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☆ 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

☆ Software engineers are getting closer to finding out if AI really can make them jobless
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-14 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

A startup backed by Peter Thiel has released the "first AI software engineer." A little-known startup called Cognition Labs stunned software engineers this week when its team of coding whizzes unveiled what it calls "the first AI software engineer." AdvertisementHowever, Cognition's AI software engineer appears to have an aptitude that's a notch above. Of course, the startup has been pretty careful with how it presents its AI software engineer. These reactions are understandable at a time when software engineers are feeling the heat.

Persons: Peter Thiel, Devin, —, Peter Thiel's, Scott Wu, Kyle Shevlin, Athagist, Keynes, Oliver Twist, kAKj7ZeBob — Kyle Shevlin, Evan You, Aravind Srinivas marveled, Mark Zuckerberg Organizations: Service, Software, Cognition Labs, Cognition, Informatics Locations: Singapore

☆ 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

☆ Embedded payments fintech Monite just raised $6 million from Peter Thiel's Valar Ventures with this 12-slide pitch deck
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-19 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Berlin-based fintech Monite has raised $6 million in seed funding from Peter Thiel's Valar Ventures. Monite, founded in 2020, works with companies to help streamline payments and reduce manual processing. Still, where this might generally be done across email, spreadsheets, and messaging systems, Monite aggregates a company's bills and invoices and then automates the process on their behalf. The startup has raised a top-up to its seed round, led by Third Prime, in March 2023, taking its total funding to $17.4 million. The funding from Valar Ventures closed in November after Monite opted against looking to raise a Series A, Maryasin said.

Persons: Monite, Peter Thiel's, Ivan Maryasin, Maryasin Organizations: Ventures, Monite, Business, Third Prime Locations: Berlin, Europe

☆ Peter Thiel's 'Olympics on steroids' says it's considering letting athletes compete wearing Apple's Vision Pro
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-09 | by ( Joshua Zitser | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Read previewThe CEO of the Enhanced Games — dubbed the "Olympics on steroids" by some — said that in addition to allowing performance-enhancing drugs, they are also open to athletes using tools like Apple's Vision Pro. "Imagine a javelin thrower using Vision Pro," he said, referring to the recently launched mixed-reality Apple headset. Earlier this week, retired Australian swimmer James Magnussen said he'd accepted an offer to compete at the Enhanced Games, making him the first athlete to do so. D'Souza said that the use of AR, VR, and mixed-reality technology might not be approved in time for the first Enhanced Games. Ultimately, the Enhanced Games are about "the future, technology, about progress," D'Souza said, contrasting it with the Olympic Games, which he described as being about Ancient Greece and the past.

Persons: —, Peter Thiel, Aron D'Souza, D'Souza, Elon Musk, James Magnussen, he'd, Magnussen, there's, that's Organizations: Service, Business, Olympic Games Locations: Greece

☆ ‘America Is Under Attack’: Inside the Anti-D.E.I. Crusade
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-20 | by ( Nicholas Confessore | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +44 min

‘America Is Under Attack’: Inside the Anti-D.E.I. “In support of ridding schools of C.R.T., the Right argues that we want nonpolitical education,” Mr. Klingenstein wrote in August 2021. In a 2023 exchange, Dr. Yenor and two associates discussed how to defend Amy Wax, a conservative law professor at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Yenor and his allies bristled at the conventions of academic life as overly solicitous toward female and nonwhite students. Samuel Ginn, Claremont donor“The president then told him, ‘Things will change,’” a Claremont fund-raiser wrote to Dr. Yenor and other officials there.

