Cringey texts, layoffs at Meta, and why Google smells a potentially massive new opportunity

So the S&P 500 closed today at a new low for the year. We're long-term investors, things will be all right, there's no reason to panic, it's ALL GOING TO BE FINE.

Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg has outlined sweeping plans to reorganize teams and reduce headcount at Meta for the first time ever. Bloomberg has the scoop here.

Google said it would shutter the video game streaming service Stadia, its answer to Microsoft’s Xbox and Sony’s PlayStation video game consoles. It's another sign of Google’s drive to be leaner amid fears of an economic slowdown, notes the New York Times.

SoftBank Group has started laying off employees at its loss-making Vision Fund and is expected to cut at least 30% of its staff, according to Bloomberg. The Tokyo-based company began telling some workers of the reductions today, with at least 150 likely to be affected, says the news outlet. The Vision Fund unit, headquartered in London, had about 500 employees including staff at the Latin America fund. More here.

All new passenger cars, pickup trucks and SUVs sold in New York state must be zero emissions by 2035, Governor Kathy Hochul announced today. The new legislation comes one month after California’s Air Resources board voted to also phase out the sale of new gas-powered cars in the state. TechCrunch has more here.

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Alex Wiltschko has what he thinks is a big idea. He wants to build a company that digitizes scent.

It’s a natural step for Wiltschko, who has a PhD in neurobiology from Harvard, where he studied how the brain processes odor. He didn’t wind up in this specific group accidentally, he suggests. It owes to a lifelong “obsession with scent and olfaction” that he came to study alongside Sandeep “Bob” Datta, a Harvard professor who has himself long focused with what happens after one’s sensory neurons pick up a scent.

The researchers were trying to better understand how the human brain works — including why certain scents are tied to memories. For a long time, too, their area of study was dwarfed by the attention that sight and image processing has received over the years. Then came Covid 19, and with it, far more focus on how taste and smell are processed — and lost.

Now the race has begun to better understand and digitize and even recreate scent. Indeed, in July, a neurotech startup called Canaery raised $4 million in seed funding to develop a scent-sensing platform. Moodify, another startup that’s working on the digitization of scent, closed an $8 million round of funding last year, including from Procter & Gamble.

As Datta told Harvard Magazine late last year, “Right now, there’s a lot of intense interest in smell from physicians and from the many millions of patients who’ve had their sense of smell affected. And it has really highlighted, collectively, how little we know about all aspects of our sense of smell.”

Wiltschko is among the select few, for now, who see opportunity in solving these unknowns. His longtime employer, Google, also sees it. After logging close to six years with Google AI, Wiltschko just became an entrepreneur-in-residence (EIR) at GV, the venture arm of the search giant, where, more specifically, he hopes to build a company that can identify disease faster based on specific odor molecules.

It's a meaningful vote of confidence from GV, which has only appointed five life-science-focused EIRs in its 13-year-history, and also incubated Flatiron Health (which went on to sell to the pharma giant Roche in 2018 for $1.9 billion); and the gene-editing company Verve Therapeutics, which went public last year.

More here.

GrubMarket, an eight-year-old San Francisco startup whose e-commerce software connects farmers with businesses and consumers, raised a $120 million round led by 301 Inc., with additional participation from Squarepoint Capital, Portfolia, Grosvenor Food & AgTech, Tiger Global, Liberty Street Funds, Walleye Capital, Celtic House Asia Partners, and Apeira Capital. The company has raised a total of $499.1 million. Bloomberg has more here.

Moxion, a 2.5-year-old, Bay Area-based mobile energy storage company that wants to replace noxious diesel generators with silent batteries, has raised $100 million in Series B funding led by Tamarack Global. Earlier investor Energy Impact Partners also joined the round, along with Sunbelt Rentals, Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund, Microsoft’s Climate Innovation Fund, Enterprise Holdings Ventures, Marubeni Ventures, Suffolk Technologies, and Rocketship.vc. TechCrunch has more here.

RoboSense, a Chinese startup that develops sensor technologies used in self-driving cars, is raising a $150 million round, per Bloomberg. Prospective investors include China Structural Reform Fund and Mirae Asset Securities. More here.

Traveloka, a ten-year-old travel website that had been in SPAC discussions, raised a $300 million round. Investors included BlackRock, Allianz, and the Indonesia Investment Authority. The company has raised over $500 million. CityWire Asia has more here.

Workstream, a five-year-old San Francisco startup whose platforms enables companies to recruit "deskless employees," added $60 million to their Series B round. The extension was led by GGV Capital, with Basis Set Ventures, BOND, Coatue, CRV, and Founders Fund also chipping in. The company has raised over $150 million. SiliconANGLE has more here.

