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☆ How tech bros bought 'America's most pro-crypto Congress ever'
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-23 | by ( Mackenzie Sigalos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +12 min

Bernie Moreno, Republican U.S. Senate candidate from Ohio, attends a campaign event in Holland, Ohio, on Saturday, October 26, 2024. In total, crypto-related PACs and other groups tied to the industry reeled in over $245 million, according to Federal Election Commission data. Crypto accounted for nearly half of all corporate dollars that flowed into the election, according to nonprofit watchdog Public Citizen. It was one of the top spending committees of any industry this cycle and exclusively gave to pro-crypto candidates running for Congress. "Welcome to America's most pro-crypto Congress ever," Armstrong wrote on X on Nov. 5.

Persons: Bernie Moreno, Moreno, Sen, Sherrod Brown, Tom Williams, Donald Trump, Coinbase, Crypto, Marc Andreessen, Ben Horowitz, David Sacks, " Moreno, Brian Armstrong, Fred Ehrsam, Faryar Shirzad, Armstrong, Ehrsam, Coinbase's Armstrong, Gary Gensler, Brown, Elizabeth Warren, FTX, Fairshake, gunning, Republican Jim Justice, Democratic Sen, Joe Manchin, Katie Porter, Porter, he'd, Horowitz, Sacks, Coinbase's Shirzad, Moreno wasn't, Shirzad, David McIntosh, McIntosh, hasn't, JD Vance's, Sam Bankman, Gensler, Andreessen Horowitz, Cameron, Tyler Winklevoss, Ripple, Chris Larsen, JD Vance, Paul Grewal, Jesse Powell, Trump, Phil Potter, Multicoin Capital's Kyle Samani, Fred Wilson, Charles Cascarilla, Mike Belshe, Solana, Anatoly Yakovenko, Wences Casares Organizations: Republican U.S, Cq, Inc, Getty, Democratic, Banking Committee, Public Citizen, Crypto, House, Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, Senate, Committee, Republicans, Protect, Fairshake, Defend, Jobs, Republican, New, CNBC, Andreessen, Craft Ventures, Club for Growth, Growth, Politico, PAC, Labs, Senate Inc, Trump, Union Square Ventures, Xapo Bank Locations: Republican, Ohio, Holland , Ohio, Cleveland, Coinbase, U.S, Arizona, Michigan, West Virginia, California, Washington, FTX, Nashville , Tennessee

☆ Charles Schwab incoming CEO: 'I feel silly' for not buying crypto
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-22 | by ( Jaures Yip | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

AdvertisementBitcoin is hovering near $100,000 as Trump considers a new crypto chief for his administration. Charles Schwab's incoming CEO said he has not personally invested in crypto and prefers stocks. Schwab plans to enter spot crypto trading, pending regulatory changes under Trump's policies. "Well, I think what's holding me back is just a question around the true value of crypto," he said. Advertisement"We will get into spot crypto when the regulatory environment changes, and we do anticipate that it will change, and we're getting ready for that eventuality," Wurster said.

Persons: Charles Schwab's, Schwab, Crypto, they've, Rick Wurster, Wurster, he's, Donald Trump's, Bitcoin, Trump, I've, I'm, They've, Andreessen Horowitz, we're Organizations: Trump, Bloomberg, Biden, Fidelity Investments, Robinhood Locations: bitcoin

☆ 'I have no money': Thousands of Americans see their savings vanish in Synapse fintech crisis
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-22 | by ( Hugh Son | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

Morris, like thousands of other customers, was snared in the collapse of a behind-the-scenes fintech firm called Synapse and has been locked out of her account for six months as of November. Then she learned how much Evolve Bank & Trust, the lender where her funds were supposed to be held, was prepared to return to her. The crisis started in May when a dispute between Synapse and Evolve Bank over customer balances boiled over and the fintech middleman turned off access to a key system used to process transactions. Synapse helped fintech startups like Yotta and Juno, which are not banks, offer checking accounts and debit cards by hooking them up with small lenders like Evolve. But that would've required more coordination between Evolve and the other lenders that held customer funds than what ultimately happened.