Persons: “ wokeism ”, Chancellor Sharp, Sam Ginn, DeSantis, !, Searle, Scott Yenor's, Alabama Jeff Sessions, peter thiel, thiel, Dan Patrick, Patrick, Texas Long, Claudine Gay, Harvard’s, Trump, Ron DeSantis, Peter Thiel, Heather Mac Donald, ”, Scott Yenor, “, ” Scott Yenor, Claremont, Critics, George Floyd, Donald J, Trump’s, Thomas D, Thomas Klingentstein, ” Mr, Klingenstein, Yenor, Christopher Rufo, fromScott Yenor, Floyd, Mao Zedong’s, Ryan P, Williams, Jack Miller, Ryan Williams, Miller, zealots, Mao Zedong's, ” Claremont, Taube, tothe, Arthur N, Chris Ross, Dockweiler, Elizabeth Ailes, Roger Ailes, Daniel C, Searles, fromChris Ross Ryan, I'd, Dorian Abbot, Mr, Ross, Dr, Amy Wax, Wax, Wax’s, David Azerrad, . Azerrad, fromScott, Azerrad, —, ’, Mac Donald, Mac Donald1 —, fromDavid Azerrad Heather, that's, Thiel —, Thiel’s, bristled, Riffing, Bill Burr, hadn’t, Burr, George W, Bush, ” Tennessee’s, Susan Kaestner, Jeff Sessions, Samuel Ginn, Christopher B, Roberts, Roberts “, Ginn, ” Bowdoin, Thomas Klingenstein, Janet Mills, Mills, ‘, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Kevin Stitt, he’d, fromThomas, Glenn, sputtered, retool, didn’t, Jim Banks, Banks’s, Banks, Gay, Elise Stefanik Organizations: MIT, Trust, Texas, Claremont, Republicans, Senate, The New York Times, Republican, Claremont Institute, Gov, D.E.I, New, Manhattan Institute, Maine Policy Institute, ”, Texas Public Policy Foundation, Equity, Jack Miller Family, Jack Miller Family Foundation America, Capitol, Freedom Trust, Rupe Foundation, Scaife, Fox News, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Pennsylvania, Hillsdale College, Boise State University, Boise, University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire, Trump, Boise State, University of Tennessee, Arkansas, Alabama, Auburn University, University of Alabama, Auburn, Bowdoin College in, NAS, Bowdoin, Democratic, Mr, Maine Public Radio, American, Association, Maine Department of Education, Indiana Republican, Education, Harvard, New York Republican Locations: Texas, Tennessee, North Carolina, Maine, Montana , Utah , Oklahoma , Texas, South Carolina , Florida, Louisiana, America, defund, Alabama, Tallahassee, Union, California, Florida, Maine , Tennessee, Idaho, New York, Florida , Louisiana, North Carolina , Oklahoma , Tennessee, Wisconsin, Darling, Dallas, Utah, C.R.T, United States, Hillsdale, Eau, India, Boise State, Boise, Manhattan, Canadian, Dixie, Maine —, Bowdoin College in Maine, Colonial America, ”, Maine’s, la, Portland, Northern Maine, Arkansas, Yenor, Indiana, Israel

☆ DeepMind's cofounder Demis Hassabis is a chess champion who landed funding from Peter Thiel by talking about a key tension in the game
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-03 | by ( Lakshmi Varanasi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . AdvertisementBefore DeepMind's Demis Hassabis became a leading figure in AI, he was a chess master who had won multiple world championships. Hassabis told Thiel that the best chess players understood the unique strengths of the bishop and the knight, even though both pieces hold the same value. It was not only DeepMind's first significant investment but also one of Thiel's first investments outside the Silicon Valley orbit. He felt the power of Silicon Valley was sort of mythical, that you couldn't create a successful big technology company anywhere else.

Persons: —, Demis Hassabis, Hassabis, Peter Thiel, Thiel, Shane Legg, Mustafa Suleyman, he'd, It's, DeepMind Organizations: Service, DeepMind, The New York Times, Times, Google, Business Locations: West Coast, Silicon, London

☆ What Kris Jenner's former personal assistant learned from her that helped her launch her own company: 'Kris doesn't do anything that's not strategic'
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-01 | by ( Geoff Weiss | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A 27-year-old who briefly served as Kris Jenner's personal assistant has gone viral sharing her experiences. Madeline Steitz has since turned her focus to launching her own natural sweetener brand. AdvertisementA 27-year-old vegan baker and entrepreneur went viral last year on TikTok discussing her brief stint as Kris Jenner's personal assistant, saying the job helped her launch her own eponymous sweetener brand. "Kris doesn't do anything that's not strategic when it comes to operating business, and she's an absolute genius." After leaving, Steitz turned her attention to Maddie's Natural Sweeter, which she'd conceptualized in January 2022 and formally launched in October.

