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☆ A Brooklyn D.I.Y. Landmark Changes With the Times
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-21 | by ( Alex Vadukul | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Just before midnight on Saturday, hard techno began pulsating from the Market Hotel, a D.I.Y. music venue located beside the elevated tracks of a Myrtle Avenue subway station in Bushwick, Brooklyn. The party, “Market Hotel Sweet Sixteen,” was meant to commemorate the venue’s legacy as a D.I.Y. Over a decade ago, the Market Hotel nurtured a middle-class bohemia, providing a stage to punk and indie bands like Real Estate, Vivian Girls, Titus Andronicus and the So So Glos. If you knew, you knew.

Persons: fanny, ”, Vivian Girls, Titus Andronicus Locations: Myrtle, Bushwick , Brooklyn, bohemia

☆ China’s VC playbook is undergoing a sea change as U.S. IPO exits get tougher
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-08 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

That's far less than in the previous years — the share of U.S. dollars in total VC funds raised was around 15% for the years 2018 to 2021, the data showed. China investments, China exitsWashington and Beijing in 2022 resolved a long-standing audit dispute that reduced the risk of Chinese companies having to delist from U.S. stock exchanges. "With U.S. IPOs no longer being a viable exit strategy for China assets, investors should target local exits in their respective capital markets—in other words, China exits for China assets, and U.S. exits for overseas assets," Liao said. The 20 largest VC deals for China-headquartered companies in 2013 were predominantly in e-commerce and software services, according to PitchBook data. ... the venture capital scene has become even more state-concentrated and focused on government priorities.

Persons: China’s renminbi, Athit Perawongmetha, Kyle Stanford, China —, Liao Ming, Stocks, Liao, Didi, Beijing's, Camille Boullenois Organizations: Reuters, Reuters BEIJING — Venture, Liao Ming, U.S, Sequoia, Prospect, Capital, New York Stock Exchange Locations: U.S, Bangkok, Thailand, Reuters BEIJING, China, Sequoia, Washington, India, Japan, Greater China, Beijing, New York, Hong Kong, U.S . Washington

☆ Has the LA scene fizzled? SoCal has fallen further behind the Bay Area, NYC and Boston for startup funding: 'People deep in AI are just not in LA'
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-23 | by ( Ben Bergman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

But last year, the LA tech scene stalled, according to Carta data. Startup funding plummeted everywhere, but nowhere experienced a steeper decline than LA, where funding declined 65% from 2022. CartaLA's startup funding dropped 65% last year, a steeper decline than the Bay Area, New York or Boston. "They're very deep AI companies, but they're being applied to a vertical, which is one of the strengths of LA," Ingersoll said. Bird goes bust and Snap snaps backThere was more bad news for LA's startup scene in 2023 than just the dismal funding numbers.

Persons: Ethan Aldrich, Aldrich, there's, Andreessen Horowitz, a16z, Katia Ameri, Ameri, VCs, Nikita Bier, Bier, Mark Suster, Suster, LA's, we're, Palmer Luckey, Minnie Ingersoll, Ingersoll, Bird, Zillow, Spencer Rascoff, Evan Spiegel ERIC PIERMONT, Ishan Singh, Singh Organizations: Stanford, Business, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Coatue Management, LA Tech, LA, Carta, Honest Company, New, Boston, Microsoft, Clark, SpaceX Locations: Santa Monica, Southern California, LA, Santa, Hayes, San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York, New York, Boston, Carta, San Diego, Seattle, Hawthorne , CA, Costa, Bay

☆ Sam Altman sought billions to fund a chip company that could rival Nvidia before he was fired, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-21 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Ex-OpenAI CEO Sam Altman was reportedly seeking billions in funds for a new firm when he was fired. Altman was fundraising to build a rival to AI chip maker Nvidia, per Bloomberg. AdvertisementFormer OpenAI CEO Sam Altman had reportedly sought billions in funding for a new chip company before being ousted. Bloomberg reported that Altman was fundraising in the Middle East for the new venture, which aimed to rival AI chip maker Nvidia. The project was reportedly intended to compete with AI chip giant Nvidia, which controls about 80% of the global AI chip market.

