Jack Ma cedes control of Ant Group, Marc Benioff warns of more layoffs, and why suing VCs could get easier

FRIDAY. (Woot.) If you're looking for a short podcast over the coming days, we put this one together with chewing gum and baling wire, but we hope you enjoy it. Thanks to veteran VC Peter Wagner of Wing Venture Capital for jumping on the phone with us yesterday to talk shop for a few minutes. (Wagner and his colleagues have assembled a list of top enterprise angel investors, by the way; look for this soon over at TechCrunch.)

Major thanks also to this week's podcast sponsor Sustain Life. Sustain Life's software aims to make measuring, managing, and reporting emissions easy. To book a demo and "future proof your business," just visit sustain.life/strictlyvc.

Jack Ma is giving up controlling rights of Ant Group, as he further retreats from his online empire following China’s tech crackdown. Ma has mostly disappeared from public view since giving a speech that criticized Chinese regulators on the eve of the scuttled Ant listing in 2020. Many of his peers have relinquished their formal corporate roles and increased donations to charity to align with President Xi Jinping’s vision of achieving “common prosperity,” reports Bloomberg.

The FDA today granted conditional approval to a new Alzheimer’s drug based on an early study finding it reduced levels of a sticky protein called amyloid from the brains of people with early-stage Alzheimer’s. Its developers, Eisai and Biogen, will sell it under the brand name Leqembi and it will cost $26,500 a year for the average patient, reports the WSJ. More here.

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Over the last decade or so, many venture capitalists have built vast personal fortunes. Some of the money has been made through investments in companies that have outperformed. But much of their wealth traces to management fees that added up quickly as fund sizes -- raised in faster succession than ever in history -- ballooned to unprecedented levels.

Given that the market has changed -- and will likely remain a tougher environment for everyone for at least the next year or two -- an obvious question is what happens now. Will the industry's limited partners -- the "money behind the money" -- demand better terms from their venture managers, just as VCs are right now demanding better terms from their founders?

If ever there was a moment for the institutions that fund VCs to use their leverage and push back -- on how fast funds are raised, or the industry's lack of diversity, or the hurdles that must be reached before profits can be divided -- now would seemingly be the time. Yet in numerous conversations with LPs this week, the message to this editor was the same. LPs aren't interested in rocking the boat and putting their allocation in so-called top tier funds at risk after years of solid returns.

They aren't likely to make demands on poorer performers and emerging managers either. Why not? Because there's less money to go around, they suggest. "Markets like these exacerbate the divide between the haves and have-nots," observed one LP. "When we add someone to our list of relationships," added another, "we expect it's going to be for at least two funds, but that doesn't mean we can live up to those expectations if the markets are really tough."

Some might find the feedback frustrating, particularly following so much talk in recent years about leveling the playing field by putting more investing capital in the hands of women and others who are underrepresented in the venture industry. Underscoring LPs' precarious relationship with VCs, none wanted to speak on the record.

But what if they had more backbone? What if they could tell managers exactly what they think without fear of retribution? Here are half a dozen gripes that VCs might hear, based on our conversations with a handful of institutional investors, from a managing director at a major financial institution to a smaller fund of funds manager. Among the things they'd like to change, if they had their druthers . . .

More here.

KreditBee, a four-year-old Bangalore startup that offers instant micro loans starting at as low as $12 to new-to-credit customers and credit of over $3,500 to salaried professionals, raised $100 million in additional Series D funding, increasing the size of its Series D to $200 million. Advent International led the transaction. The company has raised a total of $333.3 million. TechCrunch has more here.

Synthekine, a four-year-old Menlo Park, Ca., startup partnered with Merck that is developing immunotherapy drugs, raised a $100 million Series C round led by Column Group. The company has raised a total of $189.5 million. Endpoints News has more here.

AVS, a two-year-old Boston startup that has developed a device to treat severely calcified arterial disease, raised a $20 million Series B round. Previous investor BioStar Capital was the deal lead. The company has raised a total of $21.2 million. More here.

Cardiac Dimensions, a 21-year-old company based in Kirkland, Wa., that has developed a device to restore natural mitral valve function without damaging the mitral valve leaflets, raised a $35 million Series D round led by Horizon 3 Healthcare and an undisclosed investor, with additional participation from Arboretum Ventures, Hostplus, EQT Life Sciences, Lumira Ventures, and M. H. Carnegie & Co. The company has raised a total of $209.7 million. More here.

Doorstead, a 3.5-year-old property management startup that offers “guaranteed” rental payments to homeowners, has raised $21.5 million in a Series B round of funding. Avanta Ventures led the round, which included participation from MetaProp, M13 and Madrona. Avanta is the venture arm of CSAA Insurance Group (also known as the American Automobile Association). Eric Wu and Tom Willerer, the former CEO and CPO of Opendoor, respectively, are also backers. The company has now raised $37 million altogether. TechCrunch has more here.

PreAct Technologies, a four-year-old Portland, Or., startup that provides LiDAR sensor technologies for a wide range of industries, including automotive, healthcare, ITS, industrial, consumer electronics, robotics, and trucking, raised a $14 million Series B led by I Squared Capital, with State Farm Ventures, Luminate, and Traylor Capital also taking part. The company has raised a total of $41 million. GeekWire has more here.

Volta Medical, a six-year-old French startup whose software helps physicians identify and treat complex cardiac arrhythmias, such as atrial fibrillation, raised a $38.2 million Series B round led by Vensana Capital, with Lightstone Ventures and previous investor Gilde Healthcare also participating. The company has raised a total of $69 million. MobiHealthNews has more here.

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Investor Chamath Palihapitiya is predicting that SpaceX’s internet-from-space initiative Starlink will go public this year to give SpaceX founder Elon Musk more financial flexibility. Bloomberg has more here.

The SEC is working on a rule that would make it easier for investors to sue VCs for bad behavior, negligence or recklessness, reports Politico.

Twitter employees laid off by Elon Musk were assured they would be compensated following mass cuts. Despite a deadline, there is been silence since, reports Wired.

Marc Benioff indicated in an all-hands meeting yesterday that more downsizing could be coming at Salesforce, according to CNBC sources. The meeting came a day after the company announced that it was cutting 10% of jobs, amounting to over 7,000 positions.

Mojo Vision, astartup that makes smart contact lenses — and gained attention at past Consumer Electronics Shows — today said it is putting development of its lenses on hold and cutting 75% of its staff. More here and here.

Bonkers revelations from Prince Harry's book, ranked.

The Mediterranean diet really is that good for you.

"We got caught, Brian. Just act normal."

A Turks and Caicos penthouse.

Pepper spray that will, for some reason, phone your friends as you mace your assailants.

Cat decor!

Join hundreds of military veteran entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and early-stage operators at the Military Veteran Startup Conference hosted by Context Ventures on Feb 2nd and 3rd in San Francisco. Build your network and get invaluable insight from panels including the Dual Use Entrepreneurs panel, New Veteran Fund Managers panel, and VIP speakers including Henry Ward of Carta. The event is open to everyone: military veterans, veteran spouses, and civilians. Learn more and register here.