DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ A formfitting blazer and Chelsea boots, or jeans and high-top sneakers? Here's how the 2023 rising stars of VC put together their 'power outfits.'
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-04 | by ( Madeline Renbarger | Ben Bergman | Darius Rafieyan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Many of this year's VC rising stars told Business Insider that their go-to power outfits included apparel like tailored sport coats or Chelsea boots, and more casual pieces like hoodies and well-fitting jeans. Very few investors are wearing collared shirts with their jackets, opting instead to pair it with a t- shirt and jeans. Nmachi Jidemna told Business Insider that for her everyday wear, her go-to was "usually a structured blazer with a relaxed pair of jeans." Lori Harvey (left) and Heidi Klum (right) wearing red outfits. Black flowy trousers, black turtleneck, and chunky black boots."

Persons: that's, Laura Bock, Nmachi Jidemna, Javier Grevely, Ralph Lauren, Tobi Coker, Janelle Teng, Patron's Amber Atherton, Jason Yeh, Ashley Paston, Justin Williams, VCs, Mahati Sridhar, Grady Dick, Michelle Farsi, Pear, Vivien Ho, Lori Harvey, Heidi Klum, Valentina Frugiuele, Bauer, Griffin, Luci Fonseca, RTFKT, Brandon Hoffman, JL, Sarah Wu, Emerson, Fiona Huang, Demi Obayomi, Natalie Borowski, Daisy Wolf, Andreessen Horowitz Organizations: Business, Wellington Management, Converse, Seae Ventures, Getty, GV, Nike, Sunset Ventures, Bain Capital Ventures Locations: London, Chelsea

☆ Insider Today: Amazon's secret search plan
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-03 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

AdvertisementAdvertisementThe retail giant is overhauling its search bar with ChatGPT-like features that'll act as a sort of concierge for customers, offering expert answers and product suggestions. Dubbed Project Nile, Amazon's top leaders, including CEO Andy Jassy, view the new search bar as a top priority. AdvertisementAdvertisementHowever, Amazon's overhauled search bar will arguably be the most impactful implementation of generative AI from Big Tech for US consumers thus far. insider intelligenceIn reading Eugene's piece, three follow-up questions immediately came to mind:How will Amazon sellers try and game the new search bar? However, Joseph Sirosh serves as VP of Amazon Search and Alexa Shopping, suggesting Alexa could get a much-needed boost from the new search bar.

Persons: —, Mike Blake, Alyssa Powell, Amazon's, Andy Jassy, Eugene Kim, Joseph Sirosh, Alexa, TikTok, Ben Sun, Anu Duggal, Susan Lyne, Josh Wolfe, Matt Harris, Jillian Williams, Melissa Kwan, Sergey Brin, Brin, Hugo Herrera, Sam Bankman, Fried, Dan DeFrancesco, Naga Siu, Hallam Bullock, Lisa Ryan Organizations: Service, Reuters, Nile, Microsoft, Big Tech, Alexa, Amazon Search, Getty, Wall Street, BBG Ventures, Lux Capital, Apple, Bain Capital Ventures, Cowboy Ventures, Prosecutors, BET, MLB, American League and National League, Houston Astros Locations: Atlanta, Sonoma , California, New York City, San Diego, London, New York

Insider asked 34 top fintech investors to nominate the most promising startups. VCs highlighted startups that haven't raised more than a Series C.Behind-the-scenes firms, payment and compliance startups dominated this year's list. Get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in business, from Wall Street to Silicon Valley — delivered daily. Insider surveyed 34 early-stage investors — including Bain Capital Ventures, Point72 Ventures, and Index Ventures — about the hottest fintechs to watch. There were also several sustainability-focused startups, offering everything from electric-vehicle financing to marketplaces for financing renewable-energy projects.

