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☆ An AI-powered adtech startup wants to automate the busy work in ad operations. Read the pitch deck it used to raise $3 million.
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-16 | by ( Lara O'Reilly | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

download the appSign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. Thousands of ad operations professionals log in daily to several different adtech platforms, setting campaigns live, tinkering with budgets and targeting, and producing reports. AdvertisementThe no-code platform allows users to use natural-language prompts to configure different "autopilots" across the various platforms they use. An ad-operations professional at a streaming company might use PilotDesk to automate tasks related to managing orders, campaign tracking, and post-campaign reporting. Check out the key slides from the pitch deck that helped PilotDesk secure $3 million in seed funding.

Persons: —, PilotDesk, Joe Hirsch, Hirsch, Phil Herget, Herget Organizations: Service, Business, Google, Labor, Ardent Venture Partners, Roster Capital, Ardent

☆ GM can regain market share in China after hitting 20-year low, executive says
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-09 | by ( Michael Wayland | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Reuss also touted the competitiveness of GM's Chinese joint venture partners such as Wuling Motors. GM's market share in China, including its joint ventures, has plummeted from roughly 15% as recently as 2015 to 8.6% last year — the first time it has dropped below 9% since 2003. DETROIT – General Motors believes it can regain market share in China after hitting a roughly 20-year low last year amid changing market conditions and increased domestic competition, GM President Mark Reuss said Thursday. The market declines have spurred questions on whether GM would exit China, as it has other underperforming markets in recent years. The automaker said Steve Hill, currently GM's vice president of global commercial operations, would succeed GM China President Julian Blissett, effective June 1.

Persons: Mark Reuss, Reuss, " Reuss, Mary Barra, Steve Hill, Julian Blissett Organizations: Hamtramck Assembly, Wuling Motors, GM, Buick, DETROIT –, Motors, JV, Financial Times, Car, U.S . GM's, Chevrolet, China Locations: Detroit, Hamtramck, Michigan, China, DETROIT, U.S . GM's U.S

☆ Food startup Hungryroot uses AI to reduce waste, a major climate offender
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-07 | by ( Diana Olick | In Dianaolick | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Food waste is so prolific in the U.S. that roughly one-third of the amount produced ends up in landfills rather than stomachs. A recent study published in the journal Science found food production accounts for 26% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Food delivery services like HelloFresh, Blue Apron and EveryPlate reduce that somewhat by sending consumers what they need for specific recipes. The company says its processes help lead to 80% less food waste at its facilities compared with a traditional supermarket. In addition to Lightspeed, Hungryroot is backed by L Catterton, Crosslink Capital, Karp Reilly and Lerer Hippeau.

Persons: Ben McKean, Hungryroot, Jeremy Liew, They've, L, Karp Reilly, Lerer, Lisa Rizzolo Organizations: CNBC, Investors, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Crosslink Locations: U.S, York, Brussels

☆ How Bloomberg Beta's James Cham finds the tech founders making a 'dent in the universe'
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-06 | by ( Ben Bergman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Cham ended up writing one of the first checks to Weights & Biases after he was convinced Biewald fulfilled his lofty criteria for backing founders. "I am looking for people who are trying to make a dent in the universe," Cham said. Instead of asking founders how they plan to make that dent, Cham prefers to spend lots of time observing them to see what makes them tick. Cham began making his own dent in the world after majoring in computer science at Harvard and becoming a consultant at Accenture. "The reality that the money that we make goes towards Bloomberg Philanthropies is something founders oftentimes find appealing," Cham said.

Persons: James Cham, Lukas Biewald, Cham, Biewald, Jeff Lawson, It's, Bloomberg Philanthropies, who've, James, Shreya Rajpal, who's, Rajpal Organizations: Bloomberg Beta, Business, Harvard, Accenture, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Bessemer Venture Partners, Trinity Ventures, Bloomberg

☆ Veteran tech investor Ann Winblad on lessons from Buffett: We're all playing the long game
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-04 | 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 EmailVeteran tech investor Ann Winblad on lessons from Buffett: We're all playing the long gameBerkshire Hathaway Chairman and CEO Warren Buffett presides over the 2024 Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting. Ann Winblad, co-founder and managing partner of Hummer Winblad Venture Partners, joins CNBC's Becky Quick and Mike Santoli to share her reaction to the morning session.

