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☆ Opinion | Nate Silver on How Kamala Harris Changed the Odds
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-13 | by ( Ezra Klein | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +81 min

You know, Hillary Clinton, who was, I think, kind of a terrible candidate, won the popular vote by two points. So I don’t think they gave her a very good hand to play. It doesn’t matter who you are, it matters that you’re right and you’re able to prove it or bet on it in some way. What wasn’t in the Harris model that should have been?” “Yeah, maybe you really can meme your way to victory. And there’s something in it that I don’t think she can explain how she does it, but it makes her a fascinating leader.

Persons: Nate Silver, ”, ESPN’s Nate Silver, Silver, He’s, “ Savage, ” “, he’s, Ezra, Harris, we’ve, Kamala Harris, Donald Trump’s, There’s, Hillary Clinton, she’s, She’s, Gavin Newsom, It’s, Biden, I’m, you’re, Joe Biden, Democratic Party Harris, Liz, —, “, Donald Trump, that’s, George W, Bush, Donald Trump wasn’t, it’s, Michael Jackson, Woody Allen, ’, Chick, don’t, George Floyd, ‘ COVID, COVID, Peter Thiel, Elon Musk, Michael Moritz, Elon, Mark Cuban, Thiel, Max Chafkin, Mark Zuckerberg, Larry Page, Sergey Brin, Marc Andreessen, Ted Cruz, Sam Bankman, Tom Brady, SBF, Carrick Flynn, Oregon’s, I’m Carrick Flynn, Tara MacAulay, vouched, Bill Clinton, Tyler Cowen, they’ve, Jane, JD Vance, Peter Thiel’s, Vance, Trump, Steve Bannon, Don Trump, Jr, Tucker Carlson, Tim Walz, Josh Shapiro, Tell, you’ve, Shapiro, Walz, I’ve, Iglesias, Obama, Susan Collins, Joe Manchin —, Jon Tester, ” “ Sherrod Brown, I’d, Dana White, Hulk Hogan, Joe Biden’s, — let’s, Mike Donilon, Kennedy, ” “ Tim Alberta, Georgia —, Brian Kemp, Blake Masters, Rick Scott, ” “ Trump, Doug Burgum, Black, didn’t, — Woodrow Wilson, Harry Truman, Michael Jordan, everyone’s, Nancy Pelosi’s, Nancy Pelosi, Joe ’, we’re, I’ll, John Coates, Richard Rhodes, Natasha Schüll, Natasha Organizations: Oracle, Trump, Democratic Party, Facebook, Twitter, The New York Times, ’ Harvard University, Democratic White House, Republican White House, Democratic, Silver, George, Vegas, Poker, extroversion, Elon, Sequoia Capital, McLaren, Paypal, Republican, New, PAC, Alameda, Las, Ohio Senate, underperform, White, UFC, RNC, Biden, Biden ., National Association of Black Journalists, Deutsche Bank, Manhattan Project, Design Locations: Nate, Russian, Russia, ’, Elon, Florida, predestiny, Bahamas, Sam, Africa, New York, Oregon, Las Vegas, Petersburg, United States, Ohio, Trump, Minnesota, ” “ Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania, Gaza, Chicago, Montana, Nevada, North Carolina, Georgia, Nevada , Arizona, Biden . Georgia, Carolina, Arizona, Ukraine, LA, It’s, Vegas

☆ Sequoia invests in Reflection AI, a startup founded by Google DeepMind alum, at $100 million valuation, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-07 | by ( Sri Muppidi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Read previewReflection AI, a startup building AI agents, has raised new funding at a $100 million valuation, Business Insider has learned. AI agents promise to execute difficult tasks, like booking an appointment or updating Salesforce. Laskin conducted AI research at the Berkeley Artificial Intelligence Research Lab and most recently worked at Google DeepMind, the company's AI research lab. AdvertisementReflection isn't the only startup building AI agents. In June, Amazon hired away the cofounders of AI agent startup Adept, which raised more than $400 million in funding, and licensed its technology, reported GeekWire.

