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☆ Inflation data commands center stage next week and provides a test for the market rally
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-11 | by ( Zev Fima | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +10 min

All three major U.S. stock indexes closed higher for the week, led by the Dow Jones Industrial Average . The Nasdaq Composite added 1.14% while the S & P 500 advanced 1.85% in a relatively quiet week of economic updates. Within the portfolio, Disney and Wynn Resorts released quarterly numbers; we took issue with the stock reaction to both reports. It also raises the stakes around major economic releases, such as next week's consumer inflation report. In the week ahead, earnings season continues — headlined by Walmart on Thursday — and inflation data will dominate the economic calendar.

Persons: We've, Jim Cramer, Dow Jones, we'll, We'll, Stanley Black, Decker, Jack, JACK, Arcutis, Spero, JD.com, Armour, Jim Cramer's, Jim, Carlo Allegri Organizations: Dow Jones, Nasdaq, Disney, Wynn Resorts, Procter, Procter & Gamble, Walmart, CPI, PPI, Club, Home Depot, Biotech Corporation, Music Entertainment, Central Puerto S.A, TeraWulf Inc, Paysafe Group Holdings, QuickLogic Corporation, Kopin Corp, Royalty Corp, Agilysys Inc, Crop Solutions Corp, Inovio Biomedical, Intercorp Financial, Lithium, Argentina ) Corp, Sea, Sony Group Corporation, SONY, Holding, HudBay Minerals, Autolus Therapeutics, Game Technology, Nu Holdings, Dragonfly Energy Holdings Corp, Bakkt Holdings, Prestige Consumer Healthcare, SilverCrest Metals, Inc, Mining Corp, Acurx Pharmaceuticals, Cresco Labs, Dole plc, DOLE, Arcos Dorados Holdings, ARCO, Cisco Systems, Grab Holdings, Copa Holdings S.A, Technologies, Iris Energy, KORE Group, Super, Spero Therapeutics, ZTO, Baidu, Deere & Company, NICE, Lightspeed Commerce, Ship Lease, Canada Goose Holdings, Drainage Systems, Consolidated Water Co, Outlook Therapeutics, Despegar.com, Corp, DXC Technology Company, Flowers Foods, Bruker Corporation, WYNN, CNBC, Foods Locations: Procter &, Central, Cayman, Lithium Americas, Argentina, Manhattan, New York City

☆ Food startup Hungryroot uses AI to reduce waste, a major climate offender
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-07 | by ( Diana Olick | In Dianaolick | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Food waste is so prolific in the U.S. that roughly one-third of the amount produced ends up in landfills rather than stomachs. A recent study published in the journal Science found food production accounts for 26% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Food delivery services like HelloFresh, Blue Apron and EveryPlate reduce that somewhat by sending consumers what they need for specific recipes. The company says its processes help lead to 80% less food waste at its facilities compared with a traditional supermarket. In addition to Lightspeed, Hungryroot is backed by L Catterton, Crosslink Capital, Karp Reilly and Lerer Hippeau.

Persons: Ben McKean, Hungryroot, Jeremy Liew, They've, L, Karp Reilly, Lerer, Lisa Rizzolo Organizations: CNBC, Investors, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Crosslink Locations: U.S, York, Brussels

☆ Email startup Beehiiv just raised $33 million to build a big ad business and differentiate itself from rival Substack
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-02 | by ( Lauren Johnson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

download the appSign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. The firm closed a $33 million round of Series B funding, with the bulk of the money going toward building out its advertising business, CEO Tyler Denk told Business Insider. With the new round of funding, Beehiiv hopes to make $5 million from ads in 2024, he said. AdvertisementBeehiiv acquired the email ad platform Swapstack and launched its ad network that places ads in newsletters during the third quarter of 2023. Beehiiv's Denk said that Beehiiv has a "difference in philosophy" on ads than Substack does.

