FedNow, a potentially game-changing new instant payment infrastructure, just went live

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose today for a ninth consecutive session; it shot up 160 points, or 0.5%, to clinch its longest winning streak since September 2017. The WSJ has more here.

The Federal Reserve launched its FedNow instant-payments service today, a system officials say will allow the faster flow of cash for businesses and individuals. Whether it’s providing instant access to paychecks, allowing for last-minute bill payments or sending government payments out to individuals, observes CNBC, the system is expected to improve the flow of money through the U.S. economy. (It also threatens payments players and weakens the case for crypto, though there is still room for optimism in the world of fintechs. For one thing, reduced friction in the financial system may pose risks like fraud to everyday users, which could mean more opportunities for risk management outfits.) 

FedNow is launching with 41 banks and 15 service providers certified to use the service, including community banks and large lenders like JPMorgan Chase and US Bancorp, and is set to onboard more banks and credit unions this year. As for whether it will do away with all those onerous transaction fees, stay tuned. Among other outstanding questions about FedNow is whether banks will charge for the service. 

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Neura Robotics, a four-year-old German startup that is building "cognitive robots" (machines that possess memory, the ability to operate across a complex and changing mix of variables, and can collaborate with people), raised a $55 million round. Lingotto, Vsquared Ventures, Primepulse, and HV Capital co-led the deal. The company has raised a total of $148.9 million. TechCrunch has more here.

Collectly, a six-year-old startup based in Santa Monica, Ca., that helps medical providers collect payment from patients, raised a $29 million Series A round. Sapphire Ventures led the investment, with additional participation from Y Combinator, Wayfinder Ventures, Burst Capital, Cabra VC, and Davidovs VC. Healthcare Dive has more here.

Cosmic Wire, a two-year-old Miami startup that builds cross-chain crypto applications, raised a $30 million seed round co-led by Solana Foundation and Polygon. CityBiz has more here.

CurvaFix, a Bellevue, Wa.-based developer of medical devices to repair fractures in curved bones, says it has raised $39 million in equity funding led by MVM Partners, with participation from Sectoral Asset Management and other existing investors. OrthoSpineNews has more here.

Cymbal, a crypto startup that allows users to view and search the Ethereum blockchain for transactions, addresses, tokens, prices and other activities, raised a $18.5 million round. Investors included Patron, GV, Acrew, First Round Capital, Coinbase Ventures, Solana Ventures, CAA Connect, and UTA Ventures. Decrypt has more here.

Hightouch, a five-year-old San Francisco startup that helps companies sync customer data across different back-end databases and systems, raised a $38 million round at a $615 million valuation. Bain Capital Ventures was the deal lead, while ICONIQ Capital and Amplify Partners also pitched in. The company has raised a total of $92.2 million. TechCrunch has more here.

Karat, a seven-year-old Los Angeles startup whose goal is to help creators manage their money across payments, bank accounts, invoicing, and more, raised a $40 million Series B round. SignalFire led the transaction, with Union Square Ventures, CRV, GGV, Commerce Ventures, and Dreamers VC also investing. TriplePoint Capital also contributed $30 million in debt. TechCrunch has more here.

SiPhox Health, a startup based in Burlington, Ma., that aims to use silicon photonic chip technology to put a lab-grade health testing device in every home, raised a $17 million Series A round led by Intel Capital, with additional funds provided by Khosla Ventures, Kortex Ventures, Alumni Ventures, Metaplanet, Shorewind Capital, LongeVC, Overlap Holdings, and Duke Capital Partners. TechCrunch has more here.

Terminal Industries, an Austin startup that says it is building supply chain software to "digitize the yard," giving operators visibility and control over critical transportation assets in real-time, raised a $17 million seed round. 8VC and Prologis Ventures were the leads, with RyderVentures, NFI Ventures, Lineage Logistics, Vehicle Velocity Group, the Friedkin Group International, 9Yards, Northstar.vc, Amplifier, and MS&AD Ventures also piling on. More here.

Whop, a three-year-old New York startup that is building a marketplace for people to sell access to digital products like deals on food and travel, raised a $17 million Series A. Investors included Insight Partners, Zinal Growth, Peter Thiel, and The Chainsmokers. TechCrunch has more here.

