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Sending this one out a little early as we run out the door . . .
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FTX could reboot. John J. Ray III, its new CEO, tells the WSJ that he’s looking into the possibility of reviving the bankrupt crypto exchange as he works to return money to customers and creditors, explaining that accusations of criminal misconduct aside, some customers have praised its technology and suggested that there would be value in rebooting the platform. “Everything is on the table,” Ray tells the Journal. “If there is a path forward on that, then we will not only explore that, we’ll do it.” 👀
Netflix founder and co-CEO Reed Hastings announced today that he will step down after more than two decades at the company. While news of his departure comes as a surprise, Hastings said in today's announcement that Netflix has been planning for its next era of leadership “for many years." Ted Sarandos, who was named co-CEO with Hastings in 2020, will now head up the company along with Greg Peters, who is being promoted to co-CEO from his role as COO. TechCrunch has more here.
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| A $32M Seed Round for Chris DeWolfe’s Next Gaming Biz Defies 2023 Trends |
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A $32 million seed round may seem like a throwback to frothier times like . . .2021. But that's how much PLAI Labs just raised in a deal led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z).
It a lot of moolah in a volatile market, even coming as it does from two separate a16z funds: the firm's $600 million debut games vehicle and its $4.5 billion crypto fund, both of which were announced last May.
Then again, PLAI Labs checks all the boxes on VCs' wish lists.
First and foremost, the L.A.-based outfit was founded by veteran tech entrepreneurs Chris DeWolfe and Aber Whitcomb. The pair previously co-founded the once-hot social media platform MySpace (which originally sold to MySpace for $580 million in 2005) and the mobile game studio Jam City.
The latter remains privately held, but after scrapping plans to go public through a special purpose acquisition company, it managed to snag $350 million in funding in 2021 from Netmarble, Kabam, and affiliates of funds managed by Fortress Investment Group, which suggests it's doing just fine. (Indeed, Jam City, which claims to have 30 million monthly active users, announced this morning that a third cofounder, Josh Yguado, is now running the show after serving as the company's COO and president previously.)
Beyond being launched by seasoned founders, PLAI (pronounced /plā/) is also apparently weaving every buzzy trend into one offering, describing its own mission as leveraging "web3 and generative AI technology to offer the ultimate online social experience."
Crypto? Check. Generative AI? Check. A new social platform? Where do I write the check, is the question the a16z team must have been asking.
More here.
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Cloudian, a 12-year-old out based in San Mateo, Ca., that provides hybrid cloud data management software, raised a $60 million Series F round. Investors included Digital Alpha, Eight Roads Ventures Japan, INCJ, Intel Capital, Japan Post Investment Corporation, Silicon Valley Bank, Tinshed Asia, and Wilson Sonsini Investments. The company has raised a total of $233.1 million. CRN has more here.
Outrider, a six-year-old startup based in Golden, Co., that is developing autonomous electric trucks for warehouse distribution yards, raised a $73 million Series C round led by FM Capital, with ADIA, Nvidia, B37 Ventures, Lineage Ventures, Presidio Ventures, Sumitomo Corp., ROBO Global Ventures, and previous investors Koch Disruptive Technologies and NEA also pitching in. The company has raised a total of $191 million. TechCrunch has more here.
SetPoint Medical, a 15-year-old, Valencia, Ca.-based clinical-stage healthcare company focused on treating chronic autoimmune diseases (it has built a bioelectronic medicine platform consisting of a micro-regulator that's programmed via a prescription pad-based interface), just raised $80 million in funding co-led by new investors Norwest Venture Partners and Viking Global Investors. The outfit also just secured a $65 million credit facility led by Runway Growth Capital. More here.
Vannevar Labs, a four-year-old Palo Alto startup that has built a platform that helps public servants working on military and foreign policy decisions understand, target, and respond to foreign actors, raised a $75 million Series B round led by Felicis Ventures, with additional participation from DFJ Growth, Aloft VC and insiders General Catalyst, Point72, Costanoa Ventures, and Shield Capital. The company has raised a total of $87 million. SiliconAngle has more here.
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| Big-But-Not-Crazy-Big Fundings |
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Anyfin, a six-year-old Stockholm startup that says it helps consumers spend less on their loans, raised a $32.5 million Series C round led by Northzone and including Citi Ventures as well as previous investors Accel, EQT Ventures, FinTech Collective, Quadrille Capital, and Augmentum FinTech. The company has raised a total of $137.8 million. Tech.eu has more here.
ContractSafe, an eight-year-old startup based in Malibu, Ca., that offers a suite of contract management features so businesses can store, search, control permissions, and create workflows around legal documents, raised a $27.5 million round from Five Elms Capital. More here.
EarthOptics, a five-year-old startup based in Raleigh, NC, that uses ground-based sensors, satellites, physical soil samples, machine learning models, and agronomic expertise to help farmers and ranchers make data-driven decisions about their land, raised a $27.6 million round. Conti Ventures was the deal lead; other investors included Rabo Food & Ag Innovation Fund (RFAIF), CNH Industrial, Louis Dreyfus Company Ventures, and CHS and Growmark’s Cooperative Ventures as well as current investors Leaps by Bayer, FHB Ventures, S2G Ventures, iSelect Fund, Route 66 Ventures, and VTC Ventures. The company has raised a total of $38.5 million. Technical.ly has more here.
