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More than 100 venture capitalists said on Wednesday that they had pledged to vote for Vice President Kamala Harris in November and had solicited donations for her presidential campaign, in a rejoinder to the splintering among tech leaders over whom to support in the election. The group includes Reid Hoffman, a founder of LinkedIn; Vinod Khosla of Khosla Ventures; Mark Cuban, the former principal owner of the Dallas Mavericks; Ron Conway, a well-known angel investor; and the billionaire Chris Sacca. “We are pro-business, pro-American dream, pro-entrepreneurship and pro-technological progress,” the group said in a statement posted to their website, VCsForKamala.org. “We also believe in democracy as the backbone of our nation.” The website asks people to sign a pledge to support Ms. Harris and another to donate to her campaign. The effort was buttressed by another group of tech entrepreneurs and workers called Tech For Kamala, which also wrote a letter this week expressing “enthusiastic and unwavering support for Vice President Harris.” The letter gathered more than 550 signatures in two days.

Persons: Kamala Harris, Reid Hoffman, Vinod Khosla, Mark Cuban, Ron Conway, Chris Sacca, “, Harris, ” Organizations: LinkedIn, Khosla Ventures, Dallas Mavericks, Tech, Kamala

☆ With tech leaders like Elon Musk turning to Trump, more than 100 Silicon Valley investors pledge support for Harris
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-31 | by ( Alice Tecotzky | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A group of right-wing venture capitalists have voiced support for Donald Trump and JD Vance, who was once a venture capitalist himself. "They don't speak for me," she said of Musk and other right-wing Silicon Valley leaders. "They don't speak for most of us. Harris, who was born in Oakland and is known as a pro-business politician, has a more sustained connection to Silicon Valley than Biden did. Next month, Harris will travel to Silicon Valley for a fund-raising trip in her continued effort reclaim the region amid its rightward tilt.

Persons: —, Kamala Harris —, Harris, Reid Hoffman, Mark Cuban, Ron Conway, Leslie Feinzaig, Graham, Walker, Donald Trump, JD Vance, Elon Musk, Marc Andreesen, Ben Horowitz, David Sacks, Trump, Feinzaig, MAGA, " Harris, Biden, Vance Organizations: Service, VCsForKamala.org, LinkedIn, Dallas Mavericks, Business, New York Times Locations: Oakland, Silicon, Silicon Valley

☆ In the age of AI, there's no future for workers content with being code monkeys — and they know it
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-30 | by ( Aditi Bharade | Kwan Wei Kevin Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

"I think there will be a change in the way a software engineer works, and instead of five software engineers you might need four in future," she said. AdvertisementHe said that people who studied software engineering before the rise of AI tools have a stronger foundation because they have "written code from scratch." AdvertisementAn added that foundational knowledge in "algorithms, data structures, software engineering, and other critical areas" is essential for advancing AI technologies. David Malan, a computer science professor at Harvard, told BI that AI tools could be a plus for aspiring software engineers who know how to leverage them. Tejas Rajagopal, a recent computer science graduate from NTU, said he's been trying to expand his skillset to strengthen his chances of landing a job.

Persons: —, Arpita Kaushik, Aditya Swami, Hatcher, Swami, Kaushik, It's, hasn't, Adrian Goh, Goh, Kan Min Yen, Kan, Bo An, David Malan, Malan, he's, Rajagopal Organizations: Service, Google, Business, IBM, Rocket Mortgage, National University of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University, NTU, Harvard, Tejas Locations: Singapore, Hatcher, Asia

How the election is dividing techThe tech world has long been divided by rivalries: Macs versus PCs, open source versus closed source. It’s a reminder, as DealBook has noted, that Silicon Valley’s libertarian wing is feeling more emboldened to flex its money and influence to buck what has become a traditionally Democratic consensus. Who’s who: Some of the most vocal Democratic donors among the tech elite are Hoffman; Vinod Khosla, the venture capitalist; Aaron Levie, the C.E.O. On the Republican side are a camp of libertarians that includes Musk and the investors Peter Thiel, David Sacks, Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz. Then there are those staying neutral, including Mark Zuckerberg of Meta, who are ostensibly trying to avoid antagonizing whoever wins in November.

