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☆ Why you can, and should, ignore that 9pm email from your boss
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-05 | by ( Allison Morrow | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Work is part of our identity here in a way that people from other countries find at turns fascinating and pathological. The bill would aim to ensure that people aren’t pinged with work emails, texts or calls outside their established work hours, with notable exceptions for emergencies or scheduling issues. If the boss intrudes on your non-work window three times, you can report them and the state could impose fines starting at $100. No one likes pausing Succession to respond to a 9pm request, but the guilt of ignoring it and wondering whether your boss will be mad at you is also, like, not fun. A historically tight labor market has given workers more leverage to negotiate their pay, hours and working conditions.

Persons: CNN Business ’, they’re, ”, Matt Haney, “ Workers shouldn’t, intrudes, Mike Solana, Ashley Herd, Herd, Haney, FDR, “, there’s, she’s, ” Herd, —, Jeanne Sahadi Organizations: CNN Business, New York CNN, Lawmakers, State Assembly, “ Workers, Nanny, Fund, Pew, Fair Labor, Act Locations: New York, France, California, Australia, Italy, Portugal, Belgium, “ california

☆ Robo-lawyer startup DoNotPay did something almost unheard of in Silicon Valley: It paid a dividend.
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-01 | by ( Melia Russell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

In January, the legal startup DoNotPay sent more than $1 million to employees and investors in its first-ever dividend. He got the idea from one of his own angels, Sahil Lavingia, whose startup Gumroad issued a dividend last year. The expectation is that when a company sells or goes public, employees will cash in their shares for untold riches. Last year, the digital commerce startup Gumroad paid a dividend of $1 million across employees, investors, and thousands of crowdfunding backers. Cash rewardsBrowder said he wanted to offer a dividend to reward those employees and investors who bet on the startup early.

Persons: Joshua Browder, Browder, DoNotPay, it's, Sahil Lavingia, Josh Seidenfeld, Cooley, Steve Huffman, Spencer Platt, Seidenfeld, Lavingia, Andreessen Horowitz, Greylock, Dylan Field, Scott Belsky, Daniel Dines, Balaji Srinivasan, Cash, there's Organizations: Business, Big Law, Employees, Founders Fund, Adobe Locations: San Francisco

☆ A clip that's seemingly of the CEO behind Devin, the 'first AI software engineer,' at a math event is wowing viewers
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-14 | by ( Aaron Mok | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Read previewOn Tuesday, Scott Wu's startup Cognition launched what it claims to be the world's "first AI software engineer," Devin, creating quite the buzz — and a little discomfort — in the tech community. The autonomous AI developer, Cognition claims, is the first of its kind to write code, fix bugs, and train AI models, among other tasks, all on its own. Today we're excited to introduce Devin, the first AI software engineer. Devin is… pic.twitter.com/ladBicxEat — Cognition (@cognition_labs) March 12, 2024Cognition claims that Devin can radically change how software engineers do their jobs. And reactions to the capabilities of Devin — which Cognition claims can resolve 13.86% of coding issues found in open-source projects on GitHub — seem mixed.

Persons: —, Scott Wu's, Devin, Wu, Reddit, He's, Wu didn't, Peter Thiel's, Scott, Neal, …, Kyle Shevlin, Athagist, Devin —, Aravind Srinivas, Evan You, they'd, I'd, Bro, isn't Organizations: Service, Twitter, Raytheon, Business, Cognition, Harvard University, LinkedIn, Fund, Bloomberg Locations: Singapore

☆ Founders Fund partner Sam Blond has left the firm
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-04 | by ( Melia Russell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Sam Blond has left Founders Fund after 17 months with the firm. Blond's departure from Founders Fund is the second in as many months after Keith Rabois left. AdvertisementSam Blond, the Founders Fund partner who brought sales expertise from his years at Brex and Zenefits, has left the firm, he announced on X. He's the second partner to depart Founders Fund this year after Keith Rabois made a return to Khosla Ventures in January. In 2022, Founders Fund took part in 84 rounds that totaled about $6.6 billion.

