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☆ Keep it secret, keep it SAFE: Inside the growth of AI founders choosing uncapped notes to raise investor cash
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-24 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

AI startups are reviving the SAFE funding mechanism to secure investments without dilution. SAFE notes enable quick fundraising for nascent AI startups amid the sector's rapid growth and hype. Sign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . AdvertisementFinancial wizardry is nothing new in the venture world, but the rise of AI startups has prompted a return to the funding mechanism known as a SAFE.

Persons: Y, — Organizations: Service, SAFE, Business

☆ 4 ways equity management can help build a foundation for growth
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-02 | by ( Sponsor Post | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

To drive a culture of ownership, companies must build an effective strategy around equity management. Optimize capitalization table managementOne of the core elements of an effective equity management strategy is a transparent and defensible capitalization table. And with a partner to help design or evolve your equity plan management strategy, your organization will be well-prepared for its next stage of growth. Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC ("Morgan Stanley") and its Financial Advisors and Private Wealth Advisors do not provide any tax/legal advice. Morgan Stanley at Work services are provided by Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC, member SIPC, and its affiliates, all wholly owned subsidiaries of Morgan Stanley.

Persons: Teri McFadden, you've, Morgan Stanley, Mike Jung, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, SIPC Organizations: Norwest Venture Partners, Circle, Insider Studios, Financial Advisors, Wealth Advisors

☆ AI-powered Cherish Health has raised $26 million and is set to raise a $30 million Series B — and hasn't grabbed a single dollar from VCs. Here's why.
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-25 | by ( Rebecca Torrence | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

But with his latest startup, Cherish Health, he's taking a different approach. To date, Cherish Health, which makes a radar-based device to detect falls in the home, has raised $26 million from these alternative sources. Cherish Health is now gearing up to raise its Series B round, targeting $30 million at a $200 million valuation. In late 2022, Cherish Health landed $5 million in Series A funding led by Alarm.com at a $45 million valuation. If Cherish Health had gone the way of traditional venture capital, Nagpal said, "we would've given up most of our value by now."

Persons: Sumit Nagpal, Nagpal, he's, we've, JP Morgan, Health's, Health, Alarm.com, consortiums, aren't Organizations: pharma, Abbott, Business, Accenture, Health, Apple, Comcast, Amazon, Cherish Health Locations: Alere, Haven, Amazon , Berkshire, Alarm.com, VCs

☆ AI startup Perplexity is in talks to raise more money at a significantly higher valuation just months after its last round
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-29 | by ( Rebecca Torrence | Melia Russell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

download the appSign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. Read previewOnly months after buzzy AI search-engine startup Perplexity AI raised its last round of funding, the company is yet again raising additional funds, as investors clamor to back tech's next big generative AI startup. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Perplexity is raising this additional money at a significantly higher valuation cap than its previous pricing of $520 million, according to two people with direct knowledge. A spokesperson told Business Insider that the details of the deal were incorrect but did not clarify when asked for further information.

Persons: —, clamor, Jeff Bezos, Perplexity, OpenAI's ChatGPT, Google's Bard, Aravind Srinivas, It's, Elad Gil, Nat Friedman, Fred Wilson, aren't Organizations: Service, Google, Business, Institutional Venture Partners, New Enterprise Associates, Bessemer Venture Partners, Nvidia Locations: OpenAI

☆ Home Equity Loan Alternative Could Revolutionize the Housing Market
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-28 | by ( James Rodriguez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +16 min

Like a lot of homeowners, Schummer was keen to convert some of his theoretical wealth into real cash. These kinds of deals, often referred to as home-equity-sharing agreements or home-equity investments, have existed on the fringes of housing finance for decades. The success or failure of home-equity investments could shape the future of homeownership in America. If the home's value has gone up, everyone wins; sell it for a loss, and the investor might share in that downside. "Over time for us, the customer becomes everybody," Eoin Matthews, the chief business officer and a cofounder of Point, told me recently.

