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AbridgeAbridge CEO Dr. Shiv Rao. AbridgeHQ: PittsburghTotal raised: $62.5 millionWhat it does: The medical scribe startup uses large language models to document patient-doctor interactions in electronic medical records. What makes it promising: Easing administrative burdens for providers is top of mind for investors as growing burnout drives more clinicians out of the healthcare field. Abridge is using AI to tackle one of the most time-consuming, burnout-inducing processes in healthcare — clinical documentation.

Persons: Abridge, Shiv Rao Organizations: Abridge, Pittsburgh

☆ The job market for startups and Big Tech is in a weird spot
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-07 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The big storyCareer makersInflection AI, Maven, Forage, The GrandWhich startup would you recommend a friend or family member should work at? That was the prompt for Business Insider's VC and startups team as it compiled a list of early-stage companies to bet your career on . The list doesn't have specific parameters, Leena Rao, the deputy editor of BI's VC and startups team, told me. With so much money pouring into AI startups, founders' attention will naturally be drawn to the tech when thinking about their next project. Meanwhile, the volatility among startups comes at a time of broader instability for the tech industry.

Persons: —, Elon Musk, Taylor Swift, Leena Rao, Maven, Alyssa Powell, Ben Bergman, there's, Moody's, Paul Tudor Jones, We've, Jenny Chang, Rodriguez, OpenAI, Samantha Stokes, Andrea Chronopoulos, Bob Iger, Lachlan Murdoch, David Zaslav, Dan DeFrancesco, Hallam Bullock, Jordan Parker Erb, George Glover Organizations: Business, Service, Business Insider's, Big Tech, Meta, Flagstar Bank, Facebook, YouTube, Google, BI, ESPN, Warner Bros, Fox, Walt Disney Company Locations: NYCB, New York, London

☆ Exclusive: Organic baby food startup Yumi has slashed its valuation after running low on cash
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-31 | by ( Ben Bergman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Yumi, a startup backed by a long list of prominent Silicon Valley investors that makes high-end organic baby food, is raising a down round that values the company at around $40 million, Business Insider has learned. The funding represents a substantial discount from Yumi's Series B round in 2021, which valued the company at more than $300 million, according to Pitchbook data. It also means Yumi has burned through more than twice as much cash, nearly $90 million dollars, as it is currently worth. Startup fundraising tumbled to a five-year low in 2023 with funding for e-commerce and shopping startups down 60%, according to Crunchbase data. Convoy, the freight startup that was once called the "Uber for trucking" and raised more than $1 billion, shut down in November.

Persons: Yumi, Evelyn Rusli, Angela Sutherland, Gerber, Sutherland, Rusli, Anne Wojcicki, Gabrielle Union, Warby Parker, Goldman Sachs, Christina Minnis, Kelly Coffey, Masha Drokova, Lauren Dillard Organizations: Business, BI, Walmart, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, New Enterprise Associates, Uber, City National Bank, One Ventures, Nasdaq, Startup, Convoy, Olive Locations: millennials

☆ 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

☆ Some of the best early-stage startup investors share a common trait that should be a lesson for Silicon Valley
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-17 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

In today's big story, we're looking at the best investors when it comes to early-stage companies. The big storyPicking winnersCaterina Fake, Cindi Bi, and Suleman AliInvesting can be a crapshoot, especially when it comes to early-stage companies. AdvertisementThe investors, profiled by BI's Ben Bergman, Samantha Stokes, Rebecca Torrence, and Leena Rao, have an incredible track record for early-stage investing. Silicon Valley can be known to have a herd mentality, especially when it comes to venture investors. And yet, some of the best early-stage investors have proven to have far better success going out on their own.

Persons: —, we've, Caterina Fake, Suleman Ali, BI's Ben Bergman, Samantha Stokes, Rebecca Torrence, Leena Rao, Joseph Aaron, cofounders, Tanja Ivanova, isn't, Chanos, Elon Musk, Jim Chanos, Tesla, Musk, Dan Ives, Goldman Sachs, Goldman, Brittany Hosea, Satya Nadella, Sam Altman, Philipp Schindler, Google's, Alyssa Powell, Michelle Obama, Betty White, Steve Harvey, Muhammad Ali, Benjamin Franklin, Al Capone, Calvin Harris, Charles Schwab, They've Organizations: Service, Business, Reuters, Getty, Elon, Tesla, Apple, Microsoft, Google, BI Locations: pant, San Francisco, Brittany, China, Davos, ChatGPT's

☆ These are 30 of the most successful early-stage startup investors in the world, according to a proprietary AI model known as 'Moneyball for VC'
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-17 | by ( Ben Bergman | Samantha Stokes | Rebecca Torrence | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. TRAC , a San Francisco-based early-stage venture firm cofounded by Fred Campbell, Joseph Aaron, Scott Pyne, Steve Marek, and Dick Fredericks in 2020, has set about to take a more systematic approach to venture capital. Advertisement"A SuperForecaster is in the top 1/10th of 1% of all early-stage investors," Aaron told Business Insider. But now TRAC has agreed to name names, revealing a random sampling of 30 of the 287 SuperForecasters in its model. They rarely make follow-on investments.