Persons: Sam Blond, he's, Keith Rabois, —, I've, Blond, Forbes, Rabois, Axios Organizations: Fund, Service, Founders Fund, Khosla Ventures, Brex, Institutional Locations: Brex

☆ Bridgit Mendler went from Disney star to space startup CEO with $6.3M in funding—it started with an accidental college major
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-21 | by ( Ashton Jackson | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Bridgit Mendler's path from Disney Channel star to space startup CEO started with — quite literally — an accident. The 31-year-old is the CEO and co-founder of Northwood Space, a company based in El Segundo, California that aims to mass-produce ground stations — otherwise known as the antennae that communicate with space satellites. "While everybody else was making their sourdough starters [during the Covid-19 pandemic], we were building antennas out of random crap we could find at Home Depot ... and receiving data from [National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration] satellites," Mendler told CNBC on Monday while announcing her startup. "I'm studying anthropology," Mendler told ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live" in 2015. While at Harvard, she served as co-president of the Harvard Space Law Society, according to her LinkedIn profile.

Persons: —, Charlie, Mendler, ABC's, Jimmy Kimmel, Griffin, Andreessen Horowitz, Peter Thiel's Organizations: Disney Channel, Northwood, National Oceanic, Administration, CNBC, University of Southern, USC, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MIT Media Lab, Harvard Law School, Harvard, Harvard Space Law Society, Founders, Humba Ventures, Elon, SpaceX, Technologies, Northrop Grumman Locations: El Segundo , California, University of Southern California, Northwood

☆ Disney star turned space CEO: Bridgit Mendler launches satellite data startup backed by major VCs
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-19 | by ( Michael Sheetz | In Michaeljsheetz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Bridgit Mendler is no stranger to reaching millions of people — now she wants to change how satellite data reaches the ground. "The vision is a data highway between Earth and space," Mendler told CNBC. "Space is getting easier along so many different dimensions but still the actual exercise of sending data to and from space is difficult. Rather than build rockets or satellites, Northwood aims to mass produce ground stations. Also known as teleports, ground stations are the typically large and often circular antennas that connect to satellites in space.

Persons: Bridgit Mendler, The Beverly Hilton, Bridgit, —, Charlie, Mendler, Andreessen Horowitz, Griffin, Luthra, Lockheed Martin Organizations: The Beverly, Disney Channel, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard Law School, Federal Communications, Space Bureau, CNBC, Northwood, Founders Fund, Lockheed, Mitre Corporation, Space Locations: Beverly Hills , California, Waverly, El Segundo , California

☆ What the latest inflation data means for interest rates
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-14 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

In today's big story, we're looking at what a hotter-than-expected inflation report means for markets and the econom y . That silver lining doesn’t address the elephant in the room: What does the latest CPI data mean for interest rates? AdvertisementMadison Hoff/Noah Sheidlower/Business InsiderThe hot inflation report comes just a few weeks after some industry experts felt the market was in a perfect position. Stubbornly elevated inflation means Powell might be less willing to cut rates and risk further fueling inflation. It’s particularly painful for smaller companies, which tend to carry floating-rate debt more susceptible to elevated interest rates.

