Everything to know about Gemini, Google's answer to ChatGPT

Today, Google released Gemini, its answer to GPT-4. Given only a small part of the technology is available now, TechCrunch's Kyle Wigger calls the launch "a bit of a rush job." More here and here. 

A version of Gemini, known as “nano," was designed specifically for running on mobile devices and will be integrated into Google’s latest Pixel phones. “This new era of models represents one of the biggest science and engineering efforts we’ve undertaken as a company," Google CEO Sundar Pichai said in a related blog post.

Meta, OpenAI, and Microsoft said at an investor event today they will use AMD’s newest AI chip, the Instinct MI300X — a sign they want alternatives to the Nvidia chips have been essential for to the AI boom.

Governments are using push notifications on Apple and Google devices to spy on us, one senator warns.

Embrace data governance across the investment lifecycle. While some GPs may have a form of data governance for individual applications, business units, or functions, many still struggle with data gaps, disparate systems, and a lack of lifecycle-wide governance. Juniper Square's latest guide examines how integrated technology supports data governance across the investment lifecycle, allowing GPs to unlock the full potential of their investment partnerships. Download the guide: Data Governance Across The Investment Lifecycle.

Klook Travel Technology, a nine-year-old, Hong Kong-based travel booking service, has raised $210 million in funding led by Bessemer Venture Partners. BPEA EQT and SMIC SG Holdings also joined the round, along with earlier backers like HongShan (formerly Sequoia China). The outfit has now raised more than $900 million altogether, says Bloomberg.

MaintainX, a five-year-old San Francisco startup whose software help businesses in various industries manage and optimize their maintenance operations, raised a $50 million round at a $1 billion valuation; the company was previously valued at $191 million in a 2021 funding round. The deal was led by Bain Capital Ventures, with previous investors Bessemer Venture Partners, and August Capital also chipping in. Bloomberg has more here.

Pragmatic, a 13-year-old startup based in Cambridge, UK, that manufactures semiconductors that are used across various sectors, ranging from healthcare to consumer goods, held a $203.9 million first close on its Series D round. The deal was co-led by M&G's Catalyst and UK Infrastructure Bank, with Northern Gritstone, Latitude, and MVolution Partners as well as previous investors British Patient Capital, Cambridge Innovation Capital, and Prosperity7 Ventures also participating. UKTN has more here.

Vast Data, a seven-year-old New York and Israeli startup that claims its platform streamlines data storage, organization, processing, and analysis in order to speed up the performance of AI models, raised a $118 million Series E round at a $9.1 billion valuation, according to The Information. The deal lead was Fidelity, with NEA, Drive Capital, and Bond Capital also contributing. CTech has more here.

AgroSpheres, a seven-year-old startup based in Charlottesville, Va., that says it has developed a delivery system for biopesticides that is more targeted than traditional methods, raised a $25 million Series B round from FMC Ventures, Lewis and Clark AgriFood, Ospraie Ag Science, Bidra Ventures, and Cavallo Ventures. AgFunder News has more here.

Blue World Technologies, a five-year-old Danish startup that makes fuel cells for the automotive and heavy-duty transportation sectors, raised an $11.9 million round. Investors included Maersk Growth, the Export and Investment Fund of Denmark, and Cycle Group. Renewables Now has more here.

Center, a five-year-old startup based in Bellevue, Wa., whose offering includes a corporate card and travel expense management software, raised a $30 million Series C round led by Top Tier Capital Partners, with additional participation from previous investor Durable Capital Partners. The company has raised a total of $140 million. More here.

Ladder, an Austin startup that has developed a strength training app, raised a $12 million Series A round. Tapestry VC and LivWell Ventures were the co-leads. More here.

Leonardo.ai, a one-year-old Sydney startup that has built a generative AI art production platform for consumers and enterprise users, raised a $31 million round. Investors included Blackbird, Side Stage Ventures, Smash Capital, TIRTA Ventures, Gaorong Capital, and Samsung Next. TechCrunch has more here.

Orchid, a four-year-old San Francisco startup that provides consumers with genome screening for embryos, raised a $12 million round. Backers include Prometheus Fund, Starbloom Capital, Refactor Capital, Pebblebed, Day One Ventures, and Conviction Capital. Business Insider has more here.