Persons: Elon Musk, Reid Hoffman, Ryan Mac, Erin Griffith, Mike Isaac, DealBook, Who’s, Hoffman, Vinod Khosla, Aaron Levie, Roger McNamee, Peter Thiel, David Sacks, Marc Andreessen, Ben Horowitz, Mark Zuckerberg, Meta Organizations: Republican

☆ Why Silicon Valley Is Going to War Against the Media, Journalists
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-30 | by ( ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +21 min

Just 20 years ago journalists covered the tech industry "like it didn't matter, like it was this hobbyist, interesting, plucky thing." The pro-tech media gives tech's main characters the chance to write their way back to the original storyline. Trae Stephens, a partner at Founders Fund, described Pirate Wires as a kind of daily affirmation for Silicon Valley. Related storiesTrae Stephens, a partner at Founders Fund, described Pirate Wires as a kind of daily affirmation for Silicon Valley. Of the members of the news media I talked to about pro-tech media, some were backhandedly laudatory.

Persons: Mike Solana, Solana, Peter Thiel, —, David Sacks, Jason Calacanis, Chamath Palihapitiya, David Friedberg, Elon Musk, Sam Altman, Tucker Carlson, Donald Trump, There's, Coogan, John Coogan, Andreessen Horowitz, Marc Andreessen, they're, Balaji Srinivasan, Mark Zuckerberg, Donald Trump's, Tyler Le, Sam Bankman, Warren Buffett, Trae Stephens, Andreessen, Palmer Luckey, It's, Dick Lucas, Lucas, Joe Rogan, Kamala, Stephens, Packy McCormick, Taylor Lorenz, Ryan Mac, Kevin Roose, Jesse Singal —, Casey Newton, Casey isn't, Casey, Newton, Erik Torenberg, Anthony Fauci, Ellen Pao, Katherine Maher, George Soros, Joe Biden, Chesa Boudin, Boudin, Gavin Newsom, Palihapitiya, Sacks, Trump, JD Vance, Brian Merchant, Ben Smith, Eric Newcomer, he's, Lulu Cheng Meservey, Balaji Srinivasan's, Zoë Bernard Organizations: Fund, Tech, Founders Fund, Apple, Elon, Elite, Sequoia Capital, Pirate, Penguin Group, Big Tech, Card Industry, Washington Post, TechCrunch, Media, NPR, Google, Disney, Twitter, Republican National Convention, Bloomberg, monetization, San, Business Locations: San Francisco, Substack, Silicon Valley, New York, Silicon, Solana, Miami, Francisco, California, Los Angeles

Less than an hour after a gunman in Butler, Pa., tried to assassinate Donald J. Trump this month, David Sacks, a venture capitalist based in San Francisco, directed his anger about the incident toward a former colleague. “The Left normalized this,” Mr. Sacks wrote on X, linking to a post about Reid Hoffman, a technology investor and major Democratic donor. Mr. Sacks implied that Mr. Hoffman, a critic of Mr. Trump who had funded a lawsuit accusing the former president of rape and defamation, had helped cause the shooting. Elon Musk, who leads SpaceX and Tesla and previously worked with Mr. Sacks and Mr. Hoffman, then weighed in on X, name-checking Mr. Hoffman and saying people like him “got their dearest wish.”In Silicon Valley, the spectacle of tech billionaire attacking tech billionaire has suddenly exploded, as pro-Trump executives and their Democratic counterparts have openly turned on each other. The brawling has spilled into public view online, at conferences and on podcasts, as debates about the country’s future have turned into personal broadsides.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, David Sacks, “, Mr, Sacks, Reid Hoffman, Hoffman, Elon Musk Organizations: Democratic, SpaceX, Tesla, Trump Locations: Butler, Pa, San Francisco, Silicon Valley

☆ Family offices are giving top staff equity and profit shares in battle for talent
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-29 | by ( Robert Frank | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Family offices, the private investment arms of single families, are also shifting to profit shares as a way to better align the incentives of the staff with the family. "Family offices are competing for talent against each other, and against traditional private equity, hedge funds and venture capital." Family offices are increasingly offering lucrative shares of equity and deal profits to staff amid a growing battle for talent, according to a top family office attorney. They often pair co-investments with profit shares to create both upside and potential downside to staff. Because they serve a single family, family offices have more flexibility than many companies when it comes to designing pay plans.

