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☆ Angela Chao, CEO of Foremost Group and wife of VC Jim Breyer, dies in a car crash at age 50
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-15 | by ( Kelsey Vlamis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Angela Chao, CEO of Foremost Group, died in a car accident in Texas, the company said. Chao was married to venture capitalist Jim Breyer and was the sister of Elaine Chao. AdvertisementAngela Chao, 50, chair and CEO of the shipping company the Foremost Group, died in a car crash in Texas on Sunday, the company said. Angela Chao was also the sister of Elaine Chao, who is married to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. Elaine Chao served as labor secretary under former President George W. Bush and transportation secretary under former President Donald Trump.

Persons: Angela Chao, Chao, James S.C, Jim Breyer, Elaine Chao, —, Mitch McConnell, George W, Donald Trump Organizations: Foremost, Service, Breyer Capital, Business Locations: Texas

☆ 'Where ambition goes to die': These tech workers flocked to Austin during the pandemic. Now they're desperate to get out.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( Ben Bergman | Jordan Pandy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

Many tech workers in California moved to Austin during the pandemic in search of a new lifestyle. Some tech workers say they regret moving there, given its middling tech scene and "fake" atmosphere. They cited several contributing factors, including extreme temperatures, traffic, overcrowding, and — perhaps most surprising — a middling tech scene that fails to live up to the hype. From Silicon Valley to the Silicon HillsNot long ago, Austin's tech scene was ascendant, with national headlines suggesting it could take on Silicon Valley. He acknowledged there's not much of a tech scene there but will take that over what he perceived as Austin's smoke and mirrors.

Persons: Austin, Mike Chang, Chang, Tesla, Danielle Fountain, Fountain, Elon Musk, Jim Breyer, Joe Lonsdale, Bill Gurley, Musk, Gurley, Emily Chang, John Andrew Entwistle, who's, John Andrew Entwistle Entwistle, Entwistle, oversold, Nicholas Falldine, there's, Nick Thomas, Austin doesn't, Thomas, he's, Sam Parr, I'm, Sheharyar, Redfin, Bokhari, It's, frolic Organizations: Oracle, Facebook, Google, Apple, Breyer Capital, Austin Chamber, Austin, Lone Star, US Postal Service Locations: California, Austin, Los Angeles, Bay, Silicon, Silicon Valley, Austin's, Palo Alto, Westchester County , New York, Fayetteville , Arkansas, Austin , Texas, San Francisco

☆ Edtech startup Kinjo incentivizes kids to play educational mini-games in Roblox. Check out the pitch deck it used to raise $6.5 million in seed funding.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-21 | by ( Madeline Renbarger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

With Kinjo, kids can earn virtual currency called Robux by playing higher-ranked learning games. To earn these Robux, kids can spend real-world money, or they can play simple mini games to "grind" for Robux rewards. Kids who use Kinjo are three times more likely to spend time on games that are more productive than kids without Kinjo, Malcolm said. Many edtech gaming platforms are already on the market, such as the social-emotional learning game Social Cipher or the STEM learning game Royelles. Check out the 16-slide pitch deck that Kinjo used to raise $6.5 million in seed funding:

Persons: Charles Thornburgh couldn't, Thornburgh, Jim Breyer's Breyer, Kinjo, Laura Malcolm, Kinjo's, Malcolm said, Krishna Srinivasan Organizations: Austin, LiveOak Venture Partners, Silverton Partners, Jim Breyer's Breyer Capital, Roble, Robux, Roblox Locations: Roblox, Silverton, Austin , Texas, Fortnite

☆ The scientist behind IBM Watson has raised $60 million for his AI startup in New York
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-17 | by ( Hayden Field | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

David Ferrucci, a prominent artificial intelligence researcher who led the team that created IBM Watson , has raised nearly $60 million for his AI startup called Elemental Cognition, according to a regulatory filing. The filing on Thursday says the company sold $59.95 million worth of equity to 17 investors and plans to raise another $5.75 million. Ferrucci led IBM Watson between 2006 and the end of 2012, during which time the computer system famously won "Jeopardy!" He then ran AI research for Bridgewater Associates, one of the world's largest hedge funds. In January of last year, the company sold its Watson Health unit for an undisclosed amount to private equity firm Francisco Partners.

Persons: David Ferrucci, Watson, Cora, Ferrucci, IBM Watson, David Shepler, Eric Brown, Mike Barborak, Jim Breyer, Sam Palmisano, Greg Jensen, Bridgewater's, Geoff Yang, OpenAI's Organizations: IBM, Bridgewater Associates, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Bridgewater, Breyer Capital, Facebook, Redpoint Ventures, CNBC, Investors, Health, Francisco Partners Locations: New York, New, Helmsley, guardrails, China

☆ The next big thing in Big Tech career path is an AI-based 'bilingual' job skillset
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-02 | by ( Eric Rosenbaum | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Microsoft unveiled new versions of its Bing internet-search engine and Edge browser powered by the newest technology from ChatGPT maker OpenAI. But the biggest one of all may be next, he says, through the combination of artificial intelligence and branches of science involved in medicine. But the opportunity won't translate into achievement without a new form of collaboration between the classic big tech talent and the medical field. One of her portfolio companies, Insitro, was founded by Stanford AI researcher Daphne Koller (Koller co-founder edtech company Coursera). "There is lots of exciting big talent opportunities coming from big tech and big cap pharma," she said.