Persons: Kennis Schummer, Schummer, Laurie Goodman, Goodman, he'd, Eoin Matthews, —, Hometap, Jim Riccitelli, Riccitelli, Adam Rust, Rust, Rust wasn't, I'm, Jordan Gilberti, Holly Bunting, Mayer Brown, Edwin Remsberg, Matthews, they'd, Jeffrey Glass, Glass, I've, he's Organizations: Consumer, Urban Institute, Federal Reserve, Bain Capital, Palisades Group, Redwood Trust, Getty, Consumer Federation of America Locations: Pensacola , Florida, California, homeownership, America, Connecticut, Maryland, Florida

☆ Meet the Man Behind Litquidity, the Anonymous Instagram Account Dominating Wall Street
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-07 | by ( Reed Alexander | Hayley Cuccinello | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +26 min

The deck kicked off a game of one-upmanship among Wall Street banks trying to keep their employees happy. Lit capitalized on poking fun at Wall Street culture, selling $35 dad hats that read, "Do You Know Who My Father Is?" There have, of course, been endless rumors about Lit's identity, especially among Wall Street underlings. Wall Street underlings have speculated about Litquidity's identity for years. Basak, one attendee said, wanted to take a "wrecking ball through it all" and hold Wall Street heavy hitters accountable.

Persons: Goldman Sachs, I've, David Solomon, Litquidity, Goldman, Solomon, Evercore, Michael Kovac, Lit, Warburg Pincus, Jamie Dimon, Jamie Dimon's, Banksy, Bennett Jordan, who've, Lit's, — Mark Moran, —, Jefferies, Richard Handler, Spencer Platt, Isaac Laifer, Laifer, Handler, We'd, Henry, Hank, Medina, He's, he's, Jefferies Medina, Bart P, Fuchs, Karl Smith, Mark Moran, Moran, Bloomberg he'd, Zack DeZon, Getty Images Moran, Brian Hanly, Hanly, Sonali Basak, Angela Weiss, cryptocurrency, we'll, Mark, Medina's, weren't, CoinFLEX, Litquidity doesn't, Dave Portnoy, wasn't, Medina Ayden Syal, Kyle Zappitell, Zappitell, he'd, hasn't, Bennett Jordan —, Craig Sjodin, Litney, Paul Argenti, Wall Organizations: Goldman, New York Times, CNBC, Business, Bloomberg, Metropolitan Club of New, Nomura, Citigroup, Financial Times, Litney Partners, Whitney Partners, BI, ESPN, Litquidity, Centerview Partners, New York, Getty, Bain Capital, Litquidity Venture Partners, SEC, Cornell University, Wexford Capital —, Deutsche Bank, Deutsche, CFA, Getty Images, Bullish, Vice, Wall Street, Litquidity's, Manhattan's Rue, Fox Business, Litquidity Ventures, Coatue Management, SAFE, Soho House, Dartmouth University Locations: New York, Tribeca, Metropolitan Club of New York, Instagram, San Francisco, Medina, New York City, Miami, NoHo, Chad, Connecticut, Litquidity, Linktree, Soho

☆ One ETF that focuses on employee happiness is outperforming the market this year
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-01 | by ( Alex Harring | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Executives don't need to worry about Irrational misrepresenting their company, and participation can open them up to potential inclusion in products such as an ETF, van Adelsberg said. In total, the ETF recently held nearly 150 equities and is benchmarked to the CIBC Human Capital Index. Still, the team noted some challenges in building broader awareness of what human capital is or why it matters. "In this market, what we're seeing is that those companies who have strong human capital ratings are outperforming," van Adelsberg said. "The role that human capital plays in driving future equity performance isn't going down.

Persons: doesn't, Kristof Gleich, –, it's, Gleich, …, Morningstar, HAPI, David van Adelsberg, van Adelsberg, Eli Lilly, Johnson, Berkshire Hathaway, JPMorgan Chase, they've, It's Organizations: Capital Factor, Capital Advisors, Irrational, ETF, Microsoft, Apple, Nvidia, Meta, Morningstar, Mastercard, Berkshire, CIBC Human, JPMorgan, Securities, Exchange

☆ VCs don't care as much about Y Combinator's Demo Day anymore
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( Madeline Renbarger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Y Combinator's Demo Day used to be the hottest in-person early-stage event in Silicon Valley. For early-stage venture capitalists, few days on the calendar used to compare to Y Combinator's biannual Demo Day. "All of the funds try to go meet the best YC companies before Demo Day," the same investor told Insider. When asked about startups raising before Demo Day, Y Combinator president and CEO Garry Tan told Insider in an emailed statement that "lots of the best companies raise at Demo Day and after." "Coinbase, Instacart, Whatnot, Rappi, Airbyte, Retool — you could have gotten into their rounds at Demo Day.