Persons: —, Fred Campbell, Joseph Aaron, Scott Pyne, Steve Marek, Dick Fredericks, Phillip Tetlock, Dan Gardner's, Aaron, SuperForecasters Organizations: Service, Business Locations: San Francisco

☆ McDonald's is in the midst of some big changes that show the changing tides in the world of fast food
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-11 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . In today's big story, we're looking at some of the recent big changes at McDonald's, including the launch of a new restaurant concept. AdvertisementCold foam and oat milk are big business, as drink modifiers add up to roughly $1 billion in revenue for Starbucks. McDonald's app has grown over the years, with over 57 million active members, but it still leaves much to be desired. To be sure, 10 CosMc's is not even a drop in the bucket of McDonald's 40,000-plus restaurant empire.

Persons: —, I'm, Joe Ciolli, Iman Jalali, Nancy Luna, It's, McDonald's, Nancy, CosMc's, Jamie Dimon, Jerome Powell, Jose Luis Magana, Ryan Detrick, Niklas Halle'n, Rebecca Zisser, Jeff Bezos, OpenAI's Ilya Sutskever doesn't, Sam Altman's, hasn't, Elon Musk's, Ben Bergman, Adam Neumann's, Insider's Ben Bergman, Z, Donald Trump, Dan DeFrancesco, Naga Siu, Hallam Bullock, Lisa Ryan Organizations: Service, Starbucks, Nancy, McDonalds, McDonald's, Reserve, Banking, Housing, Urban Affairs, Capitol, Carson Group, Getty Images, San, Sutskever, Visual China, Getty, Fort, Trump Organization, Trump Organization . Golden Globe Locations: Chicago, , Illinois, Texas, Washington, AFP, San Francisco, Fort Lauderdale, New York City, San Diego, London, New York

☆ A formfitting blazer and Chelsea boots, or jeans and high-top sneakers? Here's how the 2023 rising stars of VC put together their 'power outfits.'
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-04 | by ( Madeline Renbarger | Ben Bergman | Darius Rafieyan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Many of this year's VC rising stars told Business Insider that their go-to power outfits included apparel like tailored sport coats or Chelsea boots, and more casual pieces like hoodies and well-fitting jeans. Very few investors are wearing collared shirts with their jackets, opting instead to pair it with a t- shirt and jeans. Nmachi Jidemna told Business Insider that for her everyday wear, her go-to was "usually a structured blazer with a relaxed pair of jeans." Lori Harvey (left) and Heidi Klum (right) wearing red outfits. Black flowy trousers, black turtleneck, and chunky black boots."

Persons: that's, Laura Bock, Nmachi Jidemna, Javier Grevely, Ralph Lauren, Tobi Coker, Janelle Teng, Patron's Amber Atherton, Jason Yeh, Ashley Paston, Justin Williams, VCs, Mahati Sridhar, Grady Dick, Michelle Farsi, Pear, Vivien Ho, Lori Harvey, Heidi Klum, Valentina Frugiuele, Bauer, Griffin, Luci Fonseca, RTFKT, Brandon Hoffman, JL, Sarah Wu, Emerson, Fiona Huang, Demi Obayomi, Natalie Borowski, Daisy Wolf, Andreessen Horowitz Organizations: Business, Wellington Management, Converse, Seae Ventures, Getty, GV, Nike, Sunset Ventures, Bain Capital Ventures Locations: London, Chelsea

☆ From bouldering to silent meditation retreats: Here's how this year's rising stars of VC are keeping their wellness on track while hunting down deals
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-01 | by ( Samantha Stokes | Madeline Renbarger | Ben Bergman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

And these rising stars of the VC world are at the forefront of the trend, with many adopting various wellness routines. Business Insider asked this year's rising stars to name their best wellness hack that keeps them at the top of their game. Find ways to get movingMany rising stars in VC have a relationship with exercise that goes beyond an obligatory hour at the gym or a forced jog around the block. "It's amazing how taking just 10 minutes out of my day helps set the pace and structure for the rest of the day so well," she told Business Insider. she told Business Insider.