Persons: Oscar Wong, Kayla Morris, Morris, Andreessen Horowitz, Jelena McWilliams, Zach Jacobs, there's, Yotta, Adam Moelis, they've, Jacobs, Andrew Meloan, Meloan, I've, ” Zach Jacobs, McWilliams, McWilliams didn't, Rayburn, Tom Williams, hadn't, Judge Martin Barash, Natasha Craft, they're, Andreatte Caliguire Organizations: Evolve Bank & Trust, Synapse, Evolve Bank, ., CNBC, FedEx, Evolve, Deposit Insurance Corp, U.S, FDIC, Trump, Federal Reserve, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Financial, Prudential Regulators, Megabanks, Depository, CQ, Inc, AMG, Lineage Bank, American Bank, Indiana FedEx Locations: Texas, Tampa , Florida, Yotta, Chicago, California, Mishawaka , Indiana

☆ Elon Musk's startup xAI is now reportedly worth more than what the billionaire paid for Twitter
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-21 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

AdvertisementElon Musk's AI startup, xAI, has been valued at $50 billion, The Wall Street Journal reported. xAI's valuation has doubled since the spring, surpassing the $44 billion Musk paid for Twitter. Elon Musk's AI startup, xAI, has reportedly been valued at $50 billion — $6 billion more than what the billionaire paid to acquire Twitter, the social media platform now known as X. AdvertisementThe new valuation means xAI has surpassed the $44 billion Musk paid for Twitter back in October 2022. xAI previously raised a $6 billion Series B from A16z and Sequoia Capital at a $24 billion post-money valuation.

Persons: Andreessen Horowitz, Elon, xAI, Musk, Sam Altman, OpenAI Organizations: Elon, Street Journal, Twitter, Sequoia Capital, Fidelity, The, Equity Partners, Qatar Investment Authority, Microsoft Locations: A16z

☆ How Alaska Airlines used AI to save over 1.2 million gallons of jet fuel
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-20 | by ( Matthew S. Smith | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Alaska Airlines partnered with Air Space Intelligence to use an AI tool that suggests flight routes. While Air Space Intelligence developed the Flyways AI Platform, it did so in close cooperation with the airline's stakeholders. AI in actionThe partnership between Alaska Airlines and Air Space Intelligence began with a learning period for both organizations. ASI's staff shadowed the airline's dispatchers to learn how they worked, while Alaska Airlines learned more about how a machine-learning algorithm could be used to route traffic. While that might seem low, those accepted routes helped reduce Alaska Airlines' fuel consumption by more than 1.2 million gallons in 2023, according to the airline's annual sustainability report.

Persons: —, We've, they're, Pasha Saleh, Flyways, Saleh, Phillip Buckendorf, Buckendorf, Andreessen Horowitz Organizations: Alaska Airlines, Air Space Intelligence, Service, Space Intelligence, Alaska Airlines . Alaska Airlines, Federal Aviation Administration, ASI, IBM DOS, Airlines, Air, US Air Force Locations: Alaska, Boston, Denver, Poland, Washington, DC

AdvertisementElevenLabs is raising new funding, boosting its valuation to over $3 billion, according to multiple sources. The startup is aiming to raise $200 million in the round, according to one source. Details of the latest funding round are not yet finalized, and the figures involved are subject to change. The company has been increasing its targeted round size and valuation during the process of raising funding, according to these sources. Funding for voice technology companies has picked up even as some of the shine comes off the digital intelligence category as a whole.

Persons: ElevenLabs, Andreessen Horowitz, Piotr Dąbkowski, Mati Staniszewski's, Kleiner Perkins, ElevenLab's Organizations: Ventures, Iconiq Locations: ElevenLabs, OpenAI

☆ The crypto industry plowed tens of millions into the election. Now, it’s looking for a return on that investment
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-17 | by ( Fredreka Schouten | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

Crypto super PACs spent heavily on Republicans as well as key Democrats, including two who won open seats in the US Senate, Elissa Slotkin in Michigan and Ruben Gallego in Arizona. How Washington regulates the industry has enormous consequences for this burgeoning sector, along with the 52 million Americans who now hold digital assets. “The strategy is to have as many conversations with as many people in the Trump orbit as possible so that everyone has an understanding of what the crypto industry is most interested in,” she said. They also helped finance Fairshake, a crypto industry super PAC launched last year that was active in congressional contests. An industry super PAC spent $40 million to back to Republican Senate candidate Bernie Moreno in Ohio, who ousted three-term Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown.