Persons: It's, Erik Bruckner, Y, Garry Tan, it's, Bruckner, They're, Y Combinator, Jeff Weinstein, Combinator, Tan, haven't Organizations: YC, Bruckner Ventures, FJ Labs Locations: Silicon Valley, Columbus , Ohio

☆ MediaMath founder Joe Zawadzki's 'Project Phoenix' looks to raise at least $10 million to help buy back the bankrupt adtech company
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-11 | by ( Lara O'Reilly | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

"Project Phoenix" is seeking to raise at least $10 million in a SAFE financing. Project Phoenix is being operated by team members of Zawadzki's VC fund AperiamVentures. Project Phoenix, registered as Phoenix Project Acquisition Inc., is raising the investment with a "post-money valuation cap" of $20 million — the maximum price at which investors can convert their SAFE investment notes into equity. A person familiar with the matter said it was likely Project Phoenix would need to raise further funds if it wins the auction. Correction: August 11, 2023 — An earlier version of this story misstated the date of bankruptcy auction.

Persons: Joe Zawadzki, Jeffrey Hirsch, Zawadzki, Hirsch didn't, MediaMath, MediaMath's Organizations: Phoenix, Inc, Google Locations: AperiamVentures, Delaware, York

☆ Startup studio Fractal created 130 companies in 3 years. Founders say the deal structure has led VCs to 'blacklist' them.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Melia Russell | Stephanie Palazzolo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +19 min

www.fractalsoftware.comOf the dozens of Fractal startups that have raised a seed round of funding, about half had Bienville Capital lead the deal, according to people familiar with the matter. Others say they knew what they were getting into with a venture studio, where a large ownership position is standard. Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty ImagesThe biggest draw for some Fractal founders was its plug-and-play approach. The founder of one Fractal startup remembered a time when his company was struggling to grow its customer base. That firm is raising a new $325 million fund to provide additional funding to Fractal companies exclusively, according to a person familiar with the effort.

Persons: Fractal's, he'd, they'd, Andreessen Horowitz, Mike Furlong, Nate Baker, Bienville, —, Brendan Smialowski, Founders, Angela Lee, Furlong, Baker, Ezra Shaw, who'd, who's, It's, Lee, She's, 8VC, Bain, Jeff Greenberg, Omri Bloch, who've, didn't, Stephanie Palazzolo, Melia Russell Organizations: Flatiron Health, Bienville, Insight Partners, Bienville Capital, Getty, Columbia Business School, Alpha, Midwest, Science, Olympic Club, Tiger Global, Craft Ventures, Founders, Vertical Venture Partners, Zag, Crew Capital, Bain Capital, Universal, Foundation, Fifth Locations: Bienville Capital, New York, Bienville, Indio, AFP, Santa Monica , California, Miami, San Francisco, GreenSpark, Columbia, Barti, Aktos, Bessemer, 8VC

☆ How I raised $2 million for my startup without knowing any venture capitalists
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( Jackson Cunningham | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Cunningham says raising funds will almost always take more time and labor than you expect, so stay persistent, patient and proactive. One of the greatest challenges of entrepreneurship is raising money for your startup, especially if you don't have an established network of venture capitalists (VCs) to rely on. Dedication and follow-ups: Raising funds requires significant effort and labor. I've said it once already, and I'll say it again: Raising funds will almost always take more time and labor than you expect. Allow ample time for the fundraising process, leverage your founder network, create a compelling pitch deck, and craft personalized outreach messages.

Persons: Jackson Cunningham, Cunningham, VCs, Dave — we're, I've Organizations: DTC, Founders, Future Equity Locations: VCs

☆ Many are declaring the bear over, but a new bull market is more a process than a single moment
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-10 | by ( Michael Santoli | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

The review is merely to note that the beginning of a potential bull market is a process, not a moment, occurring as the weight of the evidence gradually shifts in favor of the optimists. A new bull market, even if in place, doesn't always mean a timely sprint to hefty further gains. In a bear market, that's toppy; while in a bull market backdrop, such a level of optimism is fairly routine. In a bear market, 14 is "too low," In a bull market, it's middling. The S & P 500 has built a cushion with which to absorb routine pullbacks without jeopardizing the broader trend.