Persons: Sam Altman, Altman, —, It's, Emmett Shear, Satya Nadella, OpenAI Organizations: Nvidia, Bloomberg, Investor, Service, Microsoft Locations: OpenAI

☆ Bill Gates: 'Republicans for climate change action are gold'
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-22 | by ( Catherine Clifford | In Catclifford | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

"Republicans for climate change action are gold," said Bill Gates, the billionaire climate philanthropist and investor, on Thursday at the Climate Forward event in New York City. The number of Republicans convinced that responding to climate change is a priority has "got to be a number that we manage to increase over time," Gates said. That's because climate change mitigation and adaptation will require sustained investment and support from the public and private sector, Gates said. Almost eight in ten Democrats, 78%, consider climate change a major threat, up from 58% ten years ago. Only 23% of Republicans consider climate change a major threat, almost equivalent to the 22% of Republicans who considered climate change a major threat a decade ago.

Persons: Bill Gates, Melinda Gates, Gates, It's, António Guterres Organizations: Breakthrough Energy, Melinda Gates Foundation, The New York, Climate, The Times Center, Pew Research, Washington, Washington D.C, United, United Nations Locations: New York City, United States, Gates, Paris

☆ 35-year-old CEO dumped his ‘pretty good’ startup—and built a $1.4 billion business instead
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-18 | by ( Tom Huddleston Jr. | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Sometimes, you need to recognize that pretty good isn't good enough. A decade ago, they were on a completely different track — running a voice recognition startup called Sonalight. It was "a version of [Apple's] Siri before Siri even existed," Skates, Amplitude's 35-year-old CEO, tells CNBC Make It. Skates: There's always that risk when starting something new, but it actually wasn't that hard of a decision for us. They want to do it only if there's a clear path to success and there's validation along the way.

Persons: Spenser, Curtis Liu, Siri, Liu, Sonalight, it's, they'd, Jeffrey Wang, we'd, let's Organizations: CNBC, MIT, Google, Engineers Locations: Sonalight

☆ Startup investors are fueling a boom in U.S. defense tech as China standoff opens doors at home
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-07 | by ( Lauren Feiner | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +11 min

Louie added that he doesn't "know of a single major fund out there that isn't thinking about disruptive tech investing in the U.S., investing in defense tech, investing in microelectronics and AI in the next generation and next iteration." Stephen McCarthy | Sportsfile | Getty ImagesVC funding in aerospace and defense tech has shot up in recent years, according to data compiled by PitchBook for CNBC. The poster child for U.S.-focused defense tech is Anduril Industries, co-founded in 2017 by Oculus Rift designer Palmer Luckey. They can just look at the untapped potential in defense tech. "The government's becoming a better customer," said Shah, who previously served as managing partner of the Defense Department's Defense Innovation Unit, which seeks to accelerate the use of emerging technologies.

Persons: Hadrian, Chris Power Hadrian, Joe Biden, Gilman Louie, Alsop, Louie Partners, He's, Louie, Biden, Lindsay Gorman, she's, Gorman, Chris Power, Power, Hadrian's, Peter Thiel's, Palmer Luckey, Stephen McCarthy, Sportsfile, Anduril, Richard Jenkins, Bilal Zuberi, Lux, Zuberi, Jenkins, Saildrone didn't, Paul Kwan, Catalyst, What's, Kwan, Kyle Harrison, Saul Loeb, Raj Shah, Josh Wolfe, There's, Shah, Wolfe Organizations: Chris Power Hadrian Automation, America's Frontier, U.S, Marshall Fund's Alliance, Securing Democracy, Lux Capital, Fund, Andutil Industries, Enercare Center, Getty, PitchBook, CNBC, Industries, Oculus, Blue Force Technologies, Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, Navy, Coast Guard, Google, Intel, AFP, Shield, Lux, Defense Department's Defense Innovation Unit, Power, YouTube, China Locations: China, U.S, America, Torrance , California, Los Angeles, Toronto, Canada, Ukraine, New Albany , Ohio, Silicon

☆ My wife and I left Los Angeles for Indiana. Our rent was cut in half, we enjoy a better quality of life, and I'm part of a vibrant tech ecosystem.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-15 | by ( Robin Madell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Arvind Murthy and his wife moved from Irvine, California to Zionsville, Indiana in 2022. When they moved to Indiana, they were afraid there wouldn't be a lot to do, he said. They discovered charming food and culture, and a burgeoning Hard Tech scene. In December 2022, I relocated from the perpetual dynamism of the Los Angeles tech scene to the tranquil serenity of Zionsville, Indiana. I collaborate with hard-tech and climate-tech entrepreneurs in my current role and I'm committed to fostering innovation in Indiana's burgeoning Hard Tech alley while enjoying the serene backdrop of my new home.

