A jarring chart that shows how remote work will impact office buildings over time, and much more!

Personal news! Many of you may already have seen or read the news today, but in case not: StrictlyVC has been acquired by Yahoo!

Often when things are acquired, they're ground into dust and disappear, as this audience is well aware. But so you know, StrictlyVC is not going away; rather, in tandem with the acquisition, I have a new role at TechCrunch, which is also owned by Yahoo. I was TC's Silicon Valley Editor; now I'm its GM and EIC, and we're noodling all kinds of cool ways to make both of these properties bigger and better and more intertwined. StrictlyVC will still bring you the most relevant industry news from across the broader landscape. But with the ample power of TechCrunch and Yahoo, for example, we're also hoping to expand on StrictlyVC's event series and host more StrictlyVC-like evening events with readers around the globe. 

More on all fronts soon. In the meantime, thank you as always for reading. 🥂

Apple sent out invitations for its Sept. 12 event, where the technology company is expected to unveil the latest iteration of the iPhone. The WSJ has more here.

In a report released today, Meta said it has taken down the largest known online covert influence operation in the world, a cross-platform campaign that was aimed at advancing China’s interests and discrediting its adversaries including the U.S. More here and here.

🎯 Meet the 50 most promising AI companies this month! Dive into our exclusive report revealing the hottest AI investments! Meticulously curated using 100+ distinct performance metrics from the Synaptic platform, we've handpicked the trailblazers in AI tech, spanning infrastructure, foundational models, data operations, and various business applications like data analytics, customer service, and marketing tech. Don't miss out – secure your complimentary report today! 

Apollo.io, an eight-year-old San Francisco startup whose platform combines sales intelligence and execution workflows with a B2B buyer database of over 270 million verified contacts, raised a $100 million round led by Bain Capital Ventures at a $1.6 billion valuation. Previous investors Nexus Venture Partners, Sequoia Capital, and Tribe Capital also participated. The company has raised a total of $251.3 million. TechCrunch has more here.

Mediafly, a 15-year-old, Chicago-based revenue enablement platform, says it has raised $80 million in funding led by BIP Ventures, with support from Boathouse Capital and Mediafly insiders. Chicago Inno has more here.

Redwood Materials, a six-year-old startup based in Carson City, Nev., that recycles and refines lithium-ion batteries and remanufactures anode and cathode components, raised a $1 billion Series D round at a $5.25 billion post-money valuation. Goldman Sachs, Capricorn, and T. Rowe Price co-led the deal. The company, formed by former Tesla cofounder (and current Tesla board member) JB Straubel, has raised a total of $2 billion in equity. TechCrunch has more here.

Allseated, a 12-year-old San Francisco company that helps event organizers plan and showcase venues virtually, raised a $20 million round. Backers included Level Structured Capital as well as previous investors Magma Ventures, Vestech Partners, NYFF, and WGG. The company has raised a total of $43.4 million. TechCrunch has more here.

Better Life Partners, a five-year-old Boston startup that provides care for individuals with substance use disorders, raised a $26.5 million Series B financing co-led by aMoon and previous investor F-Prime Capital, with another former backer - .406 Ventures - also joining in. The company has raised a total of $38.3 million. More here.

CH4 Global, a startup based in Henderson, NV, that has developed an additive for cattle feed that reduces the animals' methane emissions by up to 90%, raised a $29 million Series B round co-led by DCVC and Cleveland Avenue. The company has raised a total of $47 million. More here.

HOLY, a three-year-old Berlin startup that sells energy drinks and iced tea in a powder form to be topped up and mixed with water by consumers at home, raised an $11.5 million Series A round led by Left Lane Capital, with previous investors FoodLabs and Simon Capital also contributing. The Grocer has more here.

Rockset, a seven-year-old startup based in San Mateo, Ca., whose platform automatically ingests data from sources like MongoDB, DynamoDB, AWS, and Google Cloud and then indexes that data for search and analytics applications, raised $37 million in equity and $7 million in debt. The deal lead was Icon Ventures, while Glynn Capital, Four River Partners, K5 Global, Sequoia Capital, and Greylock also pitched in. TechCrunch has more here.

Context.ai, a London-based product analytics platform for LLM-powered applications, launched today with $3.5 million in funding co-led by GV and VC Tomasz Tunguz at his new firm, Theory Ventures. More here.

ControlRooms.ai, a two-year-old Austin startup that says it uses AI to predict manufacturing plant behavior and detect potential problems before engineers or control room operators notice them, raised a $10 million Series A round led by Origin Ventures, with Amity Ventures, Tokio Marine Future Fund, S3 Ventures, GTM Fund, Alpha Square Group, and FJ Labs also investing. TechCrunch has more here.