Persons: —, cofounders, Misha Laskin, Ioannis Antonoglou, DeepMind, Laskin, Anthropic's Claude, OpenAI's, Antonoglou, Ioannis Organizations: Service, Sequoia Capital, Sequoia, Business, Berkeley Artificial Intelligence, Google, Amazon Locations: DeepMind

☆ Sequoia's Michael Moritz says Trump's Silicon Valley supporters are making a 'big mistake'
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-05 | by ( Sri Muppidi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Read previewWhile some Silicon Valley investors and startup leaders are going red hoping for a more "tech-friendly" White House, Michael Moritz, a storied Sequoia Capital investor, believes that does not reflect the Valley overall. "Fortunately, at least in Silicon Valley, Trump will not prevail," Moritz wrote in a Financial Times opinion piece, which was also posted on LinkedIn. Like the rest of the nation, Silicon Valley is deeply divided over whom to support in the upcoming presidential race. In his piece, Moritz chided Trump supporters in Silicon Valley. Moritz added that Trump had historically not performed well among Silicon Valley voters.

Persons: —, Michael Moritz, Trump, Moritz, Kamala Harris, Donald Trump, Doug Leone, Shaun Maguire, Roelof Botha, Andreessen Horowitz, Marc Andreessen, Ben Horowitz, Fund's Peter Thiel, David Sacks, Chamath, Vance, Sen, JD Vance, Palmer Luckey, Elon Musk, VCs, Kamala, Harris, Vinod Khosla, Reid Hoffman, Mark Cuban, Ron Conway Organizations: Service, Sequoia Capital, LinkedIn, Business, Google, PayPal, Democratic, Republican, Tech, Trump, VR, Bloomberg, PAC, Street Journal, Netflix, Harris, Politico Locations: Silicon Valley, Sequoia, Park City , Utah, Silicon, Palo Alto , California, Newport Beach , California, Washington ,, Francisco, San Jose

☆ Trump's tech backers are 'making a big mistake,' Sequoia's Mike Moritz says
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-05 | by ( Rohan Goswami | In Rohangoswamicnbc | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

As leading tech investors continue to vocally take sides ahead of the 2024 presidential election, legendary venture capitalist Michael Moritz is making his preference clear. In a Financial Times opinion piece published Monday, Moritz wrote that those in the industry who are supporting Donald Trump "are making a big mistake." Moritz was referring to Trump's conviction, earlier this year, on 34 felony counts in New York State court. Other Trump backers include venture capitalists David Sacks and Joe Lonsdale as well as Doug Leone, Moritz's longtime partner at Sequoia. Moritz wrote in his op-ed that Trump's tech financiers and supporters were "making the same mistake as all powerful people who back authoritarians."

Persons: Michael Moritz, Moritz, Donald Trump, Moritz —, LinkedIn —, Trump, Andreessen Horowitz, Marc Andreessen, Ben Horowitz, Elon Musk, David Sacks, Joe Lonsdale, Doug Leone, Moritz's, He's, Reid Hoffman, Kamala Harris, Joe Biden, VCs, Harris, Kamala, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mitt Romney, John Kasich's, OpenSecrets Organizations: Sequoia Capital, Google, PayPal, LinkedIn, Trump, Tesla, Sequoia ., Democratic, Trump Lincoln Project, Republican, Tech Locations: Sequoia, New York, Silicon Valley, California, Ohio

☆ Kamala Harris gets support of more than 100 VCs and tech execs in online pledge
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-31 | by ( Lora Kolodny | In Lorakolodny | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at a campaign rally at the Georgia State Convocation Center in Atlanta on July 30, 2024. More than 100 VCs on Wednesday pledged their support to Vice President Kamala Harris, the de facto Democratic nominee, as she ramps up her campaign to take on Trump in the November election. The group, calling itself VCs for Kamala, is made up of investors and entrepreneurs from a range of established and rising funds, and different demographic groups. "We spend our days looking for, investing in and supporting entrepreneurs who are building the future," the group said in its pledge. The VCs for Kamala list highlights a deepening political divide in Silicon Valley and the broader tech industry.