Alpha Grid, a San Francisco-based software startup that says it's accelerating EV charging infrastructure development, has raised $2.5 million in seed funding led by Asymmetric Capital Partners with participation from Twine Ventures. Launched by Google X alumni, the outfit says it optimizes the deployment of charging stations through advanced analytics and machine learning. More here.

Alysio, a one-year-old startup based in Lehi, Ut., that says its platform can optimize a sales team's productivity, engagement, and results, raised a $1.4 million round. Kickstart Fund led the deal, while Village Global, SaaS Ventures, Capital Eleven, and Upstream Ventures also joined in. TechBuzz News has more here.

BusRight, a six-year-old Boston startup whose app and GPS technology helps school administrators and parents track school buses, raised a $7 million Series A round led by Las Olas Venture Capital, with Ubiquity Ventures, Underscore VC, Long Journey Ventures, SilverCircle, Automotive Ventures, Alumni Ventures, and CreativeCo Capital also teaming up. The company has raised a total of $9.5 million. More here.

Energy Dome, a three-year-old Italian startup that is developing carbon dioxide-based batteries, raised a $16.7 million Series B extension led by Innovation Development Oman Investments, with Vopak Ventures also taking part. The company has raised a total of $60 million. SiliconANGLE has more here.

Eyeball Games, a Singapore startup that is developing a blockchain pool game, raised a $1.5 million pre-seed round. The deal was led by White Star Capital’s Digital Asset Fund, with Polygon Ventures, Immutable, Ocular, and Great South Gate Ventures also writing checks. VentureBeat has more here.

FedML, a one-year-old startup based in Sunnyvale, Ca., that enables companies to train, deploy, monitor, and improve AI models on the cloud or edge, raised $7.2 million in seed funding. The lead was Camford Capital, while Road Capital, Finality Capital Partners, PrimeSet, AimTop Ventures, Sparkle Ventures, Robot Ventures, Wisemont Capital, LDV Partners, Modular Capital, and the University of Southern California also joined in. The company has raised a total of $13.5 million. TechCrunch has more here.

Gushwork.ai, a New York startup that provides a curated marketplace featuring offshore workers trained in using various AI applications, raised a $2.1 million pre-seed round. Lightspeed was the deal lead, while B Capital, Sparrow Capital, Seaborne Capital, and Beenext also took part. TechCrunch has more here.

Higharc, a five-year-old startup based in Durham, N.C., that aims to streamline home design data and construction documents using automation, raised a $6.5 million round from investors including Standard Investments and Home Depot Ventures. The company has raised a total of $27 million. More here.

InspectionGo, a four-year-old startup based in Morgantown, W.V., that has developed a suite of digital tools for home inspection companies, raised a $5.5 million Series A round. Wasatch Equity Partners was the deal lead, with participation from Ben Franklin Technology Partners, Allegheny Angel Fund, The West Virginia Jobs Investment Trust, Twenty Five Ventures, Mountain State Capital, and Hamilton Ventures. More here.

Nitrofix, an Israeli startup that says it produces zero-emission ammonia through a novel electrochemical process, has raised $3.1 million in seed funding. Clean Energy Ventures led the round, joined by SOSV, Zero Carbon Capital, UM6P Ventures, and High House Investments. Calcalist has more here.

Peppermint, a New York startup that is developing an online clubhouse community catering to adults ages 55+, raised a $8 million seed round led by Primetime Partners. More here.

Portrait Analytics, a one-year-old Boston startup that has built a Q&A-based application that incorporates both generative AI search and summarization to serve public market analysts, raised a $7 million round led by Unusual Ventures, with .406 Ventures also taking part. The company has raised a total of $10 million. FinExtra has more here.

SquadTrip, a one-year-old startup based in Tulsa, OK, that has built an automated payment solution for large and small group trips, raised a $1.3 million round. Atento Capital was the deal lead. Tulsa World has more here.