Persons: Kris Jenner's, Madeline Steitz, Steitz, —, Robbie Page, Jenner, Kylie Cosmetics, Kim Kardashian's Skims, Kendall, Kris doesn't, Abbott Kinney, Louis Cole, Cole, Peter Thiel's, she'd, Kris Organizations: Service, Business, TikTok, Abbott, LinkedIn, Thiel Capital, Jenner Communications Locations: Los Angeles, Cashmere , Washington

☆ 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

☆ Billionaire FBI informant Peter Thiel dished about two Kremlin invites to private Putin meetings
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-10 | by ( Mattathias Schwartz | Hans-Martin Tillack | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +18 min

It was Angermayer who introduced Bisslinger to Thiel at the party, Thiel would later tell the FBI. After some small talk, Bisslinger made a pitch to Thiel: Thiel should travel to Russia to attend the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. If Thiel chose to attend, Bisslinger said, Bisslinger would arrange for him to meet privately with Putin. "Even if Mr. Angermayer did introduce Mr. Thiel and Mr. Bisslinger," the lawyers wrote in another letter, "Mr. Angermayer is not—and cannot be—responsible for whatever Mr. Bisslinger and Mr. Thiel may or may not have discussed." At his 40th birthday, he connected Peter Thiel with a Russian diplomat, Thiel later told the FBI.

Persons: Peter Thiel, Christian Angermayer, Thiel, Daniil Bisslinger, Bisslinger, Vladimir Putin's, Angermayer, Putin, Maksim Konstantinov, —, Frank Figliuzzi, Vladimir Putin, — Charles Johnson —, Johnathan Buma, Johnson, Welt, Dmitry Peskov, John Lamparski, Donald Trump, — Thiel, Der Spiegel, he'd, Elon Musk, Musk, Thiel —, he's, Palantir, He's, Uma Thurman, Robbie Williams, Queen Latifah, Paul Kagame, Dan McCrum, John Kerry, Richard Grenell, Kerry, Sensei Biotherapeutics, Trump, Dmitry Medvedev, Medvedev, Maureen Dowd, Alexander Schütz, Eva Schütz, Schütz, — Heinz, Christian Strache, Markus Braun, Jan Marsalek, Marsalek, Caroline Haskins, Katherine Long, Jack Newsham, Mattathias Schwartz, Hans, Martin Tillack Organizations: Kremlin, Tech, Pentagon, CIA, Facebook, SpaceX, Kremlin's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Russian Embassy, Thiel, St ., Economic, Getty, FBI, Atlantic, Bisslinger, Germany, Elon, Russia, NSA, US Special Operations Command, National Health Service, Apeiron Investment, Munich Security, intel, Trump, State Department, Angermayer's, PayPal, Nasdaq, Sciences, The New York Times, Deutsche Bank, Welt Locations: Silicon Valley, Schloss Neuwaldegg, Vienna, Silicon, Moscow, Russian, Berlin, Russia, St, St . Petersburg, Petersburg, Ukraine, Europe, Germany, NATO, Crimea, Ukrainian, Sevastopol, Palantir, Washington, Rwanda, Baltic, Belarus, Iran, Angermayer's Malta, Munich, China, China's, Austrian, Austria, Exxpress, Wirecard, schwartz79@protonmail.com

☆ Peter Thiel says he found out Donald Trump cursed and called him a 'scumbag' after he refused to donate to his 2024 campaign
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-10 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Peter Thiel told The Atlantic that he won't be donating to any politician for the next presidential campaign. And when Thiel declined, Trump later called him a "fucking scumbag." AdvertisementAdvertisementAfter Peter Thiel told Donald Trump he wouldn't be donating any money to his campaign, the former president called him a "fucking scumbag," The Atlantic reported. Thiel told the magazine that when he declined, Trump "told me that he was very sad, very sad to hear that." AdvertisementAdvertisementTrump called Thiel a "fucking scumbag" and had discouraged Masters from running for Senate again, according to The Atlantic's profile.