Persons: Ann Winblad, Buffett, We're, Warren Buffett, Becky Quick, Mike Santoli Organizations: Veteran, Berkshire Hathaway, Hummer Winblad Venture Partners

☆ 4 ways equity management can help build a foundation for growth
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-02 | by ( Sponsor Post | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

To drive a culture of ownership, companies must build an effective strategy around equity management. Optimize capitalization table managementOne of the core elements of an effective equity management strategy is a transparent and defensible capitalization table. And with a partner to help design or evolve your equity plan management strategy, your organization will be well-prepared for its next stage of growth. Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC ("Morgan Stanley") and its Financial Advisors and Private Wealth Advisors do not provide any tax/legal advice. Morgan Stanley at Work services are provided by Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC, member SIPC, and its affiliates, all wholly owned subsidiaries of Morgan Stanley.

Persons: Teri McFadden, you've, Morgan Stanley, Mike Jung, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, SIPC Organizations: Norwest Venture Partners, Circle, Insider Studios, Financial Advisors, Wealth Advisors

☆ Email startup Beehiiv just raised $33 million to build a big ad business and differentiate itself from rival Substack
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-02 | by ( Lauren Johnson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

download the appSign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. The firm closed a $33 million round of Series B funding, with the bulk of the money going toward building out its advertising business, CEO Tyler Denk told Business Insider. With the new round of funding, Beehiiv hopes to make $5 million from ads in 2024, he said. AdvertisementBeehiiv acquired the email ad platform Swapstack and launched its ad network that places ads in newsletters during the third quarter of 2023. Beehiiv's Denk said that Beehiiv has a "difference in philosophy" on ads than Substack does.

Persons: —, Tyler Denk, Beehiiv, Denk, Boston Globe Media's, Beehiiv's cofounders, Substack, Jesse Singal, Beehiiv's Denk Organizations: Service, Business, NEA, Sapphire, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Boston Globe, Morning, Netflix

☆ Exclusive: 11x, a London-based AI startup that builds automated digital workers, is raising money from US fund Benchmark
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-01 | by ( Callum Burroughs | Riddhi Kanetkar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

11x, a London-based AI startup that creates automated digital workers, has raised funding from US investing giant Benchmark Capital. The company aims to provide businesses with "digital AI workers" that can complete repetitive and mundane tasks to free up employees to focus on other things. The startup has raised a Series A round of funding, led by US fund Benchmark, four sources familiar with the discussions told Business Insider. Related stories11x's deal was led by Benchmark general partner Sarah Tavel, who will join the startup's board. The startup created a digital sales worker named Alice and plans to release several other digital workers in the future.

Persons: Hasan Sukkar, Sarah Tavel, Uber, Alice, Slack Organizations: Benchmark, Business, US, Bessemer Venture Partners, Twitter, Benchmark Capital, Google, Project A, Ventures, Tiny Ventures, LinkedIn Locations: London, Syrian, Europe, Syria

☆ Honda to build $11 billion electric vehicle hub in Canada
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-25 | by ( Michael Wayland | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

A Brand new Honda Pilot is displayed on the sales lot at Honda Marin on February 06, 2024 in San Rafael, California. DEROIT – Honda Motor and yet-to-be-named joint venture partners plan to invest $11 billion in Ontario, Canada, to create a "comprehensive EV value chain," the Japanese automaker announced Thursday. Honda said vehicle production will begin in 2028, with annual vehicle capacity of 240,000 units once it's fully operational. Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau said during a livestreamed press conference Thursday that Honda's investment, $15 billion Canadian, is the largest ever for the country's automotive industry. The investment is a major win for Canada and comes after Honda last year confirmed a $4.4 billion investment for a new U.S. battery plant in Ohio.