Persons: —, Tyler Denk, Beehiiv, Denk, Boston Globe Media's, Beehiiv's cofounders, Substack, Jesse Singal, Beehiiv's Denk Organizations: Service, Business, NEA, Sapphire, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Boston Globe, Morning, Netflix

On Wednesday the Microsoft -backed company priced shares at $32 each, above its expected range of $28 to 31 per share. In selling 23.5 million shares, it raised $752 million. Rubrik shares are trading under the ticker "RBRK." Many technology companies appeared on public markets in the 2010s as central banks kept interest rates low. Rubrik, founded a decade ago, reported a $354 million net loss in the latest fiscal year, compared to a $278 million loss in the year prior.

Persons: Rubrik, It's, Bipul Sinha Organizations: New York Stock Exchange, Microsoft, Astera Labs

Rubrik, a data-management software company backed by Microsoft , priced its IPO at $32 a share, according to a person familiar with the matter. Rubrik raised $752 million through the initial public offering, valuing the company at $5.6 billion. Rubrik now gets 91% of its revenue from subscriptions, up from 59% two years ago. Revenue increased less than 5% in the fiscal year that ended on Jan. 31, but annual recurring revenue from subscriptions jumped 47%. "Our key top-line metric is subscription ARR," Rubrik finance chief Kiran Choudary said in a videotaped presentation for the company's IPO roadshow.

Persons: Rubrik, Reddit, Kiran Choudary, Bipul Sinha, Sinha Organizations: Microsoft, New York Stock, Nasdaq, Astera Labs, Barclays, Carhartt, Venture Locations: U.S, Rubrik

☆ The next phase of AI is here — and it's not looking pretty
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-26 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

AI companies run into hurdlesOne of the more eye-opening developments of this new phase came last week from a barely two-year-old OpenAI rival named Inflection AI. Related storiesIt has quickly become apparent that Inflection AI wasn't the only one struggling, however. Stability's Mostaque, meanwhile, seems to have conceded that Big Tech companies wield unassailable power in AI. In a post on X, he said that centralized AI was not going to be beaten with "more centralized AI". Not going to beat centralized AI with more centralized AI.

Persons: —, Bill Gates, Mustafa Suleyman, DeepMind, Suleyman, Reid Hoffman, Gates, Eric Schmidt, Emad Mostaque, Googlers —, Ali Barr, Pi, Cohere, Stability's Mostaque, ike C oatue Organizations: Service, Nasdaq, Business, Big Tech, Microsoft, Nvidia

☆ Some VCs are over the Sam Altman hype
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-26 | by ( Darius Rafieyan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

In late 2023, when OpenAI sought $300 million from investors, CEO Sam Altman chose a different approach. In some corners of this clubby world, over $7 coffee and artisanal cocktails, the meteoric rise of OpenAI and Sam Altman is giving way to an inevitable backlash. "He's a kingmaker," a Silicon Valley startup founder and angel investor who knows Altman. Sam Altman and OpenAI did not respond to requests for comment. A certain somethingMany of the VCs who spoke with BI said Altman has a certain something.

Persons: —, OpenAI, Sam Altman, Altman, they'd, I've, Ali Ghodsi, Altman's, Ghodsi, Steve Jobs's, Paul Graham, he's, Sam, Jack Altman, It's, it's, Elon, Alexander the Great, Adam Neumann Organizations: Service, NEA, Business, Altman's, The Washington Post, The, YC, BI, WeWork Locations: Sequoia, Silicon Valley, The, San Francisco

☆ In Silicon Valley, Venture Capital Meets a Generational Shift
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-13 | by ( Erin Griffith | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Reid Hoffman, a founder of LinkedIn and a longtime venture capitalist, is no longer the public face of the venture firm Greylock. Michael Moritz, a force at Sequoia Capital for 38 years, officially separated from the investment firm last summer. They are among the most recognizable of a generation of Silicon Valley investors who are getting out of venture capital at the end of a lucrative 15-year upswing for the industry. Investors at Tiger Global, Paradigm, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Emergence Capital and Spark Capital have all announced plans to step back. Foundry Group, a venture firm in Boulder, Colo., that has backed 200 companies since 2006, said in January that it would not raise another fund.