Persons: —, Angela Weiss, Insider’s Madison Hoff, BI’s Aruni Soni, Madison Hoff, Noah Sheidlower, we’ve, Jerome Powell, Powell, Jim Zelter, BI’s Yuheng Zhan, Alyssa Powell, Peter Thiel, bitcoin, Noah Berger Sam Altman’s, Jensen Huang, Altman's, Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, Bezos, Rob Dobi, doomsayers, Brace, Dan DeFrancesco, Hallam Bullock, Jordan Parker Erb, George Glover Organizations: Business, Service, Dow Jones, Bank of America, Apollo Global Management, Federal Reserve Bank of New, BlackRock, Strategic Investors Group, BI, Fund, Reuters, Apple Vision, BI Sky, Employees, Cisco Systems, Sony, McLaren Locations: Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Dubai, Miami, Washington, New York, London

☆ Read the pitch deck that helped Latino-focused fintech platform Suma raise $2.2 million to teach money management through videos and gaming
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-06 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Suma Wealth, a 3-year-old fintech company that combines culturally relevant content and experiences with financial tools to help Latinos build wealth, raised $2.2 million in new funding. Leading the round was Radicle Impact, which was joined by Vamos Ventures, OVO fund, and the American Heart Association Impact fund. She got the idea for Suma during the pandemic when she saw its disproportionate impact on Latinos, Acevedo told TechCrunch. Along with closing the seed round, Suma announced that it had passed 1 million users on its platforms and acquired Intellecto, a platform designed to personalize users' learning experiences. Check out the pitch deck that Suma used to raise its most recent funding.

Persons: Suma, Beatriz Acevedo, Acevedo, they've, Wells Organizations: Vamos Ventures, American Heart Association, Ulu Ventures, Fund, Chingona Ventures, Business, FDIC, Suma, JPMorgan Chase, TechCrunch Locations: Wells Fargo

OpenAI's tender offer, which would allow employees to sell shares in the start-up to outside investors, remains on track despite the leadership tumult and board shuffle, two people familiar with the matter told CNBC. The round and previously reported valuation were jeopardized by Sam Altman's temporary ouster earlier in November, but his return cleared the way for the tender offer to proceed. The extension of the tender offer comes after a rollercoaster couple of weeks for the company. OpenAI's other major backers include Founders Fund, Sequoia Capital and, following the completion of the tender offer, Thrive Capital. Founders Fund will not participate in the tender offer either, a person familiar with the firm said.

Persons: Sam Altman, Josh Kushner's, Sam Altman's, Altman, Satya Nadella, Greg Brockman, OpenAI, Bret Taylor, Larry Summers, Adam D'Angelo, Nadella, — CNBC's Ari Levy, Jordan Novet, Elon Musk Organizations: Economic Cooperation, APEC, CNBC, Microsoft, Employees, Brockman's, Tiger Global, Fund, Sequoia Capital, Bloomberg Locations: Asia, San Francisco , California, OpenAI

☆ 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

☆ Rate cuts are likely coming next year, but investors shouldn't bank on them saving the market
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-27 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . In today's big story, we're looking at why the rate cuts investors have been praying for might not be the godsend they imagined. But rate cuts won't necessarily be the win markets are hoping for, Business Insider's Jennifer Sor writes. Still, some interest rate traders are predicting rate cuts coming as soon as this March, according to CME's FedWatch Tool. Another key piece of the economy facing headwinds complicates the case for rate cuts being a boon for investors.

Persons: —, I've, we're, Patrick Semansky, Jennifer Sor, CME's, Jennifer, Insider's Dominick Reuter, Miles Goodloe, Domenic, Robert Oszust Jr, Domenic Boresta, Alice Brooks, Jennifer Campbell, Sean Jacobsohn, he's, Jacobsohn, Chelsea Jia Feng, They're, it's, Gen, Bradley Cooper, Ben Affleck, Greta Gerwig, Bill, Bill —, Bill Nye, Science Guy, Manolo Blahnik, Jimi Hendrix, Steve Bannon, Bruce Lee, Dan DeFrancesco, Naga Siu, Hallam Bullock, Lisa Ryan Organizations: Service, Tech, Business, Federal Reserve, Fed, UBS, Big Tech, Retail, Walmart, Target, Financial Times, Echo, Khosla Ventures, Science Locations: Washington, Miles, Chelsea, New York City, San Diego, London, New York

☆ Elon Musk's Neuralink raises more cash ahead of human trials next year
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-27 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Neuralink has raised another $43 million, per an SEC filing, as it faces mounting scrutiny. Billionaire investor Peter Thiel's Founders Fund led the latest round, TechCrunch reported. AdvertisementElon Musk's controversial brain implant company Neuralink has raised more funding as it gears up to start human trials. The latest round was led by billionaire investor Peter Thiel's Founders Fund, TechCrunch reported. The latest funding round comes as Elon Musk faces further criticism over the deaths of monkeys that Neuralink used to test its chips.