Persons: Honda Marin, DEROIT, Honda, Canada Justin Trudeau, Toshihiro Mibe Organizations: Honda, North, Canada, LG Energy Locations: San Rafael , California, Ontario, Canada, Alliston , Ontario, North America, U.S, Ohio

☆ Bitcoin's next gen tokens are here. Inside the Silicon Valley hacker house where 17 coders helped build the new memecoin market
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-22 | by ( Mackenzie Sigalos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +10 min

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

☆ IPO market continues to open up, market downdraft be damned, but higher rates loom
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-18 | by ( Bob Pisani | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

For proof that the market for initial public offerings continues to open up despite the downdraft in the market, just look at this week. This spring reopening, however, is threatened by the specter of higher interest rates. Why higher interest rates hurt IPOs The major headwind: higher for longer interest rates. technology) are more sensitive to a change in interest rates, because their cash flow projections are further out. Still, most admit higher rates make it more difficult to get investors excited about IPOs.

Persons: Ibotta, Rubrik, Matt Kennedy, IPOs, That's, Kennedy, Santosh Rao Organizations: Centuri Holdings, Southwest Gas Holdings, UL Solutions, Group, Renaissance Capital, Loar Holdings, Manhattan Venture Partners

☆ There are green shoots appearing in the IPO market. Here are the stocks to watch going public soon
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-10 | by ( Bob Pisani | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Two months ago, I wrote a story entitled, "The IPO market is looking very shaky and facing challenges galore." Two months later, the IPO market is still shaky, but there are definite signs of improvement. Second, three $100 million IPOs have filed to go public in the past week, including Viking (the cruise line operator) and Rubrik, a data management platform. Greg Martin at Rainmaker Securities told me that the recent performance of Reddit and Astera Labs, "Were nice shots in the arm for the IPO market. Even with markets at new highs, the specter of interest rates creeping up is still hanging over the IPO market.

Persons: Matt Kennedy, Reddit, Greg Martin, Ibotta, Ingram, Del, Viking, Howe Ng, I'm, Martin, Rainmaker, Santosh Rao Organizations: IPOs, Viking, Renaissance Capital, Astera Labs, Rainmaker Securities, NYSE, UL Solutions, Underwriters Laboratories, Nursing, Centuri Holdings, Labs, Companies, Ingram Micro, Epic, Manhattan Venture Partners Locations: IPOs, Del Monte

☆ Check out the pitch deck that helped adtech identity company ID5 raise $20 million from investors including TransUnion and Martin Sorrell's S4S
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-09 | by ( Lara O'Reilly | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Adtech company ID5 said Tuesday it had raised $20 million in Series B investment. The ID5 identifier has been deployed by more than 66,000 publishers, per the metadata company Sincera. ID5 has now raised just over $27 million in funding to date, though the company declined to disclose its post-money valuation. New investors in this round included the credit reporting and data agency TransUnion and advertising veteran Martin Sorrell's venture capital firm S4S Ventures. Check out key slides from the pitch deck that helped ID5 raise $20 million in Series B funding.

Persons: ID5, Mathieu Roche, Martin Sorrell's, Sorrell, Matt Spiegel, Spiegel, Matt, Roche Organizations: Business, Data Protection, Publishers, Trade, S4S Ventures, Progress Ventures, Seventure Partners, Capital Partners, Aperiam Ventures

☆ The next phase of AI is here — and it's not looking pretty
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-26 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

AI companies run into hurdlesOne of the more eye-opening developments of this new phase came last week from a barely two-year-old OpenAI rival named Inflection AI. Related storiesIt has quickly become apparent that Inflection AI wasn't the only one struggling, however. Stability's Mostaque, meanwhile, seems to have conceded that Big Tech companies wield unassailable power in AI. In a post on X, he said that centralized AI was not going to be beaten with "more centralized AI". Not going to beat centralized AI with more centralized AI.

Persons: —, Bill Gates, Mustafa Suleyman, DeepMind, Suleyman, Reid Hoffman, Gates, Eric Schmidt, Emad Mostaque, Googlers —, Ali Barr, Pi, Cohere, Stability's Mostaque, ike C oatue Organizations: Service, Nasdaq, Business, Big Tech, Microsoft, Nvidia

☆ In Silicon Valley, Venture Capital Meets a Generational Shift
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-13 | by ( Erin Griffith | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Reid Hoffman, a founder of LinkedIn and a longtime venture capitalist, is no longer the public face of the venture firm Greylock. Michael Moritz, a force at Sequoia Capital for 38 years, officially separated from the investment firm last summer. They are among the most recognizable of a generation of Silicon Valley investors who are getting out of venture capital at the end of a lucrative 15-year upswing for the industry. Investors at Tiger Global, Paradigm, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Emergence Capital and Spark Capital have all announced plans to step back. Foundry Group, a venture firm in Boulder, Colo., that has backed 200 companies since 2006, said in January that it would not raise another fund.

