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☆ Pruna compresses AI models to make them more efficient. Check out the pitch deck the startup used to raise $6.5 million.
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-18 | by ( Riddhi Kanetkar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

AdvertisementPruna AI has secured $6.5 million from EQT Ventures to compress AI models. Paris and Munich-based software startup Pruna AI has secured $6.5 million from EQT Ventures. The startup has developed an optimization tool for compressing AI models so that they require less compute and energy. The startup's customers are midsize to large companies with their own AI models that can rake in huge compute bills. As a result, Charpentier found that there was appetite from investors looking to make AI cheaper and more sustainable.

Persons: Bertrand Charpentier, Charpentier, Carl Svantesson, Roxanne Varza, Hervé Nivon, Olivier Pomel Organizations: EQT Ventures, BI, Paris Locations: Munich, Paris, Daphni

"I just thought [Too Good To Go] was the most genius app, and I loved the concept," she says. "[Food waste] a massive, massive issue, and it's important that we solve it fast," Lykke says. Conviction to stay the courseToo Good To Go, which has nearly $158 million in investment funding, isn't the only for-profit company trying reduce food waste. Some app users like Niles, the dumpster diver in Brooklyn, worry that Too Good To Go "greenwashes" the issue of food waste, giving users false impressions of environmental responsibility. But if every food retailer in the U.S. used a similar markdown mechanism, they'd save one million tons of food annually, according to calculations by Chicago-based nonprofit ReFED.

Persons: David Niles, Niles, He's, Mette Lykke, it's, Thomas Bjørn, Stian Olesen, Klaus Bagge Pedersen, Brian Christensen, Adam Sigbrand, Lykke, Armour, Susan Prunty, Dana Gunders, That's, ReFED Organizations: CNBC, Bank, Venture Locations: Brooklyn , New York, U.S, Copenhagen, Europe, North America, Australia, United States, Medford , Oregon, Brooklyn, Chicago

☆ I'm a seasoned angel investor. Here's what I'm looking for from entrepreneurs — and what makes me turn them down.
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-03 | by ( Charissa Cheong | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

William Reeve is an entrepreneur who's been angel investing for the past 25 years. AdvertisementThis as-told-to essay is based on a transcribed conversation with William Reeve, 52, an angel investor based in North London. I've been a fairly active angel investor for 25 years now. I'd say the sort of people who do angel investing because their accountant suggests doing it for tax breaks aren't going to do very well. AdvertisementDo you want to share your angel investing story?

Persons: William Reeve, who's, —, Reed, I've, Gabrielle Wesley, I'd, It's, Alfred Hitchcock, haven't Organizations: Service, Amazon, Fletcher Research, Mars, McKinsey Locations: North London, Dunelm, Mars Wrigley, America

☆ Evertune is building marketing analytics tools for LLMs. Check out the pitch deck it used to launch from stealth with $4 million in seed funding from Eniac.
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-30 | by ( Samantha Stokes | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The startup offers marketing analytics tools to help brands boost their SEO on LLMs like ChatGPT. Check out the 17-slide pitch deck Evertune used to raise its $4 million seed funding round. The startup, Evertune, launched from stealth today with $4 million in seed funding, it confirmed exclusively to Business Insider. AdvertisementAt Evertune, Stempeck said that he and his co-founders, Ed Chater and Poul Costinsky, are focusing on being the leader in intersection between advertising and AI. Check out the 17-slide pitch deck Evertune used to raise its $4 million seed funding round.

Persons: Evertune, Roger Ehrenberg, —, OpenAI's ChatGPT, Google's, Anthropic's Claude, Brian Stempeck, Evertune's, Stempeck —, LLMs, Stempeck, Ed Chater, Poul Costinsky Organizations: Eniac Ventures, Nextview, Service, Business, New York VC, NextView Ventures, Aperiam Ventures

☆ 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

The creator economy is dominated by Big Tech, but a new set of startups is finding ways to break in. From influencer marketing to AI tech, here are 13 startups to watch in 2024, according to investors. AdvertisementGoldman Sachs estimated the creator economy could hit $480 billion annually by 2027, driven largely by influencer marketing and advertising revenue. Creator startups that build with artificial-intelligence tech, such as Delphi and Merse, have also become a focus among investors. Here are those 13 creator startups to watch in 2024, listed in alphabetical order:

