|
OpenAI is developing a search tool that would place it in direct competition with Google. Reportedly, the service would be partly powered by Bing (which sounds more like a rebranding?).
Speaking of OpenAI, hackers are using ChatGPT to enhance their cyberattacks.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX is now also looking to legally move its corporate home out of Delaware. (As you may remember, another of his companies, Neuralink, was reincorporated in Nevada just last week.) The moves comes after Musk’s almost $56 billion pay package at Tesla was axed by a Delaware judge in January. “SpaceX has moved its state of incorporation from Delaware to Texas!," he wrote on his social media platform today. "If your company is still incorporated in Delaware, I recommend moving to another state as soon as possible.”
|
|
|
|
|
Investing is picking up in 2024 after a while! We’ve got your back. Check out this exclusive report on "50 Hypergrowth Startups" to watch in 2024, covering exciting startups from across FinTech, AI, HealthTech, E-commerce, Cybersecurity, DeepTech, & many others! We’ve curated this list from a pool of over 50K+ bootstrapped, early & growth-stage startups globally! Don’t miss this one:! Download now>
|
|
|
|
|
Bold, a financial technology company building an electronic payments infrastructure in Colombia, raised $50 million in Series C funding in a round led by existing investor General Atlantic. International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank Group, joined existing investors InQLab and Amador in the round. In total, Bold has raised $130 million, company co-founder and CEO José Vélez tells TechCrunch.
Latigo, a six-year-old startup based in Thousand Oaks, Ca., that is developing non-opioid pain treatments, raised a $135 million round co-led by Westlake Village BioPartners, 5AM Ventures, and Foresite Capital, with Corner Ventures also participating. Reuters has more here.
Lilac Solutions, an eight-year-old Oakland startup that says it has developed a new method for extracting lithium from saltwater deposits, raised a $145 million round co-led by Mercuria, Lowercarbon Capital, and Breakthrough Energy Ventures, with additional participation from Mitsubishi Corporation and The Nature Conservancy as well as previous investors T. Rowe Price, Engine Ventures, Aventurine, Presidio Ventures, and BMW i Ventures. (Lowercarbon is also an earlier investor.) The company has raised a total of $315 million. Inc. has more here.
Together AI, a 20-month-old startup that helps AI developers access Nvidia server chips to train and tweak their AI models, is raising more than $100 million in new funding at more than $1 billion, doubling its valuation from a funding round four months ago, according to The Information. Salesforce Ventures reportedly plans to lead the round, with participation from hedge fund Coatue Management. More here.
|
|
|
|
| Big-But-Not-Crazy-Big Fundings |
|
|
|
|
AstroTalk, a seven-year-old Indian startup that puts consumers in touch with astrologers for horoscope readings, birth chart analysis, live prayers, and more, raised a $20 million Series A round. Left Lane Capital was the deal investor. Entrackr has more here.
Marqo, a two-year-old Melbourne startup whose tool enables developers to add AI-based search capabilities to their apps, raised a $12.5 million Series A round led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, with Blackbird VC and January Capital also investing. The company has raised a total of $17.8 million. PYMNTS has more here.
PatientFi, a seven-year-old startup based in Irvine, Ca., that partners with healthcare practices to offer patients monthly payment plans for elective procedures, raised a $25 million round. Questa Capital was the deal lead. More here.
Rasa, an eight-year-old San Francisco startup whose platform enables developers to build generative AI chatbots, raised a $30 million Series C round co-led by StepStone Group and PayPal Ventures, with additional funds provided by previous investors Andreessen Horowitz, Accel, and Basis Set Ventures. TechCrunch has more here.
Roam, a Kenyan startup that produces electric motorcycles, utility vehicles, buses, and energy systems for the African market, raised a $24 million Series A round. Equator was the deal lead, with At One Ventures, TES Ventures, Renew Capital, The World We Want, and One Small Planet also pitching in. TechCrunch has more here.
Skylo Technologies, a seven-year-old startup based in Mountain View, Ca., that offers satellite connectivity services for industries that depend on remote infrastructure, such as the maritime, agriculture, transport, and energy sectors, raised a $37 million round co-led by Intel Capital and Innovation Endeavors, with BMW i Ventures, Next47, Samsung Catalyst Fund, and Seraphim Space also taking part. The company has raised a total of $153 million. CNBC has more
here.
|
|
|
|
|
Aegir Insights, a four-year-old Copenhagen startup that sells software and services that provide data and analytics for the offshore wind industry, raised a $9.1 million Series A round led by Seaya Andromeda, with Climentum Capital also anteing up. More here.