Persons: Peter Thiel, Donald Trump, Thiel, Trump, —, Blake Masters, JD Vance, he'd, Vance, couldn't Organizations: Service, PayPal, Venture, Senate, Atlantic, FBI Locations: Arizona, Ohio

☆ Peter Thiel was an FBI informant. Here's how you could become one.
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-22 | by ( Sonam Sheth | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Billionaire megadonor and Trump supporter Peter Thiel became an FBI informant in 2021, Insider reported. What does an FBI informant do? The main responsibility of an FBI informant is, as the name suggests, to provide information and intelligence to the bureau. According to an internal FBI guide, the FBI can recruit lawyers, reporters, clergy members, prison officials, and even minors and individuals who live overseas. 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."

Persons: megadonor, Trump, Peter Thiel, —, J.D, Vance, Blake Masters, Charles Johnson, Johnson, Thiel, Johnathan Buma, They'll, it's Organizations: FBI, Service, Intercept, intel, CHS Locations: Arizona, Silicon, Los Angeles

☆ 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

☆ Asia fintech MoneyHero slides on first day of trading after merger with Peter Thiel-backed SPAC
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-13 | by ( Sheila Chiang | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Bymuratdeniz | E+ | Getty ImagesAsian fintech firm MoneyHero on Friday fell on its first day of trading on the Nasdaq, following the completion of its merger with special purpose acquisition company Bridgetown Holdings . The deal with Bridgetown valued MoneyHero at approximately $310 million, according to an announcement on Thursday. Across five markets, MoneyHero operates personal finance websites Singsaver and Seedly in Singapore, Moneymax in The Philippines, MoneyHero in Hong Kong, Money101 in Taiwan and CompareHero in Malaysia. MoneyHero Group has yet to become profitable. In November, MoneyHero Group, or Hyphen Group before the rebranding, laid off employees and saw the departure of its CEO.

Persons: MoneyHero, Peter Thiel's, Richard Li, Prashant Aggarwal, Aggarwal, Kroll Organizations: Getty, Nasdaq, Bridgetown Holdings, Thiel Capital, PayPal, Pacific Century Group, Bridgetown Holdings's, CNBC, The, MoneyHero, SEC, Visa, American Express Locations: Bridgetown, –, Hong Kong, U.S, Asia, Southeast Asia, MoneyHero, Singapore, Seedly, Moneymax, The Philippines, Money101, Taiwan, CompareHero, Malaysia, Thailand

☆ 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

"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

☆ A phone call between Trump and conservative tech billionaire Peter Thiel reportedly turned 'pretty contentious'
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-25 | by ( Haley Tenore | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Tech investor Peter Thiel had a heated phone call in recent months with Donald Trump, Puck reported. Thiel's public support for Trump wavered in recent years, and apparently, Trump noticed. Apparently, Trump was "fuming" because the former president had supported Thiel-backed candidates like J.D. Thiel even left Facebook's board of directors to give his full attention to supporting Republican candidates, including mentees J.D. A year later, however, Peter Thiel took a step back from politics and no longer planned to support candidates in 2024.

