DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ A tax compliance startup raised millions. Then it abruptly shut down, and the founder cut off contact.
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-29 | by ( Ben Bergman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

Even the human-resources firm retained to help employees with offboarding, Tandem, quit soon after the layoffs because it never got paid. Shannon Flynn Bevers, Tandem's president and founder, said that she tried to help employees but that Johnson stopped responding. "When startups go out of business, they will pay employees their final paycheck. Johnson told employees to take a weeklong furlough and blamed the issue on a technical snafu. She also told employees they could file a claim with their state labor department or hire an employment lawyer.

Persons: Slack, Shiloh Johnson, Johnson, they'd, Benjamin Matthews, Shannon Flynn Bevers, I've, Flynn Bevers, VCs, Josh Felser, Aerin Paulo, ComplYant's, I'd, ComplYant, podcaster David Sacks, Michael Tam, Tam, Matthews, Ryan Cady, Lusely Martinez, Martinez, Cady, paychecks, wasn't, Taliah McGuire, McGuire, what's, Shiloh Luckey, Penelope, We've Organizations: Business, offboarding, . Venture, BI, Craft Ventures, ComplYant, Mucker, Slauson, — Mucker, Fika Ventures, Employees Locations: Los Angeles, Shiloh, San Francisco, Colorado, New York, TikTok

☆ Google's mission is organizing the world's information. Its 'woke' AI debacle prompted critics to say it's failing.
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-27 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Read previewSince its inception, Google has had a mission statement that is now practically enshrined as lore: "To organize the world's information and make it accessible and useful." Its AI, critics say, risks suppressing information instead by being too "woke." AdvertisementGoogle's AI troublesGoogle has more than 90% of the search market, giving it dominant control over the world's information flow online. Advertisement"The original mission was to index all the world's information. In a blog published Friday, Google vice-president Prabhakar Raghavan acknowledged some of the images Gemini generated turned out to be "inaccurate or even offensive."

Persons: —, Larry Page, Sergey Brin, Gemini, Peter Kafka, Adolf Hitler, Elon, David Sacks, Critics, Sam Altman, Andrew Caballero, Reynolds, Bilal Zuberi, Brad Gerstner, Microsoft —, Elon Musk, OB1CCZHan3, Prabhakar Raghavan, overcorrected, Raghavan Organizations: Service, Google, Business, Craft Ventures, Lux Capital, Microsoft, Elon Locations: Menlo Park, AFP

☆ Biden 'isn't out of the woods yet', despite good economic data, says Craft Ventures David Sacks
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-25 | 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 EmailBiden 'isn't out of the woods yet', despite good economic data, says Craft Ventures David SacksHosted by Brian Sullivan, “Last Call” is a fast-paced, entertaining business show that explores the intersection of money, culture and policy. Tune in Monday through Friday at 7 p.m. ET on CNBC.

Persons: Biden, David Sacks, Brian Sullivan, “ Organizations: Craft, CNBC

☆ These 16 creator startups raised millions of dollars in 2023 despite a 'brutal' fundraising landscape
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-27 | by ( Dan Whateley | Sydney Bradley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

It's been a challenging fundraising year for creator-economy startups. Some creator upstarts have still managed to raise millions of dollars in 2023 despite constraining macroeconomic conditions. Link-in-bio upstart Hype in April announced it had raised a $10 million Series A. "We knew going into it that we are fundraising in arguably the most challenging fundraising environment in recent times," said Arthur Leopold, cofounder of the creator-marketing platform Agentio and a former president at Cameo. The funding ranged from a few million dollars to as much as $70 million for one startup.