Persons: Reid Hoffman, Michael Moritz, Jeff Jordan, Andreessen Horowitz Organizations: LinkedIn, Sequoia Capital, Tiger Global, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Spark, Foundry Group, Apple, Google Locations: Silicon, Boulder, Colo, —

☆ Fijoya is bringing AI to employer-sponsored healthcare benefits. Here's the pitch deck it used to raise $8.3 million.
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-07 | by ( Samantha Stokes | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Digital health benefits startup Fijoya just came out of stealth and announced an $8.3 million seed round from Team8, the Israeli venture group that creates startups and invests in existing ones across the cyber, data infrastructure, fintech, digital health, and AI industries. As Americans are spending more than ever on healthcare, Fijoya is one of many healthtech startups cropping up to tackle the financial aspects of healthcare. Now, out of stealth, Fijoya is focusing on giving employees an easier way to choose healthcare benefits that best suit their lifestyles. "This end-to-end approach signifies our commitment to simplify health benefits by offering a wide range of options with a seamless discovery, selection, and payment process.'" Check out the 15-slide pitch deck Fijoya used to raise its seed funding round.

Persons: Team8, Baruch Levy, Levy Organizations: Business, Health, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Norwest Venture Partners Locations: Team8, Israel

☆ AI startup Glean lures Citigroup as investor at $2.2 billion valuation after revenue quadruples
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-27 | by ( Jordan Novet | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Arvind Jain, co-founder and CEO of Glean, makes a selfie with employees of the startup, which is based in Palo Alto, Calif. Artificial intelligence startup Glean attracted tech companies Databricks and Workday into its latest investment round. Glean, whose software sifts through corporate repositories to provide quick answers to workers' questions, said Tuesday that it's raised $200 million at a $2.2 billion valuation. Glean's annualized revenue at the end of January was $39 million, up from $10 million a year earlier. While Glean initially targeted the tech industry, it's now looking to expand in financial services, retail, manufacturing and other sectors, Jain said.

Persons: Arvind Jain, it's, Kleiner Perkins, Arvind Purushotham, OpenAI, Jain, Glean, Purushotham, Citi hasn't, Cathy Gao Organizations: Wall, Banking, Citigroup, Lightspeed, Sequoia, Citi Ventures, CNBC, Microsoft, Google, Sony Electronics, Citigroup's, Citi, Nvidia, Sapphire Locations: Palo Alto, Calif, LLMs, OpenAI, Glean

☆ 8 more of our stocks report earnings next week. Here's what we want to see
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-03 | by ( Zev Fima | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +13 min

The three major averages posted gains for the fourth week in row, lifted by strong quarterly earnings results for most of the Big Tech companies and a strong jobs report. A weaker ADP Employment report on Wednesday provided no read-through to the monster January jobs report Friday. Here's what we're keeping an eye on in the coming week: 1. Earnings: It's another big earnings week head for the portfolio, with 8 more of our companies reporting. Consistency is what we appreciate most from nat gas giant Linde , so we're hoping for another quarter of solid earnings growth Tuesday.