Persons: Peter Thiel, Donald Trump, Puck, Thiel, Trump, —, Puck's Theodore Schleifer, Vance, Blake Masters, wouldn't, mentees J.D, Thiel's, Masters, Kari Lake Organizations: Republican National Convention, Trump, Service, Republican, PayPal, Facebook, RNC, Wall Street, Thiel, Kyrsten, Arizona, The New York Times Locations: Arizona

☆ 'The scholar, the pragmatist, and the rainmaker:' How three Bloomberg Beta VCs bet on AI before it became a buzzword
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-18 | by ( Darius Rafieyan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Bahat brings this same radical directness to Bloomberg Beta, the early-stage venture capital fund housed within the larger Bloomberg empire that he's run for the past decade. And Bloomberg Beta was making investments in generative AI as far back as 2015, before the term "generative AI" even existed. "It felt like we were just waiting for the right moment," said Cham, Bloomberg Beta partner and de-facto chief technologist, "where the rest of the world would see it." Bloomberg Beta made the decision early on to publish its entire operating manual on GitHub, including sensitive information about average check size and investment criteria. Kieran Snyder, the founder of generative AI startup Textio which Bloomberg Beta invested in in 2015, has a shorthand for describing the role of Beta's three partners.

Persons: Roy Bahat's, Bahat, James Cham, Karin Klein, Shivon Zillis, Elon Musk's, Cham, ChatGPT, VCs, Bloomberg Beta, Dan Doctoroff, Mike Bloomberg, Doctoroff, Bahat's chutzpah, Bloomberg —, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Tade Oyerinde, Sam Altman, Peter Thiel's Founder's, Roy didn't, Oyerinde, Kieran Snyder, who's, Apple Lisa, Klein, Karen, Snyder, Roy, Zilis Organizations: Port Authority, World Trade Center, IGN, Bloomberg Beta, Bloomberg, LinkedIn, Elon, Beta, Apple, New Locations: New York, Silicon Valley, East, California

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

Ryan Petersen, chief executive officer of Flexport, participates in a panel discussion during the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., on Wednesday, May 4, 2022. In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Petersen wrote that the company "can't just give out cash." In reclaiming the top position at Flexport, Petersen is displacing his handpicked successor, former Amazon executive Dave Clark, a little more than a year into his tenure. It's messed up," Petersen wrote. "We were on it," Petersen wrote in response to a post.

Persons: Ryan Petersen, Petersen, Dave Clark, It's, that's, Andreessen Horowitz, Peter Thiel's, Clark, Teresa Carlson, Clark's, Carlson, Flexport didn't Organizations: Milken Institute Global Conference, Twitter, Amazon, Fund, Microsoft, Flexport Locations: Beverly Hills , California, U.S, Flexport, Bay, CNBC's, Seattle, Dallas, San Francisco , Los Angeles, New York

☆ Startup investors are fueling a boom in U.S. defense tech as China standoff opens doors at home
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-07 | by ( Lauren Feiner | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +11 min

Louie added that he doesn't "know of a single major fund out there that isn't thinking about disruptive tech investing in the U.S., investing in defense tech, investing in microelectronics and AI in the next generation and next iteration." Stephen McCarthy | Sportsfile | Getty ImagesVC funding in aerospace and defense tech has shot up in recent years, according to data compiled by PitchBook for CNBC. The poster child for U.S.-focused defense tech is Anduril Industries, co-founded in 2017 by Oculus Rift designer Palmer Luckey. They can just look at the untapped potential in defense tech. "The government's becoming a better customer," said Shah, who previously served as managing partner of the Defense Department's Defense Innovation Unit, which seeks to accelerate the use of emerging technologies.

Persons: Hadrian, Chris Power Hadrian, Joe Biden, Gilman Louie, Alsop, Louie Partners, He's, Louie, Biden, Lindsay Gorman, she's, Gorman, Chris Power, Power, Hadrian's, Peter Thiel's, Palmer Luckey, Stephen McCarthy, Sportsfile, Anduril, Richard Jenkins, Bilal Zuberi, Lux, Zuberi, Jenkins, Saildrone didn't, Paul Kwan, Catalyst, What's, Kwan, Kyle Harrison, Saul Loeb, Raj Shah, Josh Wolfe, There's, Shah, Wolfe Organizations: Chris Power Hadrian Automation, America's Frontier, U.S, Marshall Fund's Alliance, Securing Democracy, Lux Capital, Fund, Andutil Industries, Enercare Center, Getty, PitchBook, CNBC, Industries, Oculus, Blue Force Technologies, Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, Navy, Coast Guard, Google, Intel, AFP, Shield, Lux, Defense Department's Defense Innovation Unit, Power, YouTube, China Locations: China, U.S, America, Torrance , California, Los Angeles, Toronto, Canada, Ukraine, New Albany , Ohio, Silicon