Persons: JFK, didn't, –, doesn't, Stephen Suttmeier, Bull headwinds, I've, they've, there's Organizations: Bank of America, Investment Group, Lehman, Investment, American Association of Locations: New York, –

☆ Exclusive: Fractal, a New York venture studio, is laying off staff and will stop creating new startups
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Melia Russell | Stephanie Palazzolo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

The venture studio Fractal Software will no longer start new companies, Insider has learned. Fractal Software, a venture studio that creates startups by hatching its own ideas and hiring founders to execute, has laid off staff and will stop starting new companies, Insider has learned. At least 28 employees, about 25% of staff, have left Fractal in the past six months, according to LinkedIn. Fractal confirmed layoffs occurred starting in December, but would not specify the number of employees affected. Fractal has a few more startups in the pipeline, with a goal of launching 145 companies, two people familiar with the company's strategy said.

Persons: Omri Bloch, That's, Joe Lonsdale's 8VC, Bienville, Melia Russell, Stephanie Palazzolo Organizations: New, Software, Investors, Tiger Global, Bienville Capital, Securities and Exchange Commission, Twitter Locations: New York, 8VC, Bienville

☆ Goldman Sachs says buy oil-stock pullbacks, highlighting a Club name to purchase
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Zev Fima | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Goldman Sachs said in a research note Thursday the recent energy sector pullback should be viewed as a reason to buy since that strategy has worked well since late 2020. West Texas Intermediate crude and energy stocks have been under intense pressure in recent weeks on the back of heightened recession fears. Based on that criteria, Goldman has Pioneer Natural Resources (PXD) on its "Americas Conviction List" with a buy rating. Recognizing the ups-and-downs of owning energy stocks, we still believe they should be part of any diversified portfolio. As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade.

☆ Moderna signs $35 million deal with cancer drug developer CytomX
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Jan 5 (Reuters) - Moderna Inc (MRNA.O) on Thursday announced a $35 million licensing deal with cancer-focused drug developer CytomX Therapeutics (CTMX.O) to work on messenger RNA-based therapies for a wide range of diseases. The news comes a month after an experimental cancer vaccine from Moderna based on mRNA technology was shown to work against a type of skin cancer. The deal offers CytomX access to Moderna's mRNA technology, which has been used to develop COVID-19 vaccines, while Moderna would get access to CytomX's Probody platform, used in the development of cancer therapies targeting diseased tissues. Moderna said it will also pay tiered royalties to CytomX on global sales of any products which enter the market under the deal. The companies will work together to discover experimental therapies and Moderna will be responsible for human trials and commercial activities of products.

☆ Florida homeowners got swindled by brokers who paid them a paltry sum in cash upfront for the rights to sell their properties for 40 years
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Robert Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

A Florida brokerage had offered homeowners upfront cash payments in exchange for exclusive rights to sell their property. Florida's attorney general alleges MV Realty's 40-year homeowner agreement is "deceptive" and "unconscionable." Roy Brightwell, 70, is one complainant that the Tampa Bay Times interviewed about his experience with MV Realty. The lawsuit claims that MV Realty's agreement is illegal under Florida law because it does not meet the statutory requirements for liens. When asked about the pending litigation, a spokesperson for MV Realty responded to Insider suggesting that the practice is perfectly legal.

Its other major shareholder, PSD Investment, will provide the same amount through "direct and indirect financial and liquidity support," Polestar said. "We welcome the continued support from our major shareholders at a time when the capital markets are volatile and unpredictable," Polestar CEO Thomas Ingenlath said in a statement. Volvo, like other major carmakers, has in recent years invested heavily in making its own electric vehicles and has also said it was committed to supporting Polestar. Volvo aims to sell only fully electric cars by 2030, while Polestar has a goal to launch three more cars by 2026. In February, Volvo formed a joint venture with battery manufacturer Northvolt to build a battery plant in Gothenburg which would produce battery cells specifically for electric Volvo and Polestar cars.

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