Persons: It's, upstarts, Andreessen Horowitz, VCs, Kara Burney, Arthur Leopold, Leopold, Agentio, Steven Galanis, YouTuber Cody Ko, PitchBook Organizations: PitchBook, Business, Abstract Ventures, Founders Fund, Silicon Valley Bank, Craft Ventures, AlleyCorp Locations: Web3, Silicon, North America

☆ VCs didn't care about OpenAI's weird board structure. It was all about investing in Sam Altman and its 'transformative' tech.
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-22 | by ( Madeline Renbarger | Vishal Persaud | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

OpenAI's venture capital investors weren't thinking about its mission to serve "humanity" by developing artificial intelligence. After Altman's ouster, Vinod Khosla, an early investor in OpenAI, came to his defense despite the criticism. OpenAI's complex and unique corporate governance structure meant that VCs could invest in the capped profit entity, but never earn any influence over the nonprofit board of directors, all of whom were either cofounders or appointed outside AI experts. The board structure and its governance are all likely to change as part of the deal to bring Sam Altman back as CEO of OpenAI. The purpose of the newly formed OpenAI board – consisting of current board member D'Angelo, former US Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, and former Salesforce co-CEO Bret Taylor – is to vet and potentially appoint an expanded board of up to nine people, and that Microsoft and Altman want board seats, The Verge reported.

Persons: Sam Altman, OpenAI, Altman, VCs, Sam, Altman's, Vinod Khosla, Yunus, Khosla, Wesley Chan, Greg Brockman, Ilya Sutskever, Tasha McCauley, who's, Joseph Gordon, Levitt, Helen Toner, Adam D'Angelo, Karthee Madasamy, it's, David Sacks, D'Angelo, Larry Summers, Bret Taylor – Organizations: Business, Tiger Global Management, Khosla Ventures, Sequoia Capital, Microsoft, FPV Ventures, Rand Corporation, Georgetown's Center for Security, Emerging Technology, MFV Partners, Qualcomm Ventures, Ikea, Bosch, Novo Nordisk Foundation, Bertelsmann Foundation, Carlsberg Foundation, Craft Ventures Locations: OpenAI, Silicon Valley, Hollywood

☆ VCs weigh in on the chaos unfolding at OpenAI, rallying behind ousted CEO Sam Altman: 'I hope the board can get its act together'
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-19 | by ( Samantha Stokes | Madeline Renbarger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

OpenAI's board ousted Sam Altman, its chief executive, on Friday. AdvertisementVCs this weekend have one message for Sam Altman — we're with you. In another X post, he called on OpenAI's board to explain in more detail why they fired Altman. Advertisement"We are grateful for Sam's many contributions to the founding and growth of OpenAI," the board said in a statement. "So I hope the board can get its act together and bring Sam and Greg back."

Persons: OpenAI's, Sam Altman, —, Sam Altman —, Mira Murati, Altman, Vinod Khosla —, OpenAI —, Sam, David Sachs, OpenAI, ChatGPT —, Ilya Sutskever —, Sutskever, Jason Kwon, Altman's, He's, Greg Bockman, Jessica Livingston, Greg, Sam retakes OpenAI Organizations: Altman, Service, Khosla Ventures, Ventures, Microsoft Locations: Silicon, Silicon Valley, @OpenAI

☆ Not being a union shop gives Tesla 'flexibility', says Craft Ventures' David Sacks
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | 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 EmailNot being a union shop gives Tesla 'flexibility', says Craft Ventures' David SacksHosted by Brian Sullivan, “Last Call” is a fast-paced, entertaining business show that explores the intersection of money, culture and policy. Tune in Monday through Friday at 7 p.m. ET on CNBC.

Persons: David Sacks, Brian Sullivan, “ Organizations: Craft Ventures, CNBC

☆ AI co-pilots will help workers do their jobs better, not put people out of jobs, says David Sacks
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-15 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

In this videoShare Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailAI co-pilots will help workers do their jobs better, not put people out of jobs, says David SacksDavid Sacks, Craft Ventures co-founder, joins 'Closing Bell Overtime' to talk the UAW strike, AI co-pilot technology, recent tech IPOs and more.

Persons: David Sacks David Sacks Organizations: Craft Ventures, UAW

☆ Watch CNBC's full interview with Craft Ventures' David Sacks
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-08 | 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 EmailWatch CNBC's full interview with Craft Ventures' David SacksHosted by Brian Sullivan, “Last Call” is a fast-paced, entertaining business show that explores the intersection of money, culture and policy. Tune in Monday through Friday at 7 p.m. ET on CNBC.

