Nvidia's sales are running 50% ahead of expectations, thanks to demand for chips needed to train generative AI

As expected, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced he will run for U.S. president on Twitter earlier tonight. It wasn't an auspicious start to the campaign. As outlined by The Washington Post, the Twitter Spaces "room" quickly crashed under the weight of the 600,000 people who had turned in to hear the announcement. Untold numbers of them dropped off, including DeSantis himself, until Elon Musk -- who was interviewing DeSantis -- launched a second Spaces account. By then, listeners may have been fed up or confused or merely on to the next as just 100,000 people tuned in to hear DeSantis unveil his big news after a seven-minute-long lead-in. 

It could all turn out just fine for DeSantis, but even putting aside tonight's glitches, it's tempting to question the wisdom of this rollout. He announced his presidential run within a feature of a platform that not a lot of people in the country even know how to find. He also granted his big interview to someone who overshadows him in every way! Maybe DeSantis calculated that sharing his news on Twitter was worth it to engender Musk's loyalty, but if so, he hasn't paid much attention to Musk's propensity to change his mind about pretty much everything. TechCrunch has more here.

The internet, reliable as ever, also weighed in.

Juniper Square surveyed nearly 100 VC firms about their concerns, plans, and focus areas for the rest of the year, and found that: 63% of VC firms plan to raise capital this year, that the most pressing concern from LPs is around exits; and that 40% want to invest in better LP reporting. Download its research to learn more, including: Why VCs are worried about investor sentiment, how optimistic firms are about the rest of 2023, and which operational investments VCs are prioritizing. Get the research now.

In recent years, there’s been no shortage of startups offering credit lines to the underbanked. Most talk about their mission to help people establish credit, which is noble, but they’re also extending credit because — let’s face it — lending out money is lucrative.

Now, a startup founded by Stanford grad James Savoldelli has found a new wedge into the same industry, and it’s through pawn shops.

Called Pesto, the idea is creative — and savvy. For those in dire financial straits, pawn shops are a bank of last resort. An individual doesn’t have to have a credit line or a bank account or even income. A customer with a government ID can simply leave behind something of value — jewelry, electronics — and receive a secured loan in return for a percentage of the value of that item, plus interest. If he or she pays off the loan, that person can retrieve the item; otherwise, it’s forfeited and sold.

But these loans can be egregiously expensive, depending on where a pawn shop is located. While in California, shops can charge just 2.5% interest on the principal amount each month, in Florida, Georgia and Alabama, a customer can pay 25% interest per month (or 300% per year). Little wonder that in the U.S., there are 12,000 pawnshops contributing to a market sized at around $14 billion, according to the National Pawnbrokers Association.

Pesto hopes to capture some of those individuals online before they start down that path, in part by offering them a secured MasterCard that features up to a 29.99% APR — but 0% interest if someone pays back their loan in full on time.

We talked with Savoldelli yesterday about Pesto’s strategy, which he formulated after being offered a high-interest loan as a college student and later logging time at a variety of pawn shops to better understand customer behavior. Investors are clearly intrigued with what he’s building, too; the startup just attracted $11 million in Series A funding from Activant Capital, Plural, and others. 

More follows . . .

eFishery, an Indonesia-based startup that provides software and financing to fish farmers, has raised $108 million in Series D at a $1.3B post-money valuation, reports Tech in Asia. It says the latest round was led by 42xfund and saw participation from earlier investors Northstar Group and SoftBank Vision Fund II. More here.

Figure, a startup based in Sunnyvale, Ca., that is building humanoid robots, raised a $70 million Series A round led by Parkway VC, with additional participation from Aliya Capital, Bold Ventures, Tamarack Global, and FJ Labs. TechCrunch has more here.

Insider, an 11-year-old Istanbul company whose AI platform allows customers to connect customer data across channels and systems, raised a $105 million from Qatar Investment Authority and Esas Private Equity. The company has raised a total of $272.1 million. Crunchbase has more here.

OnKure, a 12-year-old company based in Boulder, Co., that is developing precision oncology medicines, raised a $54 million Series C round led by Surveyor Capital, with Deep Track Capital and previous investors Acorn Bioventures, Cormorant Asset Management, Perceptive Advisors, Samsara BioCapital, and BlackRock also piling on. The company has raised a total of $121.5 million. More here.

Artelon, a startup based in Marietta, Ga., that develops and manufactures bio-textiles for musculoskeletal soft tissue reconstruction, raised a $20 million Series B round. Vensana Capital was the deal lead. MassDevice has more here.