Persons: Estee Lauder, Eli Lilly, Mounjaro, Nelson Peltz, Estée Lauder, Tyson, CARR, Jacobs, Willis Towers Watson, Edwards, Walt Disney, Oscar Health, Philip Morris, Armour, BAX, BILL, Jim Cramer's, Jim Cramer, Jim, George Frey Organizations: Big Tech, Dow Jones Industrial, Nasdaq, PMI, Apple, Starbucks, Procter, Gamble, GE Healthcare, DuPont, Linde, Ford, General Motors, Trian Partners, Disney, ESPN, Wynn Resorts, Wynn, Vegas, Prix, Estée Lauder Companies, Caterpillar, McDonalds Corp, Allegiant Travel, Bowlero Corp, Tyson Foods, TSN, Air Products & Chemicals, IDEXX Laboratories, CNA Financial Corp, CNA, Timken Company, Graham Corporation, Mesa Laboratories, Sphere Entertainment, Loews Corp, Technologies, Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Semiconductors, Simon Property Group, Amkor Technology, FMC Corporation, FMC, BellRing Brands, Crown Holdings, ChampionX Corporation, Golub Capital BDC, Flexsteel Industries, Kilroy Realty Corp, Gladstone Capital Corp, Unibanco, S.A, Snack Foods Corp, Kimball Electronics, Skyline Corp, Cabot Corporation, Simpson Manufacturing Co, Varonis Systems, Co, GE HealthCare, Linde plc, LIN, Spotify Technology S.A, BP, Hertz Global Holdings, AeroSystems Holdings, Toyota Motor Corp, Cummins, CMI, Software Technologies, AGCO Corporation, Carrier Global Corporation, Lear Corp, CONSOL Energy, Centene Corporation, Gartner, Arcbest Corp, CTS Corporation, Energizer Holdings, Hamilton Lane Incorporated, KKR, Precision Drilling Corporation, Frontier Group Holdings, Waters Corp, Alfa Laval, Aramark Holdings Corp, FirstService Corporation, Garden Sports Corp, New Jersey Resources Corp, nVent Electric plc, PJT Partners, Resources, Sensata Technologies, Ford Motor Company, Enphase Energy, Grill, VF Corp, Edwards Lifesciences Corp, Gilead Sciences, Lumen Technologies, Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp, Weatherford International plc, Amcor plc, Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals, Advanced Energy Industries, Uber Technologies, CVS Health, Roblox Corporation, Ares Capital Corp, Bunge, XPO Logistics, Scotts Miracle, Gro Company, Berry Global, Flex LNG, Equinor ASA, Griffon Corporation, OneMain Holdings, Brookfield Asset Management, Emerson Electric Co, Hilton Worldwide Holdings, Reynolds Consumer Products, Silicon Laboratories, Brands, Sciences, CDW Corp, Fox Corporation, WYNN, PayPal, Arm Holdings plc, ARM, Axcelis Technologies, Mattel, Paycom, Annaly Capital Management, McKesson Corp, Health Corporation, O'Reilly Automotive, Allstate Corp, Fluence Energy, Power Systems, Digital Turbine, Blue Bird Corp, Everest Group, Omega HealthCare, Coty, COTY, ConocoPhillips, Cameco Corp, Philip Morris International, Spirit Airlines, Hershey Company, Lightspeed Commerce, Aurora Cannabis, Lincoln National Corp, P, Tenet Healthcare Corp, Asbury Automotive Group, Arrow Electronics, Baxter International, PetMed, Boyd Gaming Corp, FirstEnergy Corp, Motorola Solutions, Terex Corp, PepsiCo, Growth, AMC Networks, Owl, American Pipeline, TELUS International, Magna International, Newell Brands, Jim Cramer's Charitable, CNBC, Bloomberg, Getty Locations: U.S, China, Macau, Wynn Macau, Valvoline, VVV, ALFVY, Madison, New Jersey, Gilead, Ceridian, ORLY, Paycor, Aurora, Provo , Utah

☆ 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

☆ Here's why a top VC says healthcare investors should make growth-stage bets right now — and where he's looking for those deals
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-18 | by ( Rebecca Torrence | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

As a multi-stage VC fund, Lightspeed has an advantage in its exposure to both early-stage and later-stage healthcare markets, Imanbayev said. And many later-stage healthcare startups still have plenty of room to grow, he said. The first one to three years are often slow-moving for a healthcare startup, too, as it works to get its first partnerships with payers or providers, he said. But they also tend to be less risky, since later-stage startups should have revenue streams or partnerships that demonstrate their value. Lightspeed led value-based care startup Aledade's $260 million Series F in June 2023, an unusually large deal as other investors cut much smaller checks.

Persons: —, Galym, Imanbayev, I'm, There's, Farzad Mostashari, Aledade Tom Sandner, VCs, Abridge, he's, Chris Severn Organizations: Business, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Lightspeed, CVS, Health, Turquoise Health, Pharma, FDA, pharma

☆ Stability AI: Cofounder Sues Startup Behind Stable Diffusion for up to $300 Million
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-17 | by ( Riddhi Kanetkar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Tayab Waseem claims that he was a cofounder in Stability AI and that the company has reneged on its promise of a 10% stake in the London-based AI startup. Stability AI rose to prominence in 2022 when users flooded its Stable Diffusion program, generating images of everything from hyperrealistic portraits to fantasy landscapes. Stability AI raised an undisclosed amount from Intel in October 2023. Waseem joined Stability AI when the cofounders, Mostaque and Hodes, were launching a project called CAIAC, which used AI to combat COVID-19, Waseem told BI. AdvertisementAccording to the filing, Stability AI had not paid him a formal salary due to cash flow problems, instead promising him 10% in equity interest.