Persons: Neuralink, Peter Thiel's, —, Elon, Elon Musk, Gary Gensler, Musk, Luke, Optimus, Neuralink didn't Organizations: SEC, Fund, TechCrunch, Service, Elon, Responsible Medicine, Business

☆ 20 women in venture capital who made partner or higher at firms like Khosla Ventures and GV in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-24 | by ( Samantha Stokes | Madeline Renbarger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

The venture capital industry is overwhelmingly male. But more firms made moves to close the gender gap in 2023 by hiring and promoting women to partners. Startups and venture capital are still overwhelmingly boy's clubs — but each year, more and female investors are claiming their seat at the table. Business Insider is recognizing the women in venture capital who made partner or general partner for the first time in 2023. You can read more about Europe's new female partners here.

Persons: Alice Brooks, Jennifer Campbell Organizations: Khosla Ventures, Business

☆ Wholesale marketplace Faire, which raised $416 million 18 months ago, laid off 250 workers in a company-wide restructuring
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-02 | by ( Madeline Stone | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Faire, the wholesale marketplace company, laid off about 250 employees on Wednesday. This is the second time in just over a year that the company has laid off workers, although this second restructuring appears to be bigger. Faire is an online marketplace that connects independent brands with retailers that can stock their products in their stores. Faire recently announced a partnership with Shopify that established Faire as the preferred wholesale marketplace for Shopify merchants. Shopify also became a shareholder in Faire as part of the deal, which Insider first reported on in July.

Persons: Shopify, We're, who've, Layoffs.fyi Organizations: Dragoneer Investment, Sequoia Capital, Founders Fund, Forerunner Ventures, Tech Locations: mstone@insider.com

☆ Exclusive: How Calibrate stumbled from hot weight-loss startup to $20 million sale under threat of bankruptcy
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-02 | by ( Rebecca Torrence | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Facing the threat of bankruptcy, weight-loss startup Calibrate was forced to make a tough deal with private equity firm Madryn Asset Management, according to company documents reviewed by Insider. Under the terms of the deal, Madryn took a 70% stake in Calibrate in exchange for just $20 million, the documents show. Calibrate, Madryn, Kenyon, and the company's VC backers didn't immediately return messages seeking comment for this story. Some longtime patients have regained much of the weight they lost after Calibrate failed to get them medications, Insider reported on Thursday. Under the deal, Madryn exchanged $20 million of its loans for senior equity in Calibrate.

Persons: Madryn, Isabelle Kenyon, She's, Kenyon, didn't, Fortune, Michael Siluk, They're Organizations: Asset, Tiger Global, Founders Fund, Optum Ventures, Madryn, Tiger, Getty, Owners, LinkedIn Locations: Madryn

☆ Founders Fund backed Jennifer Campbell's startup before she sold it to Coinbase for millions. Now she's looking to 'harpoon' a startup 'whale' as the firm's newest partner.
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-26 | by ( Melia Russell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Jennifer Campbell left Coinbase to become a partner at Founders Fund. Before Founders Fund, Campbell built and sold a crypto prime brokerage startup. Before Campbell invested at Founders Fund, she got funded by them. Before long, she caught the attention of several funds, including her former backers at Founders Fund, circling the same deals. AdvertisementAdvertisement"I felt like I always knew I wanted to come back to Founders Fund," Campbell said.

