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A UK-based AI startup, founded last month by former Cohere employees, is already in talks to raise a major pre-seed round amid venture capitalists' continued spending spree in the sector. Convergence AI, incorporated at the end of April, was founded by ex-Cohere employees Marvin Purtorab and Andy Toulis, who was also a machine learning engineer at Uber. Its primary aim, per leaked investor documents seen by BI, is to build out automated workforces using AI. The nascent business has been feted by several leading funds, with the company receiving at least six different term sheets for investment, two London-based sources said. The startup opted for a funding round led by London-based Balderton Capital, six sources familiar with the deal told Business Insider.
Persons: Marvin Purtorab, Andy Toulis, Slack Organizations: Uber, Business, Balderton, BI, Nvidia, Mistral Locations: London, Paris
download the appSign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. Read previewDefinely, a London-based legal tech startup, has raised $7 million in Series A funding, the company said Wednesday. Founded in 2020 by former colleagues at a Magic Circle law firm, Definely is a subscription product that helps lawyers read, edit, and draft legal documents through a plug-in. Currently available through Microsoft Word, Definely uses artificial intelligence, including natural language processing, to make cross-referencing documents easier for legal professionals. Reading legal documents can be a lengthy and complex task with phrases and terminology often scattered between different sections of contracts.
Persons: , Nnamdi Emelifeonwu, MacDaeid, Emelifeonwu, Definely Organizations: Service, Microsoft, Business, Octopus Ventures, Cornerstone VC, Zrosk Investment, Google, Atlantic Locations: London
Read previewA luxury gym chain is launching a program costing $40,000 a year that it says will help clients to boost their longevity. But experts told Business Insider you don't need to spend thousands of dollars to enjoy a long, healthy life. The program, which will later be available in other states, aims to help customers "live 100 healthy years," Jonathan Swerdlin, co-founder of Function Health, told CNBC. Research suggests that weight, or strength, training is beneficial for longevity because it builds muscle mass, which helps maintain strength and mobility into older age. One 2022 study found that those who did 30 minutes of strength training a week were 10% to 20% less likely to die from chronic illnesses, such as heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.
Persons: , Jonathan Swerdlin, Maveron, Dan Belsky, Robert N Butler, Michael Snyder, Snyder, Belsky, Virend Somers Organizations: Service, Function, CNBC, Business, Consulting, of Labor, Robert N Butler Columbia Aging Center, Center for Genomics, Medicine, Stanford University, Research, Mayo Clinic Locations: New York City, Highland Park , Texas
British biodiversity startup Dendra Systems announced Wednesday it has raised a $15.76 million Series B, as investors continue to pour capital into climate tech. The $15.76 million Series B round was led by Zouk Capital, a London-based private equity firm that has previously backed climate-tech companies such as Green Hedge and Orb Energy. Dendra Systems previously raised $10 million Series A in 2020 from At One Ventures, Airbus Ventures, Future Positive Capital, Chris Sacca's Lowercarbon Capital, and others. Climate tech proved to be more resilient than other sectors in a cool market in 2023, with European climate tech startups bucking the trend in declining investment and raising a collective $20 billion. Dendra Systems is among the first batch of European climate startups to get VC backing.
Persons: Susan Graham, Graham, Chris Sacca's Organizations: Systems, Zouk, Orb Energy, Aramco Ventures, Airbus Ventures, Understorey, Business, Tech News, Dendra, One Ventures, Positive, Natural Capital Research Locations: London, Rio Tinto, North America
Look at what's happening in Ukraine. Look at what's happening in the Middle East. Drones have changed modern warfare, public safety, and homeland security forever," Dedrone CEO Aaditya Devarakonda told CNBC on May 6, 2024, the day his startup was acquired by public safety company Axon. Public safety technology company Axon announced Monday that it is acquiring drone defense startup Dedrone. "And you can see what's happening around the world.
Persons: Aaditya Devarakonda, Dedrone, Rick Smith, CNBC's Morgan Brennan, Smith Organizations: Armed Forces, Ukraine, CNBC Locations: Lviv, Ukraine
A general partner at Andreessen Horowitz is the latest to join the debate around "fake work" in Big Tech. David Ulevitch said "half the white-collar staff at Google probably does no real work." AdvertisementAn investor at famed Silicon Valley firm Andreessen Horowitz is the latest VC to get involved in the debate around "fake work" in the tech industry. Advertisement"I don't think it's crazy to believe that half the white-collar staff at Google probably does no real work," he said. Other VCs have also entered the debate around "fake work" and overstaffing within Big Tech in recent years.
