Wish sells for a song, Arm's shares rise higher, and Rabbit's Jesse Lyu joins our L.A. lineup

We have great news for those of you coming to our StrictlyVC L.A. evening on Thursday, February 29 in Hollywood!

In addition to an already stellar line-up of guest speakers that includes Meredith Whittaker, the outspoken president of Signal Foundation (which oversees the encrypted private-messaging app Signal); Trae Stephens, the founder and executive chairman of the powerful defense tech and weapons maker Anduril (and a general partner with Founders Fund); and Waymo co-CEO Takedra Mawakana, who presumably has thoughts about what happened in San Francisco this past weekend, when one of the outfit's robotaxis was set on fire; we're thrilled to say that Rabbit CEO Jesse Lyu, whose standalone AI device was the smash hit of CES, has also joined the program. Why have people lost their minds over this $199 gadget? We'll explore the possibilities with Lyu.

If you have not nabbed a seat, don't wait; our San Francisco event sold out and our L.A. event is on track to sell out, too. If you are interested in partnering with us on this one, we're happy to run you through the options (we have some interesting opportunities left).

Tribe Capital is selling shares it owns in ecommerce startup Bolt back to the company at an implied valuation of $300 million, 97% below Bolt's 2021 valuation of $11 billion. The Information has more here. 

This feels . . .crazy? Nvidia's market cap today briefly passed that of Amazon. (It also passed Alphabet!)

Speaking of skyrocketing AI chip companies, Arm's stock rose 40% today after climbing 42% this past Friday. (Cue another rise in Softbank's stock ...)

Bitcoin today surpassed $50,000 for the first time in two years, undoubtedly good news for Peter Thiel's Founders Fund, which began building a $200 million crypto position last summer. 

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Bugcrowd, a 12-year-old San Francisco company that connects organizations with a global network of security researchers to find and fix vulnerabilities in their digital systems, raised a $102 million round led by General Catalyst, with Rally Ventures and Costanoa Ventures also pitching in. The company has raised a total of $180+ million. TechCrunch has more here.

Bob W, a six-year-old, Finland-based marketplace for premium short-term apartment rentals, has raised €40 million ($43 million) in a Series B round of funding. Evli Growth led the round, joined by Flashpoint, Supercell co-founder Mikko Kodisoja, and Taavet+Sten, the investment vehicle launched in 2021 by Wise co-founder Taavet Hinrikus and Teleport co-founder Sten Tamkivi. TechCrunch has more here.

LeoLabs, an eight-year-old startup based in Menlo Park, Ca., that tracks satellites and debris in low Earth orbit for satellite operators, governments, and other space stakeholders, raised a $29 million round led by GP Bullhound, with additional participation from 1941 and Dolby Family Ventures as well as previous investors Insight Partners, Velvet Sea Partners, and Space Capital. TechCrunch has more here.

Amply, a Belfast startup that is building an AI-powered drug discovery platform to research new therapies for conditions like acute myeloid leukaemia, raised a $1.8 million round co-led by Innovate UK and Innosuisse. Tech.eu has more here.

Ilara Health, a five-year-old Nairobi startup that provides primary care clinics across Africa with financing for diagnostic equipment and pharmaceutical supplies as well as the digitization of clinic operations, raised $4.2 million in debt and equity. DOB Equity was the deal lead, with Philips Foundation, AAIC Investment, Angaza Capital, Black Pearl Investments, and Perivoli Innovations also taking part. The company has raised a total of $11.7 million in equity, debt, and grants. TechCrunch has more here.

Portchain, a seven-year-old Copenhagen startup whose platform helps shipping companies and port terminals improve how they schedule and plan the use of berths, raised a $5 round led by Angular Ventures. The company has raised a total of $10 million. Tech.eu has more here.

Tortus, a two-year-old London startup that aims to reduce human error in medicine by pairing clinicians with an AI co-pilot, raised a $4.2 million round. Khosla Ventures was the deal lead. Healthcare has more here.

Homebrew, an 11-year-old San Francisco-based VC firm cofounded by Hunter Walk and Satya Patel that has invested in over 200 early stage startups like Plaid and Cruise, is raising a $50 million fund. TechCrunch has more here.

Wingman Ventures, a Zurich-based venture firm focused on regional pre-seed startups, announced today it is rebranding as Founderful and has already raised $85 million for its second fund, a vehicle that it hopes to close with $120 million in capital commitments in the next few months. TechCrunch has more here.

ContextOnline is selling the ecommerce retailer Wish to a Singaporean company for $173 million, a far cry from the $14 billion valuation Wish commanded when it went public in 2020.

Nicole Shanahan, a lawyer and tech entrepreneur who was once married to Google cofounder Sergey Brin, helped pay for Robert Kennedy's Super Bowl ad and coordinated the ad's production. The New York Times has more here. 

The sentencing of former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao ("CZ") n a money laundering rule charge has been postponed until April 30, CNBC reported earlier today. Zhao, a resident of the United Arab Emirates, is free on a $175 million release bond in the U.S. He pleaded guilty in November to a charge of failure to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program at the cryptocurrency exchange he founded. More here.

Look for the tech job cuts to continue, says one analyst. "The layoffs are going to continue, and it may get worse. It's become contagious," Jefferies' Brent Thill tells the Financial Times. 

In honor of Valentine's Day, we bring you Score, a new dating app that pairs people based on their credit scores. 

Temu, a Chinese ecommerce app, bet big on the Super Bowl, buying six Super Bowl spots and offering $10 million in giveaways in an apparent effort to bolster flagging U.S. sales. Another big spender? CoStar Group, which owns Homes.com and Apartments.com. The real estate analytics company likely spent $35 million on its ads.

The U.S. government is investing $42 million in an effort to open up cellular networks. 

AI sets its sights on middle management.

The best and worst Super Bowl ads. 

San Diego is experiencing an "active earthquake swarm."

Living in an age of twins.

Meet Teddy, the incredible inverted begging dog.

Everything's big in Texas, and especially this 9,473 square foot Rollingwood manse complete with glass elevator and underground garage.