Persons: Jennifer Campbell, Coinbase, Campbell, —, let's, Fund's, Erin Gleason Organizations: Founders Fund, Fund, Service, SpaceX, Quiet Locations: San Francisco's Presidio, Coinbase, OpenAI

☆ Insider is seeking nominations for the 2023 rising stars of venture capital
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-24 | by ( Samantha Stokes | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Insider is putting together a list of the best up-and-coming venture capitalists of 2023. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . AdvertisementAdvertisementWe are seeking nominations for Insider's yearly list of rising stars of venture capital, and we want to hear from you. In the past, we've had people with a variety of roles and experiences from VC funds like Founders Fund, Greylock Partners, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Tiger Global, and Spark Capital. Please email Madeline Renbarger at mrenbarger@insider.com or Samantha Stokes at sstokes@insider.com with any questions or issues submitting your nominations.

Persons: VCs, —, we've, Madeline Renbarger, Samantha Stokes Organizations: Service, Founders, Greylock Partners, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Tiger Global, Spark Locations: mrenbarger@insider.com, sstokes@insider.com

☆ Exclusive: Tech billionaire Peter Thiel was an FBI informant
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-19 | by ( Mattathias Schwartz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Another source close to Thiel told Insider that while they could not confirm that Thiel was a CHS, Thiel did speak to Buma occasionally. "[They] will be either an 'FBI source' or a 'former FBI source' and, in turn, his or her conduct or misconduct will reflect upon the FBI." Drew Angerer/Getty ImagesAs a CHS, Thiel was assigned a code name and an internal serial number to track his reporting. Thiel, Johnson said, was directed by the FBI not to report on his interactions with Donald Trump or other US political figures. Johnson told Insider that he brokered an introduction between Thiel and the FBI special agent who would become his handler.

Persons: Peter Thiel, Trump, Thiel, Johnathan Buma, Charles Johnson, Johnson, MAGA, Donald Trump, Drew Angerer, Scott Horton, Buma, Sen, J.D, Vance of, Blake Masters, —, Vance, Joe Biden's, Vance of Ohio, Anna Moneymaker, Masters, Mithril's, Matt Gaetz, Gaetz's, Ginger Gaetz, Bill Barr, Rudy Giuliani, Alex Wong, Jeffrey Epstein, Enrique Tarrio, Tarrio, Mattathias Schwartz Organizations: FBI, Buma, CHS, Trump, Trump Tower, Republican National Convention, Joe Biden's Department, Getty Masters, Mar, Masters, Pentagon, CIA, National Security Agency, US Army, NSO Group, Forbes, Mithril, Clearview's, Committee, Capitol, Founders Fund, Boys Locations: Los Angeles, Germany, United States, New Zealand, Malta, Silicon, Vance of Ohio, Arizona, Palantir, American, Russian, Atlantic City, schwartz79@protonmail.com

☆ Regent aims to fly its electric seagliders over the waterways of Japan
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-05 | by ( Lora Kolodny | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Billy Thalheimer (CEO) and Michael Klinker (CTO) of REGENT with a full-scale mockup of their first electric seaglider. Regent, a startup developing electric seagliders to transport people and cargo, has raised a $60 million round of venture funding and struck a partnership with Japan Airlines to figure out how to bring the company's flying electric ferries to the waterways of Japan. Venture fund 8090 Industries co-led Regent's series A round alongside Peter Thiel's Founders Fund, with Japan Airlines Innovation Fund and Point72 Ventures also participating among others. The commercial version of this battery powered 12-seater, named the Viceroy, will fly higher above the water at speeds of up to 180 mph, Thalheimer says. Thalheimer said, "You can build as many decks or pitches as you want but this is the experience that unlocks excitement."