Persons: Kamala Harris, Donald Trump, Kamala, Vinod Khosla, Reid Hoffman, Mark Cuban, Aileen Lee, Rebecca Kaden, Elon Musk, VCs Marc Andreessen, Ben Horowitz, Trump, Musk, Shaun Maguire, 8VC's Joe Lonsdale, Musk's, David Sacks, Hoffman, Greylock, Harris, Erika Lucas Organizations: Republican, Democratic, Trump, Khosla Ventures, LinkedIn, Dallas Mavericks, Cowboy Ventures, Union Square Ventures, America PAC, Sequoia, Craft Ventures, Republican National Convention, Musk, Convention Locations: Georgia, Atlanta, Silicon Valley, Chicago

☆ Why Silicon Valley Is Going to War Against the Media, Journalists
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-30 | by ( ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +21 min

Just 20 years ago journalists covered the tech industry "like it didn't matter, like it was this hobbyist, interesting, plucky thing." The pro-tech media gives tech's main characters the chance to write their way back to the original storyline. Trae Stephens, a partner at Founders Fund, described Pirate Wires as a kind of daily affirmation for Silicon Valley. Related storiesTrae Stephens, a partner at Founders Fund, described Pirate Wires as a kind of daily affirmation for Silicon Valley. Of the members of the news media I talked to about pro-tech media, some were backhandedly laudatory.

Persons: Mike Solana, Solana, Peter Thiel, —, David Sacks, Jason Calacanis, Chamath Palihapitiya, David Friedberg, Elon Musk, Sam Altman, Tucker Carlson, Donald Trump, There's, Coogan, John Coogan, Andreessen Horowitz, Marc Andreessen, they're, Balaji Srinivasan, Mark Zuckerberg, Donald Trump's, Tyler Le, Sam Bankman, Warren Buffett, Trae Stephens, Andreessen, Palmer Luckey, It's, Dick Lucas, Lucas, Joe Rogan, Kamala, Stephens, Packy McCormick, Taylor Lorenz, Ryan Mac, Kevin Roose, Jesse Singal —, Casey Newton, Casey isn't, Casey, Newton, Erik Torenberg, Anthony Fauci, Ellen Pao, Katherine Maher, George Soros, Joe Biden, Chesa Boudin, Boudin, Gavin Newsom, Palihapitiya, Sacks, Trump, JD Vance, Brian Merchant, Ben Smith, Eric Newcomer, he's, Lulu Cheng Meservey, Balaji Srinivasan's, Zoë Bernard Organizations: Fund, Tech, Founders Fund, Apple, Elon, Elite, Sequoia Capital, Pirate, Penguin Group, Big Tech, Card Industry, Washington Post, TechCrunch, Media, NPR, Google, Disney, Twitter, Republican National Convention, Bloomberg, monetization, San, Business Locations: San Francisco, Substack, Silicon Valley, New York, Silicon, Solana, Miami, Francisco, California, Los Angeles

☆ Opinion | How Long Will A.I.’s ‘Slop’ Era Last?
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-24 | by ( David Wallace-Wells | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

investments might be three times as large as expected returns, while another analyst, in several assessments published by Sequoia Capital, calculated that investments in A.I. (He called this “A.I.’s $600 billion question” and warned of “investment incineration.”) In a similarly bearish Goldman Sachs report, the firm’s head of global equity research estimated that the cost of A.I. “Replacing low-wage jobs with tremendously costly technology is basically the polar opposite of the prior technology transitions I’ve witnessed,” he noted. expenditure, more than the United States spends annually on its military, and think: What exactly is that money going toward? slop”: often uncanny, frequently misleading material, now flooding web browsers and social-media platforms like spam in old inboxes.

Persons: Goldman Sachs, ”, Erik Hoel, Anthony Aguirre “, A.I, “, slop, we’ve Organizations: Barclays, Sequoia Capital Locations: A.I, United

Wiz has walked away from a $23 billion deal to be acquired by Google, in what would have been the search giant's largest-ever deal, telling employees it would pursue an initial public offering as it initially planned. The deal would have nearly doubled the $12 billion valuation of the startup from its most recent round of funding. Alphabet's cloud segment has been under pressure to grow amid competition from frontrunners Microsoft and Amazon, something the Wiz deal would have helped with. The shift benefited Wiz, which can flag security issues for applications and data on the Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Oracle public clouds. In an interview with CNBC's Sara Eisen and Carl Quintanilla at the New York Stock Exchange last year, Eisen asked Rappaport if he wants to take the startup public.