Persons: Andreessen Horowitz, David Ulevitch, , Emily Sundberg, Ulevitch, Marc Andreessen, Keith Rabois, Thomas Siebel, they've, overhiring Organizations: Google, Meta, Service, Cisco, Big Tech, Tech, PayPal Mafia, Facebook Locations: Big Tech, Silicon, America
Now 42, Bilimoria is the sole partner of Refactor Capital, the early-stage venture-capital firm he launched in 2016. Through Refactor Capital, Bilimoria has backed unicorn companies including the green-chemical manufacturer Solugen and the space startup Astranis. AdvertisementTwo years later, Lee stepped down as a general partner — making Bilimoria the firm's sole investor. Life as a solo partnerAs a solo partner, "all the successes and all the challenges are on my shoulders," Bilimoria said. Refactor Capital invests in about eight companies every year and is deploying capital out of its third fund.
Persons: , Bilimoria, Andreessen Horowitz —, weren't, Andreessen Horowitz, David Lee, Lee Organizations: Service, University of Pennsylvania, Business, Microsoft, Netflix, Google, Twitter, Fund, SV Angel Locations: Northwest Indiana
The AI engineer bailed on his friends, who had traveled from the East Coast to the Seattle area. watch nowThis is the dark underbelly of the generative AI gold rush. Last year marked the beginning of the generative AI boom, following the debut of OpenAI's ChatGPT near the end of 2022. Justin Sullivan | Getty ImagesAn AI engineer at Microsoft said the company is engaged in an "AI rat race." The Microsoft AI engineer said a lot of tasks are about "trying to create AI hype" with no practical use.
Persons: Sebastien Bozon, Jensen Huang, Tech's, Amy Hood, Mark Zuckerberg, Zuckerberg, Andy Jassy, Jassy, they're, Eric Gu, , Gu, Satya Nadella, Sam Altman, Justin Sullivan, there's, Morry, Kolman, doesn't, Sundar Pichai, Bard, There's, That's, beholden, Ayodele Odubela, ", it’s, Adam Selipsky, Anthropic, Dario Amodei, Noah Berger, Odubela, Gemini Organizations: Google, Apple, Facebook, Microsoft, AFP, Getty, Amazon, CNBC, Big Tech, Nvidia, Google . Engineers, Tech, Vision, Cloud Next, Web, Amazon Web Locations: Mulhouse, France, East Coast, Seattle, ChatGPT, San Francisco, Vegas, Las Vegas, German
The Palestinian startup sceneOur business is based in Ramallah, where Raya lives. If starting a company in Ramallah could benefit the community by creating jobs and further building on the small startup scene there, we wanted to try. When "The Middle Frame" goes through a hard time in the future, we can look back at that screenshot. In the future, when our business is stable in a different market, we could maybe have a smaller operation in the Palestinian market. The Palestinian startup ecosystem needs more examples of successful startups in the wider region to support the startups in Palestine and more investment bodies to support the early-stage startups.
Persons: Mohammad Alnobani, Alnobani, , We'd, Raya, creatives, We're, I'd, I've, We've, Raya's, we've, it's Organizations: West Bank, Hamas, Service, Young, Palestine, Israel, Getty, UAE Locations: Gaza, Alnobani, Ramallah, Palestinian Territories, Amman, Jordan, Jerusalem, Belfast, Palestinian, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Nablus, Qatar, London, Boston, East, North Africa, it's, Egypt, Europe, Ramallah —, Dubai, Jordanian, Iran, UAE, Palestine
The past few years have been tough for edtech companies. In recent months, multiple edtech startups have raised fresh funding rounds while specifically touting AI as a core part of their business model. These deals could signal that AI is ushering in a new era for edtech companies, and VCs who invest in the space are excited about the renaissance. And Ednition, also one of Donnelly's portfolio companies, provides an infrastructure-as-a-service platform for other edtech companies to improve the data that goes into their AI models. That's why it's so important to invest in ed-tech AI startups that help people rethink how they interact with technology and learn new skills necessary to successfully enter the workforce, he said.