Persons: Donald Trump, Gary Gensler, Biden, Crypto, Elissa Slotkin, Ruben Gallego, Sam Bankman, “ Crypto, ” Kristin Smith, we’ll, that’s, ” Smith, ”, Smith, Dan Gallagher, Paul Atkins, Atkins, Gallagher, Bitcoin, Trump, –, It’s, Barron, Steve Witkoff, multibillionaire Elon Musk, Cantor Fitzgerald Howard Lutnick, Carlos Barria, Reuters Howard Lutnick, Cantor Fitzgerald, Marc Andreessen, Ben Horowitz –, Sergio Gor, Andreessen, “, Tyler, Cameron Winklevoss, Musk, Katie Porter, Massachusetts Sen, Elizabeth Warren, Porter, Adam Schiff, Bernie Moreno, Democratic Sen, Sherrod Brown, Brown, Moreno, Colin McLaren, ” Robert Weissman, Andreessen Horowitz, Kara Calvert, CNN’s David Wright Organizations: CNN, Trump, Securities, Exchange Commission, Industry, Crypto, Blockchain Association, SEC, Token Alliance, Liberty, Liberty Financial, of Government, Republican, Reuters, Venture, Biden, PAC, Democratic Rep, Democratic, Banking Committee, Commodities Futures Trading Commission, Cedar Innovation Foundation, Consumer, Public Citizen Locations: Washington, Michigan, Arizona, Madison, New York City, U.S, America, Bitcoin, Massachusetts, California, Ohio

☆ Inside Microsoft's struggles with Copilot
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-15 | by ( Ashley Stewart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +23 min

In September 2023, Microsoft's famously soft-spoken CEO, Satya Nadella, unveiled the company's flagship AI product, Copilot, with sweeping fanfare. Some of Microsoft's own employees and executives are privately concerned that Copilot won't be able to deliver on its ambitions. Copilot's struggles have created an opening for Microsoft's rivals, some of whom have seized on the opportunity to promote their own agendas. "Now, when Joe Blow logs into an account and kicks off Copilot, they can see everything," said one Microsoft employee familiar with customer complaints. As complaints and questions over Copilot mount, so does the pressure to justify Microsoft's unprecedented level of spending on AI.

Persons: Microsoft's, Satya Nadella, Gartner, Copilot, it'll, Copilot's, Marc Benioff, Benioff, Goldman Sachs, Marc Andreessen, Andreessen Horowitz, Ethan Miller, Jared Spataro, Spataro, —, Joe Blow, Joe, Nadella, Gary Marcus, Marcus, Wile, Coyote, Brontë, Judson Althoff, Jason Zander, Zander, We've, OpenAI, Tasos Katopodis, Steve Jobs Organizations: Microsoft, Venture, Getty, Goldman, BI, Fortune, Excel, Lumen Technologies, Honeywell, Gartner, Wall Street, Initiative, Department of Homeland Security, Employees, San Francisco, Software, Apple, Jobs Locations: Microsoft's, Copilot, New York City

☆ Instead of job killings, there's a strange AI hiring boom happening, according to Marc Andreessen
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-14 | by ( Alistair Barr | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Instead of killing jobs, generative AI is fueling a surprising job boom, according to the venture capitalist Marc Andreessen. OpenAI and Google are struggling to significantly improve their next AI models, multiple media reports said this week. That's what makes these AI models smart, and without that, OpenAI and others are hitting a worrying wall. They're a function of the training data," Andreessen said. "And a big part of the AI hiring boom is actually hiring the experts to actually craft the answers to be able to train the AI."

Persons: Marc Andreessen, Horowitz, Andreessen, OpenAI, Ben Horowitz, Andreessen's Organizations: Google, AIs, Business, Andreessen Locations: chimed

☆ Ark's Cathie Wood changed Wall Street. Now, she's set her sights on venture capital.
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-13 | by ( Melia Russell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Wood's effort to do something similar for venture capital has delivered investments in many of Silicon Valley's hottest deals. SpaceX, founded by Elon Musk, is Ark Venture Fund's largest holding, accounting for 13% of the fund's total assets. SpaceX is Ark Venture Fund's largest holding, accounting for 13% of the fund's total assets, worth around $9 million. OpenAI makes up just 5% of the Ark Venture Fund's portfolio, which means it has less than $4 million invested. AdvertisementArk Venture Fund charges a flat fee for investing assets under its control, the same as a venture fund.