Persons: VCs, we'll, Mark Peter Davis Organizations: Service, Bain Capital Ventures, Point72 Ventures, Ventures, Interplay, Bank Locations: Wall, Silicon

Insider asked more than 30 top fintech investors to nominate the most promising startups. VCs highlighted startups that haven't raised more than a Series C.Here are the 54 most promising fintechs. Insider surveyed 34 early-stage investors — including Bain Capital Ventures, Point72 Ventures, and Index Ventures — about the hottest fintechs to watch. As was the case last year, fintechs that sell to businesses, as opposed to those that serve consumers directly, dominated the list. Check out the 54 fintechs identified as most promising by top investors.

Persons: VCs, we'll, Mark Peter Davis Organizations: Bain Capital Ventures, Point72 Ventures, Ventures, Interplay

☆ E-commerce fulfillment startup ShipBob snags new chief supply chain officer from Amazon
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( Emma Cosgrove | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

ShipBob is an e-commerce fulfillment startup that picks and packs orders for online sellers. The company has hired Amazon alum, Melissa Nick, as Its first-ever chief supply chain officer. Nick told Insider that Amazon executives join logistics startups because they like to build. ShipBob, an e-commerce fulfillment company backed by Bain Capital Ventures, has nicked its first-ever chief supply chain officer from the prevailing force in e-commerce logistics. Amazon offers one of the fastest fulfillment services out there, but Fulfillment by Amazon is notoriously rigid.

Persons: Melissa Nick, Nick, Shopify, ShipBob, Dhruv Saxena, Divey Gulati Organizations: Amazon, Bain Capital Ventures, North, ShipBob, UPS, FedEx Locations: Chicago, Nashville , Tennessee, Los Angeles, United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Europe, Australia

June 8 - Legal AI company EvenUp has raised an additional $50.5 million in Series B funding from new investors including Bessemer Venture Partners and Bain Capital Ventures, the San Francisco-based company said Thursday, valuing the company at $325 million. EvenUp provides a product to personal injury law firms that automates the workflow for demand letters, using generative AI and a proprietary legal dataset. These have been boom times for the legal AI market, as legal firms have lined up to embrace generative AI. Law is an ideal use case for generative AI because what lawyers do – analyze content and then synthesize it in prose – is exactly what generative AI products like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which was trained on reams of text, do best, said Bessemer partner Sameer Dholakia. He estimated there are about 300,000 personal injury attorneys and 20 million personal injury cases per year.

Persons: EvenUp, Rami Karabibar, Sameer Dholakia, Karabibar, Anna Tong, David Gregorio Our Organizations: Bessemer Venture Partners, Bain Capital Ventures, NFX, Reuters, Thomson Locations: San Francisco

Rubrik may raise more than $750 million in its IPO, three of the sources added, though that may change based on market conditions as the preparations are still at an early stage. Rubrik currently generates annual recurring revenue of about $600 million, one of the sources said. Three of the sources said Rubrik could choose to go public in 2024, if the IPO market becomes more welcoming. Founded in 2014 by venture capitalist Bipul Sinha, Rubrik makes cloud-based ransomware protection and data-backup software. SoftBank-backed Cohesity Inc, which competes with Rubrik, is also preparing to go public, having filed confidentially for an IPO in late 2021, Reuters reported.

Persons: Goldman Sachs, Rubrik, Bipul Sinha, Johnson, Echo Wang, Milana Vinn, Krystal Hu, Matthew Lewis Organizations: YORK, Microsoft Corp, Barclays Plc, Citigroup Inc, Barclays, Citi, Nvidia Corp, Depot Inc, Bain Capital Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Kenvue Inc, Johnson, SoftBank Group Corp, Inc, Reuters, Cohesity Inc, Thomson Locations: U.S, Palo Alto , California, ., New York

☆ VCs are scrambling to invest in AI startups in Y Combinator's latest class: 'There's hysteria for a reason'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Stephanie Palazzolo | Madeline Renbarger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

VCs are scrambling to back the AI startups in Y Combinator's latest batch. Several generative AI startups have already secured funding from top firms, sources say. And while valuations are down across the board, YC AI startups are still hot. Startups focused on AI, and generative AI specifically, which saw a substantial jump in the latest batch, were some of the most highly sought after by investors. An AI feeding frenzyVC buzz was common across generative AI startups both in the application and infrastructure layers.