BandLab, a nine-year-old Singapore startup whose platform allows artists to release and monetize their music, raised a $25 million Series B1 round at a $425 million post-money valuation. The round was led by previous investor Cercano Management, while fellow insider Prosus Ventures also participated. TechCrunch has more here.

ConnectDER, a 12-year-old company based in Falls Church, Va., that has designed connectors to speed up a homeowner's conversion to solar, raised a $27 million Series C round led by Energy Innovation Capital, with additional funds provided by LG Technology Ventures, Evergy Ventures, and Riverstone as well as previous investors Skyview Ventures, Clean Energy Ventures, and Avista Development. The company has raised a total of $45.2 million. Renewable Energy World has more here.

DataOps.live, a five-year-old London startup that helps organizations build, deploy, and manage data pipelines, raised a $17.5 million Series A round. Investors included Notion Capital as well as previous investors Anthos Capital and Snowflake Ventures. The company has raised a total of $27.8 million. TechCrunch has more here.

Datasembly, a nine-year-old startup based in Tysons, Va., that provides retailers and CPG companies with analytics on product pricing and product promotions, raised a $16 million round led by Noro-Moseley Partners, with Grotech Ventures, Topmark Partners, and Staley Capital also contributing. The company has raised a total of $34.8 million. TechCrunch has more here.

Episode Six, an eight-year-old Austin startup that designed its platform to streamline various payment processes and reduce cost, raised a $48 million Series C round led by Avenir, with previous investor Anthos Capital also taking part. The company has raised a total of $90 million. TechCrunch has more here.

Incedo, an Israeli startup that binds real cane or beet sugar with trace amounts of a natural carrier in order to reduce the amount of sugar in foods by 30%-50%, raised a $30 million Series C round co-led by DSM Venturing and Sienna VC, with Ferrero, Teseo Capital, and previous investors Pitango and BlueRed Partners also anteing up. TechCrunch has more here.

Laced, a five-year-old London startup that has built a platform for buyers and sellers to trade premium sneakers, raised a $12 million Series A round led by Talis Capital, with H&M Group Ventures, B&Y Venture Partners, and Truesight Ventures also stepping up. The company has raised a total of $13 million. TechCrunch has more here.

Novisto, a four-year-old Montréal startup that says it is building "the ERP for ESG," raised a $20 million Series B round led by Inovia Capital, with Portage Ventures, SCOR Ventures, and previous investors White Star Capital and Diagram Ventures also joining in. The company has raised a total of $29.3 million. More here.

OpenFin, a 13-year-old New York company whose operating system is used by financial institutions as an interface for different applications, raised a $35 million Series D round led by Bank of America, with Pivot Investment Partners, ING Ventures, CME Ventures, CTC Venture Capital, SC Ventures, and Tribeca Early Stage Partners also pitching in. The company has raised a total of $82 million. TechCrunch has more here.

RedDress, a 14-year-old company based in Ponte Verda Beach, Fl., that has developed a product to treat a wide variety of chronic wounds, raised a $26 million Series D round from ATHOS Biopharma, Investors Group of HCS Capital, and the Ragnar Crossover Fund. The company has raised a total of $43 million. Calcalist has more here.

Sekoia.io, a 15-year-old Paris company that specializes in detecting real-time cyberattacks, raised a $37.6 million round. Investors included Banque des Territoires, and Bright Pixel as well as previous investors Omnes Capital, Seventure, and BNP Paribas Développement. The company has raised a total of $49.5 million. More here.

Steno, a five-year-old Los Angeles startup that provides court reporting services, raised a $15 million Series B round led by Left Lane Capital and including Clio Ventures. The company has raised a total of $60.5 million. More here.

RedDress, a fourteen-year-old company based in Ponte Verda Beach, FL., that has developed a product to treat a wide variety of chronic wounds, raised a $26 million Series D round from ATHOS Biopharma, Investors Group of HCS Capital, and the Ragnar Crossover Fund. The company has raised a total of $43 million. Calcalist has more here.

Ariadne, a four-year-old Munich startup that uses anonymous signals emitted by smartphones to track people flow and other real-time information, raised a $7 million Series A round. Marathon Venture Capital was the deal lead, with Lamda Development also chipping in. The company has raised a total of $9.3 million. Tech.eu has more here.

Boombox.io, a one-year-old San Francisco startup that leverages generative AI to “enrich and extend a musician’s creative process” in addition to providing other services related to the management of tracks, raised a $7 million seed round from Forerunner, super{set} startup studio, and Ulu Ventures. Music Business Worldwide has more here.