Persons: PitchBook, VCs, Brian Dixon, Dixon, we've, Numerade, Kapoor, Katelyn Donnelly, she's, I've, you'll, Donnelly, Avalance, OpenAI, we're, ChatGPT, Ryan Craig, Craig, edtech Organizations: Business, Labs, Kapor, Partners, Chingona Ventures, TechCrunch, Kapoor Capital, Lirvana Labs, Odyssey Education, University Ventures, ACT Locations: VCs, edtech
Hugo Amsellem and Etienne Boutan are launching Intuition, a VC fund eyeing consumer startups. The €15 million (about $16 million) fund will invest in early-stage consumer startups in Europe and the US. Intuition plans to host a "Consumer Tour" to connect founders and investors across seven cities. Hugo Amsellem and Etienne Boutan, two French investors behind the new VC fund Intuition, are on the hunt for "slightly delusional" consumer tech founders. "When you're a consumer founder, you're trying to target millions of users, and you're trying to provide them something that they don't know that they want yet," Amsellem, a former founder himself and startup advisor, told Business Insider.
Persons: Hugo Amsellem, Etienne Boutan Organizations: Business Locations: Europe
Read previewVenture capital firm Ventech has sold its stake in digital music company Believe, saying the company's lack of liquidity has led to it being "chronically undervalued" on the Paris Stock Exchange. "It wasn't really possible to use the Believe stock to accelerate its build-up," he added. Related stories"The management wanted to size the company, but the stock price and liquidity wasn't allowing that," he said. Ventech has raised an initial closing for its sixth fund, targeted at around €225 million ($241 million). Ventech has made initial deals from its sixth fund, backing French startup Firecell and German real-estate management company Einwert.
Persons: , Ventech, Jean Bourcereau, Thomas Bravo, Bourcereau Organizations: Service, Paris Stock Exchange, Business, London Stock Exchange Locations: Ventech, , Europe, Stockholm
Today, the venture capitalist is looking to invest in startups in the name, image, and likeness space transforming college sports. NIL, as it's called for short, has become big business since 2021, when student-athletes gained the right to make money from it. Some college athletes are making millions from brand and sponsorship deals, and a cottage industry has cropped up to support the rapidly changing industry. He and his partners also raised $25 million in 2021 for a venture-capital firm, Fiat Ventures, which invests in early-stage companies in the fintech space, per its website. After months of researching and talking to startups, Glover broke down the seven biggest opportunities he sees in the NIL industry:
Persons: Drew Glover, Aaron Rodgers, Cameron Jordan, Marshawn Lynch, Glover, couldn't, Jonathan Ferrey, Vint, he's, He's Organizations: University of California, Business, California, Fiat Growth, Fiat Ventures, LinkedIn Locations: Berkeley, Berkeley , California
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
Read previewA new social media app targeting Gen Z, Nospace, is set to be released in June, the company told BI. Her new app jumps on Gen Z's love of Y2K and harkens back to a simpler age of social media. Nospace wants to recapture some of the magic of social media apps like MySpace and early Facebook, which centered on friendships and making new connections. Zhong is a seasoned social media pro who knows how to appeal to Gen Z trends. Through her previous companies, she's advised companies like Snapchat, Levi Strauss, and Google on how to reach a younger Gen Z audience.
Persons: , Nospace, Tiffany Zhong, Zer, Zhong, Z's, everyone's, Tati, she's, Levi Strauss Organizations: Service, Pineapple Capital, Business, Google
NEW LOOK Sign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. 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 how the latest GDP data has shifted the expectations of where the economy is headed. Now, the economy will need some type of event (see: bubble popping) for rate cuts to become an option anytime soon, Miskin said. Energy price shocks could bring the world economy to a "vulnerable moment," chief economist Indermit Gill warned.