Persons: Sundar Pichai, Wiz, Assaf Rappaport, Rappaport, Thomas Kurian, Brendan Burke, It's, Doug Leone, Covid, Sid Trivedi, CNBC's Sara Eisen, Carl Quintanilla, Eisen Organizations: Alphabet Inc, Government, Society, Google, CNBC, Microsoft, Index Ventures, Insight Partners, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Sequoia, PitchBook, Intuit, Ventures, Sequoia Capital, Wiz's, Wiz, Oracle, Foundation Capital, Motorola, Lenovo, New York Stock Exchange Locations: Stanford , California, Sequoia

☆ A rash of tech billionaires are pivoting to Trump — but not because they’re MAGA bros
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-18 | by ( Allison Morrow | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

But there’s a small, powerful sect of Silicon Valley billionaires who are carving a path for the maybe-Trumpers and the MAGA-curious in the tech world. David Sacks, the billionaire tech investor, co-hosted a fundraiser last month at his San Francisco home and spoke at the Republican National Convention on Monday. In the last election cycle, the few Trump backers that existed in the Valley largely kept their support under the radar. Their numbers are still small, but they’re no longer hiding, and their wallets are open. And, as Kovacevich notes, just because there are a few big names turning toward Trump, “they’re not speaking for everybody.”“In fact, most of the big company CEOs aren’t terribly involved in partisan politics,” Kovacevich says.

Persons: CNN Business ’, Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, MAGA, Elon Musk, Trump, David Sacks, San Francisco, Doug Leone, Palantir, Joe Lonsdale, what’s, Adam Kovacevich, ”, “, Biden, Lina Khan, Joe Biden’s, Gary Gensler, who’s, Marc Andreessen, Ben Horowitz, Trump’s, hasn’t, they’ve, Reid Hoffman, Eric Schmidt, aren’t, ” Kovacevich, “ They’re Organizations: CNN Business, New York CNN, Silicon, Wall Street, Trump, America PAC, San, Republican National Convention, Sequoia Capital, Biden, of, Financial Times, SEC, Big Tech, LinkedIn, Google Locations: New York, Silicon

Andreessen and Horowitz are the latest and most prominent members of the startup investing community to publicly support Trump. Up until now, there have been pockets of vocal Trump support within Silicon Valley, including conservative provocateur Peter Thiel, the pugnacious hosts of the All-In podcast, and Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale. WE HAVE A FORMER TECH VC IN THE WHITE HOUSE. Most of the VCs Business Insider spoke to were unanimously against Kahn. "If it is Biden vs. Trump officially, I think many '"never Trumpers" will go with Trump," said a Bay Area VC.

Persons: —, Andreessen Horowitz, Ben Horowitz, Marc Andreessen, Donald Trump, Sen, JD Vance, Peter Thiel's, Steve Case, Andreessen, Horowitz, provocateur Peter Thiel, Palantir, Joe Lonsdale, Elon Musk, who's, Joe Biden, Vance, Trump, IT'S JD VANCE, WE, MAGA, he's, Bradley Tusk, Chuck Schumer, Tusk, Lina Khan, That's, what's, Kahn, Lina Kahn, Khan, Biden, they're, David Hornik Organizations: Service, The Little, Business, Trump, Wall Street, Founder's Fund, TECH, Democratic, Biden, FTC, SEC, Bay, Republican, Sequoia Capital, Lobby Locations: America, Silicon Valley, New York, Delian, San Francisco, Silicon, There's

☆ Exclusive: AI coding startup Anysphere is raising a new funding round with at least a $400 million valuation from A16z
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-16 | by ( Sri Muppidi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

A16z is investing in Anysphere at a valuation of at least $400 million, sources say. Anysphere's investors include OpenAI Startup Fund, Sequoia Capital, and BoxGroup. AdvertisementAnysphere, a startup creating an AI code editor called Cursor, is raising a new funding round with at least a valuation of $400 million from A16z, Business Insider has learned. Founded in 2022, Anysphere last raised $8 million in seed funding at a valuation of $56.5 million, according to PitchBook data. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers.