Link, a two-year-old San Francisco startup that claims to be one of the first companies in the U.S. to enable customers to make online payments using their bank accounts, raised a $20 million Series A round led by Valar Ventures, with additional participation from Tiger Global, Amplo, Pareto Holdings, and Quiet Capital. The company has raised a total of $30 million. TechCrunch has more here.
MacroFab, a 10-year-old Houston startup whose platform helps manage electronics manufacturing and provides customers with visibility into their production, raised a $42 million round led by Foundry Group, with BMW i Ventures as well as previous investors Edison Partners and ATX Venture Partners also contributing. The company has raised a total of $72.7 million. Houston Inno has more here.
Noon Energy, a five-year-old Palo Alto startup that is developing high density carbon-oxygen batteries, raised a $28 million Series A round co-led by Clean Energy Ventures and Aramco Ventures, with Emerson Collective, At One Ventures, Mistletoe, and Doral Energy Tech Ventures also anteing up. TechCrunch has more here.
Summit Nanotech, a five-year-old Calgary startup that claims to extract high-quality lithium from brine solution faster and in a more sustainable fashion than traditional methods, just raised a $50 million Series A2 round co-led by Evok Innovations and BDC Capital, with Xora Innovation, Capricorn Investment Group, Volta Energy Technologies, NGP, Helios Climate Ventures, and the Grantham Foundation also taking part. The company has raised a total of $65.5 million. More here.
SunRoof, a 10-year-old Stockholm startup that builds solar roofs that generate electricity without having to use traditional top-mounted photovoltaic modules, raised a $14.6 million round. Investors included World Fund, Nordic Alpha Partners, and L&G Capital. The company has raised a total of $37.6 million. EU-Startups has more here.
Ulvetanna, a crypto startup that builds hardware to increase the efficiency of zero-knowledge-proof generation, raised a $15 million seed round last June at a $55 million valuation. Bain Capital Crypto and Paradigm co-led the deal, with Jump Crypto also taking part. The Block has more here.
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Biohm, a seven-year-old Cleveland, Oh., startup that has developed a probiotic supplement designed to help reduce digestive plaque found in the gut, raised a $7.5 million round led by VTC Ventures; Felton Group, Jobs Ohio Growth Capital Fund, Aztec Capital Management, Cleveland Life Science Advisors, Valley Growth Ventures, and Jump Start also pitched in. More here.
Cari Health, a two-year-old San Diego startup that is developing applications to help doctors monitor patients via wearable devices, raised a $2.3 million seed round led by San Diego Angel Conference and joined by NuFund Venture Group, Cove Fund, Chemical Angel Fund, and Medical Devices of Tomorrow. More here.
Censinet, a six-year-old Boston startup that helps healthcare organizations mitigate cyber risk, raised a $9 million round co-led by MemorialCare Innovation Fund, Rex Health Ventures, and Ballad Ventures; additional investors included LRVHealth, HLM Venture Partners, Schooner Capital, Excelerate Health Ventures, and Cedars Sinai. The company has raised a total of $19.3 million. More here.
Genial Care, a São Paulo, Brazil-based platform that offers education and support for those who care for children with autism, has raised $10 million in funding led by General Catalyst, with participation from Atlantico, earlier investor Canary, and individual investors. Bloomberg Linea has more here.
Knownwell, a Boston startup that provide in-person and virtual access to weight-inclusive medical services for patients across the U.S, beginning in Massachusetts, raised a $4.5 million seed round led by Flare Capital Partners, with Flybridge LTV Operator Fund and Oxeon also contributing. More here.
ModifyHealth, a five-year-old Atlanta startup that provides medically tailored meals, raised a $10 million Series B round led by RRC Capital, with Nashville Capital Network also chipping in. The company has raised a total of $14 million. More here.
Rx Redefined, a five-year-old Oakland, Ca., startup whose aim is to make it easier for doctors to help patients obtain the right medical supplies efficiently, raised an $8 million Series A round led by Crosscut Ventures Management and including Tusk Venture Partners, Silverton Partners, Pisgah Fund, and former General Electric CEO Jeff Immelt. More here.
Scenario, a two-year-old San Francisco startup that lets artists and game developers create their own image generators trained on the specific style of their games, raised a $6 million seed round led by Play Ventures, with Anorak Ventures, Founders Inc., The VR Fund, Oculus co-founder Brendan Iribe, and Twitch founder Justin Kan also participating. TechCrunch has more here.
Slay, a one-year-old Berlin startup that has launched a social network aimed at promoting positive interactions for teens online, just raised a $2.7 million pre-seed round led by Accel and including 20VC. TechCrunch has more here.
