Amazon drops iRobot, another crypto Ponzi scheme, and how much Super Bowl tix cost this year

In the face of EU opposition, Amazon has dropped its plan to acquire iRobot, leading the maker of the Roomba to lay off 350 people or 31% of its staff. CEO Colin Angle is also stepping down.

Elon Musk's Neuralink has implanted its first device in a human brain.

In a move that probably has nothing to do with an imminent major congressional hearing on children’s online safety, Meta has decided to share data with academic researchers studying the impact of social media platforms on kids.

The DOJ has filed charges against a crypto fund called HyperFund that allegedly cooked up a Ponzi scheme involving cryptocurrency to the tune of $1.9 billion.

The state of venture capital: A look back at Q4 2023. Q4 brought a close to a particularly turbulent year for the venture capital space. In nearly all measurable metrics, figures were down from the inflated highs of 2021. Here’s what the final numbers from 2023 have to say about the state of venture capital. Get the insights.

XReal, a seven-year-old Beijing startup that makes augmented reality glasses, raised a $60 million strategic round at a $1+ billion valuation. The investor was not disclosed, although past backers include Alibaba, Nio Capital, Sequoia, Kuaishou, and Gentle Monster. Bloomberg has more here. 

Rebellions, a four-year-old South Korean startup that is developing a new generative AI chip in collaboration with Samsung, raised a $124 million Series B round at a $658 million post-money valuation. South Korean telecom KT was the deal lead, while Korelya Capital and DG Daiwa Ventures as well as previous investors Pavilion Capital (Temasek) and Korea Development Bank also participated. The company has raised a total of $210 million. TechCrunch has more here. 

CarbonPool, a Swiss startup that offers insurance policies that compensate clients with high-quality carbon credits in case of unexpected shortfalls or reversal events in carbon sequestration projects, raised a $12 million round co-led by Heartcore Capital and Vorwerk Ventures, with HCS Capital and Revent Ventures also stepping up. FinTech Global has more here.

Proof Technology, a two-year-old Denver startup that offers a digital platform for legal document delivery, specifically for process serving, raised a $30.4 million Series B round led by Long Ridge Equity Partners, with previous investors Blue Heron Capital and The LegalTech Fund also contributing. More here.

Sema4.ai, a three-month-old startup that says it is "building intelligent agents that transform how knowledge workers collaborate with AI," raised a $30.5 million from investors such as Mayfield and Benchmark. More here. 

Transmutex, a four-year-old Geneva startup that is aiming to develop nuclear energy technology for industrial and medical use, raised a $23.2 million round co-led by Union Square Ventures and Steel Atlas, with additional participation from At One Ventures, HCVC, AlleyCorp, House Of Ventures, Presight Capital, Verve Ventures, FONGIT, and Tiny Supercomputer Investment. More here.

Akirolabs, a two-year-old Berlin startup that aims to improve procurement processes by incorporating collaborative workflows,AI-powered market intelligence, and software decision-making tools, raised a $5 million seed round. HTGF, OTB Ventures, D11Z Ventures, and Serpentine Ventures co-led the deal. Silicon Canals has more here.

ProcurePro, a three-year-old Brisbane startup whose mission is to help construction companies manage tenders, contracts, vendor relationships, and reporting analytics more efficiently, raised a $3.9 million round. AirTree Ventures and Saniel Ventures were the co-leads. Startup Daily has more here.

Wondercraft, a London startup founded last year whose AI-powered platform transforms written content into audio formats such as podcasts, audiobooks, and audio ads, raised a $3 million seed round. Will Ventures was the deal lead, with Y Combinator and startup Eleven Labs also taking part. Slator has more here.

Plex, a 15-year-old company based in Campbell, Ca., whose platform allows users to watch free, ad-supported shows and movies, listen to music, and stream live TV, raised a Series C-3 round of an undisclosed amount from previous Series C investors including lead investor Intercap and Kleiner Perkins. TechCrunch has the scoop here. 

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Acadian Ventures, a five-year-old New York-based firm focused on the future of work, has raised a second fund in the amount of $30 million. The firm has $60 million under management. VentureBeat has more here. 

Advisers are telling Reddit to target an IPO valuation of no less than $5 billion.

Sorry, Elon. LVMH's Bernard Arnault is now the richest person in the world. 

Reed Hastings just gave $1.1 billion in Netflix stock to the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, the charity ne plus ultra for tech billionaires.

Why former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer admits he "has become a real obsessive with toilets."

The New Yorker profiles Universal Music Group Chairman Sir Lucian Grange, who is trying to help record labels harness the power of generative AI.

Y Combinator President Garry Tan crosses the line on X.

Head of AI may be corporate America's hottest job these days.

After spending at least $50 billion on its Reality Labs hardware division, Meta is hoping that the launch of Apple's Vision Pro will help to ignite interest in Meta's headsets and the metaverse.

Corporate behemoths like Microsoft and Google are looking to roll their own rather than rely on Nvidia's chips.

Private equity juggernaut Blackstone is quietly betting big on the data center market. 

You thought Zoom calls were bad; now Apple Vision Pro users will be able to appear in meetings as digital avatars.

Nobody is happy with Tesla's AutoPilot fix.

Super Bowl tickets have never been this expensive.

One of our favorite podcasts, Smartless, is leaving its home at Amazon for SiriusXM. The price? A mere $100 million.

An explorer may have found Amelia Earhart's plane.

"I Am the Balance on Your Gift Card, Unknowable, Eternal."

Crocs - not known for making the most supportive footwear - is rolling out a new hiking shoe. 

Every driver needs an eject button now and then.