How Spotify uses AI to find your songs, stingy Series C rounds, and the Murdochs' succession drama: “It’s sad”

Go Cavs! (Hot damn.)

Meta is expected to conduct another mass round of layoffs tomorrow, according to Vox.

Netflix is preparing to ship its last red DVD envelope, 25 years after its first. It's also pushing out its password-sharing crackdown, citing "cancel reaction" from customers in countries like Spain and Canada.

In a Congressional hearing today focused on the Federal Trade Commission’s work to protect American consumers from fraud and other deceptive practices, FTC Chair Lina Khan and fellow commissioners warned House representatives of the potential for modern AI technologies like ChatGPT to “turbocharge” fraud. “AI presents a whole set of opportunities, but also presents a whole set of risks,” Khan told the House representatives.

Fox Corp. today settled the defamation lawsuit that Dominion Voting Systems filed over false claims that its technology helped rig the election for President Biden, agreeing to pay $787.5 million. Dominion was originally seeking $1.6 billion in damages. Superior Court Judge Eric Davis had already concluded that Fox News and Fox Business broadcasted false claims about Dominion, but defamation cases rarely make it to trial, notes the Journal. In the meantime, Smartmatic, another voting-machine company that was the subject of conspiracy theories in the wake of the 2020 election, is suing Fox News for $2.7 billion. More here.

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Odeko, a four-year-old startup that sells supply chain management and other operations tools to independent coffee shops and cafés, recently raised $53 million in a Series D round led by B Capital, with participation from GGV Capital, Tiger Global Management, and new investors, including Amex Ventures, KSV Global and FJ Labs. TechCrunch has more here.

Safe Security, an 11-year-old, Palo Alto, Ca.-based outfit whose software aims to quantify the probability of breaches and their likely impact by pulling data from a company’s existing cybersecurity products and analyzing gaps in defenses, has raised $50 million in Series B funding. Sorenson Capital, Western Technology Investment, Telstra Ventures and Fidelity Investments’ Eight Roads subsidiary joined the round, along with existing backers. The company has now raised more than $100 million altogether, says the WSJ.

Avalor, a 16-month-old, Tel Aviv, Israel-based platform that acts as a source of truth for cybersecurity assets, controls, identities, vulnerabilities, bugs and other data points, has raised $25 million in Series A funding led by TCV with participation from Salesforce Ventures, bringing its total raised to $30 million. TechCrunch has more here.

Clerkie, a five-year-old San Francisco startup whose platform provides borrowers with personalized debt guidance and workout options to avoid delinquency and build their credit scores, raised a $33 million Series A round from Left Lane Capital, with additional participation from Wellington Management Company, Flourish Ventures, Citi Ventures, CMFG Ventures, and Vestigo Ventures. The company has raised a total of $41 million. More here.

Memora Health, a six-year-old San Francisco startup whose software digitizes and automates clinical workflows, raised a $30 million round led by General Catalyst, with additional funds provided by Northwell Holdings, NorthShore/Edward-Elmhurst Health, and PagsGroup, as well as earlier investors Andreessen Horowitz, Transformation Capital, and Frist Cressey Ventures. The company has raised a total of $80.5 million. MobiHealth News has more here.

nZero, a six-year-old startup based in Reno, NV, that helps companies manage their carbon footprint, raised a $16 million Series A round led by Fifth Wall and an unnamed "national U.S. energy company," with Piedmont Capital Investments also chipping in. More here.

Rally, a five-year-old San Francisco startup that has built a customizable checkout platform for e-commerce merchants, raised a $12 million Series A round led by March Capital, with Felix Capital, Commerce Ventures, Afore Capital, Alumni Ventures, and Kraken Ventures also participating. The company has raised a total of $18 million. TechCrunch has more here.

Rock The Bells, a five-year-old Los Angeles startup co-founded by LL Cool J that has built a music content and commerce platform for hip hop fans, raised a $15 million Series B round led by Paramount Global, with Irving Azoff, Amex Ventures, Wildcat Capital Management, and previous investor Raine Ventures also taking part. The company has raised a total of $23 million. The Hollywood Reporter has more here.

Whisper Aero, a two-year-old startup based in Crossville, Tn., whose electric ducted fan for VTOLs is significantly quieter than the competition, it says, has raised a $32 million Series A round co-led by Menlo Ventures, EVE Atlas, Capricorn Investment Group, and Connor Capital, with Kindred Ventures, Abstract Ventures, Moving Capital, AeroX Ventures, Cosmos Ventures, Linse Capital, and LaunchTN also piling on. TechCrunch has more here.