Persons: Cathie Wood, Brett Winton, Wood, Andreessen Horowitz, Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, David McNew, Winton, it's, Ark, OpenAI, Donald Trump's, Morningstar, that'll Organizations: Ark Venture Fund, Ark, Investors, Ark Invest, Elon, SpaceX, Ark Venture, Epic Games, Venture Fund Locations: Sequoia

☆ Waymo opens robotaxis to anyone in Los Angeles, marking its largest expansion yet
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-12 | by ( Jennifer Elias | Jennifer Covers Google Parent Company Alphabet Inc. | Silicon Valley Culture For Cnbc.Com In San Francisco. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

Alphabet-owned Waymo is removing the waitlist for its self-driving service in Los Angeles, marking its largest expansion yet. With more than 3.8 million people, LA marks the third and largest city where the company’s robotaxi service is now fully available. “Now is an exciting time to welcome everyone in Los Angeles along for the ride,” Tekedra Mawakana, co-CEO of Waymo, said in a news release Tuesday. Waymo closed a $5.6 billion funding round in October to expand its robotaxi service across the U.S. Waymo in September announced that it partnered with Uber to launch its robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, in 2025.

Persons: Tekedra Mawakana, ”, Waymo, Andreessen Horowitz, Perry, Rowe Price, That’s, Uber, ” Waymo Organizations: U.S, Google, Fidelity, Tiger Global, Hyundai Locations: Los Angeles, LA, Los Angeles County, San Francisco, Phoenix, Waymo, Silver, Austin , Texas, Korean

☆ Waymo opens robotaxi service to anyone in Los Angeles, marking its largest expansion yet
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-12 | by ( Jennifer Elias | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Alphabet -owned Waymo is removing the waitlist for its self-driving service in Los Angeles, marking its largest expansion yet. With more than 3.8 million people, LA marks the third and largest city where the company's robotaxi service is now fully available. "Now is an exciting time to welcome everyone in Los Angeles along for the ride," Tekedra Mawakana, co-CEO of Waymo, said in a news release Tuesday. Waymo closed a $5.6 billion funding round in October to expand its robotaxi service across the U.S. Waymo in September announced that it partnered with Uber to launch its robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, in 2025.

Persons: Waymo, Andreessen Horowitz, Perry, Rowe Price, That's, Uber Organizations: U.S, Google, Fidelity, Tiger Global, Hyundai Locations: Los Angeles, LA, Los Angeles County, San Francisco, Phoenix, Waymo, Silver, Austin , Texas, Korean

☆ Silicon Valley's Trump boosters celebrate: 'It's time to build'
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-06 | by ( Melia Russell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Tech leaders who openly supported Donald Trump took to X to celebrate his win Wednesday morning. AdvertisementAs former president Donald Trump swept to victory Wednesday morning, supporters in Silicon Valley posted messages of congratulations and even gloated over his return to the Oval Office. Some of tech's most high-profile and wealthiest names offered their first reactions after major news networks called the race for Trump. The billionaire owner of X and Tesla watched the election results roll in with Trump from Mar-a-Lago. AdvertisementMarc Andreessen, an early Facebook and Coinbase investor via his firm Andreessen Horowitz, had a curious relationship with Trump.

Persons: Donald Trump, Keith Rabois, —, Chamath Palihapitiya, Shaun Maguire, Trump . Elon Musk, Tesla, Joe Biden, Israel —, Musk, Trump, Doug Leone, Joe Lonsdale, David Sacks, Obama, Biden, Harris, Sacks, Leone, Marc Andreessen, Andreessen Horowitz, Andreessen Organizations: Tech, Service, tech's, Trump, Trump ., Mar, San Francisco, Republicans, Israel, Craft Ventures, Republican National Convention, Business, Federal, Commission, National Republican, Founders Fund, SpaceX, Khosla Ventures Locations: Silicon Valley, Sequoia, America, San, Pennsylvania, Rabois

☆ Jeff Bezos just made his latest bet in the AI robotics space. Here are the 6 startups he's backed so far.
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-05 | by ( Samantha Stokes | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

BI has compiled a list of which AI robotics startups Bezos has backed so far, per PitchBook. Physical Intelligence is at least the third spatial intelligence startup Bezos has backed this year, according to PitchBook. Related storiesFigure AIFigure AI builds AI robots that can take over unsafe jobs from humans. Bezos invested in an undisclosed funding round in 2021, while Bezos Expeditions invested in its $24 million Series A funding round in 2020. Bezos Expeditions invested in the startup's $30 million Series E in 2017, $40 million Series D in 2015, $30 million Series C in 2012, $20 million Series B in 2010, $7 million Series A1 in 2009, and $5 million Series A in 2008.

