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☆ Exclusive: AI startup LangChain taps Sequoia to lead funding round at a valuation of at least $200 million
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Stephanie Palazzolo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

AI startup LangChain is raising between $20 and $25 million from Sequoia, Insider has learned. The latest round scored the hot upstart a valuation of at least $200 million, according to sources. Just a week after announcing a $10 million seed investment from Benchmark, AI darling LangChain has scored even more capital from yet another top-tier VC. As an open-source project, LangChain is especially known for its strong community — one that Chase is personally involved in. Chase's dedication to openness and collaboration is a major differentiator for the founder's community, and therefore, his startup, Turow said.

☆ Elizabeth Holmes is set to report to prison later this month after a judge denied her request to remain free on bail while she appeals her conviction
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Sarah Jackson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes is set to report to prison in a matter of weeks. On Monday, a judge denied her request to remain free on bail while she appeals her conviction. Holmes was convicted on 4 counts of fraud and conspiracy and sentenced to more than 11 years in prison. Late Monday, a judge denied the Theranos founder's request to remain free on bail during her appeal. Balwani is set to report to prison on April 20, and Holmes must surrender a week later, on April 27.

☆ Shares in China's 360 Security slump after founder's divorce deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SHANGHAI, April 6 (Reuters) - Shares in Chinese cybersecurity company 360 Security Technology (601360.SS) plunged on Thursday after the firm announced that its billionaire founder Zhou Hongyi and his wife were divorcing and that he would give her a 6.25% share. Shares in 360 Security, China's largest provider of cybersecurity products, fell by as much as 7.8%, its biggest one day fall since February. Zhou founded 360 Security Technology in 2005. The company was listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2011 and returned to Chinese stock markets in 2018 through a back door listing. ($1 = 6.8804 Chinese yuan renminbi)Reporting by Shanghai Newsroom; Editing by Sonali PaulOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

A new EV platform, if implemented, would be the result of a far-reaching review of Toyota's electric-car strategy undertaken last year. Its current production architecture, the e-TNGA system, was launched in 2019 and produces electric vehicles on the same assembly line as gasoline cars and hybrids. The briefing was given by the former chief competitive officer tasked with the EV strategy review, Shigeki Terashi, according to the person. So far it has fallen short - its initial battery EV, the bZ4X, suffered an early recall and has had only limited sales. GM sold more than 20,000 electric vehicles during the first quarter while Toyota and its luxury brand Lexus sold about 1,880 battery electrics.

☆ Former Greylock VC Sarah Guo is betting her career on the AI boom with new fund Conviction. Here's why.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Stephanie Palazzolo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Ex-Greylock GP Sarah Guo surprised the tech world when she launched her AI fund Conviction last year. In addition to her fund, Guo has gained prominence in SF's AI scene through her podcast and events. Kovalsky knew of only one person who could be behind this — Sarah Guo, then a general partner at VC firm Greylock. Within the tech community, Guo has differentiated herself from other VCs through her honesty, business savvy, and grit, they added. Although Guo launched Conviction, a $100 million fund investing up to Series A, in late 2022, her interest in artificial intelligence has been long in the making.

☆ Y Combinator's head of admissions is reviewing over 20,000 startups for its summer 2023 cohort. Here's what she's looking for.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Madeline Renbarger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

For early-stage founders looking to grow their startups in an accelerator, few names spark as much excitement as Y Combinator. Several of Silicon Valley's marquee companies are Y Combinator graduates, including Airbnb, Stripe, and Dropbox. While the number of startups that were part of last year's summer cohort were down 40% from the previous batch, this winter batch had 17.5% more startups accepted, said a Y Combinator spokesperson. Now, Y Combinator is looking ahead to its next batch, accepting applications for the summer 2023 cohort, which are due by April 7th. Stephanie Simon, the head of Y Combinator's admissions team, wants founders to know she's still sifting through all those applications.

☆ Sam Bankman-Fried will be cut off from the internet on his phone and restricted to a basic laptop with limited functions as part of a new bail agreement
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Morgan Chittum | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Sam Bankman-Fried's lawyers and US prosecutors have agreed on a set of new bail terms. Under the proposed terms, the FTX founder will not have internet access on his phone. The disgraced crypto exec will be given a new phone with no internet access and a new laptop with limited functionality under the agreement. Prosecutors on Tuesday unveiled new charges against Bankman-Fried, including a bribery conspiracy charge that alleges the former exec paid $40 million to "influence" Chinese officials. The new bail terms come after prosecutors raised the prospect of sending the disgraced crypto mogul back to jail before trial after suspicions that Bankman-Fried attempted to contact witnesses.