Persons: Base10, Justin Williams, Fiona Huang, Huang, Laura Bock, Amanda Herson, Taylor Brandt, Luci Fonseca, It's, Vivien Ho, VCs, journaling, Ashley Paston, Ahmed Mirza, who's, Amber Atherton, Brandon Hoffman, Tobi Coker, Wellington Management's Javier Grevely, Natalie Borowski, I've Organizations: Business, Seae Ventures, Ventures, Headline, Base10 Investors, Meritech, Sunset Ventures Locations: New York, Eastern, Brooklyn

2023 was a tumultuous year for the venture capital industry. This year, Business Insider asked the most important VCs across the US to name the most promising VCs in their cities. Business Insider also asked the general public and last year's rising stars who they thought should make the cut. And just like last year, more of this year's rising stars are women than men, indicating that more women are being brought into the pipeline of the traditionally male-dominated venture capital industry. Scroll to see 2023's rising stars of venture capital, organized alphabetically by the investor's name.

Organizations: Silicon Valley Bank, Tech, Business

☆ Andreessen Horowitz is in the midst of a reshuffle to sharpen its focus on AI, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( Ben Bergman | Melia Russell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Andreessen Horowitz is reshuffling parts of its investment organization to sharpen its focus on artificial intelligence, according to people with knowledge of the situation. The changes will center the venture capital firm on two main themes: AI applications and AI infrastructure, the people said. The AI applications group is being headed by general partner Alex Rampell, according to the sources. General partner Martin Casado, who focuses on enterprise deals, will oversee another group investing in AI infrastructure, the people said. Do you have information about A16z or another venture firm?

Persons: Andreessen Horowitz, Alex Rampell, Rampell, Martin Casado, Margit Wennmachers, Casado, Jeff Jordan, Databricks, A16z, Pretzels, Vinod Khosla, Khosla, Ben Bergman, Melia Russell, mrussell@insider.com Organizations: US, A16z, VMware Locations: Silicon Valley, Airbnb, bbergman@insider.com

☆ How Whitney Wolfe Herd's fateful deal with a Russian mogul deprived early Bumble employees of a stock windfall when she became a billionaire
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( Ben Bergman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +23 min

I'm fucking done," she told a reporter at Time, who described Wolfe Herd as "blinking back tears" during the interview. "My hands are tied," Wolfe Herd told the audience, according to several people who were in the room. Wolfe Herd once called him her biggest mentor, saying, "He's become my family and one of my best friends." Some early employees said they only found out about the shadow-equity program, and who received it, years later. Based on the current share price, Wolfe Herd is no longer a billionaire, though her fortune still sits at an estimated $627 million.

Persons: Whitney Wolfe Herd, Andrey Andreev, Wolfe Herd, Bumble, Whitney Wolfe, Wolfe, Bumble wasn't, Charley Gallay, I've, Robbie McKay, McKay, Jerod Harris, Sarah Mick, Bumble's, That's, Mick, Justin Mateen, Tinder, Antoine Antoniol, Andreev, What's, He's, —, Jody Thelander, Alexandra Williamson, Samantha Fulgham, Chelsea Maclin, Caroline Ellis Roche, Michael Herd, they'd, Taylor, they're, Vivien Killilea, didn't, Charles Elson, Elson, Blackstone, Forbes, Ben Bergman Organizations: Worldwide Vision, Nasdaq, Carlton, Getty, Fortune, Andreev's, TechCrunch, Southwest, telltale, Founders, Chelsea, Austin, Ritz, Mailchimp, Intuit, University of Delaware, Twitter Locations: Russian, Austin, Los Angeles , California, Bumble, Northern California, Deer Valley , Utah, Punta Mita , Mexico, Tinder, London, Bermuda, WVL, San Francisco, Texas, Positano, Italy, Bay, Atlanta, MagicLab, Badoo, bbergman@insider.com

☆ The CEO of UNest, a college savings app, stepped down after she said the company was 'insolvent.' Here's what customers need to know.
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( Ben Bergman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

UNest is a startup that makes it easier for people to save up for major life expenses like college. Ksenia Yudina, founder & CEO, stepped down last month and warned the company was "insolvent." download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . As Insider previously reported, Ksenia Yudina, founder & CEO, stepped down last month and warned the company was "insolvent." "The board, remaining management, and investors are working closely together to secure additional funding for the company," he said.