☆ Here's an exclusive look at how startup HeadRace raised $6 million in seed funding from Greylock to help headhunters beat the hiring slowdown
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Stephanie Palazzolo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Marketplace startup HeadRace helps connect recruiters with employers looking to hire. The startup has raised $6 million in seed funding from Greylock, Susa Ventures, and Breyer Capital. After going through the exhausting process of hiring dozens of employees while at Uber and Flexport, Korsos was inspired to change the hiring system. Although hiring has slowed in large, public companies, it's actually accelerated in early-stage startups looking to fill a number of specialized roles, Korsos told Insider. Moving forward, the startup plans on using its seed funding to build out its technology offerings and improve its scalability, Korsos told Insider.

☆ After splitting with Kanye West, British audio startup Kano asks for funding
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

The two would go on to discuss the beginnings of what eventually became the Stem Player. It was originally named the "Donda Stem Player," a reference to West's 10th studio album, Donda. Faced with "worse" terms and news of Ye's antisemitic comments, Kano didn't accept, Klein said. Despite recent outcry over Ye's antisemitic remarks, he has frequently raised eyebrows. The Stem Player, along with West's dedicated fanbase, drove great commercial success for the small London startup.

☆ Exclusive: Alphabet spinoff Sandbox AQ raises $500 mln for cyber security, other work
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Feb 14 (Reuters) - Sandbox AQ, a startup spun off from Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O) last year, said on Tuesday it raised $500 million as it helps customers prepare for a quantum computing future. Former Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt is the startup's chairman as well as an investor. Other investors include Breyer Capital, T. Rowe Price funds and Salesforce.com Inc founder Marc Benioff's TIME Ventures. Reporting By Jane Lanhee Lee; editing by Jonathan OatisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Exclusive: Alphabet spinoff Sandbox AQ raises $500 mln for cyber security, other quantum work
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Jane Lanhee Lee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

OAKLAND, Calif., Feb 14 (Reuters) - Sandbox AQ, a startup spun off from Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O) last year, said on Tuesday it raised $500 million as it helps customers prepare for a quantum computing future. Quantum computers, whose processors run based on quantum physics, could one day carry out certain calculations millions of times quicker than today's fastest super computers, yet they remain years away from making a big change, such as breaking encryption. The simulation does not currently need quantum computers to work, said Hidary. When quantum computers are ready, that work would speed up even further. Sandbox AQ is also using existing types of sensors based on quantum physics.

☆ ChatGPT-style A.I. replaced crypto as the hot tech topic for Davos crowd at 2023's WEF summit
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Jonathan Raa | Nurphoto | Getty ImagesAttendees of the annual World Economic Forum couldn't get enough of a new development in the realm of artificial intelligence: generative AI. Most machine learning tools rely on existing information and identify patterns in the data to pick out trends or reach a preferred outcome. Generative AI tools like ChatGPT and Dall-E stand out from the crowd through their ability to take data inputs and create new content. This week at the WEF forum in Davos, Switzerland, generative AI virtually replaced crypto and so-called "Web3" as the hyped technology of choice for top business executives and policymakers. "Generative AI has a huge potential," said Hiroaki Kitano, CEO of Sony Computer Science Laboratories, on Tuesday's generative AI panel.

☆ Breyer Capital's Jim Breyer on Meta: In the next 24 months, there will be a big rebound
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailBreyer Capital's Jim Breyer on Meta: In the next 24 months, there will be a big reboundCNBC's Sara Eisen talks to Jim Breyer, CEO of Breyer Capital, at Davos 2023, who breaks down China, Meta, and other Big Tech names.

☆ Early Facebook investor says Zuckerberg isn't cutting costs fast enough
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Jonathan Vanian | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Jim Breyer, one of Facebook's earliest investors, believes that Meta isn't cutting costs fast enough amid the company slated to report its third consecutive quarterly revenue decline. "But they're gonna be under a lot of pressure for the next 12 months, and they're not cutting costs fast enough, in my humble opinion." "The Metaverse is years away," Breyer added, regarding the company's 2021 name change and subsequent multibillion-dollar investment into virtual reality and augmented reality technologies. "It'll be Apple, it'll be Google, it'll be Sony as well as Oculus, but watch for a big holiday in the world of virtual reality." At the University of Texas, they just banned Tiktok from all devices," Breyer said referring to a December decision by university officials.

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