Persons: —, Anysphere, Nat Friedman, Arash Ferdowsi Organizations: OpenAI, Sequoia Capital, Service, OpenAI Startup, Business Locations: Anysphere, A16z

☆ CNBC Daily Open: Trump assassination attempt
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-15 | by ( Abid Ali | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

This report is from today's CNBC Daily Open, our international markets newsletter. CNBC Daily Open brings investors up to speed on everything they need to know, no matter where they are. Trump assassination attemptThe attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday left one attendee and the gunman dead, and two more attendees in critical condition. Trump was grazed by a bullet and treated at a local hospital, but released late Saturday night. Dimon inflation warningJPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon has warned that inflation and interest rates may remain high despite recent easing in price pressures.

Persons: Trump, Donald Trump, Thomas Matthew Crooks, Larry Hu, CNBC's Evelyn Cheng, Russell, CNBC's Michael Santoli, Wiz, Jamie Dimon, Dimon Organizations: CNBC, FBI, NBC, Macquarie, Communist Party of, Dow, Dow Jones, Depot, Caterpillar, Big Tech, Nasdaq, Wiz, Wall Street Journal, Sequoia Capital, Insight Partners, U.S Locations: Pennsylvania, Bethel Park, Pa, China's, Beijing, China, Communist Party of China, Israeli

☆ CNBC Daily Open: Biden urges unity
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-15 | by ( Abid Ali | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

This report is from today's CNBC Daily Open, our international markets newsletter. CNBC Daily Open brings investors up to speed on everything they need to know, no matter where they are. Trump assassination attemptPresident Joe Biden addressed the nation from the White House, where he condemned all political violence and called for unity. [PRO] Gearing up for electionsWith the U.S. presidential election approaching and stock markets at all-time highs, professional investors are emphasizing portfolio diversification to mitigate risks. Despite a brief downturn due to a rotation out of mega-cap growth stocks, the markets rebounded, setting new records.

Persons: Trump, Joe Biden, Biden, Donald Trump, Thomas Matthew Crooks, CNBC's Evelyn Cheng, Russell, CNBC's Michael Santoli, Wiz, David Roche, Hong, Australia's, Korea's Kospi Organizations: CNBC, White, FBI, NBC, Dow, Dow Jones, Depot, Caterpillar, Big Tech, Nasdaq, Wiz, Wall Street Journal, Sequoia Capital, Insight Partners, Quantum, Trump, Republican, Senate, CSI, U.S Locations: Pennsylvania, Bethel Park , Pennsylvania, China, Israeli, Hong Kong Asia, Pacific

☆ Google reportedly in advanced talks to acquire cyber startup Wiz for $23 billion, its largest-ever deal
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-14 | by ( Rohan Goswami | In Rohangoswamicnbc | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Google is in advanced talks to acquire cybersecurity firm Wiz for $23 billion, The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday, citing people familiar with the matter. It had been eyeing an IPO as recently as May, when the company achieved a valuation of $12 billion. Google has made large cyber acquisitions before: The company acquired cybersecurity firm Mandiant for $5.4 billion two years ago. But its reported talks with Wiz would suggest that the company has developed a fresh appetite for M&A, competitive concerns notwithstanding. Google had been in talks to acquire sales software maker Hubspot, CNBC previously reported, but its pursuit had reportedly cooled.

Persons: Sundar Pichai, Wiz, Assaf Rappaport Organizations: Alphabet Inc, Government, Society, Google, Street, Wiz, Ventures, Insight Partners, Sequoia Capital, CNBC Locations: Stanford , California

☆ Startups are building robots that can perceive the human world. Here's why VC firms like Khosla and a16z say that spatial intelligence will be the next big thing in AI.
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-09 | by ( Samantha Stokes | Emma Cosgrove | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Spatial intelligence allows robots to navigate and interact with their environment more efficiently, which means that robots can perform more complex tasks with higher precision and adaptability. AdvertisementEven so, investors say that spatial intelligence represents a quantum leap for the robotics industry, a space already benefiting from an AI boom. Lior Susan, CEO and founder of Eclipse Ventures, is betting that the difficulty of building AI with spatial intelligence will yield bigger returns in the future. "You see this boom of generative AI startups that are actually buying a lot of compute that do not have a business model yet," Susan said. Big tech is rolling in, tooBigger tech companies are also gearing up to compete in robotics' spatial intelligence race—both as builders and investors.