Persons: Arvind Murthy, It's, I'm Organizations: Tech, Service, Los, Hard Tech Locations: Irvine , California, Zionsville , Indiana, Indiana, Wall, Silicon, Los Angeles

☆ Amazon looks to adapt Alexa to the rise of ChatGPT
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-23 | by ( Samantha Murphy Kelly | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Limp did not elaborate on how generative AI could be used in Alexa products, but there are clear possibilities. The effort to continue updating the technology that powers Alexa comes at a difficult moment for Amazon. The Amazon Echo Pop lineup AmazonBut generative AI remains a key focus for the company. Amazon is also rumored to be planning to use generative AI to bring conversational language to a home robot. The concept remains a “hard technical challenge,” he said, but one that is “more tractable” with generative AI.

Persons: Alexa, ”, Dave Limp, “ We’ve, Limp, “ We’re, Siri, Cortana, ChatGPT, Star ”, “, ” Limp, Andy Jassy, “ There’s Organizations: CNN, Alexa, Big Tech, Amazon, Star, Echo

☆ Zero Carbon Capital just reached third close on its $37 million fund dedicated to hardware and science-based companies. We got an exclusive look at the LP deck it used to raise from Isomer and Extanti
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Zero Carbon Capital reached third close on its £30 million ($37 million) fund. We got an exclusive look at the 10-slide LP deck the climate tech firm used to raise the funds. UK-based Zero Carbon Capital has closed £13 million, around $16.2 million, of its £30 million, about $37.5 million, second fund. Zero Carbon Capital wants to be the first check to lead pre-seed and smaller seed rounds, with tickets ranging £100,000 to £1 million. Isomer has previously backed hardware funds but Zero Carbon Capital is its first dedicated climate fund.

☆ Big tech was a major target at CPAC, but conservatives building alternatives are facing challenges
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-05 | by ( Ben Goggin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., and Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., targeted big tech and the legal immunity companies enjoy under Section 230, which is currently being considered by the Supreme Court. Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Co., said in her speech Saturday: "I have called for 230 protections to be removed from these big tech companies who are hiding behind section 230, and they are acting like editors rather than publishers." "The key was, could we build something that big tech couldn't tear down and couldn't stop?" But not all Big Tech was a target. LibsofTikTok creator Chaya Raichik criticized how big tech has treated her accounts while also boasting about her follower count on those platforms and promoting her book sold on Amazon.

☆ How to use ‘quiet hiring’ to your advantage for a raise or promotion in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( Morgan Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Now, a new catchphrase has entered the chat: "Quiet hiring." Quiet hiring isn't an entirely new concept, but more companies are learning into this trend to fill jobs given the ongoing talent shortage and fears of a potential recession, McRae explains. What's more, 63% of workers view quiet hiring as an opportunity to learn new professional skills. Even though it might seem like companies stand to gain the most from quiet hiring, employees can leverage this trend for their own benefit — you might even secure a raise or promotion for yourself. Understand where the opportunities areSome companies might make an announcement about needing employees to pivot roles, but oftentimes, quiet hiring happens at a lower level.

☆ Venture capitalists’ pain could be humanity’s gain
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Pete Sweeney | Thomson Reuters | Asia Economics Editor Pete Sweeney Joined Reuters Breakingviews In Hong Kong In September Previously He Served As Reuters' Chief Correspondent For China Economy | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

A record $630 billion poured into venture capital investments that year. Now, as interest rate hikes tear into alternative assets, money going into innovation is being reallocated. Global VC funding fell to $329 billion in the nine months to September 2022, per a report from CBInsights, down 27% year-on-year. The liquidity crunch exposed governance flaws, dumb ideas and solutions looking for problems: metaverses, non-fungible images of bored apes, flying cars. Designing microscopic robots to fight disease and biochemical computers to outperform silicon chips entails higher upfront costs and longer commercialisation cycles than the consumer app plays many Silicon Valley backers are accustomed to.

☆ Read the pitch deck machine learning startup Arize AI used to raise $38 million from investors including an early backer of Netflix and Airbnb
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( Ellen Thomas | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Machine-learning observability startup Arize AI recently raised $38 million in a Series B round. Insider got an exclusive look at the pitch deck Arize used to secure its latest funding round. The company has raised $61 million to date, including $38 million in a recent series B round led by TCV. Its competitors include companies like Arthur, which announced a $42 million Series B round of funding in September, and Fiddler, which raised a $32 million Series B round in 2021. Insider got an exclusive look at the pitch deck Arize used to secure its Series B round of funding.

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