Persons: Jeff Bezos, —, Andreessen Horowitz, Bezos, OpenAI Organizations: Service, Khosla Ventures, Intelligence, The New York Times, Bezos Expeditions, New York Times, Sentinel, HAHN Group

☆ Coinbase, a16z and others pour more than $78 million into pro-crypto PAC for 2026 election
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-04 | by ( Mackenzie Sigalos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The pro-crypto and bi-partisan super PAC Fairshake said Monday that the committee and its affiliates have raised $78 million for the 2026 midterm elections. That $78 million includes more than $30 million raised, plus another $48 million in new commitments from centralized crypto exchange Coinbase and Silicon Valley venture fund Andreessen Horowitz, among other companies. All in, a16z has given $70 million to Fairshake as the VC looks to support the PAC's larger mission of building a Congress comprised of pro-crypto legislators. Coinbase, the largest U.S. crypto exchange, was sued by the Securities and Exchange Commission over claims that it engaged in unregistered sales of securities. Ripple Labs is another major political donor this cycle that has given around $50 million to Fairshake.

Persons: Fairshake, Andreessen Horowitz, a16z, Chris Dixon, we're, Dixon, Coinbase, Brian Armstrong Organizations: Securities and Exchange Commission, Labs Locations: U.S, Silicon Valley

☆ Marc Andreessen says US carmakers need to make a $20,000 EV if they don't want to 'lose the auto industry' to China
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-31 | by ( Jaures Yip | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Investors Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz said Chinese EVs are beating out American and European automakers. Andreessen Horowitz founders Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz said on their podcast that Chinese automakers have developed high-quality and affordable vehicles supported by a robust supply chain ecosystem. With the American auto industry struggling with slowing growth in its EV market, American automakers need to be able to offer a compelling $20,000 EV that also competes on quality if the US doesn't want to "lose the auto industry," Andreessen said. Andreessen said that Chinese car brands are outperforming American EV automakers in affordability and quality, calling them "super technologically sophisticated." AdvertisementTo keep up, American automakers need to be able to offer a similarly affordable and full-featured car at the $20,000 price point, Andreessen said.

Persons: Marc Andreessen, Ben Horowitz, Andreessen Horowitz, Xiaomi's, —, It's, Andreessen, they've, Horowitz, Jim Farley, " Horowitz, Elon Musk, Tesla, Musk, Xiaomi Organizations: Service, Centre, Strategic & International Studies, Ford, Porsche, Porsche Cayenne, American EV, Elon, Nissan Locations: China, Mexico, Dubai, American

☆ Saudi Arabia is pulling back on a global spending spree to focus on its own projects
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-30 | by ( Polly Thompson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Now the Kingdom plans to cut its foreign investment to prioritize domestic spending. AI is the new focus of investment as Saudi Arabia looks to position itself as a global technology hub. AdvertisementSaudi Arabia is pulling back on its global spending spree to focus on domestic investments. In September, Saudi Arabia held the third Global AI Summit, attracting a host of high-profile leaders and dealmakers. The new focus on domestic investment comes as Saudi Arabia's spending on Neom, its futuristic megacity in the desert, hit $1 trillion.

Persons: —, Yasir Al Rumayyan, we've, Al Rumayyan, Yasir Al, Rumayyan, Hamad I Mohammed, Uber, Andreessen Horowitz Organizations: Service, Public Investment Fund, Future Investment, Economic, REUTERS, Investors, Saudi Press Agency, Financial Times, Saudi, AI, Bloomberg, Sindalah Locations: Saudi, Saudi Arabia, Riyadh, Davos, Switzerland, Neom

☆ What These Founders Learned From Trying to Take on Elon Musk's Twitter
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-28 | by ( Amanda Hoover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

About three weeks after Elon Musk bought Twitter in October 2022, #RIPTwitter started trending. As the bird app's outlook grew more bleak, several alternative conversation platforms hatched: Narwhal, Spoutible, Spill, Post, and Cohost among them. I talked to several founders about what they learned trying to compete with Musk, and the state of civil discussion online. "There's a ton of power in whoever controls" a big social media platform, Thompson says. Spill, a Black-owned social platform, has been downloaded more than half a million times.