Persons: Ksenia Yudina, —, Franklin Templeton, Star Baron Davis, Laura Dern, Michael Doniger, UNest, Ben Bergman, bbergman@insider.com Organizations: Service, Artemis Fund, Anthos, Northwestern Mutual, Star, Vanguard, Blackrock, Apex Clearing Locations: Anthos Capital, Apex

☆ The CEO of UNest resigned after she said the board asked her to approve an 'illegal' takeover, according to a leaked email. The company says customer accounts are safe.
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-31 | by ( Ben Bergman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

"This matter is very confidential and person who leaked the email can be subject to legal claims," Yudina wrote. UNest boasted 400,000 users that year and said it was on track to hit a million users in 2022. "I wasn't doing something that I perceived as illegal and unethical, therefore I stepped down from the position of CEO," Yudina wrote. "Tech industry is navigating a lot of headwinds and even strong startup founders get affected," Yudina wrote, before saying that people should be focused on supporting Israel. "As we navigate the hurdles of our daily lives, it's crucial to remember that there are people on another continent enduring unimaginable suffering and uncertainty," Yudina wrote in the message.

Persons: Ksenia Yudina, UNest, Yudina, I'm, Michael Doniger, Doniger, Franklin Templeton, Northwestern Mutual –, Star Baron Davis, Laura Dern, –, SVB, Ben Bergman, bbergman@insider.com Organizations: Silicon Valley Bank, LinkedIn, Apex, Capital Group, Artemis, Anthos, Northwestern Mutual, Star, Business, Tech, Israel Locations: Silicon, Anthos Capital, UNest, Silicon Valley

☆ Billionaire VC Vinod Khosla was one of the first investors in OpenAI. Now he thinks most AI startups have become way overvalued.
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-24 | by ( Ben Bergman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Instead of AI, Khosla says he is "making lots of fundamental investments in esoteric areas." Funding for AI companies climbed 27% globally in the third quarter compared to the year before even as overall deals for startups fell 31%, according to PitchBook data compiled for Bloomberg. (seeking a valuation of more than $5 billion), Hugging Face ($4.5 billion valuation) or Adept (reported $1 billion valuation). The firm invested earlier this year in Replit, a generative AI tool for software development, at a $1.16 billion post-money valuation. There is also OpenAI itself, which arguably has benefited as much as any startup from the AI hype.

Persons: OpenAI, Vinod Khosla, Khosla, Kleiner Perkins Caufield, Byers, Kleiner Perkins, – Khosla Organizations: Khosla Ventures, Sun Microsystems, AMD, Juniper Networks, Forbes, Street, Tech, Bloomberg, Anthropic Locations: Silicon Valley, Laguna Beach, Replit

☆ Exclusive: Drone startup Aerodome flies out of stealth with $6.5 million seed round led by Andreessen Horowitz
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-13 | by ( Ben Bergman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

After seven months in stealth, Aerodome recently closed a $6.5 million seed round led by Andreessen Horowitz and 2048 VC. Sidhu is currently a reserve officer for the Redondo Beach Police Department and was a full-time officer for two years. Competitors to Aerodome include Motorola, Dronesense, and Skydio, but those companies are more focused on software than the all-in-one package Aerodome is offering. Aside from responding to crime, Sidhu also says Aerodome will also eventually be able to detect wildfires and alert authorities moments after smoke appears. Aerodome has a contract to roll out a trial with Redondo Beach Police Department next month and Albuquerque Police Department in December.

Persons: Rahul Sidhu, Andreessen Horowitz, Jake Paul's, Jamie Siminoff, Nikita Bier, Bier, Sidhu, Kenaniah Cerny, COVID, Aerodome Organizations: Aerodome's, SPIDR Tech, Versaterm, Redondo Beach Police Department, Motorola, Albuquerque Police Department Locations: York

☆ X CEO Linda Yaccarino bails on a Wall Street Journal conference after her trainwreck Code interview
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-10 | by ( Sarah Jackson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Linda Yaccarino has canceled a conference appearance after a trainwreck interview last month. The CEO of X, formerly Twitter, was mocked after seeming unprepared at Code Conference. AdvertisementAdvertisementLinda Yaccarino has pulled off the schedule of an upcoming conference following her disastrous interview at Vox's Code Conference last month. The CEO of X, formerly known as Twitter, will no longer be speaking at The Wall Street Journal's Tech Live conference next week. "Linda Yaccarino is now unable to attend the WSJ Tech conference next week," an X executive told Insider.

