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Shares of the fintech company Block tumbled today after the activist short seller Hindenburg Research released a report accusing the company of inflating its user numbers and facilitating fraudulent transactions. “Former employees described how Cash App suppressed internal concerns and ignored user pleas for help as criminal activity and fraud ran rampant on its platform,” the report alleges. Hindenberg, which has taken a short position on the stock, further says in its report that former employees who were interviewed estimated that between 40% and 70% of accounts are “fake, involved in fraud, or were additional accounts tied to a single individual.” To underscore its points, Hindenberg -- whose allegations in January against Adani Group wiped more than $100 billion off the Indian conglomerate’s market
value -- put out a little montage (see above) to underscore its point about CashApp. Pretty slick. The Washington Post has the story here.
OpenAI today launched plugins for its viral AI-powered chaqtbot ChatGPT, which extend the bot’s functionality by granting it access to third-party knowledge sources and databases -- including the web. Available in alpha to ChatGPT users and developers on the waitlist, OpenAI says that it’ll initially prioritize a small number of developers and subscribers to its premium ChatGPT Plus plan before rolling out larger-scale API access. TechCrunch has more here.
Things did not go well today for TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew, who struggled in testimony before U.S. Congress to assuage nervous lawmakers that the popular video app is not a national security threat because it is owned by China-based ByteDance. More here and here and here.
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A reader sent this to us this afternoon, courtesy of everyone's favorite chatbot -- which, famously, can get things wrong. Of course, we're flattered that StrictlyVC is included in such stellar company, but we're no fools. We know that to the large language model underlying ChatGPT, we are all lambs to be slaughtered at some point in the near term, at which point it will attempt its takeover. 🥩
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Adeptia, a 23-year-old Chicago company that provides B2B integration software that simplifies and speeds data integration between companies and their customers, partners, and suppliers, raised a $65 million in round. PSG led the transaction. The company has raised a total of $70.9 million. More here.
Cognito Therapeutics, a seven-year-old startup based in Cambridge, Ma., that designed a non-invasive neuromodulation device to treat Alzheimer’s disease, raised a $73 million Series B round led by FoundersX Ventures, with Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation, Starbloom Capital, IAG Capital, and WS Investment Company also contributing. The company has raised a total of $93 million. MassDevice has more here.
IntegrityNext, a seven-year-old Munich startup that has built a platform to audit supply chains for ESG compliance, raised a $108.7 million round. EQT Growth was the sole investor. TechCrunch has more here.
Kream, a South Korean startup whose reselling platform lets people buy, sell, and trade luxury goods such as handbags, clothing, and accessories, raised a $168 million Series C round at a $742 million valuation, more than double its previous valuation of $306 million in October of 2021. Previous investor Altos Ventures was the deal lead, while Naver, SoftBank Ventures Asia, Mirae Asset Capital, Samsung Securities, and Axiom Asia also participated. TechCrunch has more here.
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| Big-But-Not-Crazy-Big Fundings |
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Britive, a five-year-old startup based in Glendale, Ca., that generates access privileges on demand for people and software accessing cloud services and apps, raised a $20.5 million Series B round led by Pelion Venture Partners, with Liberty Global Ventures, Crosslink Capital, and One Way Ventures also pitching in. The company has raised a total of $36 million. TechCrunch has more here.
Clerk, a three-year-old San Francisco startup that aims to build a simplified identity tool for React applications, raised a $15 million Series A round led by Madrona, with additional investors including Mango Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, S28 Capital, and Fathom Capital. The company has raised a total of $40.4 million. TechCrunch has more here.
ID Finance, an 11-year-old Barcelona company that has built a financial wellness app, raised a $32.6 million convertible loan led by Kingsway Capital. The company has raised a total of $102.2 million. Tech.eu has more here.
Janus Health, a three-year-old Brooklyn startup that helps health providers manage revenue cycles, raised a $45 million round. Enhanced Healthcare Partners was the deal lead. The company has raised a total of $53.1 million. Axios has more here.
Lun, a one-year-old Copenhagen startup that aims to provide tradespeople with an “operating system” to help them replace boilers with heat pumps, raised an $11.2 million seed round. Investors included Norrsken VC, Partech, Lowercarbon Capital, MCJ Collective, and previous investor Foundamental. TechCrunch has more here.
Strangeworks, a nearly five-year-old, Austin-based quantum computing startup, has raised $24 million in fresh funding led by Hitachi Ventures, with participation from IBM, Raytheon Technologies and earlier backers Lightspeed Venture Partners, Great Point Ventures, and Ecliptic Capital. The outfit has now raised $28 million altogether. Silicon Hills has more here.
