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After Elon Musk recently tweeted that he would be “up for a cage fight” with Mark Zuckerberg (who has been fighting in jiu-jitsu tournaments), the Meta CEO responded by posting a screenshot of Musk’s tweet with the caption “send me location.” The Verge later confirmed that the post on Zuckerberg's Instagram account is not a joke. “The story speaks for itself,” a Meta spokesperson told the outlet. Musk has since responded, writing, "Vegas Octagon," and everyone is now desperate for a fight to happen, including so they can place bets on how long it will take for Musk to tap out or pass out. (He's a big dude -- about six inches taller than Zuckerberg; he also sleeps at the office. We give it 60 seconds.)
The two have long seemed to dislike each other, though Musk has been more transparent about his disdain, tweeting in 2020, "#DeleteFacebook it's lame" and calling Zuckerberg’s understanding of the future of AI “limited” in 2017, among other things. With Meta now reportedly developing a text-based social network to compete with Twitter, it's no surprise that Musk would joke about getting in the ring with Zuckerberg. It's as unsurprising that Zuckerberg would approach the idea seriously. Though punching isn't allowed -- at least in jiu-jitsu -- you can imagine that after all this time, he might relish the chance to get Musk in a closed guard compression lock.
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Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer unveiled his long-awaited legislative framework for regulating AI in a speech today, warning that “Congress must join the AI revolution” now or risk losing its only chance to regulate the rapidly moving technology. The “SAFE Innovation for AI” framework has five central pillars; NBC has more here.
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Aledade, a nine-year-old startup based in Bethesda, Md., that uses data analytics software to help independent doctors’ offices transition to value-based models by helping them identify and better manage their most at-risk patients, raised a $260 million Series F round at a $3.5 billion valuation, per Bloomberg. Lightspeed Venture Partners was the deal lead, with additional investment from Venrock, OMERS Growth Equity, Fidelity, and Avidity Partners. The company has raised a total of $660 million. FierceHealthcare has more here.
DexCare, a two-year-old Seattle startup whose platform helps manage health system capacity and appointment booking, raised a $75 million Series C round led by Iconiq Growth, with previous investors Transformation Capital, Kaiser Permanente Ventures, Define Ventures, Frist Cressey Ventures, and SpringRock Ventures also joining in. GeekWire has more here.
HighFive, a five-year-old startup based in Birmingham, Al., that operates a dental partnership focused on endodontics and oral surgery, raised a $100 million round led by Norwest, with Krowten Capital and Jemison Investment also taking part. More here.
Octave, a San Francisco startup that offers in-person and virtual behavioral healthcare, raised a $52 million Series C round co-led by Cigna Ventures, Novo Holdings, and Avidity Partners, with previous investors Health Velocity Capital, Greycroft, Felicis, Company Ventures, and Obvious Ventures also investing. The company has raised a total of $86 million. MobiHealthNews has more here.
Volt, a British startup that provides open banking software to traditional banks, raised a $60 million Series B round at a $350 million valuation. IVP was the deal lead, with CommerzVentures and previous investors EQT Ventures, Augmentum Fintech, and Fuel Ventures also investing. The company has raised a total of $90.1 million. TechCrunch has more here.
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| Big-But-Not-Crazy-Big Fundings |
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Arkon Energy, a three-year-old Australian startup that operates data centers which host bitcoin mining equipment, raised a $26 million round from Sandton Capital Partners and JGB Management. The company has raised a total of $46.6 million. CoinDesk has more here.
Augmenta, a Toronto startup that claims its software can accelerate the time it takes to detail and estimate building designs, raised an $11.75 million seed extension round led by Eclipse, with Hazelview Ventures, BDC Capital’s Deep Tech Venture Fund, and Suffolk Technologies also participating. The company has raised a total of $15.85 million. More here.
Beehiiv, a year-old, New York-based platform for writing, monetizing and distributing newsletters, has raised $12.5 million in Series A funding led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, with participation from Social Leverage, Creator Ventures, Blue Wire Capital and Contrarian Thinking Capital. TechCrunch has more here.