☆ I tried Kourtney Kardashian's wellness gummies that promise more energy, improved focus and less stress—here's what I thought
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-25 | by ( Renée Onque | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

If you're familiar with the Kardashian brand, it may not come as a surprise that Kourtney Kardashian Barker is wading even deeper into the wellness space. Kardashian Barker, who founded Poosh in 2019, recently launched Lemme, her own brand of vitamins and supplements. The Lemme essentials bundle includes three different kinds of gummies: "Lemme Matcha," for energy, "Lemme Focus," for concentration and "Lemme Chill," to de-stress. Those all seemed intriguing to me, so I purchased a bundle and decided to give the supplements a try. And for a better understanding of the ingredients and the promises Lemme makes — to improve my focus and decrease my stress, for example — I spoke to Jen Scheinman, registered dietitian nutritionist and senior manager of Nutrition Affairs at Timeline Nutrition.

☆ I have a 6-figure side hustle as a user-generated-content creator. It only takes a few hours a week — here's how I scaled it.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Perri Ormont Blumberg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

I'm a creative director with a part-time gig as a user-generated-content, or UGC, creator. Between then and May 2016, I worked part time, lived at home, and built my UGC portfolio. I make my UGC ads feel naturalAlthough my UGC concepts are launched as ads, I make them feel like your friend posted it. As a UGC creator, you have to be aware of the latest social trends and nuances in marketing. What you choose to do after these gut punches is what separates the UGC creator who gave up after two weeks from the creator who makes four or five figures a month.

☆ Venture capitalists have never been more divided, with accusations flying over who killed their beloved bank SVB. How long will the bad blood last?
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Ben Bergman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

But in the past week, VCs aired their dirty laundry for all the world to see. Still, VCs say they have no choice but to set aside their differences and work together in the future. "Silicon Valley Bank was such a great friend of VCs for so many years that it was just really disappointing to see so many VCs work so quickly to kill it." But in the past week, VCs aired their dirty laundry for all the world to see, criticizing those who they say triggered a $42 billion bank run that doomed SVB. There's been particular animus for Founder's Fund, the venture firm founded by billionaire Peter Thiel that backed Facebook and Airbnb.

☆ Larry Fink, thrust into political crosshairs, dials back ESG talk in his annual letter
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Rebecca Ungarino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

BlackRock CEO Larry Fink published his widely read annual letter to investors on Wednesday. In a shift, Fink kept his discussion of ESG investing to a minimum after a year of backlash. Fink focused on macroeconomic concerns, notably inflation, and the wider energy transition. It is clear that Fink's stance on ESG investing has not changed. In his letter on Wednesday, Fink talked at length about the transition to a low-carbon economy and BlackRock's role in it.

☆ Wall Street reacts to Silicon Valley Bank's bailout
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

When federal regulators stepped in to guarantee deposits at Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank late Sunday (more on that here), the goal was simple: Ease the public concerns and calm the markets. Silicon Valley Bank was shut down by regulators on Friday. So about that auction... SVB Financial Group, the parent company of Silicon Valley Bank, is still looking for a buyer. Silicon Valley Bank's UK arm was sold to HSBC for roughly $1 (no, I'm not missing any zeros). Silicon Valley Bank died so interest-rate hikes would stop.

☆ SVB is the first social media bank run in history. The crisis will change the banking industry forever.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Kali Hays | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

It's an all out bank run," founder Howard Lerman tweeted on Thursday when SVB was trying to raise new capital. "The thing about a bank run is that there's no upside to keeping your money in the at-risk bank," wrote Xavier Helgesen of Enduring Ventures the same day. Another deleted tweet says, "As one of probably the few founders to go through a modern bank run, get your money out now. Some tech types who banked with SVB have even deleted tweets they put out in support of the bank. 'MONDAY, BLOODY MONDAY'Meanwhile, Jason Calcanis and David Sacks, tech founders turned investors, have been tweeting about little but SVB since Thursday.