Airplane, a one-year-old San Francisco startup that's building a developer platform for internal tools, raised a $32 million Series B round led by Thrive Capital, with previous investor Benchmark also participating. TechCrunch has more here.

AmazeVR, a seven-year-old startup based in West Hollywood, Ca., whose platform enables artists to host virtual concerts, raised a $17 million Series B round. Mirae Asset Capital was the deal lead; Korean entertainment giant CJ ENM and mobile game maker Krafton, as well as previous investors CJ Investment, Smilegate Investment, GS Futures, and LG Technology Ventures also piled on. The company has raised a total of $47.8 million. TechCrunch has more here.

Careviso, a startup based in Falls Church, Va., whose platform delivers cost estimates, administrative requirements, and approvals to patients "in real-time," raised a $17 million Series B round. The transaction was led by Ballast Point Ventures with participation from Mercury and Lytical Ventures. More here.

Coral, a four-year-old Los Angeles startup that is building developer tools for the Solana ecosystem, raised a $20 million round co-led by FTX Ventures and Jump Crypto. Multicoin Capital, Anagram, and K5 Global also participated in the round. TechCrunch has more here.

Cortex, a Brazil-based big data analytics SaaS platform, has raised around $48 million in Series C funding led by Lightrock. Earlier backers SoftBank Latin America Funds and Riverwood Capital also joined the round. Brazil Journal has more here.

Detectify, a 10-year-old Stockholm startup whose security platform employs ethical hackers to conduct attacks designed to highlight vulnerabilities in corporate systems, raised a $10 million round. The deal lead was Insight Partners. TechCrunch has more here.

Doccla, a three-year-old London startup that allows clinical staff from hospitals to monitor the vital signs of those under treatment remotely, raised $16.3 million Series A round led by General Catalyst, with KHP Ventures, Giant Ventures, and Speedinvest also pitching in. TechCrunch has more here.

Grow Therapy, a two-year-old, New York-based startup that says it helps therapists launch their own private practice that’s covered by insurance, has raised $45 million in Series B equity funding led by TCV, with participation from Transformation and SignalFire. It also secured $30 million in debt. More here.

Invisible AI, a four-year-old Palo Alto startup that claims to use AI systems to optimize factory processes, raised a $15 million round led by Van Tuyl Companies, with additional participation from FM Capital, 8VC, Sierra Ventures, K9 Ventures, and Vest Coast Capital. The company has raised a total of $21.6 million. TechCrunch has more here.

Jeli.io, a three-year-old San Francisco startup whose free Slack incident bot helps users respond to a software incident quickly in Slack, raised a $15 million Series A round led by Addition, which was joined by Boldstart Ventures, Heavybit, and Harrison Metal. The company has raised a total of $19 million. TechCrunch has more here.

League One Volleyball, a three-year-old startup that plans to launch an indoor volleyball league alongside a grassroots network of local junior clubs, raised a $16.75 million round. Investors included basketball ace Kevin Durant, tennis legend Billie Jean King, and comedian Chelsea Handler. The company has raised a total of $16.8 million. Sports Business Journal has more here.

Lunio, a six-year-old British startup that attempts to exclude fake web traffic by analyzing behavior patterns from a wide range of different ad networks, raised a $15 million Series A round. Smedvig Capital was the deal lead. The company has raised a total of $17 million. TechCrunch has more here.

Maev, a four-year-old New York startup that has created an all-natural, raw dog food brand, raised a $10 million Series A round led by VMG Partners, with BFG Partners, Willow Growth Partners, Springdale Ventures, DX Ventures, Contrary Capital, Good Friends, and 1st Course Capital also ponying up. The company has raised a total of $19 million. More here.

OneKey, a three-year-old Hong Kong-based crypto startup that claims to be the number one hardware wallet in the Eastern Hemisphere, raised a $20 million Series A round co-led by Dragonfly and Ribbit Capital, with additional capital provided by Coinbase Ventures, Framework Ventures, Sky9 Capital, Folius Ventures, and Ethereal Ventures. The Block has more here.

Ox Security, a startup that is proposing a new security standard for supply chain vendors, raised a $34 million seed round from Evolution Equity Partners, Team8, Rain Capital, and M12. TechCrunch has more here.

Qnovia, a startup based in Richmond, Va., that is focused on developing inhalation device technologies to improve the treatment of Asthma, COPD, vaccines, and pain management, raised a $17 million Series A round led by Blue Ledge Capital; additional investors included DG Ventures, Evolution VC Partners, Gaingels, TL Capital, and Vice Ventures. More here.

