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☆ 16 VCs that are funding the future of entertainment by backing generative AI and other disruptive tech
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-12 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +17 min

AdvertisementAfter a period of "wild west" investing in AI, Blank believes activity will favor AI companies that respect artists' consent and compensation. It recently co-led a $1 million seed round in Conduiit, which centralizes entertainment companies' production finance operations. Endeavor Venture InvestmentsEndeavor Venture Investments is the venture arm of entertainment and sports behemoth Endeavor. SWaN & LegendThe Virginia-based VC firm has a broad consumer portfolio that includes a number of entertainment investments. With Hollywood in contraction, SWaN has largely hit pause on new entertainment investments to get its portfolio companies on a strong footing.

Persons: Michael Blank, Blank, Jon Miller, Miller, Slack, Garnet Heraman, BDMI, Urs Cete, Michael, TMRW, Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Elysian Park Ventures Jay Adya, Grant Lamos, Tom Brady, Gotham Chopra, Michael Strahan, Jay Adya, Morgan, Kushaan Ahuja, Drew Glover, Glover, Alex Harris, they've, Noah Doyle, Payback India, Jed Katz, Rich Greenfield, Rich, Ilya Pozin, Jamie Seltzer, LightShed, Steve Cohen's, it's, Sri Chandrasekar, Tripp Shriner, Ishan Sinha, That's, Wondery, Ian Doody, Raine, Gordon Rubenstein, Joe Ravitch, Jeff Sine, ‐, Fred Schaufeld, SWaN, that's, Oscar, Jose, Schaufeld, Sam Wick, Alex J, Investcorp, Paul Yoo, Edgar Bronfman Jr, Daniel Leff, Waverley, Leff Organizations: Service, Creative Artists, Connect Ventures, Business, Hollywood, Veteran, TPG, Integrated Media Co, Advancit, CAA, Bertelsmann, Waverley, Octopus Ventures, Accel, Facebook, Venture, Aperture Venture, Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments, Fremantle, Connect, CAA Connect Ventures, New Enterprises Associates, TMRW Sports, Disney, Universal, Elysian Park Ventures, Elysian, Sports, Endeavor Venture, Endeavor Venture Investments, behemoth Endeavor, Dapper Labs, Fiat Ventures, Fiat Ventures Fiat Ventures, Fiat, Payback, Rent, LightShed, Rich Greenfield Influential, LightShed Ventures, Pluto, Apple, Octopus Ventures Octopus Ventures, Investments, Corp, Etsy, Re, Point72 Ventures New York Mets, Range Media Partners, Point72 Ventures, Sri, Powerhouse, Athletic, The New York Times Co, Evolution Media, Creative Artists Agency, Astro, Rave Digital Media, Accel Entertainment, Jose Andrés Media, Berliner, UTA Talent, UTA, UTA Ventures, Ventures, VR, Amazon, PFL Locations: blockchain, —, Conduiit, fintech, London, Australia, Papercup, Los Angeles, Virginia, UTA.VC

Instagram's headcount is looking a bit smaller after layoffs, but it has a hit new app in Threads. Insider is highlighting 14 top executives at Instagram in 2023. Instagram's partnerships org, which handles relationships with public figures, creators, and brands, is also in for a massive overhaul, after cuts in May slashed many roles. Charles Porch will continue to lead Instagram's partnerships team as VP. Insider has compiled a list of 14 top executives at Instagram who lead teams from product marketing to diversity and inclusion.

Persons: Adam Mosseri, It's, Meta, Instagram, Tessa Lyons, Instagram's, Nick Grudin, Justin Osofsky, who's, Charles, Eva Chen, shepherding, he'll Organizations: Instagram, Meta, Dapper Labs Locations: London

Top executives, like the head of Instagram Adam Mosseri, will be paving the app's way forward. Insider is highlighting 14 top executives at Instagram in 2023. As Instagram enters a new era, who else is among the most influential executives shaping the app? Insider has compiled a list of 14 top executives at Instagram who lead teams from product marketing to diversity and inclusion. Here are 14 top executives to know at Instagram in 2023:

Persons: Adam Mosseri, Meta, Instagram, Tessa Lyons, Instagram's, Nick Grudin, Justin Osofsky, who's, Charles, Eva Chen, shepherding, he'll Organizations: Instagram, Meta, Dapper Labs Locations: London, Barcelona

☆ Andreessen Horowitz to open first office outside the U.S. in London in bet UK will become crypto hub
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

LONDON — Andreessen Horowitz is opening its first office outside of the U.S. in London, the venture capital firm announced Monday. Sriram Krishnan, an ex-Twitter employee who joined Andreessen Horowitz as a general partner, will relocate to London to head up the firm's office there, Quintenz said. Andreessen Horowitz also plans to launch its first crypto startup school in the U.K. in a bid to identify future talent in the crypto and Web3 space. Andreessen Horowitz has been one of the most active investors in crypto and Web3, backing startups ranging from the crypto-based sports collectibles trading game Dapper Labs to nonfungible token marketplace OpenSea. Andreessen Horowitz was not an investor, but several rival firms, including Sequoia, were.