Sunfish Technologies, a one-year-old startup based in Santa Monica, Ca., that aims to provide prospective parents with financing options for fertility treatments, raised a $3.8 million seed round led by Walkabout Ventures and joined by Hannah Grey VC and Fiat Ventures. Axios has more here.
Zitti, a three-year-old startup based in Santa Monica, Ca., whose platform connects restaurants and food suppliers, raised a $3.5 million seed round co-led by Oceans Ventures and Serena Ventures, with additional investment from Crossbeam. The company has raised a total of $12 million. TechCrunch has more here.
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Deal sourcing. Network building. Portfolio management. Where will top investment professionals spend their time this year? Find out in Affinity’s Investment Predictions report, featuring insights from hundreds of top dealmakers as well as clear steps your firm can take to get ahead in an uncertain market.
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B Capital Group, the venture capital firm of Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin, has raised $2.1 billion for its latest fund and related vehicles. The firm’s Growth Fund III and companion funds will back startups in health care, financial technology, software and other sectors around the world, it said in a statement sent to Bloomberg. More here.
Venture capital firm Courtside Ventures has raised $100 million from investors for a new fund that’s looking to back sports-related startups. The investors include Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. and the ownership groups of professional franchises such as Atletico Madrid, the Golden State Warriors, Philadelphia 76ers, Atlanta Hawks and Cleveland Cavaliers. They’re joined by minority owners across the the NBA, MLB, NHL and English Premier League, along with athlete investors Shaquille O’Neal and Larry Fitzgerald. Bloomberg has more here.
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San Francisco-founded Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe is merging with Washington-based Buckley, the law firms announced today. The combined firm will have upwards of 1,000 lawyers and total gross revenue of more than $1.46 billion, according to recently reported figures by The American Lawyer. It will also represent most of the leading consumer banks, along with more than 700 fintech market participants, 4,000 emerging companies, and 10 of the Fortune 20 tech companies. Bloomberg Law has more here.
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Chris Bartlett, the five-year head of Verizon Ventures, is becoming CFO of Verizon Business Group. In his stead is Madison Rezaei, Verizon’s vice president of new business strategy, who will be head of the venture arm and oversee its investment team and day-to-day operations. Fortune has more here.
Hanel Baveja has joined Creandum as a principal in its London office. She previously spent three years with Union Square Ventures in New York. More here.
Jeff Bezos, who bought The Washington Post in 2013, made a rare appearance at its headquarters today, joining the morning news meeting for the first time in more than a year --- and on the heels of an announcement last month that there will be layoffs. "Gulp," said three people with knowledge of his visit. The New York Times has more here.
Jill Chase and Chengpeng Mou were promoted to investment partners at CapitalG, Alphabet's growth fund. Both were previously vice presidents at the firm. Chase had previously worked on investments in Chief and MX and will be focused on enterprise AI/ML and data infrastructure. Mou previously worked on investments including Niantic and Fireblocks and will be focused on new investments in fintech and the metaverse. More here.
Jacob Effron was promoted to partner at Redpoint Ventures, the early-stage venture capital firm. Effron had joined the firm in 2020 from Maverick Ventures; he also logged time previously at Flatiron Health and McKinsey & Co.
Pelion Venture Partners has brought aboard Tyler Hogge as a venture partner to invest in early-stage startups, support existing Pelion portfolio companies, and incubate new businesses. Hogge joins the Utah-based firm from the expensive management outfit Divvy, where he was formerly SVP of Product. (Divvy was acquired in 2021 by Bill.com.)
Josiah Hsiung has joined NightDragon, a San Francisco-based cybersecurity-focused venture firm, as principal. Formerly, he worked in business operations at Instacart.
Northzone has hired Sanjot Malhi from Tiger cub Tybourne Capital to lead growth-stage deals. Business Insider has more here.
Brian Zhan has joined the early-stage venture firm CRV as an investor in San Francisco. Zhan previously worked on product at the software startup Starburst and spent several years at Facebook.
More than 200 millionaires are urging the elite echelons in attendance at this week’s World Economic Forum in Davos to “tackle extreme wealth” and “tax the ultra-rich” to help relieve the cost-of-living strain off ordinary households. CNBC has more here.
The Disney executive who made $119,505 a day. (JPMorgan Chase’s Jamie Dimon is really raking it in, though; he was paid $34.5 million last year.)
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Tuesday night, as Microsoft was preparing to lay off 10,000 people, 50 of company's executives "got to while away the evening listening to a performance by the musical artist Sting" in Davos, a move that sounded sour to some employees at Microsoft yesterday morning, reports the WSJ.
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After cutting off prominent app makers like Tweetbot and Twitterific, Twitter today quietly updated its developer terms to ban third-party clients altogether.
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Restive (formerly Financial Venture Studio) is looking for early-stage fintech founders! Our application is open until January 23rd, and takes just 15-30 minutes to complete. As part of our 6 month program, Restive provides selected founders with investment capital and access to our team of fintech founders & industry experts. Since launching in late 2018, Restive companies -- including Dave, Copilot and FarmRaise -- have raised over $500M in follow-on capital and grown to create over $2B in enterprise value. Share our application, or learn more and get in touch on our website.
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