☆ Y Combinator's latest class is a feeding frenzy for VCs looking to back AI startups: 'There's hysteria for a reason'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Stephanie Palazzolo | Madeline Renbarger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

☆ It's becoming increasingly clear that fintech has a fraud problem
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Bianca Chan | Paige Hagy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

"With fast growth comes fast fraud," Frank McKenna, a longtime fraud expert who works with banks, lenders, and fintechs, told Insider. Cash App only requires a zip code, debit-card number, and either an email or phone number to create an account. Cash App's alleged fraud problem could also be the result of its large, active customer base, which numbers some 44 million, according to the company's 2022 annual report. The fact that Cash App offers peer-to-peer payments exacerbates the fraud issue, according to McKenna, the chief fraud strategist at Point Predictive, an anti-fraud software company. Digital-only bank Chime has had its own issues with fraud, Jason Mikula, a fintech analyst and consultant, told Insider.

☆ See the 9-slide presentation that got General Catalyst to bet $5 million on a startup helping people with disabilities get accommodations at work
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Rebecca Torrence | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Managing requests for disability accommodations can be a tricky and time consuming process. Disclo grabbed $5 million in seed funding from General Catalyst in February using this pitch deck. In February, Atlanta-based Disclo raised $5 million in seed funding led by General Catalyst. Disclo provided Insider with the pitch deck it used to land $5 million from General Catalyst and other investors. Here's the deck Disclo used to get $5 million from General Catalyst.

☆ A company-wide Zoom meeting versus individual calls: Insiders reveal how multi-billion-dollar startups Clari and Workato slashed jobs.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( April Joyner | Stephanie Palazzolo | Madeline Renbarger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Unicorns Clari and Workato are among the latest startups to cut jobs. Workato laid off 10 percent of its workforce, and Clari had its second round of cuts in a year. Clari's layoffs caught the startup's staffers off guard, according to one employee Insider spoke to. Though the layoffs were unexpected, the former Workato employee said, they appreciated the way the company delivered the news. The former Clari employee Insider spoke with said that the spate of layoffs had prompted them to reconsider their dedication to the tech industry.

☆ VCs have swapped out tennis rackets and golf clubs for pickleball paddles. Here's why the sport has become one of the hottest hobbies in Silicon Valley.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-28 | by ( Stephanie Palazzolo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Pickleball has exploded in popularity in recent years, becoming America's fastest-growing sport. From building relationships to escaping stress, here's why VCs are obsessed with the sport. In the background, pop music floated through the air as the group prepared for a trying battle of wits and athletic prowess — pickleball. Once reserved for the quiet neighborhoods of suburbs and 55-plus retirement communities, pickleball has exploded onto the tech and VC scene in recent years, investors say. A networking toolAnd other aspects of the sport make it an ideal pick for a hobby or networking tool, VCs added.

☆ 11 podcasts that busy venture capitalists and founders say they trust right now
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-15 | by ( Robin Madell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

Investors at JetBlue Ventures, Mighty Capital, and other VC firms shared their favorite podcasts. Another recommendation is "Origins" by partners at the biotech VC firm Notation Capital. Here are 11 great options, recommended by VCs, founders, CEOs, and other industry insiders. "The main thing about the VC world is building relationships, and Harry is an example of a great networker," Gershfeld said. "BTC is the single-most important asset in the world, and that podcast gets to the heart of why that is."

Insider asked more than 40 top fintech investors to nominate the most promising fintechs. Here are the 61 most promising fintechs. Insider surveyed 43 investors — including those from Bain Capital Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and QED Investors — about the most promising fintechs to watch. Global fintech funding dropped to $20.4 billion in the second quarter, falling 46% from last year, according to data from CB Insights. Check out the 61 fintechs identified as most promising by top investors.