Persons: —, Tayab Waseem, Emad Mostaque, Cyrus Hodes, Mostaque, Mike Bloomberg, Waseem Organizations: Service, Business, Intel, Getty Images, Bloomberg, Court, Eastern, of Locations: London

☆ GPT and other AI models can't analyze an SEC filing, researchers find
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-19 | by ( Kif Leswing | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Patronus AI co-founders Anand Kannappan and Rebecca Qian Patronus AILarge language models, similar to the one at the heart of ChatGPT, frequently fail to answer questions derived from Securities and Exchange Commission filings, researchers from a startup called Patronus AI found. "That type of performance rate is just absolutely unacceptable," Patronus AI co-founder Anand Kannappan said. It feels like just testing by inspection," Patronus AI co-founder Rebecca Qian said. Here's some examples of questions in the dataset, provided by Patronus AI: Has CVS Health paid dividends to common shareholders in Q2 of FY2022? How the AI models did on the test

Persons: Anand Kannappan, Rebecca Qian Patronus, OpenAI's, ChatGPT, they're, Rebecca Qian, FinanceBench, Qian Organizations: Securities, Exchange, CNBC, SEC, Bloomberg, JPMorgan, McKinsey, Microsoft, Facebook, Meta, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Patronus, CVS, AMD, Coca

☆ After closed door OpenAI drama, open source AI backed by Nvidia, Eric Schmidt, could emerge winner
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-22 | by ( Rebecca Fannin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

The Hugging Face website on a laptop arranged in New York, US, on Thursday, Aug. 17, 2023. "We should encourage all companies to build on disruption-proof AI technology that only open source can offer." To be clear, big bets made on open source AI pre-date last Friday when news first broke of Sam Altman's removal as OpenAI CEO, and those bets include an open source AI model controlled by one dominant tech company, Meta Platforms ' Llama. Open source and AI governanceFormer Google CEO Eric Schmidt is behind Mistral AI, another open source rival to OpenAI's ChatGPT. A third open source AI startup, Poolside AI, recently pulled in $126 million co-led by French telecom and internet billionaire Xavier Niel and U.S. VC firm Felicis Ventures.

Persons: Gabby Jones, Eric Schmidt, Sam Altman, Microsoft —, Mike Gualtieri, Forrester, Marc Benioff, Delip Rao, Sam Altman's, Thomas Wolf, We've, Wolf, Linus Torvalds, Paul Drews, OpenAI's, Arthur Mensch, Mistral, Xavier Niel Organizations: Nvidia, Bloomberg, Getty Images Tech, Salesforce, Qualcomm, Microsoft, Twitter, Google, Meta, IBM, Intel, Sequoia Capital, Salesforce Ventures, Mistral, alums, Lightspeed Venture Partners, French, . VC, Felicis Ventures Locations: New York, France

☆ Look inside this startup's self-propelled RV, as camping goes electric
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-20 | by ( Diana Olick | In Dianaolick | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The $50 billion travel trailer industry is finally hitching up to the electric vehicle ecosystem. As more Americans move to electric cars, the trailer industry has to evolve because the towing runs down the battery quickly. The drag on battery power can make towing an RV long distances with an EV prohibitive. In addition to UpHonest, Pebble is backed by Lightspeed and Vision Plus. With the solar and battery power, the Pebble makers say it can live off the grid for seven days, without propane or a generator required.

Persons: Bingrui Yang, Ellen Ma, Yang, —, Lisa Rizzolo Organizations: Pebble Mobility, Mobility, Apple, UpHonest, Lightspeed, Vision, CNBC PRO Locations: Winnebago, California

Nov 7 (Reuters) - Enable, a startup that sells rebate software to trading partners, has raised $120 million in a latest funding round that valued it at $1 billion, the company said on Tuesday. Its previous capital raise over a year ago had put Enable's value at over $800 million. The fresh private funding in a slowing market for growth stage financing comes as the software firm more than doubled its revenue, according to the company. Founded in the UK in 2016 before relocating its headquarters to San Francisco in 2020, Enable offers cloud-based software to manufacturers, distributors and retailers to manage the rebate program in their supply chain. "Given the gap in the market, they're able to persist and grow despite a lot of the macro (economic conditions).