Thingtrax, an eight-year-old London startup that aims to helps manufacturers identify inefficiencies and reduce costs through the appocation of cloud computing, robotics, industrial IoT, AI, and computer vision technologies, raised a $5.5 million seed round. Concentric, Superseed, and Puma Private Equity co-led the deal, while Haatch, Portfolio Ventures, and Vinci Venture Capital also chipped in. The company has raised a total of $9.1 million. Tech.eu has more here.

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Per The Information: "Sequoia Capital’s Chinese affiliate, which is preparing to split from the Silicon Valley venture firm, is in talks to raise around 20 billion yuan ($2.8 billion) for a new Chinese currency fund from domestic backers including the government of the city of Hangzhou, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter . . . Last year, Sequoia China, led by prominent Chinese venture capitalist Neil Shen, also managed to raise about $9 billion for its U.S. dollar funds from global investors in the U.S. and elsewhere, even though most other Chinese venture capital firms were struggling to raise their U.S. dollar funds amid rising U.S.-China geopolitical tensions." More here.

Bracket Capital, a six-year-old, Los Angeles–based firm that focuses on buying existing shares in startups from employees or other venture funds, has raised $450 million across a pair of new funds, it tells The Information. More here.

A syndicate of investors is in the final stages of cementing a deal for cryptocurrency-focused media company CoinDesk. The investor group is led by Matthew Roszak of Tally Capital, a private investment firm focused on crypto and blockchain-based technologies, and Peter Vessenes of Capital6, a venture firm and family office, says the WSJ. The transaction would reportedly have an enterprise value of about $125 million. CoinDesk’s parent company, Digital Currency Group or DCG, is expected to retain a stake in the media, events, data and indexes business as part of the deal; CoinDesk’s current management is expected to stay in place, says the Journal's sources.

Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase is coming back to the Bay Area after abandoning its San Francisco headquarters in an effort to go “remote first” just two years ago. The now-headquarterless tech company is leasing 40,000 square feet of space in a Mountain View shopping complex once occupied by Silicon Valley tech giant Meta. The lease was first reported on by the Real Deal on Monday. SFGate has more here.

Terraform Labs has named a new CEO to run the crypto company while its co-founder Do Kwon faces fraud charges stemming from the $40 billion collapse of the TerraUSD and Luna cryptocurrencies. The interim CEO is Chris Amani, who was previously the company’s COO and CFO. The WSJ has more here.

Sam Bankman-Fried, co-founder of failed crypto exchange FTX, was sued in Delaware bankruptcy court today by his ex-company’s lawyers, who accuse him and members of his leadership team of stealing hundreds of millions of dollars. The lawyers are seeking to recover funds from Bankman-Fried and former executives of FTX and sister hedge fund Alameda Research. One way the attorneys for the bankrupt exchange say Bankman-Fried pilfered money was through a $10 million gift to his father, the legal scholar Joe Bankman. The complaint claims those proceeds are now paying for Bankman-Fried’s criminal defense bills. CNBC has the story.

A six-year-old Israeli prop tech startup, Stoa, has reduced its workforce by 80% from around 100 employees to just 20 after undergoing dramatic cutbacks. Rising inflation rates and the economic crisis dramatically changed the real estate market in the U.S., in which Stoa operates, handing the startup’s business model a significant blow. Stoa has raised $300 million since its founding -- $100 million in equity and $200 million in debt. Almost the entire sum was raised in less than a year, between November 2021 and August 2022. Calcalist has more here.

Sergey Brin is "back in the trenches at Google." According to the WSJ, the "multibillionaire has been visiting the tech giant’s Mountain View, Calif., offices in recent months generally three to four days a week, working alongside researchers as they push to develop the company’s next large artificial-intelligence system."

Facing possible legislation that would require messaging services to offer backdoors in end-to-end encryption, Apple is saying it would rather remove apps like iMessage and FaceTime entirely from the UK market. The BBC has more here.

ChatGPT can now remember who you are and what you want.

The underwater world observed by drones.

Just how good a physicist was Oppenheimer?

For Katie.

CPR instructor demonstrates proper way to argue over who has to do it.

Crossbody bags for travel.

Project Aerie House.🤌

Live like a Rockefeller (for $57.5 million).

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