Persons: —, Alejandro Oropeza, Goldman Sachs Organizations: Big Tech, Business, Service, Google, Venture, Delphi

☆ These tech investors are trawling UC Berkeley to fund the next Perplexity or Databricks
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-21 | by ( Melia Russell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The University of California, Berkeley, is the top producer of alumni starting tech companies. Founded by Jeremy Fiance, The House Fund targets Berkeley-affiliated startups like Databricks. Related stories"I was learning more and more about what The House Fund is from the outside in," Hargreaves said. His move from Founders Fund to The House Fund hasn't been previously reported. The House Fund said it can write checks up to $10 million.

Persons: Jeremy Fiance, Zachary Hargreaves, —, Jeremy, Aravind Srinivas, Hargreaves, it's, Fund hasn't Organizations: University of California, Fund, Berkeley, House Fund, Service, College of Computing, Data Science, Society, The, SpaceX, Founders Fund, Investors, Stanford, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Berkeley Endowment Management Company, UC Investments, Ahoy Locations: Berkeley

☆ New dating apps and social-networking startups are gaining steam. Read pitch decks 6 used to raise millions of dollars.
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-15 | by ( Sydney Bradley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

New social-networking and dating startups are coming onto the scene. Here are the pitch decks six startups used while raising Series A and seed rounds. Founders of these startups are tackling problems like loneliness, dating app fatigue, and general dissatisfaction with the current social-media incumbents. Meet 7 VC investors eyeing new social startupsBI spoke with several social-media and dating app founders about how they are raising capital — including the pitch decks they used to raise millions of dollars. Read the pitch decks that helped 6 social-networking and dating startups fundraise millions of dollars:Note: Pitch decks are sorted by investment stage and size of round.

Persons: —, Isabella Epstein's, Tiffany, Daybreak Ventures Rex Woodbury, Catalyst, Mervana Parekh, It's, Marlon Nichols Organizations: Service, IRL, Big Tech, Daybreak Ventures, Business, Tinder, Acrew, Mac Venture

☆ Top YouTuber MrBeast has acquired a startup that aims to be the LinkedIn for the creator economy
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-03 | by ( Amanda Perelli | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

MrBeast has acquired a startup called Vouch, which aids creators in hiring and job postings. Vouch uses AI for job matching and was backed by VCs like Seven Seven Six and other investors. AdvertisementYouTube's top creator, MrBeast, has expanded his estimated $700 million a year business empire by acquiring the startup Vouch. Pesis brought on Patrick Dudek, also a former Cameo employee, to the Vouch team to help scale the platform. AdvertisementVouch was backed by Seven Seven Six, Liquid 2 Ventures, Shrug Capital, Niche Capital, WorkPlay Ventures, and angel investors including Andreas Klinger and Siqi Chen.

Persons: MrBeast, VCs, —, Marty Pesis, they've, Pesis, Jimmy Donaldson, Donaldson, Safiya Nygaard, Danny Duncan, Goldman Sachs, we're, Kara McCloud, Patrick Dudek, Hayden Hillier, Smith, Andreas Klinger, Siqi Chen Organizations: Service, LinkedIn, YouTube, Business, Stokes Twins, AMP, Cameo, Seven Seven, Shrug, Niche, WorkPlay Ventures

☆ Reducto's AI tool turns PDFs and spreadsheets into data LLMs can use. We got an exclusive look at the pitch deck that landed the startup $8.4 million in seed funding.
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-02 | by ( Samantha Stokes | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Reducto raised $8.4 million in seed funding to develop AI for reading complex documents. AdvertisementLarge language models struggle to parse data in PDFs and spreadsheets, and one startup just raised a supersized seed funding round to build tech that can read these documents the way humans do. Reducto, which was founded in 2023 and a member of Y Combinator's winter 2024 batch, is announcing it raised $8.4 million in a seed funding round led by First Round Capital. One, Humata AI, raised $3.5 million from Google's Gradient Ventures a year ago, while OpenAI's ChatGPT Store showcases multiple AI PDF developers. AdvertisementCheck out the 13-slide pitch deck Reducto used to raise $8.4 million in seed funding.