Persons: —, Andreessen Horowitz, Catalyst, Howard Morgan, Max Rimple, Erin Price, Wright, Fei, Fei Li, Kanu Gulati, Khosla, –, Gulati, Lior Susan, Susan, Jeff Bezos, Jensen Huang Organizations: Service, Khosla Ventures, Business, B Capital, Catalyst, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Coatue Management, Stanford University, Eclipse Ventures, Intelligence, Lux, Sequoia Capital, Microsoft, Nvidia, Carbon Robotics, AIs Locations: LLMs, OpenAI, Lux Capital, Taipei

☆ Software security startup Chainguard is raising a new funding round at a $1.1 billion valuation, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-08 | by ( Sri Muppidi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

It will be valued at $1.1 billion in a new funding round, sources say. AdvertisementChainguard, a startup that boosts the security of customers' software supply chains, is raising a new funding round at a $1.1 billion valuation, Business Insider has learned. The latest fundraise would triple the startup's valuation from its last funding round, a $61 million Series B last November that valued it at $411 million, according to PitchBook data. Founded in 2021, Chainguard's investors include Spark Capital, Sequoia Capital, Amplify Partners, The Chainsmokers' Mantis VC, and Banana Capital. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers.

Persons: — Organizations: Sequoia, Spark, Service, Sequoia Capital, Banana, Business

☆ Inside Europe's tech hubs: France's AI push puts it on the rise
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-27 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +31 min

Brimming with entrepreneurs and around 1,000 startup companies, it embodies France's exciting tech industry. So if you could rank Europe's tech hubs, what would be your top three? But I'm really excited about Lisbon actually, I know the Mayor of Lisbon pretty well, have been hearing really positive things. I mean things like that could just be completely deprioritized, which is essentially what has been helping us move things forward in France. Under Macron what have been for you the big positives that have come out of his presidency and tech push more broadly.

Persons: Tom Chitty, Roxanne Varza, Bruno Le Maire, Tom Chitty The, you'll, Arjun, I've, Roxanne, Macron, we'd, we've, Tom Chitty Let's, Xavier Niel, he's, Roxanne Varza That's, we're, I'm, Roxanne Varza Paris, Tom Chitty Arjun, Arjun Kharpal, What's, There's, you've, haven't, They're, Roxanne Varza Big, Tom Chitty U.S, Arjun Kharpal It's, who's, that's, there's, they've, we'll, Tom, Tom Chitty We'll Organizations: Meta, Google, CNBC, Uber, Accel, Dealroom, Mistral, Viva Tech, Sequoia Capital, Big Tech, Microsoft, French Finance, London Stock Exchange, London . Locations: Paris, France, French, Europe, beyondthevalley@cnbc.com, London, Berlin, U.S, Silicon Valley, Palo Alto, Bay, Amsterdam, Lisbon, Old, Shoreditch, London . Tel Aviv

☆ Sequoia-backed security startup Vanta will see its valuation soar past $2 billion in new funding round, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-20 | by ( Ben Bergman | Sri Muppidi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

It will be valued at more than $2 billion in a new funding round, Business Insider has learned. AdvertisementVanta, a startup that helps companies comply with security standards, is set to be valued at more than $2 billion in a new insider funding round, multiple sources told Business Insider. Vanta was last valued at $1.6 billion in a 2022 funding round led by Craft Ventures on October 12, 2022, according to Forbes. CrowdStrike Holdings, Atlassian Ventures, HubSpot Ventures, Workday Ventures, Acrew Capital, Pioneer Fund, ASDF Ventures, Zag Capital, Sequoia Capital, Frontline Ventures, Y Combinator and LAUNCH Fund also participated in the last round. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers.