Persons: We've, Andrew Butt, They're, Arsham Memarzadeh, Krystal Hu, Bill Berkrot Organizations: Lightspeed Venture Partner, Schneider, Lightspeed, Thomson Locations: San Francisco, U.S, Canada, Europe, Australia, The U.S

Mistral, a tiny AI startup that aims to be Europe's answer to OpenAI, is in discussions to raise a major round of funding that could push its valuation above $2 billion. Its cofounders are in talks with venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz to raise further funds, seven sources familiar with proceedings told Insider. Mistral is set to raise around $400 million at a valuation of at least $2 billion, which could rise to as high as $2.5 billion, three sources said. The deal is not yet finalized and the round size, valuation figures, and participants could still change. Andreessen Horowitz, General Catalyst, Mistral, Abstract Ventures, and Bezos Expeditions did not respond to Insider's request for comment.

Persons: Andreessen Horowitz, Catalyst, Arthur Mensch, Guillaume Lample, Timothée Lacroix, Jeff Bezos, Xavier Niel Organizations: Mistral, Meta, DeepMind, Bezos Expeditions, Amazon, Catalyst, Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners Locations: Paris

The creator economy buzz has simmered down but some startups are still catching investors' attention. Insider asked over a dozen VCs and angel investors to share which startups are on their radar. Here are 14 startups to watch in the creator economy as 2023 comes to a wrap. Yes, the buzz around the creator economy has fizzled out and consolidation has swept through the industry, but some startups are still catching the attention of investors. Insider asked more than a dozen venture capital and angel investors specializing in the creator economy, from firms including Hustle Fund, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and MaC Ventures, about the creator startups they think are most promising this year.

Organizations: Hustle Fund, Lightspeed Venture Partners, MaC Ventures

☆ At unicorn startup Carta, a culture of absolute fealty to an erratic and vindictive CEO, employees say
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-24 | by ( Darius Rafieyan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +17 min

Both men remained valued employees at Carta, with the sales representative even getting promoted just weeks after the alleged "helicopter penis" incident, according to former employees. CEO Henry Ward cofounded Carta, originally called eShares, in 2012 as a service for startups to digitize their paper stock certificates. Today Carta helps startups track their investors, employees manage their equity awards, and venture capitalists administer their funds. The lawsuit says that 10 days after Rogers filed her complaint, Ward "began treating Ms. Rogers in an aggressive and demeaning manner during several meetings." Many of the employees who have spoken out publicly about Carta and Ward have found themselves embroiled in expensive legal battles.

Persons: Lisa Whittaker, Whittaker, Jerry Talton, David Kim, Andrea Lamari, Kim, Henry Ward, Andreessen Horowitz, Ward, Henry, Alex Kurland, Carta, Peter Thiel, Simon Cowell, Talton's, Suzanne Elovic, Elovic, Lamari, Jeff Perry, Perry, salespeople, JT Goodman, Goodman, Goodman didn't, Jeff Perrry, Allie Rogers, Rogers, Rodgers, Rachel Mayes, Ward doesn't, Mayes, Jeff, Jeff Perry countersued, Orrick Herrington, Sutcliffe, Kleiner Perkins, Ellen Pao, Amanda Sheets, Sheets, Pushback, Lindauer, Whitaker, Whittaker wasn't, Barbara Byrne, Byrne, Talton, Joe Osnoss, Osnoss, Heidi Johnson, Johnson Organizations: Carta, UBS, Gold Club, Lightspeed, California Civil Rights Department, Meritech, YouTube, Win, York Stock Exchange, San, San Francisco Superior, San Francisco Superior Court, Barclays, Lehman Brothers, Montana Human Rights Bureau Locations: San Francisco, Brazil, Silicon Valley, California, Palo, Iranian, Lindauer, Silver, Montana

☆ Insider is seeking nominations for the 2023 rising stars of venture capital
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-24 | by ( Samantha Stokes | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Insider is putting together a list of the best up-and-coming venture capitalists of 2023. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . AdvertisementAdvertisementWe are seeking nominations for Insider's yearly list of rising stars of venture capital, and we want to hear from you. In the past, we've had people with a variety of roles and experiences from VC funds like Founders Fund, Greylock Partners, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Tiger Global, and Spark Capital. Please email Madeline Renbarger at mrenbarger@insider.com or Samantha Stokes at sstokes@insider.com with any questions or issues submitting your nominations.