☆ Silicon Valley Bank's collapse sent this tech founder into a 3-day panic, leading him to question: 'Am I good enough to do what I do?'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Tech CEO Alexander Torrenegra detailed his experience as he watched Silicon Valley Bank collapse. Ask my wife, Tania, to wire all of our personal money out to other banks. By Friday morning, SVB stock had fallen 60%, and US regulators assumed control of the bank. Meanwhile, he said only a "portion" of his personal savings was safe as the transaction was still in a bank queue. "We may recover most of the money," Torrenegra wrote regarding his personal savings.

☆ Explainer: How Kakao won a takeover battle against HYBE for K-pop pioneer SM Entertainment
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-12 | by ( Hyunsu Yim | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

For more than two decades, the K-pop industry was dominated by the trio until BTS rose to global fame in recent years, making its agency HYBE the largest music label in the country. It is the second-largest entertainment group in South Korea by market value at $2.8 billion, trailing HYBE, which is worth $5.5 billion. Lee filed an injunction request to block the deal that was approved by a court, and sold a 15% stake in SM to rival agency HYBE, setting up a takeover battle. Kakao, the most popular social media platform in South Korea, is expanding aggressively into the entertainment industry where it already owns a smaller K-pop agency, Starship Entertainment. In January, Kakao Entertainment announced a 1.2 trillion won ($966.27 million) investment from Singapore's GIC and Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, giving it more firepower for the SM bid.

☆ Peter Thiel's Founders Fund got its cash out of Silicon Valley Bank before it was shut down, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-11 | by ( Ryan Hogg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Peter Thiel's Founders Fund withdrew all its funds from Silicon Valley Bank, Bloomberg reported. A source told Bloomberg the PayPal cofounder's fund had moved to close its exposure to the failing bank after running into problems using SVB's services. The venture capital group had been engaging in a "capital call" — where it asked investment partners to send funds to invest in a company — by transferring funds to its Silicon Valley Bank account. Following the withdrawals, the fund no longer had any exposure to SVB as of Thursday morning, the unnamed source told Bloomberg. Founders Fund and SVB didn't immediately respond to requests for comment from Insider, made outside normal working hours.

☆ Judge to weigh Bankman-Fried's trial schedule, bail conditions at hearing
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Luc Cohen | Thomson Reuters | Reports On The New York Federal Courts. Previously Worked As A Correspondent In Venezuela | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, March 10 (Reuters) - A U.S. judge is expected on Friday to consider what restrictions Sam Bankman-Fried should face while free on bail, and whether the FTX cryptocurrency exchange founder's Oct. 2 fraud trial should be pushed back. In a letter to Kaplan on Wednesday, Bankman-Fried's lawyers said they may need more time than expected to review the evidence and prepare a defense in light of the new charges. Ellison and Wang, once among Bankman-Fried's closest associates, have pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate with the government. Prosecutors, defense lawyers and Kaplan began revisiting Bankman-Fried's bail conditions after the government said he sought to contact FTX Chief Executive John Ray and an in-house lawyer in what prosecutors described as a possible attempt to tamper with witnesses. Defense lawyers said Bankman-Fried was trying to help, not interfere.

NEW YORK, March 8 (Reuters) - Sam Bankman-Fried's lawyers said on Wednesday it may be necessary to delay the FTX cryptocurrency exchange founder's scheduled Oct. 2 criminal trial, arguing it may take more time than expected to review the evidence and prepare a defense. Both have since pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors. "While we are not making such an application at this time, we wanted to note this issue for the Court now," Christian Everdell, one of Bankman-Fried's lawyers, wrote in the letter. Bankman-Fried was released on $250 million bond and has been under house arrest at his parents' Palo Alto, California home. The trial schedule and Bankman-Fried's bail conditions are expected to be discussed at a court hearing on Friday.

☆ Crypto firm BKCoin hit by emergency asset freeze over alleged $100 million Ponzi scheme that paid for co-founder's rent and vacations
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Zahra Tayeb | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The SEC Monday took emergency action against crypto firm BKCoin and its co-founder for allegedly running a fraud scheme. The company allegedly ran a $100 million Ponzi scheme that paid for its co-founder's rent and vacations. The asset freeze marks US regulators' intense crackdown on the crypto sector following FTX's collapse. BKCoin and Kang assured investors their money would be used to trade crypto, and that the company would generate returns for investors through separately managed accounts. "This action highlights our continued commitment to protecting investors and uprooting fraud in all securities sectors, including the crypto asset arena," said Eric Bustillo, director of the SEC's Miami office.

