And Sam Bankman-Fried thought he had it bad . . .

 . . .and not a day too soon. We did manage to eke out a StrictlyVC Download podcast for you with the always personable Michael Kim of Cendana Capital, who just locked down $470 million in capital commitments for his seed-stage fund strategy. (In this market, that's notable.) We talked about why, even when Cendana is anchor investor in the funds it backs, it doesn't ask for preferential terms, among other things. You can read excerpts of that chat below, or listen to it while biking to the farmer's market this weekend. (We're just going to imagine that you're in Copenhagen.)

Giant thanks to this episode's sponsor, Affinity, a relationship intelligence platform for dealmakers that's hosting its second annual Campfire Conference in San Francisco’s historic Presidio on September 28. The event will feature speakers from 8VC, Pear VC, Sands Capital, SOSV, and more; check out the full agenda here.

Have a great weekend.:)

A federal appeals court ruled that the Biden administration may have violated the First Amendment by urging social media companies to remove misleading Covid-19 posts.

The IRS announced today that it will use AI to pursue 1,600 millionaires and 75 large business partnerships that owe hundreds of millions of dollars in past due taxes.

With Dave Clark suddenly out at Flexport after just one year on the job and founder Ryan Petersen back in the CEO saddle, it’s getting personal. Two days after Clark’s abrupt departure as CEO, Petersen said today the company will rescind dozens of employment offers and look to lease out the company’s office space as it looks to get costs under control and “get its house in order."

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Michael Kim of Cendana Capital is often a first call for emerging seed-stage fund managers. Cendana has invested in many VC teams that have gone to enjoy great success – like Forerunner Ventures, K9 Ventures, and IA Ventures. Thanks to its own backers, Cendana keeps replenishing its supply of investing capital, too.

Indeed, Kim tells us that 13-year-old Cendana just closed on $470 million across several new funds that bring the firm’s total assets under management to roughly $2 billion. The biggest pool, $340 million, will be funneled into U.S.-based investors. Another $67 million will flow to managers outside the United States. Cendana also has $30 million in capital commitments to invest directly in startups and $30 million from the University of Texas, whose positions will reflect that bigger, $340 million fund.

We talked with Kim earlier today about the current market, where exits are few and far between. We also talked about seed-stage managers who happen also to run companies and are, in some cases, currently preoccupied with making sure those companies survive this topsy-turvy market. Kim called us from his home in the Bay Area ahead of a trip next week to Singapore, where many institutional investors are expected to gather for a summit hosted by the Milken Institute, as well as a Formula 1 race.

You long invested in seed funds that were no larger than $100 million in size; what’s the strategy for your newest flagship fund?

It's always been a line in the sand with us, and seed-stage venture has changed in the past 10 years. When I started, most seed funds were up to $50 million in size, and seed rounds were $1.5 million; now the median seed round in our portfolio is $4 million. So we've adapted with the market, though I think over the next few years that seed funds will scale back in size because it's a lot harder to return five times $150 million than $50 million.

I’m surprised you’re not seeing that happening already.

We are to some extent. One of our fund managers in Prague had done extremely well investing out of a $125 million fund; they were the seed investor in UiPath. But they made the disciplined decision to scale back their next fund, which is where we entered, and it's a $75 million fund. I think you're going to start seeing a little bit more of that over the next few years.

What kind of returns are you generating cash on cash, minus fees?

In our first fund – so the most fully baked – our net return to our investors is 4.2x. And we've distributed back 2.2x of their capital as distributions. If we look at our second fund, it's marked somewhere in the mid threes, and it’s almost approaching 100% and distributed. Venture is a long game. It does take time for companies to become substantially valuable, I'd say seven to eight years, if not longer. So I feel good that our formula works, and we've been very consistent about maintaining that approach.

There’s been a dearth of exits over the last couple of years. Have you sold off some of your positions in the secondary market for some liquidity, either stakes in certain funds or direct investments?

More here.