Persons: McCurry, Patrick McCurry, McDermott Will, Emery, they're, Robert Frank, that's Organizations: UBS, Office Locations: Chicago

☆ What JD Vance's rise tells us about the influence of Peter Thiel — and Silicon Valley in the age of Donald Trump
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-26 | by ( Peter Kafka | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Without Peter Thiel, Vance does not get anywhere near the US Senate. And in Silicon Valley, the conservative movement is much stronger, and more muscular than it was before. AdvertisementThere's this narrative, promoted by people like Thiel, that Silicon Valley is super-liberal. Because Silicon Valley has conservative roots in addition to roots in the counterculture. AdvertisementLike I said, the liberal nature of Silicon Valley has always been sort of overplayed.

Persons: —, I'm, Donald Trump, Vance, Peter Thiel —, Max Chafkin, who's, Thiel, Peter Thiel's, Trump, JD Vance, Narya, It's, supercharge, Bill Pugliano, David Sacks, Peter Thiel, revel, that's, he's, Elon Musk, Marc Andreessen, They're, Elon Musk's, Apu Gomes, Steve Jobs, Ben Horowitz Organizations: Service, Republican, Trump, Business, Bloomberg Businessweek, Republican National Convention, YouTube, Ohio Senate, The, Thiel, Twitter Locations: Silicon Valley, Mithril, Narya, Ohio, West Coast, —, America, Silicon, San Francisco

☆ JD Vance confronts upheaval and uncertainty in first 10 days as Trump’s running mate
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-25 | by ( Steve Contorno | Kit Maher | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Middletown, Ohio CNN —Minutes into his first solo event as Donald Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance had already divided his hometown audience here – over donuts. The fallout has left him without a Democratic counterpart after Vice President Kamala Harris quickly emerged as her party’s presumptive nominee. Vance leaned into his biography during his appearance Monday in Middletown, where someone held up a homemade “2028 Vance for President” sign. Andy Beshear – seen as a potential Harris running mate – sought to undermine Monday. “If Joe Biden can’t run for president, he can’t serve as president,” Vance said.

Persons: Donald Trump’s, Sen, JD Vance, Vance, “, Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Harris, Trump’s, ” Vance, minigolf, –, MAGA, Trump, Doug Burgum, ” “ He’s, ” Trump, “ He’s, White, ”, Andy Beshear –, ” Beshear, JD Vance ain’t, I’m, Biden, He’s, shrugged, I, “ Donald Trump, Usha, ” Vance clapped, didn’t, Joe Biden can’t, he’s, don’t, Mike Pence, Vance’s, Barbara Duerk, Duerk, Mary, Alayna Treene Organizations: Ohio CNN, Central Pastry Shop, Ohio Republican, Republican, Democratic, Middletown High School, GOP, Trump, Kentucky Gov, MSNBC, The New York Times, Democratic National Committee, Republican Party, Fox News, Roanoke Valley Republican Women, CNN Locations: Middletown, Ohio, North Dakota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Appalachia, Indiana, Doral , Florida, Nevada, Arizona, Virginia, Grand Rapids , Michigan, Roanoke

☆ Abu Dhabi is an oil powerhouse, but it also wants to be a climate tech hub
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-25 | by ( Amy Gunia | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Hub71 plans to announce a new cohort later this year, and it says that applications from sustainability and climate tech startups have doubled since the last intake. “Abu Dhabi is starting to forge ahead as a leading tech cluster for climate in the region,” she said. That Abu Dhabi has thrown its weight and oil wealth behind climate tech is a key attraction for Graphmatech. “To scale up climate tech you need financial support,” Dr Mamoun Taher, its founder and CEO, told CNN. His company has engaged in discussions with key stakeholders in Abu Dhabi, including oil and gas companies.

