.

Why car wheels are so flat now.

How Kevins got a bad rap in France.

Big news? Tell it to the bees.

Ikea’s Swedish House Mafia record player.

Oppidium L'Heritage Underground Homes, when you're ready for a luxurious bunker. 

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