Persons: Reid Hoffman, Michael Moritz, Jeff Jordan, Andreessen Horowitz Organizations: LinkedIn, Sequoia Capital, Tiger Global, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Spark, Foundry Group, Apple, Google Locations: Silicon, Boulder, Colo, —

☆ Fijoya is bringing AI to employer-sponsored healthcare benefits. Here's the pitch deck it used to raise $8.3 million.
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-07 | by ( Samantha Stokes | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Digital health benefits startup Fijoya just came out of stealth and announced an $8.3 million seed round from Team8, the Israeli venture group that creates startups and invests in existing ones across the cyber, data infrastructure, fintech, digital health, and AI industries. As Americans are spending more than ever on healthcare, Fijoya is one of many healthtech startups cropping up to tackle the financial aspects of healthcare. Now, out of stealth, Fijoya is focusing on giving employees an easier way to choose healthcare benefits that best suit their lifestyles. "This end-to-end approach signifies our commitment to simplify health benefits by offering a wide range of options with a seamless discovery, selection, and payment process.'" Check out the 15-slide pitch deck Fijoya used to raise its seed funding round.

Persons: Team8, Baruch Levy, Levy Organizations: Business, Health, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Norwest Venture Partners Locations: Team8, Israel

☆ Meet Boston's new power venture capitalist
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-06 | by ( Melia Russell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

A changing of the guard is underway at Boston-based venture capital firm Underscore VC. The venture capitalist, wearing a cherry red cardigan and Apple Watch, cracked open a notebook and set it beside an iced coffee. Underscore VCLyman's Facebook credentials could have given her a ticket to many venture firms located down the road in Menlo Park. "The thesis is that if you get the right people around the business at the right time, it'll change the trajectory of the business," Lyman said. As Lyman steps up, so does UnderscoreUnderscore is moving into its next phase during a reckoning for venture capital.

Persons: Lily Lyman, —, Mike Greene, Marley, Lyman, Greene, she's, Michael Skok, John Pearce, Lyman —, Lily, they're, Skok, Alessandra Henderson, Pamela Aldsworth, Jeff Bussgang, Hi Marley, Gordon Ritter, Kevin Bacon, There's, Ritter Organizations: Service, Harvard University, Facebook, House, Apple Watch, Elektra Health, JPMorgan, New England Venture Capital Association, MIT, Allston Venture Fund, Harvard, Boston's, Capital Partners, OpenView Venture Partners, SEC, Old, Capital Locations: Boston, Old, Menlo Park

☆ '2024 will be the year of the zombie VC reckoning.' The first wave of walking-dead venture firms is here and it's already causing headaches for tech founders.
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-04 | by ( Ben Bergman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Unlike other businesses, venture firms do not suddenly go out of business. Limited partners such as pensions and endowments that fund venture firms have been choosier, cutting off capital to firms that have not generated acceptable returns. Why it is so difficult to spot a dying fundOpenView Venture Partners announced in December that it was suspending new investments and laying off staff. In a written statement, he later explained that Sinai Ventures has been rebranded to Sinai Capital Partners. Do you know of a venture firm no longer actively investing?

Persons: VCs, Anna Barber, they'll, they're, Roy Bahat, Brian Brackeen, Brackeen, they're reallocating, Beezer Clarkson, Clarkson, Jake Saper, Bahat, Jordan Fudge, Zachary White, Carlos Adame —, Fudge, We're, Paul Weinstein, Weinstein, Ryan Swager, Brandon Zeuner, Alsop Louie, Alsop Louie Partners, Gilman Louie, Stewart Alsop, Jason Preston, Tyler Peterson, Mike Morgan, Robert Patterson, DEFTA, George Hara, Martin Gedalin, Kevin Ober, Divergent's, Hone, Ben Bergman Organizations: Business, Bloomberg Beta, Lightship Capital, Sapphire Partners, BI, Venture Partners, Foundry Group, Sinai Ventures, Sinai Capital Partners, Capital, San, Alsop Louie Partners, Partners, Ventures Peninsula Ventures, LinkedIn Locations: Los Angeles, San Francisco, Alto , California, San Mateo , California, Lumia, Seattle, bbergman@insider.com