Persons: , TikTok, they're, you'd, Jia Feng, It'll, Insider's Madison Hoff, It's, Jerome Powell, Anna Moneymaker, BI's Filip De Mott, Jamie Dimon, Matt Miskin, Miskin, Mark Zuckerberg, C, Cox, Jenny Chang, Rodriguez, Goldman Sachs, Guess what's, Indermit Gill, Alphabet's, Redmond, Tyler Le, Doug McMillon, execs, Dan DeFrancesco, Jordan Parker Erb, Hallam Bullock, George Glover Organizations: Business, Service, Reserve, stagflation, JPMorgan, Wall Street, John Hancock Investment Management, Galatioto Sports Partners, Bank, Google, Big Tech, Microsoft, Health, Linkedin, YouTube, ExxonMobil Locations: Chevron, New York, London
Here are Friday's biggest calls on Wall Street: Bank of America reiterates Alphabet as buy Bank of America said it is sticking with its buy rating on Alphabet following earnings Thursday. Deutsche Bank reiterates Snap as buy Deutsche Bank said it is sticking with its buy rating on the stock following earnings on Thursday. " Goldman Sachs reiterates Intel as sell Goldman Sachs said it is standing by its sell rating on Intel shares following earnings Thursday. Benchmark upgrades Western Digital to buy from hold Benchmark upgrades Western Digital following the company's "major upside" earnings report. Bank of America reiterates Nvidia as buy Bank of America said Nvidia remains a top idea at the firm.
Persons: Goldman Sachs, prioritization, Maxim, Bank of America downgrades Hertz, Raymond James, Knight, Morgan Stanley downgrades Mobileye, Morgan Stanley, Piper Sandler, Wells, Dow Organizations: Bank of America, Deutsche, Deutsche Bank, Microsoft, Intel, TAM, Apple, Barclays, Enphase Energy, Digital, " Bank of America, Sonic Automotive, underperform Bank of America, Underperform, of America, Nvidia, AMD, MU, Caterpillar, Air Defense, Swift Transportation, EPAM, IT Services, Materials, Compass Minerals, JPMorgan, Dow, Teledyne, HSBC Locations: China, underperform, Israel
What if plants could talk to farmers and tell them when they're distressed? That would not only help the plants but also reduce the amount of agricultural waste that threatens the planet's health. Now companies like SatAgro, Climate FieldView, and a California-based startup called InnerPlant are working to reduce agricultural waste. From that signal, farmers know what to treat, meaning they don't waste money on chemicals, which are over-applied by up to 30%, Aronov said. In addition to Bison Ventures, InnerPlant is backed by John Deere, MS&AD Ventures, UpWest VC and Bee Partners.
Persons: Shely Aronov, Aronov, InnerPlant, Tom Biegala, John Deere, Lisa Rizzolo Organizations: Environmental Protection Agency, National Institute of Food, Agriculture, Bison Ventures, InnerPlant, AD Ventures, UpWest, Bee Partners, CNBC Locations: California, North America, South America
VC firm Redesign Health is targeting $250 million in its latest fundraising push. The health-focused investor and accelerator last raised $65 million in September 2022. The health-focused venture firm and startup studio is targeting a $250 million raise, according to three people with knowledge of the efforts. Redesign previously grabbed $250 million for itself and its portfolio companies, including $100 million in Series B funding, in March 2021. Most recently, the firm landed $65 million in Series C funding for itself in September 2022.
Persons: Organizations: Health, Service
The startup, Read AI, closed a $21 million Series A funding round in April. Goodwater Capital led the round, with participation from existing investor Madrona Venture Group, which led the startup's $10 million seed round in 2021. David Shin, who co-founded Read AI alongside Robert Williams and Elliott Waldron, told Business Insider that the generative AI boom over the last year has supercharged what the startup can offer clients. Read AI offers multiple pricing plans, including a basic, free version for individual users as well as enterprise and enterprise plus accounts that cost $22.50 and $29.75 a month per user, respectively. Check out the 23-slide presentation Read AI used to raise $21 million in Series A funding.
Persons: David Shin, Robert Williams, Elliott Waldron, Read Organizations: Goodwater Capital, Madrona Venture Group, Business, Microsoft, Google, Read, Bloomberg Locations: Seattle
Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailCanonical Crypto founder says he's bullish on the merging of AI and blockchainAnand Iyer, founder of Canonical Crypto, an early stage fund investing in crypto and web3 infrastructure, explains why he is bullish on the convergence of AI and blockchain technology. Iyer also provides his outlook for VC trends in the space.
Persons: he's bullish, blockchain Anand Iyer, Canonical, Iyer
The big storyTick-tock on TikTokChelsea Jia Feng/BITikTok's time in the US could soon be on the clock. When it's all said and done, a TikTok ban could be in place before the week's end. Business Insider's Peter Kafka explains why the TikTok ban, while more imminent than ever, still has a long way to go . A TikTok ban would benefit one familiar face in social media, though, writes BI's Katie Notopoulos . YouTube Shorts, too, stand to grab more attention after a TikTok ban.