Persons: Reducto, —, Y, Liquid2, Arash Ferdowsi, Andrew Ofstad, Kulveer Taggar, Zeus, JJ Fliegelman, Richard Aberman, Ralph Goottee, Tracy Young, Adit Abraham Organizations: Service, First Round, Big Tech

OpenAI is said to be closing a funding round that could value the company at as much as $150 billion. "Kushner is betting the ranch on OpenAI and Sam Altman just as Masa Son pledged 40% of his Vision Fund on Yahoo and Jerry Yang. "Second, Sam Altman has proven himself to be one of the greatest tech founders of this generation. Sam Altman has said that AI superintelligence could be a reality within "a few thousand days ." "Everybody wants Sam Altman at the helm, and they're willing to do anything to keep him as the CEO.

Persons: OpenAI, —, Sam Altman, ChatGPT, Mira Murati, Bob McGrew, Barret Zoph, Murati's, John Schulman's, Joe Aaron, Aaron, Capital's Josh Kushner, Kushner, Masa Son, Jerry Yang, Jerry Yang wasn't, Jai Das, Goldman Sachs, who's, Altman, they've, Ben Narasin, They're Organizations: Service, Research, Post, Reuters, Nvidia, Apple, Fund, Yahoo, Sapphire Ventures, Venture Locations: Silicon, UAE, OpenAI

☆ How Austin, Texas Cut Home Prices, Built Houses, and Stopped a Crisis
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-25 | by ( James Rodriguez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

But as other pandemic Zoomtowns continue to see increases in prices and rents, Austin stands alone in its change of fortune. Housing in Austin has been through so many extreme distortions that nobody really knows what "normal" even means anymore. All told, Austin's housing stock has ballooned by more than 76,000 units since 2020, an 8.34% increase that includes single-family homes, condos, and townhomes. Considering the size of the Austin market, moving the stock of homes by nearly 10% is a colossal feat. Related storiesNobody watching the Austin market should be having flashbacks to the Great Recession.

Persons: Austin, homebuyers, homebuilders, Zillow, Elon Musk, Joe Rogan, Homebuyers, Keith Hughes, I'd, That's, Jason Lewris, Lewris, Doreen Sidney, Austin wasn't, Austin's homebuilders, Freddie, Sean Kelly, Rand, Freddie Mac, Jenny Schuetz, homebuilding, Kelly, he's Organizations: Austin, Oracle, Facebook, Google, Elon, Census, Parcl Labs, Federal Reserve, San Antonio —, Austin ., Freddie Mac, Brookings Institution Locations: California, Austin, Real, Texas, Francisco, San Francisco, San Antonio, Boston

☆ DryMerge aims to link your apps in one place. Here's the 8-page pitch deck its Gen Z founders used to raise $2.2 million.
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-19 | by ( Shriya Bhattacharya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Edward Frazer and Sam Brashears have built software together since fourth grade, and that's exactly what they'll start with if you're a venture capitalist listening to their pitch for funding. The two 22-year-old cofounders and longtime friends started developing the API integration software known as DryMerge last year. "Sam and I have spent more time with each other than anyone else except probably our families, so we're just really, really good friends." When evaluating team risk, VCs also look for whether the co-founders can build the product the way they envision it. Here's the eight-page pitch deck that Frazer and Brashears used to secure their $2.2 million seed round for DryMerge.

Persons: Edward Frazer, Sam Brashears, Frazer, Slack, DryMerge, Sam, Brashears, VCs, they've Organizations: Service, Business, Garage Capital, Goodwater, Ritual, Yale University, University of Wisconsin Locations: Madison

☆ Influencer app Node's $13 million sale shows how central tech and AI have become to talent management
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-17 | by ( Dan Whateley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Read previewThe talent-management agency Dulcedo Group acquired the influencer-marketing app Node in a July deal that valued the company at around $13 million, Node's cofounders told Business Insider. The deal shows how important tech products, including artificial-intelligence tools, have become in the talent and marketing industries. Founded in 2008 as an agency for more traditional media talent, Montreal-based Dulcedo Group has recently been on a buying spree, announcing in November it acquired creator talent agency Influence+All and PR firm Sundae Creative. Related storiesThe cofounders ultimately connected with Dulcedo Group, which put in an offer to acquire Node. Dulcedo Group was drawn to the company's technological expertise and roster of micro influencers, Faraji told BI.

