OpenAI cofounder and CEO Sam Altman is trying to raise up to $7 trillion for a new AI chip venture, plus other news!

OpenAI cofounder and CEO Sam Altman is trying to raise up to $7 trillion(!) for a new AI chip venture. The WSJ has more here.

Chipmaker Arm's stock price surged 48% today on better-than-expected third quarter earnings. Notably, SoftBank still owns 90% of the company's stock.

More bad news for password aggregator LastPass: the company is warning that there is a fake version of its app on the Apple App Store that is probably being used for phishing.

A Congressional investigation is flagging GGV Capital, GSR Ventures, Qualcomm Ventures, Sequoia Capital, and Walden International for investing in Chinese chip companies, which are now regarded as a U.S. security threat.

Marcelo Claure's Claure Group is buying a stake in Hedosophia, which may be best known for forming a series of SPACs with Chamath Palihapitiya’s Social Capital. For his part, Claure was formerly COO of SoftBank Group before departing the company over a pay dispute. 

California state Senator Scott Wiener today introduced a bill aiming to force companies to test the most powerful AI models before releasing them. The new bill would require companies training new AI models to test their tools for “unsafe” behavior, institute hacking protections, and develop the tech in such a way that it can be shut down completely.

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Elroy Air, an eight-year-old South San Francisco startup that is using autonomous drones to deliver cargo, raised a $48.9 million in new capital. Shield Capital led the transaction. Bay Area Inno has more here.

Nasdaq Private Market, a three-year-old Nasdaq spinout that has created a marketplace for secondary shares, raised a $62.4 million Series B round led by Nasdaq, with additional funds provided by BNP Paribas, DRW Venture Capital, UBS, and Wells Fargo as well as previous investors Allen & Company, Citi, and Goldman Sachs. More here. 

Unlearn, a startup that creates digital twins of clinical trial participants in order to improve trial efficiency, raised a $50 million Series C round. Altimeter Capital was the lead investor, with Insight Partners, DCVC, 8VC, and DCVC Bio as well as previous investors Wittington Ventures, Epic Ventures, Radical Ventures, Mubadala Capital, and Necessary Venture Capital also piling on. The company has raised a total of $130+ million. MobiHealthNews has more here. 

Amperesand, a one-year-old Singapore startup that is developing advanced electrical transformers using solid-state technology, raised a $12.5 million seed round co-led by Xora Innovation and Material Impact, with TDK Ventures and Foothill Ventures also stepping up. TechCrunch has more here.

Artificial Labs, an 11-year-old London company that uses algorithms to help insurance companies speed up underwriting, data entry, risk assessment, and contract creation, raised a $10.1 million round. Augmentum Fintech was the deal lead, with previous investors MS&AD Ventures and FOMCAP IV also opting in. FinTech Global has more here.

Closinglock, a seven-year-old Austin startup whose platform is designed to prevent fraud in real estate transactions, raised a $12 million Series A round led by Headline, with LiveOak Ventures also chipping in. The company has raised a total of $16 million. TechCrunch has more here.

Daedalus, a five-year-old German startup that uses software-driven processes and robotics to produce high-quality precision parts for manufacturers, raised a $21 million Series A round led by NGP Capital, with previous investors Addition and Khosla Ventures also taking part. The company has raised a total of $40+ million. TechCrunch has more here.

Ezra, a six-year-old New York startup that provides full-body MRI scans to provide early detection of health issues such as cancer, raised a $21 million round led by Healthier Capital and FirstMark Capital. The company has raised a total of $41 million. More here. 

Greyparrot, a five-year-old London startup that that uses computer vision for waste analytics, raised a $12.8 million round. Bollegraaf was the deal lead. TechCrunch has more here.

Jow, a seven-year-old Paris startup that has built a personalized grocery shopping app, raised a $13 million Series A extension led by Northzone and including previous investor Eurazeo. Progressive Grocer has more here.

LimaCharlie, a six-year-old startup based in Corvina, Ca., that helps SMBs monitor their computer systems, identify and respond to threats, and integrate various security tools, raised a $10.2 million Series A round. Sands Capital led the investment, with additional investors including CoFound Partners, Long Journey Ventures, Lytical Ventures, Myriad Venture Partners, StoneMill Ventures, and Strategic Cyber Ventures. The company has raised a total of $16.5 million. SecurityWeek has more here.