☆ Europe's tech ecosystem nursed a hangover in 2022 as the post-pandemic party ended and VCs returned to fundamentals
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Callum Burroughs | Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

VCs returned to slower capital deployment and due diligence processes after a record-breaking 2021. The COVID-19 pandemic and the last remnants of the era of cheap money led to reckless abandon in funding markets with tech startups raising capital at record rates, often at valuations untethered from reality. VC cash dried up considerably this year with investors pumping $16 billion into startups in the third quarter of 2022, a 44% annual decline. Numerous VCs told Insider the past two years had felt like an out-of-control celebration with many "now looking around at the aftermath and thinking about tidying up. " "The ecosystem is nursing its hangover after two years of a big party," Arne Morteani, founding partner at Kiko Ventures said.

☆ The unraveling of $3 billion crypto lender BlockFi amid FTX's 'death spiral', according to bankruptcy filings
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( Morgan Chittum | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The crypto platform owes $30 million to the SEC, per bankruptcy filings. FTX, which once offered BlockFi a $400 million credit line, ultimately led to the firm's bankruptcy. BlockFi cited significant exposure to Sam Bankman-Fried's crypto empire, which filed for bankruptcy on November 11. Ironically, once FTX's "death spiral" began, BlockFi's liquidity crisis ensued and the company paused user account withdrawals on its platform. Due to the loan agreement and $355 million in digital assets held on FTX, BlockFi had substantial exposure.

New Jersey-based BlockFi, founded by fintech executive-turned-crypto entrepreneur Zac Prince, said in a bankruptcy filing that its substantial exposure to FTX created a liquidity crisis. BlockFi listed its assets and liabilities as being between $1 billion and $10 billion. Renzi said that BlockFi had sold a portion of its crypto assets earlier in November to fund its bankruptcy. In a court filing on Monday, BlockFi listed FTX as its second-largest creditor, with $275 million owed on a loan extended earlier this year. In its bankruptcy filing, BlockFi said it had hired Kirkland & Ellis and Haynes & Boone as bankruptcy counsel.

Organizations: & & .

Sam Bankman-Fried, founder and chief executive officer of FTX Cryptocurrency Derivatives Exchange, during a Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee hearing in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2022. Serious red flags around Sam Bankman-Fried's FTX emerged before the now-embattled cryptocurrency exchange even launched, according to an early would-be investor. Alex Pack, now the managing partner of New York-based venture capital firm Hack VC, said he met Bankman-Fried in 2018. Bankman-Fried stepped down as CEO of FTX last Friday as the crypto company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. In 2018, Bankman-Fried was a relatively unknown founder seeking a deal in the emerging crypto market.

Insider asked more than 40 investors to identify top up-and-coming fintechs. Investors nominated startups both inside and outside of their own portfolios. Insider surveyed 43 investors — including those from Bain Capital Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and QED Investors — about the most promising fintechs to watch. Startups that were nominated included a mix of investors' portfolio companies and ones they have no financial interest in. As was the case last year, the majority of those nominated work with other businesses, not individual consumers.

Investors nominated startups both inside and outside of their own portfolios. Check out the 61 startups identified as the most promising fintechs. Startups that were nominated included a mix of investors' portfolio companies and ones they have no financial interest in. In total, 61 startups that haven't raised beyond a Series B round were identified. Many investors noted B2B startups are one of the biggest bright spots in the sector as businesses and financial institutions continue to streamline their processes and cut costs where they can.

☆ Walmart's secretive fintech ONE is the new disruptor in consumer banking, and the retailer has nabbed talent from Wall Street mainstays like Goldman Sachs.
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-20 | by ( Aaron Weinman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

In January last year, the retailer said it was pursuing a partnership with venture-capital firm Ribbit Capital, which backed Robinhood. The next month, Walmart lured Omer Ismail and David Stark, two executives from Goldman Sachs' Marcus, over to work on a fintech initiative. Insider's Ann Gehan, Carter Johnson, and Ben Tobin have identified the key people shaping this effort at its fintech called ONE. Done deals :Acrisure, a fintech company that operates an insurance broker and real-estate services company, has acquired B2Z Insurance. Aditxt, a biotech company developing tech around monitoring the immune system, raised $20 million after selling 3.33 million shares on Nasdaq.

Search resuls for: "Bain Capital Ventures"

23 mentions found