Cortical Labs, a four-year-old Melbourne startup that aims to create a new class of AI by using lab-cultivated neurons from the human brain, rather than attempting to make digital models that emulate the organ, raised a $10 million round led by Horizons Ventures and including Blackbird Ventures, LifeX Ventures, Radar Ventures, and In-Q-Tel. Business News Australia has more here.

Cure, a five-year-old New York-based hydration brand (it makes a drink mix), has raised a $5.6 million Series A round. Previous investor Lerer Hippeau was the deal lead, while Valedor Partners, Simple Food Ventures, Great Oaks Venture Capital, Joyance Partners, Silas Capital, and tennis star Kim Clijsters also pitched in. The company has raised a total of $8.2 million. TechCrunch has more here.

Evergrow, a two-year-old San Francisco startup whose platform helps companies purchase clean energy tax credits, raised a $7 million round led by previous investors First Round Capital, XYZ Venture Capital, Congruent Ventures, and Garuda Ventures. The company has raised a total of $14 million. More here.

Intellia, a three-year-old Dubai startup that recruits strategy and finance consultants in emerging markets to work on management consulting projects, raised a $1.5 million. Fatima Gobi Ventures led the transaction. TechCrunch has more here.

SafeGuard, a seven-year-old Tel Aviv startup that identifies dangerous patterns on construction sites and enforces preemptive measures, raised an $8 million Series A round. Entrepreneurs Ron Zuckerman and Hillel Kobrinsky co-led the deal. Calcalist has more here.

TicketRev, a two-year-old Miami startup that aims to build a ticket platform for sports fans, raised a $1.1 million pre-seed round from 500 Startups, Soma Capital, Groove Capital, Techstars, and the Minnesota Twins. More here.

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Pelion Venture Partners, a 37-year-old, Salt Lake City, Ut.-based early-stage venture firm that focuses on software startups across the U.S. in the areas of B2B SaaS, fintech, marketplaces, cloud computing and security, is looking to raise upwards of $250 million in capital commitments for its eighth fund, shows a new SEC filing. The firm's seventh fund was reportedly targeting $250 million but closed with $365 million in late 2021, it said at the time. More here.

Sega Sammy Holdings has agreed to pay almost $800 million for Finland-based Rovio, the company behind the “Angry Birds” franchise, in a deal that would end the independence of one of the pioneers of the mobile-gaming industry. The price represents a 19% premium over Rovio's closing price Friday, for a total of €706 million, equivalent to about $776 million. The WSJ has more here.

Miovision, a Kitchener, Ontario-based outfit that helps cities manage traffic flows using AI, is acquiring Global Traffic Technologies for $107 million, after raising $150 million from Maverix, Telus, and EDC to finance the deal (and $260 million altogether from the three. Globe and Mail has more here.

Inside 92-year-old Rupert Murdoch's succession drama. “He pitted his kids against each other their entire lives. It’s sad,” a person close to the family tells Vanity Fair.

The head of prominent London venture capital firm Hambro Perks has abruptly left his role, reports the FT, saying the move casts doubt over the future direction of the investment group. Dominic Perks, who was chief executive and co-founder, has resigned from the tech VC firm he co-founded in 2013

Investors have grown much stingier when it comes to Series C rounds.

The number of high-net-worth, year-round residents in many places is dwarfed by those who pop in for occasional visits, according to a new report. It says, for example, that 700 superrich flock to second homes in the Hamptons in New York during summer but just 25 "superrich" homeowners live there full time. Similarly, only six centimillionaires live in Aspen full time, while more than 200 come in for a seasonal visit. Bloomberg has the story here.

How Spotify uses AI to determine what you want to hear next.

In recent years, Reddit’s array of chats also have been a free teaching aid for companies like Google, OpenAI and Microsoft. Now -- as Reddit preps for a possible IPO later this year -- it wants to be paid for it.

Alaska Airlines says it was the first to put kiosks in airport lobbies; now it wants to be the first to remove them.

Casey Neistat let ChatGPT direct and write one of his vlogs: "worst video I've ever made."

Rat ambassadors. 🐀🐀🐀

Santa Maria Novella bath gel.

Pendant watches.

Pop-up stores in San Francisco. (Now you can have one, too.)

Associates spend 40% to 50% of their week in email. And often that time isn’t used efficiently. Find ways to improve your workflows with best practices from Menlo Ventures, Two Sigma Ventures, and Nexa Partners in the dealmaker’s email playbook from Affinity.