Persons: Coinbase, Andreessen Horowitz, Brian Quintenz, Sriram Krishnan, Quintenz, ‘ Organizations: U.S, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, SEC, CNBC, Twitter Locations: Silicon, Airbnb, Coinbase, London, U.S, United States, FTX, Sequoia

NEW YORK, Feb 22 (Reuters) - The creator of a marketplace for National Basketball Association Top Shot non-fungible tokens must face a lawsuit claiming that the tokens are securities, a U.S. judge ruled on Wednesday. U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero in Manhattan rejected Dapper Labs Inc's bid to dismiss a proposed class action by purchasers of NBA Top Shot Moments, which are digital video clips of NBA game highlights. The lawsuit said Dapper should have registered the NFTs as securities because their value was tied to the success of Dapper's blockchain. It says there are more than 1.5 million users of NBA Top Shot, with sales exceeding $1 billion. The case is Friel v. Dapper Labs Inc et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No.

☆ This college dropout sold his first company for six figures at 21. Here's his recipe for success
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Goh Chiew Tong | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

When Kevin Kim dropped out of college at 21 to become an entrepreneur, it seemed like a huge gamble. Kim had just sold his first company — which he started when he was just 18 — for "six figures." His e-commerce company imported streetwear from South Korea and sold it all over North America, he told CNBC Make It. The importance of company culture cannot be underestimated, Kim stressed, if one wants to build an "iconic long-term company." Kevin Kim Co-founder and CEO, Stadium Live

☆ These are the most important executives who joined Google Cloud in 2022 — and the ones who left
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Ellen Thomas | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Below is a list of the key executives who left Google Cloud in 2022 — and the most important new hires. At Google Cloud, Gearhart was responsible for the Google Cloud Platform and Google Workspace channel business around the world, according to her LinkedIn profile. Exit: Frank BienBien, a Looker vice president, left Google Cloud in February, two years after Google acquired the data-analytics company for $2.4 billion. A nearly 20-year Microsoft veteran, Jester joined Google Cloud in 2019 as part of an executive hiring spree initiated by Kurian, who had recently taken the helm of Google Cloud. Hire: Kevin MandiaMandia, Mandiant's CEO and cofounder, joined Google Cloud in September after Google completed its $5.4 billion acquisition of his cybersecurity firm.

☆ Fanatics is divesting its 60% stake in NFT company Candy Digital
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( Ian Thomas | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Michael Rubin's sports platform company Fanatics is divesting its 60% stake in NFT company Candy Digital, according to an internal email obtained by CNBC. Candy Digital was founded in June 2021 in the middle of the sports NFT boom, competing with companies like Dapper Labs in the digital sports collectible space. It also released digital collectibles with Netflix 's Stranger Things, WWE , and several Nascar teams. Dapper Labs, the company behind NBA Top Shot and NFL All Day digital trading platforms that ranked No. "Over the past year, it has become clear that NFTs are unlikely to be sustainable or profitable as a standalone business," Rubin wrote.

☆ FTX's bankruptcy caps off a brutal period for the tech industry, which laid off more than 20,000 people in the last 2 weeks alone
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-12 | by ( Samantha Delouya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The tech industry is in a period of intense turbulence amid mass firings and FTX's downfall. More than 20,000 tech workers have been fired in just the last two weeks, according to calculations by Insider. In a recent letter to Mark Zuckerberg, one investor called for layoffs, saying workers will "quickly" find replacement jobs. Insider calculates that at least 20,000 tech workers were either fired or learned they were being fired in the last two weeks. However, other companies' layoffs in the last 14 days, like Lyft, Coinbase, Salesforce, and Stripe, received less attention from the general public.

