Love Thy Brain, Slug-Life and Tough Breaks 🐌

There's a startup called Synchron that's doing some pretty cool stuff. They're working on a technology called the Synchron Switch that can help people with ALS, paralysis and other degenerative diseases communicate with the world around them using just their minds.

The technology is called brain-computer interface (BCI) -  a system that reads your brain signals and translates them into commands for external technologies. 🧠

That's some real Darth Vader slash Professor X level stuff. 

How does it work? 
It's a less invasive procedure. Instead of open-brain surgery, they insert their BCI through the blood vessels, which they call the "natural highways" into the brain. The device is fitted with tiny sensors and connected to an antenna that sends data out of the body to external devices.

Recognition
Synchron isn't just a one-man show. They recently got a $75 million investment from Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos. They've also been approved by the FDA to conduct clinical trials of implanting BCI in human patients.

The technology has already been used on three patients in the U.S. and four in Australia so far. 👩‍🦼

So, what can this technology actually do for people with paralysis?
Well, it can help them do things like operate smart home devices and shop online using just their minds. But the thing that seems to excite patients the most is text messaging. Losing the ability to communicate with loved ones can be really isolating, so being able to text message again can be a really emotional experience.

In fact, one patient named Philip O'Keefe was able to take over the CEO's Twitter account thanks to Synchron's BCI. He has ALS and struggles to move his hands, but with the implant, he's able to communicate with people in a way that he couldn't before.

Pretty amazing stuff! 😬

But here's the thing - even if these IPOs didn't perform as well as everyone hoped, they still raised a ton of money. Robinhood got close to $2bn, Bumble got $2.2bn, Oatly got $1.4bn, and Rivian raised a whopping $12bn.

So from a business perspective, these IPOs weren't exactly failures.

The companies that stayed private, on the other hand, missed out on all that cash. And now, some startups that are burning through money are stuck with a tough decision - try to raise funds in a market that's not interested, or settle for a lower valuation in a down-round. 📉

One example of this is Stripe, which needs some financial breathing room after cutting its workforce. They're reportedly looking to raise money at a $55-60bn valuation, which is way less than what people thought they could have gotten if they went public a year or two ago. Tough break, huh?

Bad things were happening at the end of 2022 - mass layoffs, recession fears, expensive eggs. Here's some more statistical proof for that. 

According to The Wall Street Journal, VC firms globally raised only $20.6B in Q4 of 2022. This marks the first decrease in Q3-Q4 since 2009 and a significant 65% drop from Q4 2021, making it the worst fourth quarter since 2013. 😪

Reasons for the decline in funding?

• Broader macroeconomic conditions such as increasing interest rates and inflation that have had a negative impact on the tech industry.
• Slower investment activity and fewer opportunities for funds to be backed.
• Fewer tech companies going public, which limits the cash flow available for limited partners to reinvest in venture funds.