Persons: David Sacks, Brian Sullivan, “ Organizations: Craft Ventures, CNBC

☆ Elon Musk's brother's 'smart farm' startup is shutting down most of its locations and gutting its workforce
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Square Roots told staff it was closing most of its locations and cutting jobs, two former staff said. Square Roots told local news it plans to reconfigure some locations and may eventually re-open them. Elon Musk's brother, Kimbal, cofounded Square Roots alongside CEO Tobias Peggs in 2016. "It was just a normal day," the former Grand Rapids employee said of the latest layoffs and farm closures announced Tuesday. "It was quite abrupt and has been very devastating to this wonderful team of people," the former Grand Rapids employee said.

Persons: Elon Musk's, Elon Musk, David Sack's, Tobias Peggs, Kimbal Musk, WDRB, couldn't, Kimbal, Bauer, Griffin, Slack, Peggs, Getty, DON EMMERT, that's, we've Organizations: Roots, Morning, Gordon Food Service, David Sack's Craft Ventures, Kenosha News, Grand, Axelle, Grand Rapids, Gordon Food Services, Employees Locations: Grand Rapids, Pitchbook, Springfield , Ohio, Shepherdsville , Kentucky, Kenosha , Wisconsin, Wisconsin, Brooklyn, Kenosha, New York, Michigan

July 12 (Reuters) - Resemble AI, a San Francisco-based voice artificial intelligence startup, said on Wednesday it had raised $8 million in a funding round led by venture capital firm Javelin Ventures. Comcast Ventures (CMCSA.O) and existing investors Craft Ventures and Ubiquity Ventures also participated in the Series A round, it added. Resemble AI, which applies generative AI to clone voices, says that it has 1 million users, who use the company's product to clone their own voice. More than 200 business clients, ranging from music producers, game studios and voice actors use Resemble AI as well, CEO Zohaib Ahmed told Reuters. As voice cloning has been used for scams and other crimes, the company says it is focused on promoting safe and ethical use cases for voice cloning technology.

Persons: Zohaib Ahmed, Ahmed, Anna Tong, Jamie Freed Organizations: Javelin Ventures, Comcast Ventures, Craft Ventures, Ventures, Reuters, Wednesday, Thomson Locations: San Francisco

☆ Startup studio Fractal created 130 companies in 3 years. Founders say the deal structure has led VCs to 'blacklist' them.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Melia Russell | Stephanie Palazzolo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +19 min

www.fractalsoftware.comOf the dozens of Fractal startups that have raised a seed round of funding, about half had Bienville Capital lead the deal, according to people familiar with the matter. Others say they knew what they were getting into with a venture studio, where a large ownership position is standard. Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty ImagesThe biggest draw for some Fractal founders was its plug-and-play approach. The founder of one Fractal startup remembered a time when his company was struggling to grow its customer base. That firm is raising a new $325 million fund to provide additional funding to Fractal companies exclusively, according to a person familiar with the effort.

Persons: Fractal's, he'd, they'd, Andreessen Horowitz, Mike Furlong, Nate Baker, Bienville, —, Brendan Smialowski, Founders, Angela Lee, Furlong, Baker, Ezra Shaw, who'd, who's, It's, Lee, She's, 8VC, Bain, Jeff Greenberg, Omri Bloch, who've, didn't, Stephanie Palazzolo, Melia Russell Organizations: Flatiron Health, Bienville, Insight Partners, Bienville Capital, Getty, Columbia Business School, Alpha, Midwest, Science, Olympic Club, Tiger Global, Craft Ventures, Founders, Vertical Venture Partners, Zag, Crew Capital, Bain Capital, Universal, Foundation, Fifth Locations: Bienville Capital, New York, Bienville, Indio, AFP, Santa Monica , California, Miami, San Francisco, GreenSpark, Columbia, Barti, Aktos, Bessemer, 8VC

☆ Remote work is 'not a great deal' for companies, says Craft Venture's David Sacks
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

In this videoShare Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailRemote work is 'not a great deal' for companies, says Craft Venture's David SacksDavid Sacks, Craft Ventures founder, joins 'Last Call' to discuss why he thinks work from home is bad for companies following Meta's hybrid work announcement.