Persons: Abu, ” Ahmad Ali Alwan, Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi’s, Patricia Keating, Karim Sahib, Dr Mamoun Taher, “, “ Abu Dhabi, Taher, ” Organizations: CNN, Mubadala Investment Company, United, Organization of, Petroleum, OPEC, P, PwC, Companies, Sweden’s Uppsala University, Getty, UAE, Emirates Steel, Adnoc, Siemens Energy, Abu, Abu Dhabi National Energy Company Locations: Abu Dhabi, wean, UAE, United Arab Emirates, Dubai, Abu, AFP, “ Abu, United States, Australia, Masdar

☆ Kamala Harris wants to be America’s first Silicon Valley president. She has tech’s support
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-25 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

New York CNN —With Vice President Kamala Harris the front runner to receive the Democratic Party’s nomination for president, America’s most powerful industry is set to have a candidate on the ballot from its home turf. Harris’ failed 2020 presidential bid received support from various tech luminaries, including Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff and legendary venture capitalist Ron Conway. Despite her friendly relationships with the industry’s leaders, Harris has also pushed for tech accountability in key areas. As vice president, Harris has taken a key role in the White House around establishing safety measures for artificial intelligence, which is widely viewed as the most consequential new technology in decades. In an interview with CNN, Hoffman added: “In Silicon Valley, actually there’s many threads that are very excited about her.

Persons: Kamala Harris, Harris, Sheryl Sandberg, Reed Hastings, Melinda French Gates, Donald Trump’s, Elon Musk, “ There’s, Biden, ” Aaron Levie, “, ” Harris, Sean Parker, she’s, Steve Jobs ’, Laurene Powell Jobs, Harris ’, Marc Benioff, Ron Conway, Mark Zuckerberg, ” Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Trump Harris, Trump, ” Sonnenfeld, I’ve, didn’t, ” Levie, “ Kamala Harris, Reid Hoffman, Hoffman, …, – CNN’s Matt Egan Organizations: New, New York CNN —, Democratic, Bay Area, Netflix, White, CNN, Cambridge, OpenAI, Google, Microsoft, Yale School of Management, Trump Locations: New York, Oakland , California, California, White, Silicon Valley, Silicon

☆ The AI hype train is still running at full tilt — just don't ask where the profits are
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-25 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

pic.twitter.com/0licQGfphn — Mustafa Suleyman (@mustafasuleyman) October 20, 2023Expectations for the AI boom to generate serious money are absurdly high, then, which helps explain why the hype train for the technology is still running at full tilt. AdvertisementThat was probably hard for investors to hear given AI has pushed Google to spend more. Similar questions around the gap between returns and hype have shown themselves this week in startup land, too. Toronto-based AI startup Cohere, founded by ex-Googlers in 2019, announced a fresh funding round of $500 million on Monday, putting its valuation at about $5.5 billion. Last year, veteran venture capitalist Vinod Khosla suggested most startups were overvalued and that most investments in AI "will lose money."

Persons: —, Mustafa Suleyman, — Mustafa Suleyman, Sundar Pichai, Philipp Schindler, Katherine Tangalakis, Lippert, Pichai, Cohere, It's, Harvey —, Winston Weinberg, Gabriel Pereyra —, Harvey, Vinod Khosla Organizations: Service, Business, Google, Microsoft, BI, Google Ventures Locations: California, Toronto, Cohere

