|
Wall Street has generally applauded big tech companies for laying off employees, but not Snap. One day after the social media staple cut 10% of its headcount, its stock plunged 30% in after-hours trading after it reported slower user growth and a Q4 revenue miss of just 1.5%. TechCrunch has more here.
Meta today proposed a standard that companies can use to label AI content. “While this is not a perfect answer, we did not want to let perfect be the enemy of the good,” Nicholas Clegg, president of global affairs at Meta, said.
Bluesky, a "decentralized Twitter" that has three million invitation-only users, is opening up to the public today. Lots of people want a different experience that’s not something run by Mark Zuckerberg or another billionaire, says CEO Jay Graber, and it can't be too complicated. “We really wanted to give people something where they didn’t have to learn a whole new thing to post,” she tells TechCrunch.
|
|
|
|
|
"There are a lot of jobs to be done in venture. We’re always sourcing and fundraising, but we're also always looking to be human in those processes, and Affinity helps us do that most effectively.” Kelly Graziadei, Founder & General Partner at f7 Ventures spoke to Affinity about how her team is building a multi-generational fund—and the tools they're using to do that with ease. Want to learn more? Check out the case study.
|
|
|
|
|
Ambience Healthcare, a four-year-old San Francisco startup whose software can write notes during patient visits, summarize patient interactions in their preferred language, and prepare referral letters, raised a $70 million Series B round co-led by Kleiner Perkins and OpenAI Startup Fund, with previous investors Andreessen Horowitz and Optum Ventures also participating. TechCrunch has more here.
NinjaOne, an 11-year-old Austin company that provides tools for monitoring, managing software updates, providing remote support, and protecting data, raised a $231.5 million at a $1.9 billion post-money valuation. Iconiq Growth was the deal lead, with additional participation from Summit Partners. SiliconANGLE has more here.
Zededa, a startup that specializes in edge computing — the group of networks and devices that process data as close as possible to the user, as opposed to in a data center far away, says it has raised $72 million. Smith Point Capital, a venture firm founded by former Salesforce co-CEO Keith Block, led the funding round. Returning investors include Lux Capital, Chevron Technology Ventures and Porsche Ventures. Bloomberg has the story
here.
|
|
|
|
| Big-But-Not-Crazy-Big Fundings |
|
|
|
|
10Beauty, a six-year-old startup based in Burlington, Ma., that is launching a fully automated manicure machine aimed at beauty salons, raised a $17 million Series A extension. Shine Capital was the deal lead. More here.
Colossyan, a four-year-old London startup that offers a tool that enables users to create educational and training videos using AI, raised a $22 million round led by Lakestar, with Launchub, Day One Capital, and Emerge Education also taking part. Tech.eu has more here.
Heura Foods, a seven-year-old Barcelona startup that specializes in creating plant-based meat alternatives inspired by Mediterranean flavors, raised a $43 million Series B round. Investors included Upfield, Unovis Asset Management, the European Circular Bioeconomy Fund, and Newtree Impact. Vegconomist has more here.
IONIX, a seven-year-old Tel Aviv startup that aims to find cybersecurity weaknesses from an attacker's perspective and fix them before they can be exploited, raised a $42 million Series A round. Maor Investments and previous investors Hyperwise Ventures, Team8, and U.S. Venture Partners invested in the deal. The company has raised a total of $50.3 million. TechCrunch has more here.
StatusPRO, a four-year-old Miami startup that uses virtual reality technology to make immersive gaming and training products that give users a professional athlete's perspective,
raised a $20 million Series A round led by GV, with Dream Sports, Wise Ventures, JDS Sports, Alumni Ventures, LeBron James, Drake, Maverick Carter, Main Street Advisors, and Haslam Sports Group also piling on. VentureBeat has more here.
Synthetaic, a five-year-old startup based in Delafield, Wi., that provides a way to analyze and categorize large, diverse sets of images and data without needing them to be labeled by humans first, raised a $15 million Series B round co-led by Lupa Systems and TitletownTech, with IBM Ventures and Booz Allen Hamilton also pitching in. The company has raised a total of $32.5 million. TechCrunch has more here.
|
|
|
|
|
Blush, a Los Angeles startup founded last year that is launching an invite-only dating app, raised a $7 million seed round from Naval Ravikant and other angels. TechCrunch has more here.
Cimba.AI, a one-year-old Seattle startup that enables users to build AI agents that can interpret complex data, aiming to streamline business operations and enhance efficiency, raised a $1.3 million pre-seed round led by Ripple Ventures, with additional investors including SeaChange and PackVC. GeekWire has more here.
Finally, a six-year-old Miami startup that helps businesses automate accounting and finance functions, raised a $10 million round led by PeakSpan Capital, with Active Capital also stepping up. TechCrunch has more here.
Flaunt, a startup based in Indianapolis, In., that provides a loyalty program platform for e-commerce businesses that allows them to offer gamification, personalization, and the ability to run multi-channel campaigns, raised a $1.8 million round led by High Alpha, with Square Deal Capital and Service Provider Capital also chipping in. VentureBeat has more here.