Persons: VCs, —, we've, Madeline Renbarger, Samantha Stokes Organizations: Service, Founders, Greylock Partners, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Tiger Global, Spark Locations: mrenbarger@insider.com, sstokes@insider.com

SummaryCompanies India's Avendus to launch investment banking in Southeast AsiaKKR-backed Avendus' managing director Gupta to move to SingaporeAvendus expects Southeast Asia to grow fast in coming yearsMUMBAI, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Indian financial services firm Avendus will start offering investment banking services from Singapore to cash in on an expected technology sector dealmaking boom in the Southeast Asia region. Karan Sharma, a managing director for Avendus in India said the operations from Singapore will focus on advising technology sector funding rounds of $40-50 million in Southeast Asia. Sharma said Avendus India Managing Director Varun Gupta will lead the Southeast Asia operations and relocate to Singapore early next year. The demographics and infrastructure challenges are similar," said Sharma, who co-heads Avendus' Digital & Technology Investment Banking division in India. Dealmaking in Southeast Asia should help lift Asian mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity in the second half of the year, bankers told Reuters in June.

Persons: Gupta, Avendus, Karan Sharma, Sharma, Varun Gupta, GoTo, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Sriram, Yantoultra Ngui, Aditya Kalra, Sharon Singleton Organizations: Asia KKR, Singapore Avendus, U.S, KKR, Avendus, & Technology Investment Banking, Tiger Global, Reuters, Asia, Accel, Lightspeed, Venture Intelligence, Thomson Locations: Asia, Singapore, Southeast Asia, MUMBAI, India

☆ Another US venture capital firm, Leonardo DiCaprio-backed Regeneration.VC, moves a general partner to Europe
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-13 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

US venture capital firm Regeneration.VC, backed by Leonardo DiCaprio, has moved a founding partner to Europe and is raising its second fund. Michael Smith, a general partner at LA-headquartered Regeneration.VC, moved his family to Amsterdam, the Netherlands, in August. Smith set up Regeneration.VC in 2020 to back seed and Series A stage companies in what he dubbed "consumer climate technology." "For our first fund, we had investors and then companies in our portfolio in Europe. Around one third of Regeneration.VC's first fund has gone to European companies so far, Smith said.

Persons: Leonardo DiCaprio, Michael Smith, Smith, Regeneration.VC, Biden's Organizations: LA, Lightspeed Ventures, Economy Foundation Locations: Regeneration.VC, Europe, Amsterdam, Netherlands, Sequoia, Denmark, New York, New Zealand, California

Insider spoke with startup founders and VCs who are managing companies while aiding the war effort. Startup founders and employees have traveled back to Israel from their homes abroad to take up arms and defend their country. The call to serveIn Israel, military service is mandatory for all citizens over 18. These startup founders and employees are using the skills they use every day like problem solving, multitasking and leading during the war effort. "I'm lucky to be a cofounder not a sole founder, so I'm relying on my cofounder," Kandel explained.

Persons: Israel, VCs, —, Oren Kandel, I'm, We're, Munch, Kandel, Isaac Gili, Jon Medved, David, Noy, Danielle Eisenberg, Leyb, Eisenberg, I've, Medved, Oren Kandel Kandel, that's, Ben Yellin, Ofer Sharon, Itamar Friedman, " Eisenberg, Tasmin Lockwood Organizations: Palestinian, Hamas, Service, Wednesday, Israeli Defense Forces, Startup, Israel Relief, Microsoft, Israel, Tel, Lightspeed Venture Partners, GGV, Insight Partners Locations: Gaza, Israel, Gedera, New York, cyberintelligence, Tel Aviv, Binyamina

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