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☆ If Google is doubling down on risky AI features, experts say it needs to be clear about what can go wrong
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-15 | by ( Ana Altchek | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

AdvertisementGoogle notes that "Generative AI is experimental" in AI Overviews. Google is far from the only company figuring out the risks of generative AI products. Microsoft also said on Thursday that it would hold off on launching an AI tool intended to be available when its CoPilot PCs ship after privacy concerns arose. The alternative is to be more gradual about releasing features and not place them at the center if they're not fully ready, he said. But while generative AI isn't fully bulletproof at the moment, it's important to balance timing with innovation and accuracy, Yamin said.

Persons: —, Liz Reid, Reid, they're, Gaingels Lorenzo Thione, Thione, Tim Cook, Copyleaks Alon Yamin, Yamin Organizations: Service, Big Tech, Google, Business, CNBC, Apple Intelligence, Microsoft

☆ See the pitch deck that helped a former Goldman Sachs exec raise $5 million for an AI-powered networking startup that feeds deal ideas to bankers
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-22 | by ( Bianca Chan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Doctor, then a Goldman Sachs managing director who ran the bank-solutions group based in Hong Kong, was visiting the bank's London office. The AI startup was built to suggest potential deals based on the data it's exposed to. Louisa AI knows that a current Goldman employee used to work at the semiconductor company, and the AI knows a project-finance employee in New York. In an article about solar panels, Louisa AI would link the words "solar panels" to "solar" and then to "renewables." Here's the pitch deck Louisa AI used to raise $5 million to fund its AI-powered deal prompter.

Persons: Rohan Doctor, Goldman Sachs, Doctor, Jim Esposito, Louisa AI, Louisa, Janet Yellen Organizations: Business, Blue9, Insight Partners, Goldman, Oxford Locations: Hong Kong, London, Asia, Oxford, Canada, Here's, Taiwan, New York

☆ AI could lead to human extinction, says report commissioned by US State Department
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-13 | by ( Ana Altchek | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The US State Department commissioned a risk assessment that found AI could lead to human extinction. The State Department commissioned AI startup Gladstone to conduct an AI risk assessment in October 2022, about a month before ChatGPT came out. AdvertisementSome of the risks could "lead to human extinction," the report said. He believes there's a 10% chance AI will lead to total human extinction within the next 30 years. "Oh it's absolutely real and I think there's a conversation to have in terms of practical human extinction," Kiulian said.

Persons: —, Gladstone, ChatGPT, Jeremie Harris, Edouard Harris, Robert Ghrist, Ghrist, Geoff Hinton, there's, Lina Khan, Elon Musk, Lorenzo Thione, Thione, Artur Kiulian, Kiulian, David Krueger, Krueger, Aaron Mok Organizations: US State Department, Service, US Department of State, The State Department, United States, Google, Publicly, Penn Engineering, PlayStation, Cambridge University Locations: United, Iran

☆ This startup wants to find cancer faster with AI-powered full-body scans. See the 22-slide pitch deck that got Ezra $21 million.
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-08 | by ( Rebecca Torrence | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Read previewLast August, Kim Kardashian posted on Instagram that she'd gotten a full-body MRI scan from the startup Prenuvo, which sparked a national conversation about the merits of preventive imaging. With Kardashian's help, the scans were finally making headlines — and healthtech startup Ezra felt their impact. "The day that Kim Kardashian got a scan, even though it wasn't an Ezra scan, our day-over-day revenue spiked," Ezra CEO and cofounder Emi Gal told Business Insider. Those tailwinds have propelled growth for Ezra, which partners with radiology clinics to perform full-body MRI scans. And, with Ezra's scans, that startup has "helped hundreds of people find cancer," he added.

Persons: —, Kim Kardashian, she'd, Ezra, Emi Gal, Amir Dan Rubin, Anne Wojcicki, Vlad Tenev, David Prior, Esther Dyson, — Gal, Ezra Flash, radiologists, Gal, We've Organizations: Service, Business, VC, FirstMark, Firms, Allianz Life Ventures, Mana Ventures, Ventures, Seedcamp, LDV Locations: Gaingels, Republic

☆ Shimmer is using AI to bring ADHD coaching to adults. Here's an exclusive look at the pitch deck the startup used to land $2.2 million in fresh VC funding.
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-11 | by ( Samantha Stokes | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. The startup, which provides digital ADHD coaching for adults, just raised a $2.2 million seed round led by Worklife Ventures and SeedtoB Capital. The startup offers access to live sessions with coaches and an AI program that helps users set goals and stick to them. offers ADHD diagnoses and various treatment options, including medication. The startup offers plans ranging from $140 to $345 per month, all of which include Shimmer's flagship 1:1 coaching sessions, which are all conducted by licensed professionals.