Trump, the Republican nominee for president, has raised more than $4 million from a mix of digital tokens, a campaign aide told CNBC. At least 19 donors contributed more than $2.15 million bitcoin to the committee, the filing shows. Brian Hughes, a Trump campaign aide, said that of the more than $4 million in crypto raised, most of it arrived in bitcoin. "While the Biden-Harris Administration stifles innovation with more regulation and higher taxes, President Trump is ready to encourage American leadership in this and other emerging technologies." Thus far, it appears the Trump campaign is mostly converting these contributions immediately to USDC and then liquidating the donations.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, Bill Pugliano, Donald Trump, Tyler, Cameron Winklevoss, Mike Belshe, Tyler Winklevoss, Eva Marie Uzcategui, he's, Marc Andreessen, Ben Horowitz, Brian Hughes, Kamala Harris, Hughes, Harris, shiba inu, Jesse Powell, Stuart Alderoty, Alderoty, David Sacks, Ryan Selkis, Sen, Elizabeth Warren, Warren, Ohio Sen, JD Vance, Vance Organizations: Van, Getty, NASHVILLE, Republican, CNBC, U.S, Trump, Republican National Committee, State Department, Gemini Trust, Bloomberg, Solana, Bitcoin, Music City Center, Democratic, Biden, Harris Administration, IRS, Libertarian National Convention, Ohio, Biden White, SEC Locations: Grand Rapids , Michigan, Tennessee, bitcoin, Miami , Florida, U.S, Nashville, San Francisco, USDC, Washington, Lago, Florida

☆ Venture capitalist discusses how Silicon Valley, Musk view the U.S. election
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-24 | 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 EmailVenture capitalist discusses how Silicon Valley, Musk view the U.S. electionVenky Ganesan, partner at Menlo Ventures, discusses how Silicon Valley is looking at the U.S. presidential elections and Tesla owner Elon Musk's endorsement of Republican nominee Donald Trump.

Persons: Venky Ganesan, Elon Musk's, Donald Trump Organizations: Email Venture, Menlo Ventures, U.S

☆ Kamala Harris' tech allies on track to raise over $100 million as they work to win over Silicon Valley skeptics
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-24 | by ( Brian Schwartz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Vice President Kamala Harris' allies in the tech community have launched a behind-the-scenes lobbying campaign to convince wealthy donors to back her campaign for president, according to people familiar with the matter. Longtime investors Reid Hoffman and Ron Conway have been among Harris' allies in Silicon Valley privately calling on those in their networks to support the vice president over former President Donald Trump, these people explained. The conversations have been ongoing since Sunday, when President Joe Biden dropped out of the race and endorsed Harris, according to people who described the discussions to CNBC. Hoffman convinced Netflix chairman Reed Hastings to support Harris with a $7 million donation to a pro-Harris PAC, according to The Information. A source familiar with the lobbying push by Conway, Hoffman and others estimates that their efforts alone are on track to raise over $100 million from major tech industry donors.

Persons: Kamala Harris, Reid Hoffman, Ron Conway, Harris, Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Conway, Marc Andreessen, Ben Horowitz, Andreesen Horowitz, Hoffman, Reed Hastings, Hastings, Biden, congrats Organizations: CNBC, Trump, Netflix, Harris PAC, Democratic, Conway Locations: Silicon Valley, California

☆ A Florida Lyft driver explains how he picks which rides to take to make the most money
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-24 | by ( Alex Bitter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

One involves taking Lyft XL rides, which are designed to transport up to five passengers at once. Families going to or from a port before or after a cruise, for example, need larger vehicles than most Lyft drivers can provide. Afterward, he found out that Lyft had issued him a "warning" curtailing his ability to take scheduled rides on the app. Fourteen days later, he said, he was able to set up scheduled rides again. "If you want to just continue to do the scheduled rides, it makes it very challenging," he added.

Persons: —, Timothy Turer, Turer, Lyft, he's Organizations: Service, Business, XL Locations: Southern Florida, South Florida

☆ Opinion | How Long Will A.I.’s ‘Slop’ Era Last?
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-24 | by ( David Wallace-Wells | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

investments might be three times as large as expected returns, while another analyst, in several assessments published by Sequoia Capital, calculated that investments in A.I. (He called this “A.I.’s $600 billion question” and warned of “investment incineration.”) In a similarly bearish Goldman Sachs report, the firm’s head of global equity research estimated that the cost of A.I. “Replacing low-wage jobs with tremendously costly technology is basically the polar opposite of the prior technology transitions I’ve witnessed,” he noted. expenditure, more than the United States spends annually on its military, and think: What exactly is that money going toward? slop”: often uncanny, frequently misleading material, now flooding web browsers and social-media platforms like spam in old inboxes.