Replicate, a four-year-old San Francisco startup whose platform enables developers to access and experiment with more than 25,000 open source AI models, raised a $40 million Series B round at a $350 million valuation. The deal was led by Andreessen Horowitz, with NVentures, Heavybit, Sequoia, and Y Combinator also anteing up. The company has raised a total of $58 million. Forbes has more here.

Omniful, a two-year-old Riyadh startup that helps merchants manage ordering, warehouse management, and transportation, raised a $5.9 million seed round led by VentureSouq, with 500 Global, DASH Ventures, Jahez Group, Seedra Ventures, Bunat Ventures, Hala Ventures, and RZM Investments also stepping up. TechCrunch has more here.

OurSky, a startup founded last year that is building a developer platform for accessing space data using a network of telescopes it owns and operates, raised a $9.5 million seed round led by Upfront Ventures, with  Oceans Ventures, Venrex Investment Management, Marlinspike Partners, and Embedded Ventures also participating. TechCrunch has more here. 

PlantSwitch, a three-year-old startup based in Sanford, N.C., that uses agricultural waste to make biodegradable and compostable resins, raised a $7.7 million round. NexPoint Capital was one of the investors. Plastics Technology has more here.

Respeecher, a five-year-old Ukrainian startup whose software can clone voices, raised a $1 million pre-series A round from fVC Poland, Bad Ideas, ICU, SID Venture Partners, and Gary
Vaynerchuk. TechCrunch has more here. 

Spade, a three-year-old New York startup that uses real-time transaction data to identify fraudulent activity for card issuers, raised a $10 million Series A round led by Flourish Ventures, with Andreessen Horowitz, Gradient Ventures, Y Combinator, Dash Fund, and Everywhere Ventures also taking part. TechCrunch has more here.

Picasso’s $139 million sale reveals unexpected investment opportunity. Last month, an iconic Picasso shattered expectations when it sold for a whopping $139 million. Impressive, considering it was purchased for around $1 million in the late 1960’s. But there’s a group also celebrating this sale: 61,000 everyday investors. Why? Because they invest with Masterworks, a platform that enables anyone to invest in blue-chip paintings. With 3 recent sales investors saw net annualized returns of +17.6%, +21.5% and +35%. Strictly VC readers can skip the waitlist.

*Investing involves risk and past performance is not indicative of future returns. See important Reg A disclosures and aggregate advisory performance masterworks.com/cd.

The Daily Mail's publisher is launching a venture fund in collaboration with Moore Capital Management. The firm will focus on seed and early stage clean tech startups. Moore will put up $200 million, while The Daily Mail's parent company will provide an undisclosed amount. Bloomberg has more here. 

Vietnamese companies are eyeing the U.S. IPO market amid a lull in Chinese listings

Google CEO Sundar Pichai and Google DeepMind co-founder and CEO Demis Hassabis talk about today's release of Gemini, the company's new LLM.

In a new TIME profile of Sam Altman, who is the magazine's CEO of the Year, a person familiar with Altman's relationship with the OpenAI board observed, "In a lot of ways, Sam is a really nice guy; he’s not an evil genius ... But there’s also a clear pattern, if you look at his behavior, of really seeking power in an extreme way.”

Elon Musk says he deplores the violence in Grand Theft Auto; the Internet snickers.

Steve Hotelling, an Apple executive who invented the iPhone screen and Touch ID, is retiring.

Demand for mental healthcare continues to grow: more than half of psychologists reported that they had no openings for new patients.

The big business of hair transplants in Turkey.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX has reportedly initiated discussions about selling insider shares at a price that values the closely held company at $175 billion or more. This summer, SpaceX was valued at $150 billion in a tender offer, notes Bloomberg.

Meta Platforms says it has started fully encrypting messages on Facebook by default, moving ahead with a privacy measure that many have warned could hide illegal activity by child predators and other criminals.

Deep tech exits are increasing.

Late stunt driver Ken Block's last epic video, set in Mexico City.

TikTok publishes its top ten videos of 2023.

Which friendship plan is right for you?

The Cybertruck of electric scooters.

This $6.9 million D.C.-area manse has its own situation room.

Harmonic AI. Imagine a world where you could search the entire universe of startups (including stealth) in seconds, filtering for companies that exactly match your investment thesis. Imagine you could prioritize startups with the strongest investment potential (e.g. seasoned founders with strong growth). Now imagine that, every morning, that list of new startups is delivered to your inbox for analysis. For Accel, NEA, Craft and hundreds of VCs using Harmonic AI, that world is a reality. Try Harmonic today.