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☆ A top healthcare banker predicts some digital-health startups will be able to go public in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Rebecca Torrence | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

SVB Securities' Jon Swope thinks some digital-health startups will IPO in the second half of 2023. In 2021, 15 US-based digital-health companies went public via IPO, according to Rock Health. Only one digital-health company has gone public this year: Akili Interactive Labs, which went public in August in a SPAC deal. Seeing the writing on the wall, digital-health companies like Komodo Health that sought to IPO this year are now putting those plans on hold. But SVB Securities' Jon Swope said he thinks the IPO market will reopen for certain digital-health companies in the second half of 2023.

☆ 'The music stopped': 6 founders tell how they survived this year's bursting VC funding bubble, customers unwilling to spend, and a graveyard of fallen startup peers
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( April Joyner | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

This year's economic caution marked a huge contrast to 2021's exuberance and record VC funding. Insider spoke with six founders about how they've handled the abrupt switch from market exuberance to economic caution. But at the same time, they said, they've sought to pounce on new opportunities created by the economic downturn. ElektraShifting landscapes, changing prioritiesAfter a year of record venture capital funding, the abrupt shift in investor sentiment hit hard in 2022, founders told Insider. Artificial intelligence startups are the latest beneficiary of VC hype, buoyed by breakthrough software tools such as DALL-E and ChatGPT.

☆ Elon Musk's Tesla, the world's leading EV maker, is capping off 2022 as one of the S&P 500's worst-performing stocks.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

But to Musk, prices have already started dropping, which eliminates the need for the Fed to keep rates so high. If it was all [interest] rates, NDX would be down a similar amount," Black tweeted at Musk. Ultimately, Tesla investors shouldn't feel alone in their pain amid downtrodden stock prices this year. How has your view of Tesla stock changed since October? Their managers told us how they overcame a brutal year for the stock market, and shared the stock picks that worked best.

Share this -Link copied'It's too much for me': Zelenskyy begins speech by thanking U.S. Zelenskyy began his remarks before a joint meeting of Congress at 7:40 p.m. "I think we share the exact same vision, that of a free, independent and prosperous Ukraine," Biden said. The Ukrainian president added that the soldier told him that "many (of) his brothers, this system saved." President Joe Biden holds a medal presented to him by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office. Share this -Link copiedPhoto: Zelenskyy shakes hands with Biden as he arrives President Joe Biden welcomes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to the White House.

Dec 22 (Reuters) - FTX founder and former Chief Executive Sam Bankman-Fried, who faces U.S. fraud charges over the collapse of FTX, ran his crypto empire with a number of associates. GARY WANGGary Wang co-founded FTX and Alameda Research with Bankman-Fried, and served as FTX's chief technology officer. He and Bankman-Fried met at a math camp in high school and became college roommates, Bankman-Fried wrote in a now-unavailable FTX blog. Wang worked as a software engineer at Google before co-founding FTX and Alameda, according to an archived webpage for the FTX Future Fund, the company's charitable effort. NISHAD SINGHNishad Singh was a best friend of Bankman-Fried's brother in high school, Bankman-Fried wrote in the deleted blog post.

President Zelenskyy is an inspiring leader. He's expected to visit the White House before addressing a joint session of Congress at the Capitol. A group of soldiers who helped defend Bakhmut gave him a Ukrainian flag and asked him to get it to Congress — and the Ukrainian president promised to give it to Biden himself. We will pass it on from the boys to the Congress, to the president of the United States. We are grateful for their support, but it is not enough.” Share this -Link copied

☆ There's one big flaw in Elon Musk's argument that Tesla stock is falling because the Fed is raising interest rates
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Matthew Fox | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Elon Musk has argued that Tesla stock has been crushed this year because the Fed is raising interest rates. But Musk's argument has one big flaw, according to Tesla investor and Future Fund manager Gary Black. But according to Musk, Tesla's stock price decline can be attributed to the Federal Reserve's aggressive interest rate hikes this year rather than his outside business activities. If it was all [interest] rates, NDX would be down a similar amount," Black tweeted at the billionaire on Tuesday. The Fed hiked interest rates by only 50 basis points at its December FOMC meeting, compared to its prior four interest rate hikes of 75 basis points.

☆ Tesla investors plead with Elon Musk to leave Twitter and refocus on the electric car company in 'a vote of no confidence in Elon'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Kali Hays | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Some high profile investors agreed Tesla's stock is down because Musk is distracted with Twitter. Musk is trying to get new investment for the platform, and just sold $3.6 billion in Tesla stock. "We all know why Tesla stock is down and it has nothing to do with the company," Gerber said. Both Gerber and Black suggested that Musk is selling Tesla stock to invest in Twitter, a company that Black noted "makes no money and probably never will." That should make a long-term stock investment like Tesla more intriguing to investors.