Persons: Goldman Sachs, ”, Erik Hoel, Anthony Aguirre “, A.I, “, slop, we’ve Organizations: Barclays, Sequoia Capital Locations: A.I, United

☆ At Camp Female Founders Fund in the Hamptons, women in tech and commerce toast another year of survival, deals, and Taylor Swift
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-24 | by ( Melia Russell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Anu Duggal, a founding partner of Female Founders Fund, launched the event during the pandemic to assuage some of the loneliness founders felt. AdvertisementEmily Middleton and Anu Duggal of Female Founders Fund share a laugh onstage during their opening remarks. Yumi Matsuo StudioSince its pandemic beginnings, Camp FFF has evolved into a rare and necessary sanctuary where female founders can connect and sometimes commiserate. Yumi Matsuo StudioIn the tasting room, guests set down cups of cold brew and picked up notebooks before taking their seats. Anu Duggal of Female Founders Fund traded the venture capital uniform of a Patagonia fleece vest for a flamingo-pink pantsuit.

Persons: —, Candace Bushnell, Anu Duggal, Lydia Fenet, Emily Middleton, Yumi Matsuo, Middleton, ChatGPT, Poppy Harlow, Kyle Leahy, Glossier's, Emily Weiss, Leahy, Taylor Swift, Matsuo, Arey, Allison Conrad, Melanie Goldey, Amanda E, J Morrison, Julie Products, Hayley Barna, Barna, Birchbox, Christie Horvath, Horvath, Stephanie Horton, Marina Organizations: Service, Fund, FFF, Business, Tally Health, Google Locations: Southampton , New York, Patagonia

☆ How startups can get in top shape for an IPO, according to Silicon Valley lawyer Louis Lehot
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-24 | by ( Alistair Barr | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

Louis Lehot, a Silicon Valley law-firm partner, specializes in taking companies from startup to IPO. The IPO market is expected to pick up later this year, so Business Insider emailed Silicon Valley lawyer Louis Lehot, a partner at Foley & Lardner, for advice on how startups should prepare for life as public companies. Are public market investors generally keen to invest in IPOs, or are they focused elsewhere? Public market investors are selective, focusing on established profitability and sustainable growth over speculative, high-growth stories. What are the key process changes companies need to make ahead of an IPO?

Persons: Louis Lehot, Lehot, —, Lardner, Collison Organizations: Service, Foley, Healthcare, Biotech, Green Energy, Enterprise, Street, Investor

☆ Wiz ends talks with Google on $23 billion deal
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-23 | by ( Story Reuters | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

Wiz has ended talks with Google parent Alphabet on a proposed $23 billion deal in which the Israeli cybersecurity startup would have become the US tech giant’s largest ever acquisition, according to a Wiz memo seen by Reuters. Neither Alphabet (GOOGL) nor Wiz have officially acknowledged deal talks. The Wiz memo did not name Google or Alphabet. CNN reported earlier this month that Alphabet was in advanced talks to buy Wiz for roughly $23 billion, citing a person familiar with the matter. Discussions between Google and Wiz began after the startup raised $1 billion from venture capital investors earlier this year, the source said.

Persons: Assaf Rappaport, ” Rappaport, Wiz Organizations: Google, Reuters, Wiz, CNN

☆ Marc Andreessen thinks comedy is basically dead. He believes AI could save it.
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-23 | by ( Jaures Yip | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Marc Andreessen said AI could revive comedy. AI tools like Luma AI or OpenAI's Sora allow animators to create shows quickly. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . AdvertisementAI is already providing us with some answers, but venture capitalist Marc Andreessen believes it may also soon be able to give us a laugh. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers.

Persons: Marc Andreessen, Sora, —, Andreessen Horowitz, Chris Best, It's Organizations: Studios, Pixar, Service, Business

Wiz has walked away from a $23 billion deal to be acquired by Google, in what would have been the search giant's largest-ever deal, telling employees it would pursue an initial public offering as it initially planned. The deal would have nearly doubled the $12 billion valuation of the startup from its most recent round of funding. Alphabet's cloud segment has been under pressure to grow amid competition from frontrunners Microsoft and Amazon, something the Wiz deal would have helped with. The shift benefited Wiz, which can flag security issues for applications and data on the Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Oracle public clouds. In an interview with CNBC's Sara Eisen and Carl Quintanilla at the New York Stock Exchange last year, Eisen asked Rappaport if he wants to take the startup public.