NEW YORK, March 4 (Reuters) - Sam Bankman-Fried should be allowed while on bail to have a flip phone with no internet capability and a basic laptop with limited functions, but be forbidden from using other electronic communication devices, the U.S. Department of Justice said. The judge said he did not want to set Bankman-Fried "loose in this garden of electronic devices," following accusations that Bankman-Fried tried to contact possible government witnesses and used a virtual private network to watch football. The proposed flip phone or other non-smartphone for Bankman-Fried would be limited to voice calls and SMS text messages. Laptop internet use would be restricted to specified virtual private networks, 23 websites for personal use including news, sports and food delivery, and websites to help Bankman-Fried prepare for his scheduled Oct. 2 trial. The parents agreed to submit sworn affidavits that they would not bring other electronic devices into their home or let their son use theirs.

☆ How NYC's oldest chocolate house survived a century
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Caroline Mishelle Aghajanian | Amelia Kosciulek | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

The company still makes chocolate following the founder's original recipes and techniques. download the app Email address By clicking ‘Sign up’, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider as well as other partner offers and accept our Terms of Service and Privacy PolicyLi-Lac Chocolates is Manhattan's oldest chocolate shop, having survived decades of change in New York City. Since Li-Lac opened in 1923, owners have stuck to the founder's original chocolate recipes while adding new confections along the way. Today, Li-Lac makes its legendary fudge, butter crunch, and truffles, as well as over 1,000 specialty molds for occasions like Easter and Thanksgiving. The company has six locations in New York City, with all of its ingredients made inside its Brooklyn factory.

Frederick, the President of Howard University, at a press conference February 29, 2016, in the university's Founder's Library. Frederick is the 17th president of Howard University, one of 107 historically Black colleges and universities in the U.S., serving some 11,000 students across its undergraduate, graduate, and professional student programs. Frederick is the distinguished Charles R. Drew Professor of Surgery at the Howard University College of Medicine. He is also a practicing cancer surgeon at Howard University Hospital, where he continues to see patients and perform surgeries. CNBC: The Department of Defense recently announced its selection of Howard University as the 15th university, and first HBCU, to lead a University Affiliated Research Center.

☆ Who are Larry Kramer and Andreas Paepcke — the two people who paid part of Sam Bankman-Fried's bail?
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-19 | by ( Sarah Jackson | Lakshmi Varanasi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

They are Larry Kramer and Andreas Paepcke, both of whom have ties to Stanford, where SBF's parents work. On Wednesday, unsealed court records identified the FTX founder's bail guarantors as Larry Kramer, a former dean of Stanford Law School, and Andreas Paepcke, a senior research scientist at Stanford. A screenshot of Larry Kramer's bio on a Stanford Law School web page shows that he's emeritus dean of the institution. from the University of Chicago Law School in 1984, according to his Stanford Law bio page. On his personal page, Paepcke listed hobbies including "piano studies and simple composition, worrying, and poetry."

☆ Tesla cofounder's advice to EV startups: Don't try to be Tesla
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-19 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Tesla cofounder Martin Eberhard says EV companies shouldn't try to compete head-on with Tesla. He said EV startups should try to find their own market and avoid launching Tesla-like models. "My advice to anybody who wants to get into the EV space now is don't try to compete head-on with Tesla," Eberhard told Insider in an interview. Lucid confirmed that Eberhard worked at the startup for a short period in 2015 but declined to comment on his departure. After leaving Tesla, Eberhard served for about two years as the director of EV development at Volkswagen Electronics Research Laboratory.

☆ Stakeholder Labs sees an opportunity helping companies convert customers into shareholders. Here's how the fintech backed by a Reddit cofounder plans to do it.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Paige Hagy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Stakeholder Labs helps businesses identify and engage with retail investors. Stakeholder Labs provides plug-in software that verifies a company's shareholders and measures customer behavior with a goal of driving long-term loyalty. "Not trying to convert that customer into a shareholder is the biggest missed opportunity," Max Goldstein, head of marketing and shareholder experience at Stakeholder Labs, added. Stakeholder Lab's software, called Roundtable, is integrated directly into a company's website or app, allowing customers to self-identify as a shareholder. Stakeholder Labs customers range from small to mid-sized publicly traded companies that tend to be more agile and willing to try new technologies.

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