Anatomy Financial, a San Francisco startup that aims to automate financial processes for healthcare organizations such as billing, payments, and financial reporting, raised a $7.6 million round. Investors included Lightspeed Venture Partners, Meridian Street Capital, Live Oak Ventures, Cambrian Ventures, and Peterson Ventures. More here.
FlowFi, a three-year-old Los Angeles startup that offers financial management services to startups and SMBs, including CFO hiring, accounting, and tax services, raised a $9 million seed round led by Blumberg Capital, with Parade Ventures, Differential Ventures, Precursor Ventures, Special Ventures, and 14 Peaks Capital also stepping up. TechCrunch has more here.
KTrust, a two-year-old Tel Aviv startup that offers a security platform for Kubernetes environments, focusing on identifying and mitigating potential cyber threats, raised a $5.3 million seed round. Awz Ventures was the deal lead. TechCrunch has more here.
Mindy, a startup that is building an AI-powered email assistant designed to handle tasks like scheduling, research, and shopping directly through email communication, raised a $6 million seed round. Founders Fund and Sequoia Capital co-led the transaction. TechCrunch has more here.
Pathways, a two-year-old New York startup that automates the creation of environmental compliance documents for European builders, raised a $2.5 million round. Pi Labs and Zacua Ventures were the co-leads. Tech Funding News has more here.
Rimere, a startup based in Newport Beach, Ca., that uses plasma technology to treat methane emissions by converting them into less harmful substances and to transform natural gas into clean hydrogen and graphene without producing CO2 emissions, raised a $10 million investment round. Clean Energy Fuels was the sole investor. The company has raised a total of $18.25 million. More here.
Sibli, a Montréal startup that uses AI to analyze large amounts of unstructured data in order to identify insights for portfolio managers and analysts, raised a $4.5 million seed round led by Staircase Ventures, with The Group Ventures, Burst Capital, and MaRS IA also contributing. More here.
Zylon, a one-year-old Madrid spinout of PrivateGPT that is building an AI assistant for businesses that can automatically perform tasks and collaborate with employees, raised a $3.2 million pre-seed round led by Felicis, with LifeX Ventures and Gypsy also chipping in. Tech.eu has more here.
|
|
|
|
|
Want to discover the next breakout company? Try Harmonic AI.Harmonic AI is the startup discovery platform trusted by teams at NEA, Bedrock, Craft (and more) to find breakout investments. Harmonic provides market intelligence
on 20M+ startups with tools designed to create better deal flow:
- Discover new startups in any sector, geography, or stage (including stealth).
- Prioritize companies consolidating top talent, rapidly adding headcount, and quickly growing their digital presence.
- Monitor network so you can be the first to know.
Find your next deal on Harmonicharmonic.aiHarmonic.ai - The complete startup database.
|
|
|
|
|
Bart Andre, Apple's longest serving designer, is resigning.
Broadcom CEO Hock Tan and John Arnold -- a former Enron energy trader who has become among the most active philanthropists in the U.S. -- were elected to Meta Platforms’ board of directors as it prepares to part ways with longtime director (and former COO) Sheryl Sandberg.
Damien Singh, the CFO of Canva, the design software firm last valued at over $25 billion, has left the company. The departure "leaves one of the most closely watched software firms with an important executive position to fill ahead of a potential initial public offering," notes The Information.
GV, Alphabet's early-stage venture firm, just promoted Anthony Philippakis to general partner. Philippakis has been a venture partner with GV since 2012 and played a "critical role in incubating and co-founding GV portfolio company Verve Therapeutics," the group tells us.
|
|
|
|
|
Cisco announced plans to cut 5% of its workforce today, a decision that will result in the elimination of about 4,250 jobs.
|
|
|
|
|
How is it that Baylor University has a better-performing endowment than Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Columbia, and Stanford?
The founder of Viva Wallet, a fintech startup that sold 48.5% of its business to JPMorgan in 2021, has begun legal proceedings against the bank over what he claims are tactics to suppress his company’s growth. According to the FT, executives at JPMorgan, meanwhile, believe the executive is refusing to accept the valuation of fintech companies has drastically fallen over the past two years.
Romance chatbots are harvesting personal information and possible selling it. "To be perfectly blunt, AI girlfriends and boyfriends are not your friends,” said a Mozilla researcher.
|
|
|
|
|
Find out why TikTok users are booby-trapping their hotel rooms.
A year ago, on Valentine's Day, ChatGPT tried to steal a New York Times writer from his wife. Now, he just finds them boring.
A tribute to the Pop-Tart and Bill Post, one of its inventors.
|
|
|
|
|