Persons: Venture's David Sacks David Sacks Organizations: Craft Ventures

☆ Elon Musk warns house prices are set to plunge - and says commercial real estate is in meltdown
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( Zahra Tayeb | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Brace for the intense pressure on commercial real estate to spread to house prices, Elon Musk says. "Commercial real estate is melting down fast. Investors are worried about real estate in a period of higher interest rates and tighter lending. "Commercial real estate is melting down fast. JPMorgan estimated that about $450 billion in commercial real-estate debt set to expire this year could default.

☆ TikTok sues Montana to reverse state's ban of the app
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Jonathan Vanian | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

TikTok has filed a federal lawsuit against Montana in response to a recently passed state law that would ban the popular video service in the state. The lawsuit, filed Monday in the United States District Court for the District of Montana, is intended to "prevent the state of Montana from unlawfully banning TikTok," lawyers for the app's parent company, ByteDance wrote. Last week, Montana became the first U.S. state to ban TikTok over allegations the Chinese government can use the app for intelligence-gathering operations. TikTok disputes Montana's allegations the Chinese government "could access data about TikTok users, and that TikTok exposes minors to harmful online content," the lawsuit said. With the lawsuit, TikTok hopes the court finds Montana's ban "unconstitutional and preempted by federal law."

Persons: TikTok, ByteDance, Greg Gianforte, Plaintiff, Shou Zi Chew, Banning, David Sacks Organizations: United States, Court, District of, Constitution, Apple, Montana Gov, Communist Party, Oracle, Craft Ventures Locations: Montana, District of Montana, U.S, United States, Texas

☆ Banning TikTok at a state level 'doesn't make sense', says Craft Ventures' David Sacks
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | 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 EmailBanning TikTok at a state level 'doesn't make sense', says Craft Ventures' David SacksDavid Sacks, Craft Ventures co-founder and partner, joins 'Closing Bell Overtime' to discuss recent legal rulings in the Big Tech space including this week's Supreme Court ruling in favor of Big Tech, Montana's decision to ban TikTok and more.

☆ Watch CNBC's full interview with Craft Ventures Co-Founder David Sacks
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | 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 EmailWatch CNBC's full interview with Craft Ventures Co-Founder David SacksDavid Sacks, Craft Ventures co-founder and partner, joins 'Closing Bell Overtime' to discuss recent legal rulings in the Big Tech space including this week's Supreme Court ruling in favor of Big Tech, Montana's decision to ban TikTok and more.

☆ Here's an exclusive look at the pitch deck that Anvil, which helps businesses automate paperwork, used to raise $5 million from Craft Ventures and Alphabet's Gradient Ventures
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Melia Russell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

It raised an additional $5 million for its Series A round from Craft Ventures and Gradient Ventures. Insider has an exclusive look at the pitch deck that Anvil used to raise the new funds. Three years ago, he set out to raise fresh capital for his startup, Anvil, which helps businesses create documents from data. In 2020, Craft Ventures heard Ng's pitch and passed. Here's an exclusive look at the pitch deck that Anvil used to raise an additional $5 million:

Greg Becker, who was the longtime CEO of Silicon Valley Bank, pictured last year. "Looks like Silicon Valley Bank is in some deep shit," Uncommon Capital general partner Jamie Quint tweeted. Startup founders scrambled to get their funds out of Silicon Valley Bank after its collapse. Andreessen Horowitz announced this week that it will continue banking with Silicon Valley Bank "for the foreseeable future" but is crafting a longer-term plan to diversify. Even so, he added, "I think we'd be supportive, as they stabilize, for them to be one of many partners that our founders bank with."