Caraway, a five-year-old, New York startup that provides mental, physical, and reproductive healthcare services for women and individuals who were assigned female at birth, raised a $16.75 million Series A round co-led by Maveron and GV and including 7wireVentures, Hopelab Ventures, Wellington Partners, Ingeborg Investments, and The Venture Collective. The company has raised a total of $70.3 million. More here.
Empress Therapeutics, a startup based in Cambridge, Ma., that is developing small-molecule medicines, raised a $50 million round from previous investor Flagship Pioneering. FierceBiotech has more here.
EvolvedMD, a six-year-old startup based in Scottsdale, Az., that provides behavioral health care services, raised a $14 million Series A round led by Conductive Ventures, with FCA Venture Partners, Healthworx, Tectonic Ventures, and Waterline Ventures also chipping in. The company has raised a total of $29.4 million. More here.
Fero Labs, an eight-year-old New York startup that uses AI to reduce carbon emissions in manufacturing, raised a $15 million round led by Climate Investment, with additional participation from Blackhorn Ventures, Innovation Endeavors, and DI Technology. The company has raised a total of $24 million. SiliconANGLE has more here.
GoodBuy Gear, a seven-year-old Denver startup that operates an online resale marketplace for baby and kid gear, raised a $14 million round co-led by Interlock Partners and previous investor Revolution Ventures, with Crawley Ventures, Mana Ventures, Access Ventures, Relay Ventures, and Denver Angels also writing checks. The company has raised a total of $22.8 million. More here.
Leap, a Chicago startup that secures leases and runs physical stores for a variety of direct-to-consumer brands seeking a foothold in retail, raised a $15 million co-led by BAM Elevate and Costanoa Ventures, with Equal Ventures and Hyde Park Ventures also pitching in. WWD has more here.
Oso, a four-year-old New York startup that creates authorization software for developers, raised a $15 million round led by Felicis, with additional funds provided by Harpoon Ventures and previous investor Sequoia Capital. The company has raised a total of $25.9 million. TechCrunch has more here.
Render, a five-year-old San Francisco startup that provides cloud hosting services for companies like Red Bull, raised a $50 million Series B round led by Bessemer Venture Partners, with previous investors Addition, General Catalyst, and the South Park Commons Fund also contributing. The company has raised a total of $77.5 million. TechCrunch has more here.
Rose Rocket, an eight-year-old Toronto startup whose platform lets truckers, brokers, carriers, shippers, and drivers communicate and collaborate on one platform, raised a $38 million Series B round led by Scale Venture Partners, with Addition Capital, Shine Capital, Scale-Up Ventures, Funders Club, and Y Combinator also chipping in. The company has raised a total of $63 million. TechCrunch has more here.
Sollis Health, a six-year-old New York startup that operates a members-only medical concierge and emergency care service, raised a $15 million Series A extension round from Torch Capital, Strand Equity, Arkitekt Ventures, and Read Capital. The company has raised a total of $53 million. More here.
Supercritical, a two-year-old, London-based carbon removal marketplace aimed (at the moment) mainly at tech companies that want to hit ‘net zero’, has raised a $13 million Series A funding round, led by Lightspeed Venture Partners. The round includes funding from RTP Global, Greencode Ventures, MMC Ventures and others. TechCrunch has more here.
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Aktos, a one-year-old New York startup that is seeking to build an AI-powered operating system for the debt collection industry, raised a $4.4 million seed round co-led by 8VC and Crew Capital. The company has raised a total of $5.4 million. More here.
Altis Labs, a four-year-old Toronto startup that has developed an AI-powered imaging biomarker platform that focuses on solid tumor types and therapeutic areas, raised a $6 million seed round co-led by Benchstrength and Debiopharm Innovation Fund. More here.
BetterBrand, a two-year-old Los Angeles startup that is creating a line of healthy baked goods, including low-carb, high-protein bagels, raised a $6 million Series A round led by VERSO Capital and including Gaingels Fund, Seven Seven Six, and Craft Lane. The company has raised a total of $9.7 million. TechCrunch has more here.
Cargobot, a seven-year-old Miami startup whose freight platform connects shippers and carriers, raised a $6 million Series A round led by BPBI and joined by majority investor Total Management 2 as well as Transborder S.A.S. The company has raised a total of $18.3 million. More here.