☆ Australia's sovereign wealth fund buys gold, commodities as shadow of 1970s looms
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Lewis Jackson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SYDNEY, Dec 19 (Reuters) - Australia's A$200 billion ($134.28 billion) sovereign wealth fund is increasing exposure to gold, commodities, private equity and infrastructure as it warns the future will echo the low-growth, high-inflation era of the 1970s. Investors large and small are scrambling to adjust portfolios and philosophies undermined by the simultaneous cratering of equity and bond markets. Investors now faced a world corrosive to asset prices: more war, the risk of capital controls and confiscations, bigger government, and the spectre of higher inflation. In response the Future Fund is implementing six broad sets of changes, including more focus on dynamic asset allocation and liquidity. Traditional approaches have delivered strongly, but it is doubtful they are fit for purpose in the future," it said.

☆ First catalyst for Tesla is finding a Twitter CEO, says Future Fund's Gary Black
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

In this videoShare Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailFirst catalyst for Tesla is finding a Twitter CEO, says Future Fund's Gary BlackGary Black, Future Fund managing partner, joins 'Squawk on the Street' to discuss whether the Tesla brand has been negatively impacted by what's happening in Twitter.

The answer is simple, according to more than a dozen Washington insiders, FTX employees, and crypto industry observers who spoke with Insider. I don't think anyone believed that he was going to fund candidates who were, quote unquote, committed to ending pandemics who were also hostile to the crypto industry." Alex Wong/Getty ImagesRebuffed by the SEC, Bankman-Fried turned his attention to Congress. "It's not that he was welcoming regulation," says the senior figure in the crypto industry who attended meetings with Bankman-Fried. But while Bankman-Fried was busy wooing Washington, FTX was about to become Exhibit A in the case for more effective oversight of the crypto industry.

☆ Sam Bankman-Fried was the poster boy for 'effective altruism.' Now, its followers are heartbroken and critics are questioning its 'weird' funding setup.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Sam Bankman-Fried was a proponent of effective altruism: earning as much as possible to give your wealth away. He had a huge influence on the effective-altruism movement, which counts Silicon Valley tech workers and Oxford University academics among its fans. 'Devastated'Bankman-Fried was the main funder of Future Fund, a charitable project run by the FTX Foundation. "We joined the Future Fund to support incredible people and projects," they said, "and this outcome is heartbreaking to us." Science groups that had received money from the Future Fund told the magazine Science in mid-November that they were unsure of their funding's future.

☆ UK charity backed by disgraced crypto kingpin Sam Bankman-Fried sounds alarm to British regulators after FTX collapse
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Brian Schwartz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Lawyers for FTX have said the company was "effectively run as a personal fiefdom of Sam Bankman-Fried." Hashim said that "Effective Ventures" is an umbrella for two charitable organizations, Effective Ventures Foundation in the U.K. and the Centre for Effective Altruism US. Alameda Research has donated grant money to the group since 2017, the same year the firm was launched by Bankman-Fried, according to the charity's U.K. financial records. The Centre For Effective Altruism has received approximately $14 million from the Future Fund, according to the fund's website. Bankman-Fried personally committed $16.5 billion from himself and FTX to effective altruism charities, according to a slide from conference about the philanthropies last year in London.

☆ JPMorgan decides against prospective investment in open banking startup Yapily, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

JPMorgan has cooled on a deal to back London fintech startup Yapily, Insider understands. Discussions over a $25 million injection into the startup were at an advanced stage, sources say. JPMorgan has opted out of pursuing a strategic investment into London fintech Yapily, Insider understands. Yapily, which is backed by Square and Wise investor Sapphire Ventures, operates in the burgeoning open banking sector. The US financial giant had considered a deal that would have seen the bank inject around $25 million into the startup, one London-based source said.

☆ FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried donated $40 million to political campaigns leading into the midterms, leaving some concerned about crypto's place in Washington, report says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-20 | by ( Bethany Biron | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Sam Bankman-Fried and FTX execs donated a total of $70 million to political campaigns in 18 months, according to OpenSecrets. Bankman-Fried himself donated $40 million to mostly liberal efforts, while fellow exec Ryan Salame gave $23 million primarily to Republicans. He was the second highest donor for liberal efforts behind George Soros and the sixth highest donor overall. Meanwhile, Ryan Salame, a fellow FTX senior executive, donated more than $23 million primarily to Republican candidates and efforts. "Frankly, everyone should always be skeptical of things like this," Bankman-Fried said of political donations.

☆ The unbelievably fast world of Caroline Ellison where 'someone suggests something' then 'an hour later and it's already happened'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-20 | by ( Jordan Hart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

In a 2020 FTX podcast, former Alameda Research CEO said she "took a blind leap into the unknown" when she joined Sam Bankman-Fried. WSJ first reported on the remarks, after Ellison has drawn increased scrutiny for her role in the demise of FTX. According to WSJ, critics of the practice say effective altruism encourages excessive risk-taking. "The general idea of effective altruism is trying to do the most good you can and using expected value to measure that good," Ellison explained on the FTX podcast. Ellison was asked about her plans of saving money for future retirement after explaining effective altruism in the 2020 podcast episode.