Galileo AI, a two-year-old San Francisco startup that has developed an AI tool for designers, enabling them to transform written prompts into user interface designs, raised a $4.4 million seed round led by Khosla Ventures. More here.
Jam, a four-year-old San Francisco startup whose tool makes it easier for teams to report and fix software bugs, raised a $8.9 million Series A round led by GGV Capital and including Figma Ventures as well as previous investors USV, BoxGroup, Version One Ventures, and Village Global. TechCrunch has more here.
Mogul, a Los Angeles startup founded last year that provides an overview of an artist's royalty earnings and identifies areas where money is owed but has not yet been collected, raised a $1.9 million seed round from Wonder Ventures, United Talent Agency, AmplifyLA, and Creator Partners. TechCrunch has more here.
OTee, a two-year-old Oslo startup that simplifies the design and management of industrial automation projects without requiring coding, raised a $1.3 million round co-led by RunwayFBU and Superangel, with Antler and StartupLab also contributing. EU-Startups has more here.
RealReports, a two-year-old New York startup whose platform generates comprehensive reports for real estate agents on properties, which include detailed information like valuation, zoning, and climate risks, raised a $2 million seed round. Investors included TTV Capital, Moderne Ventures, and Erez Capital. HousingWire has more here.
Saleor, a five-year-old Polish startup that enables companies to sell products online by providing the necessary tools to create a website, manage products, and handle customer orders, raised a $8 million seed extension round co-led by Target Global and Zalando, with Cherry Ventures and TQ Ventures also investing. TechCrunch has more here.
|
|
|
|
|
Chain Reaction is your weekly connection to the world of web3. Each week, TechCrunch+ reporter Jacquelyn Melinek interviews a leader in crypto to break down the latest web3 news block-by-block for the crypto-curious. Jacquelyn recently interviewed Chris Dixon of Andreessen Horowitz, who remains unwavering in his focus on blockchain technology and startups building in the industry and blames "casino behavior" for the industry's ups and downs. Find out what he sees that others have stopped paying attention to; listen here.
|
|
|
|
|
Runway, an image and video-focused generative AI company, is raising a $10 million fund to invest in early-stage AI startups, per an SEC filing first spied by Axios. More here.
|
|
|
|
|
Entrust, a private company that helps businesses and individuals secure their digital transactions and communications, is acquiring Onfido, a 12-year-old company that helps businesses verify the real identities of their users online by checking facial biometrics and identity documents, for a price rumored to be "well above" $400 million. According to Crunchbase, Onfido has raised over $180 million from the likes of TPG, M12 (Microsoft's venture firm), Salesforce Ventures, and others. TechCrunch has more here.
|
|
|
|
|
LuLu Group International, which operates one of the Middle East’s largest hypermarket chains, has invited banks to pitch for roles on a potential initial public offering that could raise at least $1 billion, according to Bloomberg, which says the conglomerate is considering plans for a dual listing in Riyadh and Abu Dhabi.
Metagenomi Technologies, a genetic medicines company backed by Bayer Healthcare, said yesterday that it's targeting a modest valuation of up to $638 million for its IPO in New York. One of a string of companies from the healthcare sector that have sought listings recently, it is developing therapies for genetic diseases like hemophilia A, says Reuters, and all of its revenue has been generated from three collaboration agreements, including one with Moderna, and not any product sales. More here.
|
|
|
|
|
Taylor Swift is threatening to sue the same college student as Elon Musk. Swift accuses the University of Southern Florida's Jack Sweeney of "stalking and harassing behavior" for tracking and publishing the location of her private jet. (Also, is this kid ever going to graduate?)
Actress Gina Carano is suing Disney for firing her over a tweet, and Elon Musk's X is helping to foot the bill "[a]s a sign of X Corp’s commitment to free speech," the company said in a statement.
Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg is officially warning Apple fanboys not to drive their Cybertrucks while wearing a Vision Pro headset.
He's baaack! Adam Neumann is trying to buy back his old company, WeWork, and nobody seems to be particularly interested in taking his money.
|
|
|
|
|
DocuSign is laying off 6% of its workforce or approximately 440 people, mostly on the sales and marketing side. The document sharing company has been entertaining buyout talks, but these discussions have recently stalled.
Vertical farming startup Plenty Unlimited said today that it moving all of its R&D out of California, as part of a shift focused on making the company profitable and further scaling in Wyoming and Virginia. The company will lay off 50 employees in South San Francisco by next month, as well as 100 at its farm operation in Compton.
|
|
|
|
|
Some VCs think Apple's Vision Pro has a shot in the enterprise.
Speaking of the Apple Vision Pro, you're using it all wrong.
Some VC firms are cooling to AI startups, chilled by the high valuation of OpenAI and worried about the threat of Google and Amazon.
Three million smart toothbrushes were apparently hacked and used in DDoS attacks, according to a recent report in Aargauer Zeitung, a Swiss publication.
|
|
|
|
|