Persons: Elon Musk, RIPTwitter, shitposting, Gabor Cselle, Cselle, Meta, Jack Dorsey, Twitter, Musk, Twitters, he's, imminently, Fortune, Noam Bardin, Andreessen Horowitz, Bardin, Laurene Powell Jobs, Nicholas Thompson, Thompson, Narwhal, Trump, Hitler, Alphonzo Terrell, Kerry Washington, Terrell, there's, Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Harris, I've, I'm Organizations: Elon, Google, Twitter, Anti Software Software, Politico, Boston Globe, The, Amplica Labs, Democratic, Spill, Phillies

☆ VCs are 'hedging their bets,' backing competing LLMs like Anthropic and OpenAI, breaking a long-standing venture taboo
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-26 | by ( Ben Bergman | Riddhi Kanetkar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Venture firms are increasingly investing in competing LLM startups like OpenAI and xAI. Some VCs argue investing in multiple LLMs is strategic, while others see it as unethical. AdvertisementWhen venture firms pull out their checkbooks, there has traditionally been an unspoken rule: Do not back a competitor. Sound Ventures and Wisdom Ventures backed both OpenAI and Anthropic. There is also the matter of money, with only a handful of firms capable of writing the colossal checks required to fund LLM companies.

Persons: VCs, —, Joe Aaron, — Sheel, Andreessen Horowitz, Elon Musk's XAI, Ilya Sutskever, Umesh Padval, Padval, Anthropic, OpenAI, Gregg Hill, they've Organizations: Service, Sequoia Capital, Fidelity, Ark Invest, Sound Ventures, Wisdom Ventures, Thomvest Ventures, Parkway Venture, Madrona Ventures, NASDAQ Locations: OpenAI, Canadian

☆ Alphabet's self-driving unit Waymo closes $5.6 billion funding round as robotaxi race heats up in the U.S.
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-25 | by ( Lora Kolodny | In Lorakolodny | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Waymo has closed a $5.6 billion funding round to expand its robotaxi service in and beyond Los Angeles, San Francisco and Phoenix, where it operates today. In a statement to CNBC, Waymo co-CEOs Tekedra Mawakana and Dmitri Dolgov said the funding would go toward expansion and advancing the Waymo Driver for business applications. The series C funding brings Waymo's total capital raised to $11.1 billion after it raised $3.2 billion and $2.5 billion in two earlier rounds. Waymo now conducts more than 100,000 weekly trips for passengers in Los Angeles, Phoenix and San Francisco, who can hail their robotaxis via the Waymo One app. More recently, Waymo partnered with Uber to launch its robotaxi service in Austin, Texas — home of would-be rival Tesla's headquarters.

Persons: Waymo, Andreessen Horowitz, Perry, Rowe Price, Tekedra Mawakana, Dmitri Dolgov, Uber, Ruth Porat, Elon Musk, Tesla, Timothy B, Lee . Organizations: Google, Fidelity, Tiger Global, CNBC, Tesla's, GM, Cruise, Pew Research Center, Hyundai Locations: Los Angeles, San Francisco, Phoenix, Waymo, Silver, Austin, Atlanta, U.S, Austin , Texas, Texas, California, Korean, New York, Michigan

☆ Bayesian Health CEO Suchi Saria Leads Healthcare Data Revolution
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-24 | by ( Rebecca Torrence | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Saria, part of Business Insider's 2024 AI Power List, directs the machine learning and healthcare lab at Johns Hopkins University and is the founder and CEO of the AI startup Bayesian Health. Related storiesSaria has continued to research healthcare AI at Johns Hopkins. For her work in healthcare AI, the World Economic Forum named her a Young Global Leader in 2018. In 2022, Saria cofounded the Coalition for Health AI, which brings federal agencies and healthcare organizations to discuss best practices for using healthcare AI. She also helped the National Academy of Medicine develop its code of conduct for AI deployment, released earlier this year.