Persons: , Caitlin Clark's, Chelsea Jia Feng, ByteDance, Joe Biden, it's, Business Insider's Peter Kafka, Michael Beckerman, TikTok, hawking, BI's Lindsay Dodgson, outperforming, Katie Notopoulos, Merrill Lynch, Tyler Le, Andy Sieg's, Merrill, Lindsay Hans, Eric Schimpf, It's, Steve Cohen's, Grzegorz Wajda, Hokyoung Kim, Nordstrom, Tesla, Dan DeFrancesco, Jordan Parker Erb, Hallam Bullock, George Glover Organizations: Business, Service, Nike, Bloomberg Intelligence, YouTube, Big Tech, New York Stock Exchange, NYSE, Chelsea, Getty, Walmart, BI, Costco, Amazon, Motors, Spotify Locations: Americas, TikTok, Merrill, China, American, New York, London
Magic Eden coders gathered in an Airbnb in San Jose, California, to hack in preparation for the so-called bitcoin halving. Their goal was to spend a week hacking to prepare for the so-called bitcoin halving — an event that is baked into the chain's code and helps to stave off inflation through programmatic monetary policy. watch nowTechnically speaking, runes just enables asset issuance of fungible tokens on bitcoin's base chain. The reason this is significant to developers is because of its efficiency relative to existing BRC-20 tokens, bitcoin's widely-used fungible token standard that has already received a ton of traction. "There's definitely been an awakening of capital interest in the bitcoin layer two space," said Muneeb Ali, who co-founded Stacks — an open-source blockchain network that brings smart contracts to bitcoin.
Persons: Eden coders, Amil Husain, Magic Eden, Bitcoin, Eden's, Zedd Yin, Eden's coders, Yin, blockchain, Casey Rodarmor, Rodarmor, Casey, Nic Carter, Bill Barhydt, bitcoin, Barhydt, I've, Carter, PitchBook, There's, Muneeb Ali, Ali, Christopher Calicott, Amil Husain DeFi, Hong Fang, Fang, Goldman Sachs, Stacks's Ali Organizations: East Foothills, Fighter, Engineers, solana, Island Ventures, Venture, CNBC, Magic Eden, Austin, Trammell Venture Partners, Labs, Ribbit Capital Locations: San Jose , California, U.S, Northern California, solana, ethereum, Abra, bitcoin, San Jose, Bitcoin
Read previewAustin Walters started SpringTide Ventures in 2018 to disrupt healthcare by democratizing access to health innovations. The firm just closed its second $65 million fund to make more of those bets. A tough fundraising environmentAfter closing on its first $20 million fund, which the firm began investing out of in 2019, SpringTide originally set a $100 million target in 2021 for its second fund, Walters said. SpringTide picks a different focus area each time — most recently, home health, where the firm has invested in companies like family primary care startup Nest Health. By solving significant problems with advanced technologies, these companies have natural competitive advantages that allow them to drive outsize returns for the firm, Walters said.
Persons: , Austin Walters, Walters, Henry Ford, We're, SpringTide, Justin Hackworth Photgraphy SpringTide, OpenLoop, outsize, SpringTidew hasn't, " Walters Organizations: Service, SpringTide Ventures, Tiger Global, Sonic Healthcare, Business, Health, Ally Bank, Troomi Wireless Locations: Boston, San Francisco, Salt Lake City, New York
New York City gained the most relocating tech workers in 2023, SignalFire reports. AdvertisementNew York is continuing to gain on San Francisco as a rival tech hub. The greater New York City area drew the biggest share of relocating tech workers last year compared to any other major city in the US, according to a new SignalFire report. The most common move for tech workers in the San Francisco Bay Area was to New York, the report found. AdvertisementMeanwhile, SignalFire found that the San Francisco Bay area actually saw its tech pool shrink by the largest percentage last year.
Persons: San Francisco, , SignalFire Organizations: York City, San, Los Angeles, Service, Big Apple, Austin, CNBC, Sequoia Capital, Nvidia, SF Bay Area Locations: York, Austin, Francisco, New York City, San Francisco Bay, New York, Los Angeles, Seattle, Boston, San Francisco, California, San, Santa Clara , California, West, San Jose , California
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