☆ '2024 will be the year of the zombie VC reckoning.' The first wave of dying venture firms is here and it's already causing headaches for tech founders.
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-04 | by ( Ben Bergman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

AdvertisementUnlike other businesses, venture firms do not suddenly go out of business. Why it is so difficult to spot a dying fundOpenView Venture Partners announced in December it was suspending new investments and laying off staff. With the help of Pitchbook, BI looked through data for hundreds of venture firms. Hinge last raised a $19 million fund in 2021 but has not made an investment since November 2022, according to Pitchbook. Do you know of a venture firm no longer actively investing?

Persons: —, VCs, Anna Barber, they'll, they're, Roy Bahat, Brian Brackeen, they're reallocating, Beezer Clarkson, Clarkson, Jake Saper, Bahat, Jordan Fudge, Zachary White, Carlos Adame, Fudge, We're, Paul Weinstein, Weinstein, Cofounders Ryan Swager, Brandon Zeuner, Louie, Alsop Louie Partners, Partners Gilman Louie, Stewart Alsop, Jason Preston, Partners Tyler Peterson, Mike Morgan, Robert Patterson, DEFTA, George Hara, Martin Gedalin, Kevin Ober, Hone, Ben Bergman Organizations: Service, Business, Bloomberg Beta, Lightship, Sapphire Partners, BI, Sapphire Ventures, Venture Partners, Foundry Group, Sinai Ventures, Sinai Capital Partners, Capital, San, Louie Partners, Partners, Ventures Peninsula Ventures, LinkedIn Locations: Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Mateo , California, Seattle, Alto, bbergman@insider.com

☆ AI startup Perplexity is in talks to raise more money at a significantly higher valuation just months after its last round
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-29 | by ( Rebecca Torrence | Melia Russell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

download the appSign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. Read previewOnly months after buzzy AI search-engine startup Perplexity AI raised its last round of funding, the company is yet again raising additional funds, as investors clamor to back tech's next big generative AI startup. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Perplexity is raising this additional money at a significantly higher valuation cap than its previous pricing of $520 million, according to two people with direct knowledge. A spokesperson told Business Insider that the details of the deal were incorrect but did not clarify when asked for further information.

Persons: —, clamor, Jeff Bezos, Perplexity, OpenAI's ChatGPT, Google's Bard, Aravind Srinivas, It's, Elad Gil, Nat Friedman, Fred Wilson, aren't Organizations: Service, Google, Business, Institutional Venture Partners, New Enterprise Associates, Bessemer Venture Partners, Nvidia Locations: OpenAI

☆ This biotech startup wants to prevent unhappiness. Here's the pitch deck Matter Bioscience used to raise $26 million.
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-26 | by ( Rebecca Torrence | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Read previewAxel Bouchon cofounded Matter Neuroscience in 2019 after leading the venture arms of pharma giants Moderna and Bayer. AdvertisementMatter has emerged from stealth with $26 million from ARCH Venture Partners, Polaris Partners, Exor Ventures, and Collaborative Fund, Business Insider has learned exclusively. That $26 million includes an initial seed round led by Polaris Partners and a Series A round led by ARCH Venture Partners. The startup views itself now as a consumer biotech startup, Bouchon said. Here's the 17-slide pitch deck Matter used to raise $26 million.

Persons: —, Axel Bouchon, Bouchon Organizations: Service, pharma, Moderna, Bayer, Business, Venture Partners, Polaris Partners, Exor Ventures, Fund, Brain Imaging, Icahn School of Medicine Locations: Maastricht, Netherlands, Mount Sinai, Seoul, South Korea

☆ MLS Season Pass: The world is obsessed with soccer. Can Apple make Americans love it too?
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-24 | by ( Jordan Valinsky | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

A centerpiece of that plan is “MLS Season Pass,” a sleekly designed streaming package that ditches the fragmentation other sports suffer from and lets fans stream globally every game — without blackouts — in the Apple TV app. The package costs $14.99 per month or $99 for the season and slightly less ($12.99 per month or $79 for the year) for existing Apple TV+ subscribers. “Once people tuned into the product, they were watching longer than our linear versions in past years,” Camilo Durana, executive vice president of MLS’ Apple partnership, properties and events, told CNN. On Wednesday, Apple released a new Sports app that shows live MLS scores and pushes people to watch them on “MLS Season Pass” on the Apple TV app. That matches a third-party report from analytics firm Antenna showing that “MLS Season Pass” was getting 6,000 new signups a day before Messi arrived but soared to 110,000 signups a day after he signed.