The crypto giant FTX and its affiliated companies have started the process of filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, with founder Sam Bankman-Fried stepping down as CEO. Bankman-Fried sent out a series of tweets on Friday stating his hope that FTX would be able to continue as a going concern following its bankruptcy. Media outlets have reported that the Securities and Exchange Commission and Justice Department are now investigating FTX. In the days following the report, rival crypto exchange Binance announced it was liquidating its FTT holdings. Unable to find an out, FTX announced its bankruptcy filing Friday morning.

☆ Early-stage VCs are leaving $100 billion on the table by not exercising rights to buy into later startup funding rounds. One investor is trying to make sure they don't.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Darius Rafieyan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Pro rata rights give early investors a place in later funding rounds and protect against dilution. Nearly 95% of pro rata rights go unused, often because investors lack the capital to exercise them. Alpha Partners provides the capital VCs need to take advantage of their lucrative pro rata rights. The company allows early-stage VCs to exercise their pro rata rights and participate in follow-on rounds by providing capital when no one else will. From a founder's perspective, pro rata rights can be a way of protecting those that took an early chance on the company.

☆ SoftBank creates committee to oversee Vision Fund 2 - memo
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Sam Nussey | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

TOKYO, Oct 21 (Reuters) - SoftBank Group Corp (9984.T) has created an executive committee to oversee its second Vision Fund, Latin America funds and any future funds, its founder and Chief Executive Masayoshi Son said in a memo to employees reviewed by Reuters. Alex Clavel will oversee investing teams in the United States and Latin America, Greg Moon will manage teams in Europe and Asia and Navneet Govil, Vision Fund's chief financial officer, will oversee other functional teams, Son wrote. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterThe appointment of a new committee comes as Vision Fund architect Rajeev Misra has ceded his frontline role at the second fund to launch an external fund. Son has said the second fund invested at frothy prices and is slashing headcount at the Vision Fund unit. The creation of the executive committee was first reported by Bloomberg.

☆ Hong Kong leader John Lee delivers his maiden policy address
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

HONG KONG, Oct 19 (Reuters) - Hong Kong's new leader John Lee delivered his maiden policy address annual policy address on Wednesday, mapping out his priorities for the former British colony which returned to Chinese rule in 1997. - To set aside HK$30 billion from the Future Fund to establish the Co-Investment Fund for attracting enterprises to set up operations in Hong Kong and investing in their business. ECONOMY- To set up a new Hong Kong Investment Corporation Limited (HKIC) to further optimise the use of fiscal reserves for promoting the development of industries and the economy, and to attract and support more enterprises to develop their business in Hong Kong. - To develop Hong Kong into an international carbon market. - The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has begun the preparatory work for issuing "e-HKD" (e-Hong Kong dollar) and is collaborating with the Mainland institutions to expand the testing of "e-CNY" (e-Chinese yuan) as a cross-boundary payment facility in Hong Kong.

☆ Tesla investors try to ignore Musk's many distractions
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-16 | by ( Paul R. La Monica | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

While that’s good news for Twitter’s long-suffering shareholders, Tesla investors hope he still has some time for them. There are big challenges in China as well, with Tesla going up against homegrown EV rivals like Nio (NIO), Xpeng and Li Auto. Too many distractionsGary Black, managing partner at the Future Fund and a Tesla shareholder, has been tweeting for the past few weeks that concerns about Twitter are a headache for Tesla investors. In one tweet, Black said there are several problems for Tesla due to Twitter. The underwhelming deliveries and production numbers also underscore how a slowing global economy (and possible recession) could hurt Tesla.

☆ 'Sharks circling in the water': Contentious cram-down rounds are coming and going to dilute startup shareholders. Founders and investors should be wary.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( Darius Rafieyan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Funding rounds are set to become more contentious; "knives tend to come out," said one investor. Having been in the VC game for more than 25 years, he knows what inevitably follows periods of irrational exuberance: cram downs. A cram-down round refers to a situation in which a company raises money at terms favorable to new investors, at the expense of current shareholders. In good times, when valuations are going up and VCs have money to spare, exercising pro rata rights is usually a no-brainer. The investors that step up to fill that void — usually late-stage VC growth funds or strategic investors — often demand terms that severely dilute or "cram down" the shares of existing shareholders.

☆ U.S. tech execs hone approach to counter unions amid growing worker interest
▼ + stars: | 2021-11-24 | by ( Julia Love | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Mapbox's response offers a window into how tech companies are pushing back as unions seek to bring workers into the fold. The CWA also formed the Alphabet Workers Union, a so-called minority union that does not have collective bargaining rights. For many tech workers, the promise of a generous payday is no longer enough. They also want sound working conditions and assurances that the products they are building will not harm society, tech employees and organizers say. On their website, members of the Mapbox Workers Union wrote that they banded together "to build a lasting, accountable, inclusive Mapbox."

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