Tomi, a startup that intends to use its DAO governance model to promote freedom of speech and access to uncensored information on an "alternative internet," raised a $40 million round led by DWF Labs, with Ticker Capital and Piha Equities also chipping in. CoinDesk has more here.
Viz.ai, a six-year-old, San Francisco, Ca.-based AI-powered platform that analyzes CT scans, helping diagnose strokes and coordinate care, has raised raised $40 million in growth capital funding from CIBC Innovation Banking. The company's earlier backers include Insight Partners, Tiger Global, and Greenoaks Capital Partners, among others. More here.
Vue Storefront, a three-year-old San Francisco startup that has built a platform for front-end developers to build composable e-commerce sites, raised a $20 million "Series A+" round led by Felix Capital, with previous investors Creandum, Earlybird, and SquareOne also taking part. The company has raised a total of $38.9 million. TechCrunch has more here.
Workera, a four-year-old Palo Alto startup whose platform helps employees develop new skills to advance their careers, raised a $23.5 million Series B round led by Jump Capital, with additional participation from previous investors NEA, Owl Ventures, AI Fund, and Sozo Ventures. The company has raised a total of $44.5 million. TechCrunch has more here.
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Appbrew, a one-year-old San Francisco startup that claims its "low-code" platform can help retailers get mobile apps up and running quickly and easily, raised a $2 million seed round. Accel led the transaction, while Riverside Ventures also participated. Forbes has more here.
Beam, a five-month-old San Francisco startup whose platform is designed to make it easy for contractors to send invoices and pay bills online, raised a $4 million seed round led by Accel, with Susa and Wischoff Ventures also participating. TechCrunch has more here.
Carbonable, a two-year-old Paris startup that helps companies invest in carbon capture via the blockchain, raised a $1.2 million seed round led by Ethereal Ventures and joined by La Poste Ventures. The company has raised a total of $1.7 million. Tech.eu has more here.
Crossover Markets Group, a one-year-old New York startup that is launching a crypto trading platform called CROSSx, raised a $6.35 million seed round from Exness, Flow Traders, Gate.io, GMO Internet Group, Nomura's Laser Digital, Pepperstone, Think Markets, TMGM, Two Sigma, and Wintermute Ventures. The Block has more here.
Daimon Labs, a New York startup whose goal is to develop a large language model that provides human-like empathy and companionship, raised a $1.5 million pre-seed round led by LDV Capital, with Data Community Fund, and Myelin VC also investing. Fortune has more here.
Gamify, a two year old, Lehi, Ut.- based business intelligence platform and gamification tool that aims to help sales organizations optimize performance, has raised $2.5 million in seed funding from New Stack Ventures, Hannah Grey VC and Pipeline Ventures. TechBuzz has more here.
Giadsy, a nascent commerce business founded by cook and TV personality Giada De Laurentiis (she wants to turn the brand into lifestyle business), has raised $5 million in funding led by defy.vc. Forbes has more here.
Good Eggs, a 12-year-old, Oakland, Ca.-based outfit that delivers fresh produce and other groceries, has raised around $7 million from the hedge fund Glade Brook Capital Partners at a pre-investment valuation of $15 million, reports The Information. It further reports the valuation is 94% lower than in late 2020, when the pandemic boosted food-delivery services and the startup raised $60 million at a pre-investment valuation of $270 million, according to one of its sources. Earlier investors such as Benchmark that chose not to contribute more money were "effectively wiped out," adds the outlet. More here.
Gryfyn, a crypto wallet startup that is a joint venture between Animoca Brands and Hex Trust, raised a $7.5 million round. Investors in the deal included Liberty City Ventures, Leadblock Partners, Mind Fund, and GameFi Ventures. The Block has more here.
Loupe, an Atlanta startup that has created over 50 customizable art-streaming channels that are available over streaming networks such as Apple TV and Comcast Xfinity, raised a $3 million "seed+" round led by ALIAVIA Ventures, with participation from Sound Media Ventures, CityRock Venture Partners, Goal Ventures, Phoenix Capital Ventures, Yolo.io, and Atlanta Technology Angels. More here.
Rwazi, a two-year-old startup that provides market research based on consumer behavior in over 40 countries in Africa, South Asia, and Latin America, raised a $4 million seed round led by Bonfire Ventures and including Newfund Capital and Alumni Ventures. The company has raised a total of $7.8 million. TechCrunch has more here.