Persons: ” Sacha Kljestan, ” Kljestan, Kevin Egan, Andrew Wiebe, Kaylyn Kyle, Bradley Wright, Phillips, “, ” Camilo Durana, Maddie Meyer, Apple, Lionel Messi, Dre, Durana, Messi, It’s, Santosh Rao, ” Rao Organizations: New, New York CNN — Football, Major League Soccer, Apple, MLS, CNN, NFL, NBC, CBS, FOX, US, TSN, Columbus Crew, Inter Miami, Apple Music, Sports Business, Mobile, Manhattan Venture Partners, doesn’t Locations: New York, Spanish, Canada, Apple’s

☆ Generative AI startup Latimer, known as the 'BlackGPT', will launch a new bias detection tool and API
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-23 | by ( Monica Melton | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The AI startup, named after inventor Lewis Howard Latimer and affectionately known as "The BlackGPT" is an answer to the bias, lack of cultural competency, and erasure found in popular AI tools like ChatGPT, says Latimer CEO and cofounder John Pasmore. Pasmore said the company has plans to launch about five more products specifically focused on bias detection. The move-fast, break-things energy in AI created an opportunity for Latimer, Pasmore said. This method is baked into Latimer's nascent suite of business offerings set to launch after the release of its API. He is confident that there is "a billion-dollar opportunity" to address bias in incumbent AI offerings for enterprises.

Persons: —, Latimer, Lewis Howard Latimer, John Pasmore, Pasmore, Molefi Kete Asante, Brown, it's Latimer, Esther Dyson Organizations: Service, Business, Black, Morgan State, TRS Capital, Syncom Venture Partners Locations: Swiss

☆ Here's the playbook tech companies like AllTrails, Canva, and Kayak are using to dominate the charts in OpenAI's new GPT Store.
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-20 | by ( Samantha Stokes | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Its GPT, which generates images from text prompts, is currently ranked second overall on the GPT Store. And all three companies' GPTs have been highlighted at the top of the GPT Store website as "OpenAI's Picks." Advertisement"Sometimes finding trails can be overwhelming because there are so many different places to go," Graham told Business Insider. In addition to GPT Store, companies are thinking more broadly about how AI fits into their business models. "Now we're also investing time in using AI to make our team faster and more efficient, too."

Persons: —, OpenAI, Canva, Anwar Haneef, Matthias Keller, James Graham, Sam Altman, Graham, GPTs, Sam Altman's, Keller, we're, Haneef Organizations: Service, Business, Uber, Sequoia Capital Global, Bessemer Venture Partners, Greenoaks, Booking Holdings, OpenAI, Economic, Canva Locations: Davos, Canva, ChatGPT

☆ Firms With Deep Roots in China Reconsider Their Xinjiang Ties
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-18 | by ( Keith Bradsher | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Volkswagen Group is reviewing the future of its joint venture in the Xinjiang region of northwestern China and another German industrial giant is starting to sell its stakes there following new international scrutiny of forced labor using predominantly Muslim ethnic groups. Volkswagen said last week that it was in discussions with one of its main joint venture partners in China, the state-owned Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation, in the wake of allegations of human rights violations at their joint venture in Xinjiang. The companies are examining “the future direction of the J.V.’s business activities in Xinjiang,” VW said, adding that “various scenarios are currently being examined intensively.”BASF of Germany, the world’s largest chemical company, disclosed on Feb. 9 that it began moving late last year to divest its stakes in two manufacturing joint ventures in Xinjiang.

Persons: VW Organizations: Volkswagen, Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation, BASF Locations: Xinjiang, China, Germany

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