☆ These four trends are shaping the gun industry
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-27 | by ( Stefan Sykes | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Here are four trends that are shaping the gun industry today:Market normalizationSeveral companies in the gun market are slowing down production and slashing prices as they combat material cost increases and waning demand for their weapons. Gun sales typically see a spike during presidential elections, Dionisio added. Investors in Biofire include venture capitalist Ron Conway and Peter Thiel's Founders Fund Biofire's smart gun comes as gun manufacturers increasingly look for different materials and technologies to make their products more appealing to consumers. "Smart guns can ensure that guns are accessible by their owners and no one else," said Nick Suplina, senior vice president for law and policy at Everytown, who has tested Biofire's smart gun. First-time gun purchasers during the pandemic, according to the study, were younger than previous, pre-pandemic U.S. gun owners.

Persons: Spencer Platt, Smith, Sturm, NSSF, Rommel Dionisio, Mark Smith, Christopher J, Killoy, Capital's Dionisio, Dionisio, Kai Kloepfer, Kloepfer, Biofire, they'll, Ron Conway, Peter Thiel's, Mark Oliva, Oliva, Nick Suplina, Matthew Miller, NORC, NSSF's Oliva Organizations: Getty, Wesson, Ruger, Company, Smith, Shooting Sports, Aegis Capital, CNBC, Smith & Wesson, Ruger & Company, Fund, Shooting Sports Foundation, Gun Safety, University of Chicago, America Locations: Monroe , Pennsylvania, U.S, Biofire, it's

Wealthy people use many accounts to build wealth, and three are widely available. And they love to buy low-cost index funds in brokerage accounts to build accessible wealth. Rich people use Roth IRAs for tax advantagesRich people are always looking to minimize the impact of taxes, and Roth IRAs are designed to do just that. Roth IRAs do have income limits, but that doesn't mean wealthy people and high earners don't use them. A workplace's 401(k) plan might not seem like a likely place to amass wealth, but these accounts offer powerful perks.

Persons: Rich, Roth, Peter Thiel's Roth, Insider's Hillary Hoffower, Warren Buffett, Read Organizations: Service, PayPal, Ramsey Solutions Locations: Wall, Silicon

☆ Tucker Carlson could see Rebekah Mercer, Peter Thiel invest in his media company
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-08 | by ( Brian Schwartz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson could see two of the wealthiest GOP business megadonors, Rebekah Mercer and Peter Thiel, invest in his new media company, according to people familiar with the matter. Mercer has spoken with Carlson since his April departure from Fox News about possibly investing in his as yet unnamed media company, sources told CNBC. Thiel has hinted to allies that he could invest in the venture after hearing from Carlson's side, these people added. Shortly after leaving Fox, Carlson began hosting an episodic show on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. Rebekah Mercer and Peter Thiel have for years been separate investors in a diverse array of conservative startups.

Persons: Tucker Carlson, megadonors, Rebekah Mercer, Peter Thiel, Mercer, Carlson, Thiel, Neil Patel, Fox, Devon Archer, Joe Biden's, Hunter Biden, Archer, Hunter, Andrew Breitbart, He's, Donald Trump, Robert Mercer, haven't Organizations: Fox News, GOP, CNBC, Mercer, 1789, Fox, Dominion Voting Systems, Twitter, Wall Street Journal, Republican, Breitbart News, Wall Street, Trump, Summit Locations: Iowa

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