☆ Here's how a serial founder and former US diplomat raised $25 million to create a crypto superapp — and why it's gotten backing from investors like JetBlue and the Winklevoss twins
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( April Joyner | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Kresus, which is building a crypto superapp, has raised $25 million led by Liberty City Ventures. Traina's company, Kresus, has raised $25 million in Series A funding led by Liberty City Ventures, the company's first round of financing, to bring that vision of a crypto superapp to fruition. JetBlue Ventures, Craft Ventures, Franklin Templeton, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, and Gemini cofounders Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss also participated in the round. That track record helped win over Liberty City Ventures, whose portfolio includes the Web3 companies Animoca Brands, BlockApps, BitGo, and The Sandbox. James Lang, a managing director at Liberty City, told Insider that the quality of Kresus' team stood out among similar companies he'd reviewed.

☆ Amazon's VC arm leads $20 mln funding at entertainment firm Superplastic
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 15 (Reuters) - Entertainment company Superplastic said on Wednesday it had raised $20 million in a funding round led by the venture capital arm of Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) as it looks to expand its universe of digital characters. The latest cash infusion, a Series A extension, takes Superplastic's total funding to $58 million, the company said. Other investors that participated in the funding round include Craft Ventures, Google Ventures, Galaxy Digital, Kering, Sony Japan, Scribble Ventures, Kakao, Animoca Brands, Day One Ventures and Betaworks. Superplastic sells toys, apparel and non-fungible tokens in collaboration with brands, including Gucci, Fortnite, Mercedes-Benz, Tommy Hilfiger and celebrities such as Paris Hilton, Post Malone and The Weeknd. Reporting by Medha Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi MajumdarOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Check out the bare-bones pitch deck that AI-powered text editor Macro used to raise $9.3 million from Andreessen Horowitz
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Melia Russell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

It raised $9.3 million in a round of seed funding, led by Andreessen Horowitz. Investors have bought into the idea with a $9.3 million seed round, led by Andreessen Horowitz's Kristina Shen and Zeya Yang. When Macro set out to raise a seed round, Andreessen Horowitz's name floated to the top of the list of dream investors. Macro wants to become the "default" app for handling documents, Beckerman said, without scrambling the Microsoft file format on which millions of people rely. Read the pitch deck that Macro used to convince Andreessen Horowitz to leads its $9.3 million seed round.

☆ Elon Musk reportedly dismissed his Twitter takeover buddy David Sacks during a meeting that was 'too technical' for him
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Elon Musk dismissed David Sacks from a meeting he said was "too technical," The Verge reported. "David, this meeting is too technical for you," Musk said, according to an anonymous engineer who attended the meeting and spoke to The Verge. Sacks, Musk, and a spokesperson for Twitter did not respond to a request for comment ahead of publication. Despite Musk deeming the meeting "too technical" for Sacks, the anonymous engineer appeared to doubt Musk's own technical understanding. "I was writing C programs in the '90s," Musk told the engineer when she attempted to explain the company's data-center efficiency.

☆ Pitch Decks That Advertising Tech Startups Used to Raise Millions
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Business Insider | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +19 min

Check out these pitch decks that they've used to sell their vision and raise millions from private equity and VC investors. Blocking ad fraudAdtech startup Lunio, announced a $15 million Series A funding round in September 2022. In May 2022, the software-as-a-service startup raised a $30 million Series B round, led by Insight Partners. Marketing in the metaverseAnima, an augmented-reality startup, raised a $3 million funding round from investors in Janury. He raised $50 million in Series D after closing a $34 million Series C last year, bringing its total raised to $100 million.

☆ Main Street is buying stocks while Wall Street sells: What gives?
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

But not all traders are on the same ride — the large, institutional investors on Wall Street have shuffled away from markets while Main Street’s retail investors are still strapped in. But despite this year’s lackluster market, investors bought $800 billion of Exchange Traded Funds which are baskets of stocks typically purchased by retail investors. However, Main Street is holding on to its stocks while Wall Street is running for the hills. One simple explanation is that institutional investors are responsible for vast amounts of money that belong to other people. “Respect, for retail investors, is in short supply,” wrote Azalea Micottis at Informa Financial Intelligence, in a recent note.

Search resuls for: "Craft Ventures"

25 mentions found