Persons: Billy Thalheimer, Michael Klinker, REGENT, Peter Thiel's, Regent, seaglider, Thalheimer Organizations: Japan Airlines, Venture, Japan Airlines Innovation Fund, Point72 Ventures, CNBC Locations: Japan, Rhode, Narragansett

☆ 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

"I'm very, very lucky because I wouldn't have had the courage to go and do that acquisition, but I give all the credit in the world to Dave Clark," Petersen said. "There's a perfect complement of skill sets," Petersen told Forbes in June 2022. Petersen told Clark he should engage with Shopify's team, according to a person with direct knowledge of the negotiations. Clark, Petersen and Wagers met in Texas in mid-August to fine-tune the forecasts. Flexport told CNBC that an employee's politics are not relevant in personnel decisions.

Persons: Dave Clark, Ryan Petersen, he'd, Petersen, Clark, excoriated Clark, we've, Clark wasn't, Jeff Bezos, It's, Flexport, Clark overspent, Flexport's, He'd, Sanne Manders, Dave, Shopify, Tobias Lutke, Lutke, Shopify's, glanced, didn't, Fund's Trae Stephens, Michael Ronen, SoftBank, Andreessen Horowitz, Bob Swan, Samyukta Lakshmi, Kenny, Stuart Leung, pare, Leung, —, Lindsey Wasson, Clark's, Stephens, Peter Thiel, Trump's, Petersen's, Sen, Joe Manchin, Chris Ferro, Ferro, Parisa Sadrzadeh, couldn't, Amazon, Sadrzadeh, Burak Yolga, Yolga, Nelly Organizations: North, Amazon, Twitter, CNBC, UPS, FedEx, Milken Institute Global Conference, Bloomberg, Getty, Forbes, Deliverr, Shopify's, Anduril Industries, Intel, Intel Corp, U.S ., Clark, Republican, Founders Fund, Democratic, Street Journal, Flexport Locations: Phoenix, Silicon, Clark, Beverly Hills , California, U.S, Flexport, Deliverr, Miami, Flexport's Bellevue , Washington, Bengaluru, India, Flexport's, Asia, U.S . West Coast, Texas, Ohio, Arizona, Thiel's, West Virginia, Seattle, integrations

☆ Flexport fires CFO, HR chief departs weeks after sudden ouster of Dave Clark as CEO
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-27 | by ( Annie Palmer | In Annierpalmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Three weeks after Flexport founder Ryan Petersen fired Dave Clark as CEO and returned to run his supply chain software startup, the company has ousted its chief financial officer, and its human resources chief has resigned, CNBC has learned. Flexport informed CFO Kenny Wagers last week that he was being let go, according to people familiar with the situation. Clark and Petersen worked as co-CEOs of Flexport starting last September, and Clark took over as the company's sole CEO in March. Stuart Leung will become Flexport's Chief Financial Officer and report to Ryan Petersen, CEO, effective immediately. WATCH: Flexport CEO Petersen on company's plan to reinvest profits

Persons: Ryan Peterson, Ryan Petersen, Dave Clark, Flexport, Kenny, Stuart Leung, Leung, Petersen's . Petersen, Clark, Jeff Bezos, Petersen, Peter Thiel's, Jennifer Boden, Boden, Darcie Henry, Michael Brown, Stuart, Jennifer, " Petersen, Henry, Teresa Carlson, Tim Collins, Kelly Cheeseman, Andreessen Horowitz, SoftBank, it's, excoriated Clark, — CNBC's Rohan Goswami Organizations: Flexport Inc, CNBC, Amazon, Fund, Restructuring, Founders Fund Locations: San Francisco , California, U.S, Flexport, Shopify, Andreessen

☆ Neuralink, Elon Musk’s brain implant startup, set to begin human trials
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-20 | by ( Jennifer Korn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —Elon Musk’s controversial biotechnology startup Neuralink opened up recruitment for its first human clinical trial Tuesday, according to a company blog. After receiving approval from an independent review board, Neuralink is set to begin offering brain implants to paralysis patients as part of the PRIME Study, the company said. In May, Neuralink tweeted that it had received FDA clearance for human clinical trials, with the approval acknowledged by the agency in a statement. Musk has forecast human trials at the startup at least four times since 2019, yet the company didn’t seek FDA approval until 2022. Before Neuralink’s brain implants hit the broader market, they’ll need regulatory approval.