Persons: —, Y Combinator, Shimmer, Gaingels, Y, Megan Hall, Chris Wang, Shimmer's, Wang, Vikram Sreedhar —, she's, monetize Organizations: Service, Business, Worklife Ventures, SeedtoB, Koa Labs, Aglaé Ventures, Honeystone Ventures, CVS, Shimmer, American, of Psychiatry Locations: Alma

☆ Climate tech startups Montinutra, Harvest Thermal, Bisly, and Twig recently raised a combined $13.6 million. We got a look at the pitch decks they used to raise the funds.
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Climate tech startups Montinutra, Harvest Thermal, Bisly, and Twig have recently raised a collective $13.6 million between them as early-stage deals continue to dominate the venture capital industry. Biochemicals startup Montinutra, founded in 2018, raised 2 million euros, $2.1 million, in October to convert forestry sidestreams into sustainable alternatives to petrochemicals. Check out the 18-slide pitch deck below:MontinutraMontinutraMontinutraMontinutraMontinutraMontinutraMontinutraMontinutraMontinutraMontinutraMontinutraMontinutraMontinutraMontinutraMontinutraMontinutraMontinutraMontinutraHeat pump startup Harvest Thermal raised $4 millionCalifornia-based Harvest Thermal raised a $4 million round for its heat pump and thermal storage combination in October. It is riding political tailwinds amid the US' recent commitment to install 20 million heat pumps by 2030. Check out the redacted pitch deck that it used to raise the funds below:Harvest ThermalHarvest ThermalHarvest ThermalHarvest ThermalHarvest ThermalHarvest ThermalHarvest ThermalHarvest ThermalHarvest ThermalHarvest ThermalHarvest ThermalHarvest Thermal Harvest ThermalHarvest ThermalHarvest ThermalHarvest ThermalHarvest ThermalHarvest ThermalBuilding energy management startup Bisly secured $3.8 millionEstonian startup Bisly, which wants to make it cheaper to improve the energy efficiency of buildings, just raised 3.6 million euros, $3.8 million, in seed funding in October.

Persons: Twig, Pajunen, Portfolia, Russ Tucker Organizations: Metsä, Earth Foundry, Climate Partners, Starshot, National Science Foundation, California Energy Commission, International Energy Agency, Aconterra, Second Century Ventures, SmartCap, Fund, Pinorena, Innovation, Seed Fund Locations: California, London

☆ The $170 million startup behind Better Bagel says it's on a mission to be the 'Beyond Meat of carbs'
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Alex Bitter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

BetterBrand, which makes low-carbohydrate, high-protein Better Bagels, closed a $6 million Series A funding round, it said on Wednesday. The Better Bagel contains 90% fewer carbs than a traditional bagel, BetterBrand's website says. BetterBrand founder and CEO Aimee Yang BetterBrandBetterBrand's goal is to become the "Beyond Meat of carbs," Yang said. "You've heard how much funding has gone into plant-based and just how saturated that market has gotten," Yang told Insider. BetterBrand also plans to grow sales to between $30 million and $40 million over the next 12 months, Yang said.

Persons: BetterBrand, —, Tesla, Reddit, Alexis Ohanian's, Aimee Yang, Aimee Yang BetterBrand, Yang, You've Organizations: Service, Facebook, Verso, Gaingels, Based Foods Association, Foods

☆ Check out the 16-slide pitch deck the sustainable-healthtech startup Cabinet Health used to nab $17 million in new funding
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Samantha Stokes | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The sustainable-healthtech startup Cabinet Health just raised $17 million from Global Impact Fund. Check out the pitch deck Cabinet Health used to land its latest round of funding. Cabinet Health just raised millions of dollars in new capital for its mission to make medication refills more earth-friendly. Cabinet Health was founded in 2018 with the goal of eliminating single-use plastics from the pharmaceutical industry. Check out the 16-slide pitch deck Cabinet Health used to raise its most recent round of funding:

☆ Tiger Global, Coatue, and other hedge funds tried to upend venture capital. It backfired and now they're 'licking their wounds,' VCs say.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Darius Rafieyan | Melia Russell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

New investments by Tiger Global and Coatue fell 60% and 67%, respectively, this year. "They're licking their wounds," said Nihal Mehta, a founding partner at Eniac Ventures, whose portfolio includes the marketing-tech startup Attentive, a crown jewel of Tiger Global and Coatue's portfolios. Speaking to founders, Mehta hears crossover funds come up less and less in conversation, and partners at some crossover funds tell him they're pulling back from new deals, though crossover funds haven't disappeared altogether. Crossover funds found themselves with billions of dollars in deployed capital and few exits in sight. Last month, Tiger Global and Coatue both revealed they are seeking to raise new funds earmarked for early-stage startup deals.

☆ Here's an exclusive look at the pitch deck Y Combinator alum Shimmer used to raise $1.3 million to bring ADHD coaching to adults
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( Samantha Stokes | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Y Combinator alum Shimmer raised $1.3 in funding from VCs like Honeystone Ventures and Koa Labs. The startup provides ADHD coaching for adults. The adult ADHD space is much smaller, with medication-focused startups like Cerebral and Done receiving regulatory scrutiny for over-prescribing controlled medication like Adderall and putting patients at risk. At Shimmer, Wang says the focus on coaching, as opposed to medication, is a better long-term solution for many people managing ADHD. Here's a look at the 15-slide pitch deck Shimmer used to raise its seed round.

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