Regate, a three-year-old Paris startup that automates accounting functions for businesses, raised a $20 million Series A round led by Valar Ventures, with additional investors including 360 Capital, Financière Saint James, and AG2R La Mondiale. TechCrunch has more here.

Rippl, a one-year-old Seattle startup that's focused on caring for seniors with dementia and other neurocognitive conditions by providing 24/7 support online or in-person, raised a $32 million seed round. General Catalyst and ARCH Venture Partners co-led the deal. Home Health Care News has more here.

Una Brands, a two-year-old Singapore startup that is aggregating e-commerce brands in the APAC region, raised a $30 million Series B round. White Star Capital and Alpha JWC Ventures co-led the deal. TechCrunch has more here.

Aspen Creek Digital Corporation, a one-year-old Boston startup that operates a crypto mining operation that claims to use renewable energy, raised an $8 million Series A round co-led by Galaxy Digital and Polychain Capital, with additional investors including Jamie Lee of Tamarack Global, Alex Robertson of Tiger Management, CMT Digital, Luxor Technologies, Mana Ventures, Gaingels, and Copper River Energy Partners. The company has raised a total of $16.6 million. The Coin Republic has more here.

Bridge Money, a three-year-old Chicago startup that has launched an app and debit card to help users earn supplemental income, raised a $5.8 million seed round led by TMV; additional investors included Founder Collective, Kapor Capital, Acumen America, Bread & Butter Ventures, Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Seed Fund, Plug and Play Ventures, Basecamp Fund, and Ulu Ventures. The company has raised a total of $7.6 million. Axios has more here.

Femtosense, a four-year-old Palo Alto startup that is developing edge hardware designed to make AI processing viable for low-cost consumer electronics, raised an $8 million Series A round led by Fine Structures Ventures, with J2 Ventures, Quest Venture Partners, Amino Capital, Sand Hill Angels, Gaingels, and SV Pacific Ventures also chipping in. The company has raised a total of $9.1 million. TechCrunch has more here.

Minteo, a one-year-old startup that aims to build an NFT marketplace for Latin America, raised a $4.3 million seed round from Fabric Ventures, Dune Ventures, CMT Digital, Impatient VC, Susquehanna Private Equity Investments, SevenX Ventures, FJ Labs, Big Brain Holdings, G20 Ventures, Alliance DAO, Open Sea Ventures, and Zero Knowledge. TechCrunch has more here.

Monnai, a one-year-old San Francisco startup that helps fintechs evaluate the risks of potential customers, raised a $3.15 million seed round led by Better Tomorrow Ventures, with Commerce Ventures, Kearny Jackson, and 9Yards Capital also participating. VentureBeat has more here.

Xund, a four-year-old Vienna startup that says its AI-powered medical API leverages over 2.5 million medical publications to provide symptom and risk assessment capabilities that can help navigate patients to the best point of care, raised a €6 million seed round. The co-leads were MMC Ventures and MassMutual Ventures; Roche and Lana Ventures also participated. TFN has more here.

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Apple’s VP of procurement, Tony Blevins, has left the company after a TikTok video showed him making a vulgar comment about women at a car show.

LeBron James is buying into the pickleball explosion.

Some of the cringiest revelations in the Elon Musk text dump. 💅🏻 (Lots of characters in this one.)

Relatedly: How Morgan Stanley's CEO buttered up Musk while Larry Ellison brushed him off.

And there's this: crypto billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried has wanted to buy Twitter “for a while,” according to texts revealed in Musk’s legal proceedings against the social media platform.

These are the 10 U.S. cities where housing markets are cooling the fastest.

Truepill, a venture-backed platform that helps other companies offer diagnostics, telehealth services and prescriptions, has conducted its fourth layoff of the year, reports TechCrunch. The layoff reportedly impacted around 65% of its existing staff and comes two months after TruePill's last round of layoffs, which impacted about a third of the company, or 175 people. TruePill, as TC notes, was the preferred pharmacy partner of venture-backed Cerebral, which is now under federal investigation for prescribing drugs to customers too readily. Among these, apparently, is a 17-year-old about whom the WSJ wrote yesterday and who killed himself after being prescribed an antidepressant that carries a warning label for adolescents.

Fly on the Wall with Dana Carvey and David Spade, with guest Lorne Michaels.

How one of the most hated college basketball players has become one of the sport’s most beloved commentators.

Why South Sea pearls are so expensive.

Reigning Champ hoop.

The "Impossible Burger of fragrance" (is maybe not a story title you want to see if you are a fragrance brand).

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