Thoughtfull, a four-year-old Singapore startup whose platform provides mental health monitoring and coaching, raised a $4 million seed round led by Sheares Healthcare Group (a wholly-owned subsidiary of Temasek); previous investors Vulpes Investment Management and The Hive Southeast Asia also participated. The company has raised a total of $5.4 million. TechCrunch has more here.
Turnkey, a New York crypto startup that is developing a platform to enable secure custody and trading of digital assets, raised a $7.5 million seed round. Variant, Sequoia Capital, and Coinbase Ventures were the co-leads. The Block has more here.
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What do your peers at Menlo Ventures, Two Sigma Ventures, and Nexa Partners have to share about the most efficient ways to conduct email outreach? Find out in this new guide from Affinity, the dealmaker’s email playbook.
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Fine, newly resized fund in this case: Vibe Capital, a seed-stage venture firm firm led by Ankur Nagpal, reduced the size of its debut fund to $40 million from $70 million. Nagpal, a serial entrepreneur, says he wasn't collecting management fees on the fund, making it an easier decision for him than for managers whose income is tied to the size of their funds; he also said on Twitter that a smaller fund should be easier to return in the current market.
Emblem, new, Paris-based, pre-seed-focused venture firm partnering with founders in France, Denmark and Sweden, says it has garnered $54 million (€50 million) in capital commitments for its debut fund (which is not yet closed). Emblem was founded by Bénédicte de Raphélis Soissan and Guillaume Durao. de Raphélis Soissan previously sold a startup she'd founded (Clustree) and Durao worked previously as an investor with Mangrove Capital Partners and Idinvest, which is now part of Eurazeo. TechCrunch has more here.
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JPMorgan say it's acquiring Aumni, a five-year-old Salt Lake City-based investment analytics platform for private markets that had collectively raised $63 million from 20 investors, per Crunchbase data. JPMorgan is paying around $230 million for the startup, says CNBC, which is reportedly what Aumni's post-money valuation was when it last raised funding in 2021. The move aims to deepen JPMorgan's relationship with venture investors and their portfolio companies, says CNBC. More
here.
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Arm is seeking to raise prices for its chip designs ahead of its IPO this year. According to the Financial Times, the SoftBank-owned, U.K.-based group, which designs blueprints for semiconductors found in more than 95% of all smartphones, is planning to stop charging chipmakers royalties for using its designs based on a chip’s value and instead charge device makers based on the value of the device. The move could mean the company earns several times more for each design it sells, as the average smartphone is vastly more expensive than a chip. More here.
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Do Kwon, the founder of Terraform Labs, has reportedly been arrested in Montenegro, according to a local government official. Kwon has been under investigation for the past 11 months since the Terra/LUNA collapse, which wiped out about $40 billion from the cryptocurrency market. TechCrunch has more here.
Axios looks at the "banker run" on Silicon Valley Bank, with a trio of top bankers -- Jake Moseley, Matt Trotter and Ted Wilson -- scooped up by Stifel, where they were just appointed managing directors at the investment bank's venture lending business. More here.
Laxman Narasimhan is taking over from Howard Schultz as Starbucks CEO, after months of immersing himself in the operations of the world’s largest coffee chain.
Shivon Zilis, director of operations at Elon Musk’s Neuralink, has stepped down from the board of OpenAI. As notes The Information, her departure follows public criticism of OpenAI from Musk, who is also the father of her twins. Musk, a cofounder of OpenAI who parted ways with the organization in 2018, has been criticizing it routinely and reportedly approached AI researchers earlier this year about developing a rival.
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Tech consultancy giant Accenture plans to cut fully 19,000 jobs, or 2.5% of its workforce, and has lowered its annual revenue and profit forecasts. More than half the people whose jobs will be impacted serve in non-billable corporate functions and their roles will be eliminated over the next 18 months, Accenture said in an SEC filing. The company had increased its workforce by 38,000 in the financial year ended February 2023 to serve the increased demand in its services and solutions, it said. TechCrunch has more
here.
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The venture firm NFX has surveyed 870 founders about their concerns and behaviors across fundraising, banking, hiring, finding that 59% of those surveyed think the fall of SVB is going to make an already tough fundraising environment even tougher; that 78% of respondents across all stages describe their current relationships with their investors as either “extremely positive” or “generally positive"; and 82% of all founders surveyed think investors have more power in the current environment, with just 18% saying founders have more power. More here.
More than 4 in 10 U.S. adults are obese, with states in the South and Midwest showing some of the highest prevalence, a new analysis from NORC at the University of Chicago shows. Axios has more here.
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