Mariana Oncology, a startup based in Cambridge, Ma., that is developing radiopharmaceuticals to treat small cell lung cancer, raised a $175 million Series B round co-led by Deep Track Capital and Forbion, with additional participation from Nextech Invest, Surveyor Capital, and Eli Lilly as well as previous investors Atlas Venture, Access Biotechnology, and RA Capital Management. The company has raised a total of $250 million. BioPharma Dive has more here.

Meati, a seven-year-old startup based in Boulder, Co., that is producing meat alternatives using mushroom root, raised a $50 million Series C extension round from Bond, Congruent Ventures, and Revolution Growth. The company has raised a total of $274.5 million. Axios has more here.

Momnt, a three-year-old Atlanta startup that provides short-term loans to businesses, raised a $15 million round led by TruStage Ventures, with Saluda Grade Ventures and Rockefeller Asset Management also pitching in. The company has raised a total of $33 million. FinTech Global has more here.

Tradeteq, a seven-year-old London startup whose mission is to transform private credit into tradable financial instruments, raised a $12.5 million "A Plus" funding round led by MS&AD Ventures, with Interlock Partners also contributing. The company has raised a total of $32.4 million. Newbusiness has more here.

Syscap, a seven-year-old Mexican startup that provides non-bank financing to small- and medium-size enterprises, raised a $2.3 million seed round led by Wollef, with Redwood Ventures, Melek Capital, 500 Global, and Angel Hub Ventures also anteing up. The company has raised a total of $3 million. TechCrunch has more here.

Takes, a two-year-old San Francisco startup that is developing a sports app that curates users’ interests and allows users to connect with one another, raised a $1.6 million pre-seed round led by Riccardo Silva, with participation from Carlo Pozzali, Astralis Capital, and Joe Inzerillod. More here.

Trident Digital Group, a startup based in Stamford, Ct., that is rolling out a yield product aimed at fintech firms, crypto native treasuries, and VCs with idle funds, raised an $8 million seed round co-led by White Star Capital and New Form, with CMT Digital, Joint Effects, and Permit Ventures also pitching in. The Block has more here.

Vaulted Deep, a Houston spinoff of Advantek Waste Management Service that intercepts and sequesters sludgy organic wastes like livestock waste before they are dumped in a landfill or waterway, raised an $8 million seed round. Lowercarbon Capital was the deal lead. Carbon Herald has more here.

Teamworthy Ventures places fund value creation at the heart of their strategic focus—both to maximize returns and lay the foundation for their next fundraising round. Learn more when you join Affinity’s upcoming webinar with Brian Cashin, Vice President at Teamworthy Ventures. He’ll discuss why the approach works, how you can replicate it, and what technology you need to power it. Join him on September 6.

Dennis Austin, the developer behind PowerPoint has passed away at age 76. His life cannot be summarized in a series of bullet points. The Washington Post has more here.

Holy sh*t. Sam Bankman-Fried has it good compared to this guy.

Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt has backed out of purchasing a superyacht that’s been abandoned in Antigua for over a year, after the sale became mired in lawsuits. In June, Schmidt won an auction for the vessel -- complete with a baby grand piano and a swimming pool that turns into a helipad -- but the deal was later challenged in court by the daughter of Russian fertilizer billionaire Andrey Guryev. Bloomberg has more here.

Uber is working on a TaskRabbit-like service that will let app users hire people to conduct various tasks in an expansion beyond driving and deliveries. The potential new service, codenamed “Chore,” was discovered inside of Uber’s iPhone app within hidden code strings by a developer. Bloomberg has more here.

Reddit can now translate posts into eight languages, including Spanish and French, when viewing them on its mobile apps or on the web while logged out.

Well, that didn't go so well. Grindr has apparently lost half of its workforce in response to its decision to work from the office twice a week.

Only Murders in the Building's Martin Short - endearing or annoying?

Why the Drake/Weekend AI collaboration song "Heart on My Sleeve" will not be winning any Grammys this year.

The world's 11 most beautiful sea pools.

Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show's reported toxic work environment: "I feel so bad I can't even tell you."

George Clooney is selling his iconic Lake Como villa for $107 million, says Page Six.

And another real estate must-have - Jackie O's former Georgetown manse is for sale, and it's a beauty. 

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