Persons: Saria, Barack Obama, Andreessen Horowitz, Oracle's Cerner, It's, Johns, She's, — she's Organizations: Johns Hopkins University, Stanford, Bayesian, Nature Medicine, Cleveland Clinic, Northwell, Johns Hopkins, Economic, Global, Coalition for Health, National Academy of Medicine

☆ Venture capital is going to war over the election. Here's the data to prove it.
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-19 | by ( Rob Price | Melia Russell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

VCs are lobbing cash at the presidential election and key congressional races, FEC data shows. This election cycle, investors at the top venture capital firms have plowed tens of millions of dollars into the election, both backing their favored political candidates and just cannily promoting commercial interests. (The filing deadline for Q3 data for quarterly filing entities was October 15, but this data isn't yet readily available in full online.) Business Insider selected 10 venture capital firms to focus on, taking into account fund size and cultural and industry significance. Sequoia Capital's Doug Leone is one of VC's most prolific GOP-aligned political donors, giving his almost $3.8 million to the National Republican Committee and other causes.

Persons: Reid Hoffman, Kamala Harris, —, hasn't, Andreessen Horowitz, blockchain, Marc Andreessen, Ben Horowitz, a16z, Horowitz, Andreessen, Harris, megadonor Reid Hoffman, Keith Rabois, Kleiner Perkins, Michael Moritz, Shaun Maguire, Joe Manchin, Hoffman, Horowitz Hoffman, Joe Biden, Biden, Nikki Haley, Trump, Vinod Khosla, John Doerr, Doug Leone, Elon Musk, Melia Russell, Rob Price Organizations: Service, Federal, Commission, Yuga Labs, White, Republicans, Founders Fund, SpaceX, Khosla Ventures, Sequoia Capital, Sequoia Heritage, Business, Republican, Lincoln, Democratic, Democratic Party, Democratic Congressional, Sequoia, National Republican, Future Forward PAC, America PAC, Elon, Investors, splashy Hamptons, Harris Victory Fund, Harris Action Fund, Democratic National Committee Locations: Solana, Sequoia, West Virginia, New Hampshire

☆ After rejecting Google takeover, cyber firm Wiz says it will IPO 'when the stars align'
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-18 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON — Cybersecurity firm Wiz is seeking to hit $1 billion of annual recurring revenues next year, the company's billionaire co-founder Roy Reznik told CNBC, adding that the firm will go public "when the stars align." Earlier this year, the company rejected a $23-billion acquisition bid from Google , which would have marked the tech giant's largest-ever takeover. At the time, Wiz CEO Assaf Rappaport said the startup was "flattered" by the offer, but would remain an independent company and aim to list instead. "We've already broken a few records as a private company, and we believe we can also break a few more records as an independent public company as well," Reznik said. Four-year-old Wiz has raised $1.9 billion in venture capital to date, including $1 billion secured this year in a funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz, Lightspeed Venture Partners and Thrive Capital at a valuation of $12 billion.

Persons: Wiz, Roy Reznik, Assaf Rappaport, Reznik, Andreessen Horowitz Organizations: CNBC, Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, Google, Lightspeed Venture Partners Locations: Tel Aviv, Israel, London

☆ Andreessen Horowitz's Katherine Boyle talks deregulating space
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-18 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailAndreessen Horowitz's Katherine Boyle talks deregulating spaceKatherine Boyle, Andreessen Horowitz general partner, joins 'Closing Bell Overtime' to talk the deregulation of commercial space.

Persons: Andreessen, Katherine Boyle, Andreessen Horowitz

☆ A pro-Trump PAC has received millions in crypto donations since June
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-16 | by ( Aditi Bharade | Kwan Wei Kevin Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A pro-Trump PAC has raised more than $7.5 million in cryptocurrency donations since June. Trump 47 PAC raised the amount in bitcoin, ether, USDC, and other cryptocurrencies, per FEC filings. AdvertisementA political action committee called Trump 47 has raised $7.5 million in cryptocurrency donations for former President Donald Trump's White House bid. According to Federal Election Commission filings on Tuesday, the Trump 47 PAC received donations in bitcoin, ether, XRP, and other cryptocurrencies. But in May, Trump hosted an event in Mar-a-Lago, where he said he would accept cryptocurrency donations for his campaign.

Persons: —, Donald Trump's, Cameron, Tyler Winklevoss, Trump, I've, cryptocurrency, bitcoin, he'll, Marc Andreessen, Ben Horowitz, Andreessen Horowitz, Elon Musk, Kamala Harris, Mark Cuban, Cuban Organizations: Trump PAC, Trump, PAC, Service, Federal, Records, Liberty, AFP, Fox Business, United, FEC, America, America PAC — Locations: United States, Mar, Nashville

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