Gan.ai, a two-year-old startup based in Perrysburg, Oh., that helps brands create tailored videos for their customers with an AI-powered video creation platform, raised a $5.25 million seed round led by Surge (Sequoia Capital’s rapid scale-up program), with participation from Emergent Ventures. TechCrunch has more here.

Nue.io, a four-year-old startup based in San Mateo, Ca., that makes Salesforce tools that it claims can optimize a company's pricing and sales strategies, cash flow, and operating costs, raised a $9 million seed extension round co-led by Bluefish Ventures and Penny Jar Capital, with additional investment from NJP Ventures and Operator Stack as well as previous backers Information Venture Partners and NextWorld Capital. The company has raised a total of $15 million. More here.

Num Finance, a two-year-old Buenos Aires startup that will offer stablecoins in the Brazilian real, Colombian peso, Mexican peso, and Bahrain dinar, raised a $1.5 million pre-seed round led by Reserve, with additional funds provided by H20 Scouter Fund, VC3, and Ripio Ventures. CoinDesk has more here.

Plenty, a San Francisco startup that helps couples discuss, manage and invest their money together, raised a $2.75 million pre-seed round. Investors included Phenomenal Ventures, 35V, xtripe angels, and Inovia Capital. TechCrunch has more here.

SureImpact, a five-year-old startup based in Powell, Oh., that enables mission-driven organizations to manage, measure and communicate their social impact, raised a $2 million seed round led by Rev1 Ventures and joined by Queen City Angels. The company has raised a total of $3.7 million. More here.

Thena, a one-year-old New Delhi, India startup whose software enables Slack and other messaging platforms to be used at scale for B2B customer communications, raised a $5 million seed round. Lightspeed and First Round Capital were the co-leads. The company has raised a total of $7.2 million. More here.

Maximizing Your Fintech Investment | A Continuous Path for Improving Performance & Productivity. Don't miss this 30-minute Dynamo Software webinar! Attendees will learn three core areas to address within your firm to get the most of your FinTech. You'll hear how to build a FinTech stack for alternative investments on both the GP and LP side that scales for future growth and business objectives. Register Now!

Axa Venture Partners announced a new €1.5 billion ($1.6 billion) late-stage fund to invest in European and North American tech startups, targeting companies that expect to go public within three to four years. French insurance company Axa SA, AVP’s biggest source of capital, plans to make a €750 million anchor investment, the fund said in a statement today. The first closing is expected in the first quarter of next year. Bloomberg has more here.

Dispersion Capital, a venture firm focused on decentralized infrastructure, raised $40 million for its debut fund. TechCrunch has more here.

OpenAI has closed an investment fund with more than $175 million in capital commitments, according to an SEC filing.  OpenAI has been investing in startups working in artificial intelligence for a while, though the company initially said it would put $100 million into the fund. The new filing shows that the fund, called OpenAI Startup Fund I, is larger than initially anticipated. Bloomberg has more here.

Snowflake announced today during its quarterly earnings report that it has agreed to acquire Neeva, a four-year-old search startup founded by former Google executives. Th deal, for an undisclosed amount, is expected to enhance Snowflake’s ability to offer intelligent and conversational search experiences to its customers who use its platform to store, analyze and share data. VentureBeat has more here.

Richard Branson's bankrupt satellite launch firm, Virgin Orbit, yesterday revealed that it was closing for good after a $36.4 million asset sale, including an agreement to sell the bulk of its Long Beach, Ca., headquarters to small-launch firm Rocket Lab, located less than a mile from Virgin Orbit. Reuters has more here.

Leigh Marie Braswell has joined Kleiner Perkins as a partner. Braswell previously spent two years at Founders Fund as a principal and was previously a product manager at Scale.AI. More here.

Demand for the chips needed to train the latest wave of generative AI systems such as ChatGPT just led Nvidia to issue a revenue forecast far ahead of Wall Street expectations. The chipmaker today said it expected sales to reach $11 billion in the three months ending in July, more than 50% ahead of analysts' expectations. The FT has more here.

A paralyzed man can walk naturally again with brain and spine implants. (Wow.)

Tina Turner, a life in photos. 

Looks like he made it. 🐕

The case for Swedish Death Cleaning.

No, you shouldn't buy that vintage Bronco.

Vela bikes.

High standards mugs.

New unicorn creation is down—but some industries are still bucking the trend. Find out more about them in Affinity's webinar, with insights from MassMutual Ventures on their strategy in these important sectors.