Persons: New York CNN — Elon, Musk, Neuralink, Peter Thiel, ” Organizations: New, New York CNN, Founders Fund, PayPal, Twitter, Reuters, Food and Drug Administration, FDA Locations: New York, San Francisco, Neuralink

But a person who worked closely with Ramaswamy said, "He thinks people are put on this earth to serve him." Roivant attracted investors including Masayoshi Son's SoftBank Vision Fund, Peter Thiel's Founders Fund, and the hedge fund Viking Global Investors. Former Roivant employees said Ramaswamy worked hard and expected the same of others. McLaughlin called the employee's recollection "inaccurate," adding that Ramaswamy "has never once raised his voice or used bad language with employees." At Roivant, Ramaswamy kept his politics largely to himself, former employees said.

Persons: Vivek Ramaswamy, Ramaswamy, He's, Donald Trump, Mike Pence, Nikki Haley, Ron DeSantis, Trump, George Soros, didn't, Taco Bell, he's, —, Vivek, Tricia McLaughlin, he'd, McLaughlin, takeout, Forbes, Vivek doesn't, they've, Roivant, Masayoshi, Peter Thiel's, Thiel, JD Vance, Bill Ackman, who'd, . Ramaswamy, Erik Gordon, Vance, John Phillips, Joyce Rosely, Phillips, Anson Frericks, they'd, Rosely, Frericks, They're, they're, Eric Balchunas, Todd Rosenbluth, Rosenbluth, Christopher Lenzo, Brandon Bell, Vivek Ramaswamy's, Katherine Long, Jack Newsham, Meghan Morris Organizations: pharma, Army Rangers, Biotech, Republican, nab, GOP, of Education, FBI, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Federal Reserve, Florida, Roivant Sciences, General Electric, Yale Law School, Army, Rangers, Harvard, Yale, Fund, Viking Global, Leerink Partners, GlaxoSmithKline, Forbes, Big Pharma, Japan's Sumitomo Pharma Co, ., University of Michigan, FDA, US, Yale Law, ESG, The, Texas, Indiana, BlackRock, Vanguard, Bloomberg Intelligence, Fair, SEC Locations: Mexico, FiveThirtyEight, Roivant, Patagonia, Iowa, New York, Ohio, The Lever

☆ Anduril founder Palmer Luckey says the ChatGPT buzz is making politicians more interested in AI-powered weapons
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-09 | by ( Lakshmi Varanasi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Palmer Luckey told Breaking Defense the ChatGPT hype is making politicians interested in AI weapons. While Luckey may be best known as the founder of Oculus, in 2017 he created a defense tech startup called Anduril Industries. In a recent interview with Breaking Defense, Luckey said "ChatGPT has probably been more helpful to Anduril with customers and politicians than any technology in the last 10 years." Luckey, who referred to Anduril as an "AI company," clarified to Breaking Defense that ChatGPT wasn't actually powering Anduril's products. It builds military technology including drones, surveillance towers, and underwater vehicles powered by its AI software system, Lattice.

Persons: Palmer Luckey, Luckey, he's, that's, Palmer, ChatGPT, you'll, futher, Anduril, Andreessen Horowitz, Lockheed Martin, Trump, we've Organizations: Breaking Defense, Capitol, Pentagon, Service, Anduril Industries, Defense, Blue Force Technologies, TechCrunch, Founders Fund, Boeing, Lockheed, Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, CNBC, Special, Command, US Customs, Protection, Jaan, Skype, Cambridge Centre, Life Locations: Wall, Silicon, Jaan Tallinn

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