Persons: —, Vanta Organizations: Sequoia, Craft Ventures, Service, Business, Forbes, CrowdStrike Holdings, Atlassian Ventures, HubSpot Ventures, Acrew, Pioneer Fund, ASDF Ventures, Zag, Sequoia Capital, Frontline Ventures Locations: Acrew Capital

☆ Elon Musk drops suit against OpenAI and Sam Altman
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-11 | by ( Hayden Field | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

In this photo illustration, the logo of 'OpenAI' is displayed on a mobile phone screen in front of a computer screen displaying the photographs of Elon Musk and Sam Altman in Ankara, Turkiye on March 14, 2024. Elon Musk on Tuesday withdrew his lawsuit against OpenAI and two of the company's co-founders, Sam Altman and Greg Brockman, in California state court. Musk's decision to file to dismiss the suit came just one day after he publicly criticized OpenAI and its new partnership with Apple. In February, Musk had filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, Altman and Brockman — the current CEO and president of OpenAI, respectively — for breach of contract and fiduciary duty. Last year, Musk debuted his own AI startup and OpenAI competitor, xAI, which last month announced a $6 billion Series B funding round.

Persons: Elon Musk, Sam Altman, OpenAI, Greg Brockman, Musk, Altman, Brockman, It's, Kevin O'Brien, Ford O'Brien Landy, I'm, Andreessen Horowitz, X.AI, — CNBC's Lora Kolodny Organizations: Tuesday, Apple, CNBC, OpenAI, Microsoft, Elon, Sequoia Capital, Fidelity Management & Research Company, Musk Locations: Ankara, Turkiye, California, San Francisco

☆ Exclusive: Health AI startup Anterior raised $20 million from NEA and Sequoia. Here's the pitch deck it used.
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-10 | by ( Rebecca Torrence | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Many healthcare startups have targeted administrative tasks on the provider side, like SmarterDx, which just raised a $50 million Series B in June. Wu said NEA chose to invest in Anterior in part because of its focus on health plans. Anterior's $20 million Series A will help the startup accelerate hiring to take on more health plan customers, Mahmoud said. Wu said the firm sees a big opportunity for Anterior to package a range of tools for health plans as AI technologies become more widespread. See the 18-slide pitch deck Anterior used to grab a $20 million Series A.

Persons: —, It's, Mustafa Suleyman, Adrian Aoun, Blake Wu, Abdel Mahmoud, we'd, we've, Mahmoud, Wu, Anterior's Organizations: Service, NEA, Business, Sequoia, Lion, Microsoft, Cohere, Meta, Google, McKinsey & Company, Amazon Locations: Sequoia Arc

☆ With Trump, Silicon Valley elites see AI regulation as they see fit
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-02 | by ( Lloyd Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

While Musk hasn't formally endorsed Trump, one reason Silicon Valley heavy-hitters could be gravitating toward a convicted former president is a desire to see less regulation on tech development in America. AdvertisementCuban, a vocal opponent of Trump who has expressed his support for Joe Biden, told Business Insider in an email that he views the support from Silicon Valley and Wall Street billionaires for Trump as "self-serving." "So unless it's very light touch, which is unlikely at this point, the more influence they have over Ai regulation the better the opportunity to advantage themselves." "It's still very early to be imposing regulation," Sacks said. That's not to say every Silicon Valley player investing in AI and Trump hopes to see an unrestrained, Wild West of artificial intelligence development.

Persons: —, Donald Trump, Elon Musk, Shaun Maguire, Trump, David Sacks, Biden, Puck, Sacks, hasn't, Mark Cuban, Joe Biden, Cuban, BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI, Maguire, Sacks didn't, Garry Tan, Y, That's, Chamath, Palihapitiya, Musk, Rishi Sunak Organizations: Service, Silicon, Trump, Business, Sequoia Capital, Venture, Wall, acc, Securities and Exchange Commission, and Wildlife Service, British Locations: Russia, Ukraine, San Francisco, America, Silicon Valley, Cuban

Instead, Wall Street and Silicon Valley money is flowing into his re-election campaign following the ruling. “This verdict will have less than zero impact on my support,” Omeed Malik, the president of 1789 Capital and a co-host of a Trump fund-raiser last night at the Pierre hotel, told Bloomberg. “I haven’t heard anybody who gives a …,” he told CNBC of the conviction, using an expletive. Some big Silicon Valley names are doubling down. One who did is Shaun Maguire, a partner at Sequoia Capital, who gave $300,000 to the Trump campaign after the ruling, even though he acknowledged the decision could cost him friends and hurt business.