Concordia, a startup based in the British Virgin Islands that offers a multi-chain risk and collateral management platform for digital assets, raised a $4 million seed round co-led by Tribe Capital and Kraken Ventures, with participation from Cypher Capital and Saison Capital. CoinDesk has more here.
Highwood Emissions Management, a Calgary startup whose software helps companies develop emissions reduction strategies, compare the effectiveness of these plans, and communicate progress regarding their emissions targets, raised a $3 million seed round. Energy Capital Ventures was the deal lead, with additional funding from Veritec Ventures. More here.
Macro Trials, a two-year-old Los Angeles startup that manages clinical trials for pharmaceutical companies, raised a $6 million round led by MBX Capital and including INITIATE Ventures, Healthy VC, Inflect Health, and Village Global (the venture firm backed by Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, and Mark Zuckerberg). More here.
Orson, a two-year-old startup based in Winter Garden, Fl., that is building a generative AI platform designed to help people express themselves through video storytelling, raised a $3 million round from Cyan Banister and Long Journey Ventures. The company has raised a total of $6.1 million. More here.
SQUAKE, a two-year-old Berlin startup that calculates carbon emissions on travel booking sites and logistics software via its API, raised a $3.8 million round led by Simon Capital, with Schenker Ventures and Rivus Capital also participating. Tech.eu has more here.
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VCs must be dual-focused during market downturns. They need to ensure that their big fish investments are supported and managed properly through choppy economic waters, while also having an ear to the ground for good investments with strong upside potential. Affinity's CEO, Ray Zhou, shares his advice for portfolio management in an evolving economic landscape.
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Cox Enterprises, the 125-year-old Atlanta-based company that owns Cox Communications and Cox Automotive, says it has launched a new venture arm -- Socium Ventures -- to make venture investments in emerging growth businesses. The fund is "actively seeking future investment opportunities in the range of $3 million to $25 million" says a related press release that doesn't say how much money Cox will move off its balance sheet for the effort. More here.
Boost Capital Partners, a year-old, London-based venture firm that says it funds startups in Europe and Latin America which bring a "gaming experience to products," has held a first close of its debut fund with $35 million in capital commitments; the outfit is reportedly looking to close the fund with $40 million. TechCrunch has more here.
Dropbox today launched Dropbox Ventures, a new $50 million venture fund focused on startups in the AI space. The company’s first venture arm, Dropbox Ventures will provide mentorship in addition to financial support to build AI-powered products that “shape the future of work,” Dropbox VP and GM Sateesh Srinivasan told TechCrunch in an email interview. More here.
Springbank, a three-year-old, New York-based all-women-founded early-stage venture firm, says it has closed its debut fund with $35 million in capital commitments, with backing from from Union Square Ventures, Foundry Group, Bank of America, AIG, Investinor, and JP Morgan. Springbank has already invested in numerous startups, including Wellthy, Guaranteed, Little Otter, Summer Health, and more. More here.
Wellington Management, the 90-year-old Boston-based investment management giant, has raised $2.6 billion in capital commitments for a fund focused on investing in late-stage private companies. The WSJ has more here.
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Vacant offices are piling up in Silicon Valley.
The U.S. population is older than it has ever been.
Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC has accelerated dealmaking in the US, investing in venture capital funds and tech companies as it searches for growth beyond China. “We cannot suggest opportunities fast enough,”a partner at one venture fund with a San Francisco office tells the Financial Times. “They are eager for what we have from San Francisco to Orlando.”
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Tiger Global has been working with secondary shop Lexington Partners on a process to offload commitment obligations to unfunded LP stakes in newer, early-stage funds, Buyouts reports. The commitments appear tied to the firm partners' earlier plans to invest $1 million of their own cash into seed funds; according to a March report in The Information, those partners made commitments to Maple VC, Moxie Ventures, Better Tomorrow Ventures and Chapter One Ventures, among others.
OpenAI is pursuing a new way to fight AI "hallucinations." CNBC has more here.
American companies are being held hostage by the whims of TikTok.
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In season three of "Billions," venture capitalist Oscar Langstraat shows off his modern abode in Silicon Valley. The house is actually in Bridgehampton, and it's on the market.
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