ConverSight, a six-year-old startup based in Indianapolis, In., that claims to use generative AI to provide better and faster data analytics to enterprises, raised a $9 million Series A round led by Surface Ventures, with Techstars, Augment Ventures, and Elevate Ventures also chipping in. The company has raised a total of $16 million. VentureBeat has more here.

FirstMate, a one-year-old Brooklyn startup that creates marketplaces for NFT creators and issuers, raised a $3.8 million seed round led by Dragonfly, with Coinbase Ventures and NextView Ventures also participating. CryptoNews has more here.

MFast, a six-year-old Ho Chi Minh City startup that has built a network of agents to help unbanked Vietnamese gain access to financial services such as loans and insurance, raised a $6 million Series A round led by Wavemaker Partners, with Krungsri Innovate, Headline Asia, and previous investors Do Ventures, JAFCO Asia, and Ascend Vietnam Ventures also anteing up. The company has raised a total of $10 million. TechCrunch has more here.

Modern Adventure, a six-year-old startup based in Portland, Or., that plans and hosts elaborate trips in coordination with noted tastemakers, raised a $4.8 million Series A round. Investors included Seal Rock Partners, Matchstick Ventures, and Mischief Ventures. Portland Inno has more here.

Refibird, a three-year-old, Cupertino, Ca.-based startup that says it uses and AI and green chemical recycling process to repurpose used textiles into new thread, has raised $3.4 million in seed funding. True Wealth Ventures led the round, joined by Better Ventures, the Schmidt Family Foundation, Fashion for Good, Susquehanna Private Equity Investments, Kubera Venture Capital, Carnegie Mellon University, and the National Science Foundation. TechCrunch has more here.

It’s a tough market out there—especially for portfolio growth efforts and fundraising. On September 6, Affinity is teaming up with Brian Cashin, Vice President at Teamworthy Ventures for an educational session on how top VCs drive post-investment value. Tune in to learn tried-and-tested best practices on everything from building and executing a strategy to reporting on the metrics that matter to your top LPs. Don’t miss out, register now.

Seattle investment firm Lighter Capital announced two new funding facilities today: $100 million for U.S. and Canada-based startups, and $30 million for Australia-based companies. Since launching in 2010, Lighter Capital has reportedly invested more than $300 million in 500-plus tech companies across the U.S., using a process known as revenue-based financing that lets early-stage startups raise cash without giving up equity or board seats. Startups agree to share a percentage of future revenue with Lighter Capital; loan payments are tied to monthly revenue. GeekWire has more here. Meanwhile, TechCrunch dives into why alternative financing is a hot topic right now.

Amazon has acquired Fig, a Y Combinator alum that has been setting out to turbo-charge the command line terminal. In a blog post published yesterday, CEO and co-founder Brendan Falk said that Amazon was acquiring Fig’s technology, while its employees — including two co-founders — would be joining Amazon’s cloud subsidiary AWS. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. TechCrunch has more here.

An EV maker you’ve never heard of is now the world’s third-most valuable car company.

Emily Zhen has joined Zeal Capital Partners, a Washington, D.C.-based venture capital firm, as a principal focused on healthcare startups. Zhen was previously a healthcare investor at New Enterprise Associates. More here.

OpenAI is on track for $1 billion of annual revenue as businesses adopt the technology behind ChatGPT, reports The Information.

One jarring chart shows how empty remote work will leave office buildings.

Where all the wealthy young people are reportedly moving this year.

42% of employees say the highlight of a meeting is when it’s cancelled.

Authorities say no to "Elon mode."

An AI phenomenon called model collapse is threatening to break the internet.

Google is selling broad access to its most powerful AI technology for the first time as it races to make up ground in the lucrative cloud-software market. 

USA Today owner pauses AI articles after butchering sports coverage.

The U.S. Copyright Office wants to hear what people think about AI and copyright issues.

Are you a Justin Bieber or a Hailey Bieber?

Loyalty-Test. (If nothing else, it's a new twist on gig work.)

Live off the grid in a Living Vehicle.

Disrupt — the original startup conference — stays fresh, relevant and focused on founders, investors, and the future of tech year after year. Don't miss this year's show, with Kevin Systrom, Dario Amodei, Katie Haun, Shaquille O'Neal, Meredith Whittaker, and Reed Jobs, among others. It's coming up fast. Grab your ticket here!