Persons: Donald Trump, ” Omeed Malik, Andy Sabin, ”, Biden, Bill Ackman, Trump, David Sacks, Shaun Maguire Organizations: Republican, Pierre, Bloomberg, CNBC, Trump, Sequoia Capital Locations: Silicon, San Francisco

☆ Trump's guilty verdict isn't scaring off his donors
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-31 | by ( Geoff Weiss | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Read previewFormer President Donald Trump's conviction yesterday on falsifying business records hasn't dissuaded high-profile supporters on Wall Street — some of whom are newly energized by the historic verdict. "Bluntly, that's part of why I'm supporting him," Maguire, a partner at Sequoia Capital, wrote on X about a potential conviction. AdvertisementTech investor David Sacks, who was reportedly in talks to hold a Trump campaign fundraiser at his San Francisco home, denounced the guilty verdict on X. "A sham trial designed for one purpose: to brand Donald Trump as a 'felon,'" Sacks wrote yesterday on X. AdvertisementIt wasn't only prominent business leaders on Wall Street circling their wagons.

Persons: —, Donald Trump's, hasn't, Shaun Maguire, Maguire, David Sacks, Donald Trump, Sacks, Omeed Malik, Farvahar Partners —, Malik, Trump, haven't, Bill Ackman, Ron DeSantis, DeSantis, didn't, Elon Musk, Musk Organizations: Service, Trump, Republican, Business, Sequoia Capital, Tech, San, Farvahar Partners, CNBC, National Republican, Pershing, Wall Street Journal, he's Locations: White

☆ This is the word of the summer on Wall Street
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-28 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

New York CNN —Bifurcation is the word of the summer. Or it’s the word of the summer among investors, at least. It’s a word that the market gets hung up on and then all you do is hear that word. But I think that’s nearing an end, and so I would expect a slowdown in consumer spending. I’m not so sure that’s going to happen this time because their balance sheets and cash flows aren’t as strong.

Persons: Bell, Scott Wren, I’ve, We’ve, You’ve, you’ve, they’ve, That’s, hasn’t, you’re, I’m, Elon Musk’s, Elon Musk, Anna Cooban, Andreesen Horowitz, Saudi Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal, xAI, Musk, Grok, Laura He, Xi Jinping’s Organizations: CNN Business, Bell, New York CNN, Nvidia, Fed, Elon, Investors, Sequoia Capital, xAI, Worth, China Construction Bank, China Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund, National Enterprise Locations: New York, United States, Wells Fargo, Silicon, Saudi, OpenAI, China, ICBC, Beijing

☆ Elon Musk's xAI says it just raised $6 billion in funding, pulling in big bucks from Sequoia Capital and Saudi Arabia
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-27 | by ( Kwan Wei Kevin Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Read previewElon Musk's xAI just took a critical step in building up its war chest to take on Sam Altman's OpenAI. The AI startup said in a blog post on Sunday that it had raised $6 billion for their Series B funding round. Related stories"There will be more to announce in the coming weeks," Musk said in an X post on Monday morning. AdvertisementThe mercurial billionaire said in a subsequent X post that xAI's pre-money valuation was $18 billion. Pre-money valuation was $18B — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 27, 2024Sunday's announcement marks the first time xAI has talked about its fundraising efforts.

Persons: —, Elon Musk's xAI, Sam Altman's OpenAI, Andreessen Horowitz, Musk, Elon, xAI, he'd, Altman, OpenAI Organizations: Service, Sequoia Capital, Saudi Arabia's, Business, Bloomberg, Financial Times, The New York Times, OpenAI, Microsoft, Google Locations: Saudi, Saudi Arabia's Kingdom

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