Pennylane, a four-year-old Paris startup whose accounting software is designed to streamline financial management for businesses and accountants, raised a $43.1 million Series C round at a $1.1 billion valuation from previous investors DST Global and Sequoia Capital. TechCrunch has more here.

Polycam, a three-year-old startup based in Altadena, Ca., whose app lets users capture the world around them in 3D using mobile devices, DSLR cameras, or drones, raised an $18 million Series A round co-led by Left Lane Capital and Adjacent, with Adobe Ventures and YouTube cofounder Chad Hurley also pitching in. TechCrunch has more here.

River, a three-year-old Bengaluru startup that makes electric scooters, raised a $40 million Series B round led by Yamaha Motor Co., with Al-Futtaim Automotive, Lowercarbon Capital, and Toyota Ventures also participating. More here.

Thera Energy, a two-year-old startup based in Princeton, NJ, that is designing a new type of fusion reactor, raised a $20 million Series A round led by Prelude Ventures, with 11.2 Capital, Anglo American, Hitachi Ventures, Lowercarbon Capital, Mercator Partners, Orion Industrial Ventures, and Starlight Ventures also contributing. TechCrunch has more here.

Vektor Medical, a seven-year-old San Diego startup that is developing technology to use AI to analyze heart arrhythmias non-invasively, raised a $16 million Series A round. TVM Capital Life Science and Solas BioVentures were the co-leads. More here.

ActionStreamer, a nine-year-old Cincinnati startup whose platform offers a way to manage wearables and streaming applications in sports, entertainment, defense, and telecommunications, raised a $2.4 million Series A round. JumpStart Ventures led the transaction, with The Castellini Management Company also investing. More here.

Cosmic Aerospace, a Denver startup that is developing an all-electric passenger aircraft, raised a $4.5 million seed round. Pale Blue Dot was the deal lead, with Aera VC, Visionaries Club Tomorrow, Fifty Years, Possible Ventures, Syndicate One, Course Corrected, Understorey Capital, and Samurai Incubate also participating. Tech.eu has more here.

Flood, a seven-year-old San Francisco startup that enhances cryptocurrency trading by aggregating deals across various decentralized exchanges, raised a $5.2 million seed round last summer co-led by Archetype and Bain Capital Crypto, with Robot Ventures also anteing up. The Block has more here.

Glass Imaging, a five-year-old startup based in Los Altos, CA, that has developed AI-powered software to correct optical aberrations and sensor issues in smartphone cameras, raised a $9.3 million seed extension led by GV, with Future Ventures, Abstract Ventures, and LDV Capital also joining in. TechCrunch has more here. 

Upstash, a three-year-old startup based in San Jose, CA, that allows developers to use databases and messaging systems without having to manage the underlying infrastructure, raised a $10 million Series A led by Andreessen Horowitz, with previous investors EarlyBird and Mango Capital also joining in. TechCrunch has more here.

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In hiring its first-ever president, Plaid may be signaling its plans for an IPO. TechCrunch has more here. 

Google CEO Sundar Pichai talks to Wired about a world where search isn't king.

Bloomberg profiles Sam Altman's "secret weapon," OpenAI COO Brad Lightcap.

Chris Dixon's new crypto book may be a New York Times bestseller, but a Vice investigation is attributing its success in part to bulk orders by companies linked to Andreessen Horowitz and Dixon.

Getaround, a 15-year-old peer-to-peer car-sharing service based in San Francisco that enables car owners to rent out their vehicles to others on an hourly or daily basis, is laying off one-third of its North American staff in order to accelerate its "path to profitability." TechCrunch has more here. 

Google just released "Gemini" in a new effort to cash in on generative AI.

Many consultants at McKinsey are "on the bench" with not enough to do as the consulting firm looks to cut back after a pandemic-era hiring spree. 

Iceland is living the green dream.

Why Oppenheimer director Chris Nolan bans Uggs on set.

Finnair will soon start weighing passengers as well as bags.

The Piaget Polo 79 - pure 70s gold.