☆ 3 VCs share their best advice for startup founders as the tech industry heads for a historic slump and thousands of workers lose their jobs
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Samantha Stokes | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

And startup founders, too, are feeling the heat. Three VCs at 7wire, Interplay, and Menlo tell Insider their best advice for founders right now. Startup founders, too, are feeling the heat: fintech Stripe slashed 14% of its workforce while neobank Chime laid off 160 people. Buzzy NFT startup Dapper Labs let go of 22% of its employees, while resale marketplace StockX cut less than 80 jobs. Here's their advice for founders right now:

☆ Thousands of workers were laid off this week as tech companies and startups brace for an economic crash. Investors, founders, and recruiters explain why this is just the beginning.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-05 | by ( Rob Price | Samantha Stokes | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Amid growing economic uncertainty, layoffs in the technology industry, both for public companies and for startups, have been escalating this Fall. While plenty of tech companies were still flying high in early 2022, Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February accelerated global economic turmoil. More than 17,000 tech workers lost their jobs in both May and June, while July and August saw another 29,000 cuts, according to layoff tracker Layoffs.fyi. Davis, the VC at Interplay, explained that cost-cutting and layoffs are happening across the board, not just in the tech industry. But public tech companies as well as early- and growth-stage startups will face additional challenges, he said.

☆ Dozens of tech companies, from Lyft to Twitter, are laying off workers. Here are 5 concrete steps to take if you lose your job.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Rachel Durose | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

There are five steps two career experts say workers should take if they've lost their job. They suggest taking time for yourself, looking into legal counsel, and posting on social media. In 2022, more than 99,000 technology workers have been laid off, according to the tech-industry-layoffs tracker Layoffs.FYI. Workers need time to process their emotions before diving into the logistics of their severance and job hunting. "If you can, I always recommend utilizing legal counsel," she said.

☆ NBA Top Shot maker Dapper Labs lays off 22% of workers
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Ian Thomas | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Dapper Labs had more than 600 employees before the layoffs, Gharegozlou wrote. Dapper Labs, the non-fungible tokens (NFTs) company known for creating collectible moments around NBA and NFL highlights, is laying off 22% of its company, according to an memo from its CEO. That helped Dapper Labs raise $250 million in a September 2021 funding round led by Coatue, which valued the company at $7.6 billion. However, as broader interest in NFTs has fallen, so too has the popularity of Dapper Labs' platforms. Dapper Labs also has a partnership with Endeavor-owned UFC and Spain's La Liga soccer league.

☆ Chime cuts 12% of its workforce, adding to recent wave of tech layoffs
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Riley De León | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Chime is one of the latest private tech firms to announce layoffs amid a worsening economic outlook and a recent wave of cuts from both public and private companies. Chime offers fee-free banking, early paydays for those with direct-deposit and a feature that lets users go negative in their accounts without overdraft fees. The company became profitable on an EBITDA basis during the pandemic, co-founder and CEO Chris Britt told CNBC in September of 2020. Private, venture-backed tech companies aren't immune to these conditions either. Like Chime, online payments giant Stripe and NFT platform Dapper Labs also announced sizeable headcount reductions on Thursday.

☆ Jeffrey Katzenberg's WndrCo is betting big on cybersecurity tech and consumer VPNs as 'concerns around privacy have exploded'
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( Claire Atkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Jeffrey Katzenberg and his WndrCo partner Sujay Jaswa are betting big on VPNs and other cybersecurity tech. WndrCo has $1.7 billion in net asset value and is looking for companies that can change the world. The company has acquired or invested in VPNs including Super Unlimited, a top app on Apple's App Store. Like everyone else in the global workforce, Jeffrey Katzenberg and Sujay Jaswa, his investing partner at venture firm WndrCo, use Zoom to connect. WndrCo made several other VPN acquisitions, ultimately merging them into a single cybersecurity venture called Aura, in which WndrCo is a significant stakeholder.

☆ Digital LeBron vs. analog Mantle: Sports collectibles remain hot despite NFT boom
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-15 | by ( Jake Traylor | Jake Traylor Is An Associate Producer For Msnbc. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

But amid a crypto winter, the future trajectory of the sports memorabilia market, tangible or NFT, is being disputed. Meanwhile, the success of NBA Top Shot, arguably the most successful sports NFT market, soared and eventually crashed. Millennials are driving the NFT market, according to a Morning Consult survey that found 42% of all NFT collectors are 26 to 40 years old. Some sports market experts argue that regardless of an NFT bounce back, tangibles and NFTs in the sports memorabilia market don’t compete with each other. “I don’t think that [NFTs] are going to eat into the physical memorabilia market,” said Pete Giorgio, leader of Deloitte Consulting’s global and U.S. sports practice, who tracks and forecasts the sports memorabilia market.

☆ Layoff season is in full swing. Here are 5 concrete steps to take if you lose your job.
▼ + stars: | 2022-07-27 | by ( Rachel Durose | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

There are five steps two career experts say workers should take if they've lost their job. They suggest taking time for yourself, looking into legal counsel, and posting on social media. Pink slips are flying this holiday season, with dozens of technology titans and industry startups laying off workers. Workers need time to process their emotions before diving into the logistics of their severance and job hunting. "If you can, I always recommend utilizing legal counsel," she said.

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