Persons: —, Node's cofounders, Cofounders Armin Faraji, Mackenzie Dérival, Faraji, Stagwell, Dérival, they're, It's Organizations: Service, Dulcedo Group, Business, Publicis, Stagwell, Sundae Locations: Montreal, Dulcedo

☆ Travis Kalanick reflects on what it was like being ousted from Uber, and why he doesn't 'think about the ex very much'
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-13 | by ( Jaures Yip | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Travis Kalanick discussed his departure from Uber at the 2024 All-In Summit. Kalanick faced investor pressure and scandals in the lead-up to his resignation in 2017. Go to newsletter preferences Thanks for signing up! download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . AdvertisementTravis Kalanick's messy breakup from Uber seven years ago would understandably still be a sore spot seven years later, but the former CEO said he's moved on.

Persons: Travis Kalanick, Uber, Kalanick, —, Travis, he's, Jason Calacanis Organizations: Service, Business

☆ Move over Hinge and Tinder, there's a new crop of dating apps. Meet the founders behind 11 startups sparking romance.
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-26 | by ( Sydney Bradley | Dan Latu | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +17 min

AdvertisementJoshi's dating app, Friend of a Friend, has ads plastered around New York City. AdvertisementThe anti-swipersWhen setting out to build a dating app, swiping fatigue was top of mind for Vaish Sesetty and Cyrus Belsoi, the founders of the dating app Pique. AdvertisementLast year, Chernyak followed her frustration out of her legal career and launched the video-profile dating app Fast-Forward Dating App with two cofounders. AdvertisementThe Instagram DMsOne of the biggest dating apps isn't even a dating app — it's Instagram. Fast-Forward Dating App is a video-profile dating app where users answer five questions on camera with no edits or filters.

Persons: —, Forbes, who'd, Serena Kerrigan, Kerrigan, Rex Woodbury, Vaish Sesetty, Cyrus Belsoi, Belsoi, Karima Ben Abdelmalek, France who's, Abdelmalek, they've, Happn, Joe Feminella, Feminella, Hannah, Elle Wilson, Wilson, Danielle Dietzek, Julie Griggs, Fourplay, Nicole Fara Silver, Dietzek, Anushka Joshi, Friend, Joshi, Derek Lee, Lee, Boo, David Chang, Richard Chang, Katya Chernyak, Chernyak, Aeen Avini, Victoria Todis, Bumble, Nandini Mullaji, Mullaji, Chad DePue, who's, Jeremy Liew, Sitch, Alex Weitzman, hasn't, Weitzman, Amori, Tabitha, Ethan, Pique, Lieu Organizations: Service, Match, Business, Bradley, Microsoft, Daybreak Ventures, Amazon Web Services, Manna, New, Lightspeed Locations: New York City, York City, Paris, TikTok, Park, Brooklyn, France, singlehood, Victoria, Chicago, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Sitch

☆ I lived in Silicon Valley, New York, and London as a founder. If you're looking for a place to build a business, there's one clear winner.
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-23 | by ( Charissa Cheong | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

I've lived in the Bay Area, New York, and the UK while building and scaling Zyper. But if you want to be laser-focused without distractions, you can't beat the Bay Area. Particularly in the Valley, there's a propensity for very quickly backing "zero-to-one ideas" and creating something entirely new. Silicon Valley is special, and I plan to stayI moved Zyper to San Francisco right before the pandemic hit. AdvertisementThere are other emerging markets, like Korea, Brazil, and China, but I think there's something very special about the ecosystem and history of Silicon Valley.

Persons: —, Amber Atherton, I've, Zyper, Y Combinator, Y, it's, Michael Seibel, Everyone's, London's, There's, overregulate Organizations: Service, Business, Patron, Nvidia Locations: San Francisco, London, New York, Palo Alto, Bay, California, Zyper, Mountain View, Hong Kong, England, American, Delaware, . New York, York, Europe, Silicon Valley, Miami, Austin, Silicon, Korea, Brazil, China

☆ I quit Goldman Sachs to be a stay-at-home dad. More men should look after the kids so women can have careers.
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-11 | by ( Charissa Cheong | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Read previewThis as-told-to essay is based on a transcribed conversation with Pranshu Dwivedi, 35, from New Delhi, about quitting his job at Goldman Sachs to be a stay-at-home dad. Business Insider verified his employment at Goldman Sachs with documentation. I joined Goldman Sachs as an intern in 2011, and in 2012 I got a full-time job as an analyst working in their Bengaluru office. AdvertisementI loved my experience at Goldman Sachs. I joined Goldman Sachs full-time in 2012, working on the equity research team.