Persons: Sundar Pichai, Wiz, Assaf Rappaport, Rappaport, Thomas Kurian, Brendan Burke, It's, Doug Leone, Covid, Sid Trivedi, CNBC's Sara Eisen, Carl Quintanilla, Eisen Organizations: Alphabet Inc, Government, Society, Google, CNBC, Microsoft, Index Ventures, Insight Partners, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Sequoia, PitchBook, Intuit, Ventures, Sequoia Capital, Wiz's, Wiz, Oracle, Foundation Capital, Motorola, Lenovo, New York Stock Exchange Locations: Stanford , California, Sequoia

☆ How the hedge fund superstar went extinct
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-23 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

But for now, we're examining how the hedge fund superstar has gone extinct . The big storySo long, superstarGetty Images; Alyssa Powell/BIWhere have all the hedge fund superstars gone? AdvertisementIn years past, even rubbing shoulders with a legendary hedge fund manager was enough for aspiring fund managers to raise capital. Meanwhile, the hedge fund industry has also evolved. Aaron Weiner, a 31-year-old from Coatue, got a multibillion-dollar check from Millennium for his to-be-launched hedge fund .

Persons: —, Kamala Harris, Harris, Alyssa Powell, Insider's Linette Lopez, Julian Robertson, Griffin's, Izzy Englander's, Goldman Sachs, Jared Siskin, Bobby Jain, it's, Aaron Weiner, Jonathan Xiong's, Maja Hitij, Carl Godfrey, Apple, Sam Altman's, Dan DeFrancesco, Jordan Parker Erb, Hallam Bullock, Annie Smith, Amanda Yen Organizations: Service, Democratic, Democratic Party Convention, Business, Getty, Management, Goldman, Madison, Park Conservancy, Citadel, Credit Suisse, Jain, ExodusPoint, Investment Partners, Blackstone, Elon Musk's, Big Tech, Bank of America, BI Founders, Forge, Apple, Google, General Motors Locations: Venture, Wall, Park, Coatue, Miami, London, New York

Why some big money is holding out for nowAfter just one full day of campaigning, Vice President Kamala Harris has a glide path to the Democratic presidential nomination. The Harris campaign also said it had raised more than $100 million between Sunday afternoon and Monday evening. But some major Democratic donors, including Mike Bloomberg and the venture capitalist Vinod Khosla, have yet to endorse her. The concern is that if they support Harris too soon, they would appear to be anointing their party’s presidential candidate, rather than her earning it through a full democratic process. And Khosla posted on X, “An open process will allow everyone a chance to make their case and express their views.

Persons: Kamala Harris, Nancy Pelosi, Harris, Mike Bloomberg, Vinod Khosla, DealBook, don’t, Khosla, ” Organizations: Democratic, Bloomberg Locations: Chicago

☆ The cofounder of MoviePass is raising $20 million from Amazon and Alphabet for a longevity-focused venture studio
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-23 | by ( Rebecca Torrence | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

MoviePass ousted Watt, along with its other cofounder Stacy Spikes, from the company two years before filing for bankruptcy. Since then, Watt has been building Share Ventures, a venture studio that's now closed on nearly $20 million of funding from backers including Amazon and Alphabet. Share Ventures has quietly been spinning up those startups and plans to start announcing them in the coming months. Oral health company Feno, one of Share Ventures' portfolio companies, is working on a smart toothbrush powered by AI. Share VenturesAI is supercharging the venture studio modelThreats to the venture capital industry, from high interest rates to the explosion of AI, aren't letting up.

Persons: —, Watt, MoviePass, Stacy Spikes, Spikes, he'd, It's, Smart, that's, they're Organizations: Service, HBO, Business, Share Ventures, Ventures, Oral

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