Persons: —, Pranshu Dwivedi, Goldman Sachs, Goldman, I've, Hong Kong Goldman, We'd, wouldn't, She's, I'm, there's Organizations: Service, Goldman, Business Locations: New Delhi, Bengaluru, Hong Kong, Delhi, India

☆ Alexa Von Tobel Is the Super Connector of New York's Buzzy Tech Scene
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-31 | by ( Samantha Stokes | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

Inspired Capital co-founders Lucy Deland (left), Alexa von Tobel (center), and Mark Batsiyan (right) speak to portfolio companies at the firm's annual founder dinner in June 2024. Born and raised in Jacksonville, Florida, von Tobel attended Harvard University, where she graduated with a degree in psychology. AdvertisementInspired Capital co-founders Alexa von Tobel and Penny Pritzker. Inspired Capital founding partners Mark Batsiyan, Lucy Deland, Alexa von Tobel, and Penny Pritzker. Although von Tobel was on vacation outside the country, she stepped away from a fancy dinner to take McNulty Rojas's call and brainstorm solutions.

Persons: Alexa von Tobel, she's, Lucy Deland, Mark Batsiyan, It's, von Tobel, Capital's, who's, Zuckerburg, I've, Morgan Stanley, —, LearnVest, Batsiyan, Alexa, they'd, von Tobel's, Penny Pritzker, Obama, Brynne McNulty Rojas, — von Tobel, McNulty Rojas, Habi, Tobel, Von, Deland, it's, von, McNulty, hasn't, guac, She's, Benjamin Vandiver, Ivan Zhao, Lindsey Vonn Organizations: Flatiron, Business, New York VC, Harvard University, Facebook, Harvard Business School, Accel Partners, American Express Ventures, Northwest Mutual, LearnVest, Ventures, Northwest, Capital, Harvard, of Commerce, America Fund, Tiger Global Management, II, Alexa, Inc, Magazine, Winder, New York Locations: Jacksonville , Florida, New York, Deland, Miami, Latin America, York

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

☆ Resy co-founder shares his big money regret: I had two early chances to invest in Uber and 'I still passed'
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-18 | by ( Megan Sauer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

But despite the chance, he posted on LinkedIn last week, he chose not to invest in Uber — a company that's now worth roughly $138 billion. It was "one of the greatest mistakes of my investing career," wrote Vaynerchuk, currently the CEO of Vaynerchuk Media. In 2009, Uber's co-founders sought funding at a $10 million valuation, serial entrepreneur Mark Cuban told Peacock's "Hart to Heart" last year. "I realized, Uber doesn't sell transportation ... Uber sells us time," Vaynerchuk wrote. "Just think: If I would've given him $250,000 on a [$10 million] valuation, it'd be billions," he said.

Persons: Resy, Gary Vaynerchuk, Uber, Uber's, Mark Cuban, Peacock's, Hart, Vaynerchuk, Travis Kalanick, Garrett Camp, Vaynerchuck, Logan Paul, AJ Vaynerchuk, AJ, Cuban, Kalanick, Peacock Organizations: Twitter, LinkedIn, Uber, Vaynerchuk Media, CNBC Locations: New York City, NBCUniversal

☆ A founding father of Utah's VC industry is stepping back as accusations of sexual harassment surface
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-17 | by ( Melia Russell | Rosalie Chan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +22 min

Eyes closed, she listened as the Mercato Partners cofounder Greg Warnock stepped into the living room of his houseboat. Before starting Mercato, Warnock bought a large stake in a chemical-distribution business and made his first few millions in the acquisition. For an aspiring investor in Silicon Slopes, Mercato Partners seemed the place to be. They say the complaints from female Mercato employees are emblematic of religious and social norms that place women in the home. Mercato Partners no longer promotes Savory Fund or Prelude on its website following an organizational shake-up.

Persons: Powell, Elizabeth Moore, Greg Warnock, Moore, Warnock, Melia Russell, Jim Dreyfous, Paul Ahlstrom, Mercato, Emma Jackson, Elizabeth Moore's, Lake Powell, Mr, Staci, McCubbins, feely, David Bateman, Bateman's, Josh James, James, machismo, David McNew, Alan Hall, Jackson, wouldn't, Matthew Ashton, something's, massages, Melissa Walred, Walred, Greg, There's, gleeful Warnock, he'd untangle, Joe Kaiser, Ryan Sanders —, Savory, Warnock's, Davis Warnock, Davis, Victor Charlie, Larry H, TMRS, Staci McCubbins, Rosalie Chan Organizations: Mercato, Business, Lambda, Mercato Partners, BI, Opportunity, Thermal, vSpring, Beehive State, Getty, Pelion Venture Partners, Miller Company, Missouri State Employees, System, Nationwide Insurance, Family Insurance, Los, Employees, Association, Saudi Aramco, Google, Facebook Locations: Utah, Mercato, Lake, Coachella, Powell, Beehive, Silicon Slopes, Salt Lake City, Cottonwood Heights, Tibet, Missouri, Texas, Los Angeles, Saudi

☆ A sports startup shares the key pitch deck slides that helped raise the first $7 million for its athlete streaming and e-commerce platform
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-03 | by ( Tiara White | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Read previewSocial-commerce platform Millions is trying to change how athletes make money from their names, images, and likenesses, from the professional to the collegiate level. He thought an e-commerce platform could help them. "Millions is an e-commerce and streaming platform built for athletes to connect with their fans," said Whitteker. Whitteker shared key slides from the pitch deck Millions used to raise the early funding. Here are 29 key pitch-deck slides Millions used to raise its $7 million seed round:

Persons: —, Matt Whitteker, Whitteker, Joe Rogan, Valentina Shevchenko, Bryce Mitchell, Bruce Buffer Organizations: Service, Business, UFC, Shopify

☆ VCs clamor to invest in the red-hot early-stage round for AI safety startup Haize Labs
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-29 | by ( Sri Muppidi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Read previewHaize Labs, an AI safety startup, is raising an early-stage round that investors are clamoring to invest in, Business Insider has learned. However, for hot startups, there can be more investor demand than a startup can accommodate, as with Haize Labs' round. One source indicated that Haize Labs received term sheets with valuations ranging from $30 million to over $100 million. Haize Labs is building automated red-teaming and stress-testing algorithms to identify risks in AI models and agents. AI safety has increasingly become a concern, especially as AI usage increases among both consumers and enterprises.

Persons: —, Leonard Tang, VentureBeat, OpenAI, Sama, Steve Li, Richard Liu, Tang Organizations: Service, Business, Haize, Haize Labs, Soma, Google, Netflix, Harvard, Carnegie Mellon, Washington Post

☆ Silicon Valley figures are not holding back after Biden's disastrous debate
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-28 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Read previewSeveral Silicon Valley figures have offered their thoughts on President Joe Biden's performance in Thursday's presidential debate — and it's not a pretty picture. AdvertisementSome Silicon Valley figures have warmed up to TrumpHeading into Thursday's debate, the election was clearly splitting opinion among Silicon Valley figures. AdvertisementTonight was a clear victory … for memes — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 28, 2024Plenty of other tech figures did not hold back when discussing Biden's performance, however. Some tech figures leaned into mockery. Y Combinator cofounder Paul Graham posted on X that "Biden bombing the debate" was good for the party as a better candidate would emerge.

Persons: —, Joe Biden's, it's, influencers, Donald Trump, Biden, Reid Hoffman, Vinod Khosla, Joe Biden, Kimberly White, Elon Musk, Musk, Elon, there's, Hoffman, Khosla, Trump, David Sacks, Sacks, — David Sacks, @DavidSacks, Jason Calacanis, Biden —, Nikita Bier, Shaun Maguire, Delian Asparouhov, Ralph Wiggum, Sarah Guo, Paul Graham, — Paul Graham, @paulg Organizations: Service, Business, Republican, Trump, Cuban Missile, America, Founders Fund, Democrats, Biden Locations: America, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Sequoia, Delian, San Francisco, Silicon

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