Persons: Linda Yaccarino, —, Linda, Yaccarino, Julia Boorstin, Elon Musk, Insider's Ben Bergman, Yoel Roth, Roth, Kara Swisher . Roth, Musk, Swisher Organizations: Twitter, Conference, Service, Vox's, Tech, WSJ Tech, Street Locations: Israel, Meta

☆ X CEO Linda Yaccarino had a car-crash interview at Code Conference where she seemed undermined by Elon Musk and couldn't state precise user numbers or whether users will pay
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-28 | by ( Kai Xiang Teo | Hasan Chowdhury | Shona Ghosh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

X CEO Linda Yaccarino had a rough time being interviewed onstage on Code Conference. What actually followed was the unfurling of a CEO who appeared not to have a full handle on the company. AdvertisementAdvertisementHere's one bizarre exchange: Was Musk serious about charging all users a fee to use X, Boorstin asked. Asked about X's daily active user numbers, Yaccarino appeared to respond only in estimates, according to The Verge and the Wall Street Journal. Yaccarino and X did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Insider, sent outside regular business hours.

Persons: Linda Yaccarino, —, Elon Musk, Yaccarino, CNBC's Julia Boorstin, Boorstin, Musk, Apptopia, Insider's Lara O'Reilly, Kali Hays, Insider's Ben Bergman, Mark Zuckerberg, Insider's Bergman, — Yoel Roth, Roth, Kara Swisher, Swisher, she's Organizations: Service, Conference, Twitter, MediaRadar, Wall Street Locations: California, Meta

☆ Was Linda Yaccarino 'sandbagged?' What happened behind the scenes at the X CEO's disastrous coming out party.
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-28 | by ( Ben Bergman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

X CEO Linda Yaccarino appeared rattled during her most high-profile appearance to date. Some criticized tech journalist Kara Swisher and Code for "sandbagging" Yaccarino. Months earlier, Boorstin had secured a coveted interview with Linda Yaccarino to make her first major public appearance after being named CEO of X, formerly Twitter. Later, Boorstin pressed Yaccarino on the Anti Defamation League's feud with Musk and accusations that X is encouraging antisemitism. AdvertisementAdvertisement"Everybody deserves to speak their opinion," Yaccarino said, before nervously glancing at her watch and saying she had to leave.

Persons: Linda Yaccarino, Yoel Roth, Kara Swisher, —, Julia Boorstin, Boorstin, Yaccarino, Yaccarino's, Elon Musk, Teslas, Roth, Swisher, Mary Barra, Linda, Yoel, X, Julia, Musk, Tesla Organizations: Service, CNBC's Senior Media, Tech, oceanside Ritz Carlton, Laguna Niguel, GM, Twitter Locations: Laguna, Detroit, LA, Meta, San Francisco, Laguna Beach, Los Angeles

☆ 'Where ambition goes to die': These tech workers flocked to Austin during the pandemic. Now they're desperate to get out.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( Ben Bergman | Jordan Pandy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

Many tech workers in California moved to Austin during the pandemic in search of a new lifestyle. Some tech workers say they regret moving there, given its middling tech scene and "fake" atmosphere. They cited several contributing factors, including extreme temperatures, traffic, overcrowding, and — perhaps most surprising — a middling tech scene that fails to live up to the hype. From Silicon Valley to the Silicon HillsNot long ago, Austin's tech scene was ascendant, with national headlines suggesting it could take on Silicon Valley. He acknowledged there's not much of a tech scene there but will take that over what he perceived as Austin's smoke and mirrors.

Persons: Austin, Mike Chang, Chang, Tesla, Danielle Fountain, Fountain, Elon Musk, Jim Breyer, Joe Lonsdale, Bill Gurley, Musk, Gurley, Emily Chang, John Andrew Entwistle, who's, John Andrew Entwistle Entwistle, Entwistle, oversold, Nicholas Falldine, there's, Nick Thomas, Austin doesn't, Thomas, he's, Sam Parr, I'm, Sheharyar, Redfin, Bokhari, It's, frolic Organizations: Oracle, Facebook, Google, Apple, Breyer Capital, Austin Chamber, Austin, Lone Star, US Postal Service Locations: California, Austin, Los Angeles, Bay, Silicon, Silicon Valley, Austin's, Palo Alto, Westchester County , New York, Fayetteville , Arkansas, Austin , Texas, San Francisco

☆ Exclusive: Deel, a $12 billion HR startup, is contemplating an acquisition of competitor Papaya Global
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( Ben Bergman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

In the letter, Bouaziz says Deel "may contemplate an acquisition offer" of Papaya Global. "The Deel leadership team and I have been following Papaya Global for quite some time now with great interest," Bouaziz wrote to Papaya's board of directors. A spokesperson for Papaya Global said in a statement that the company is not for sale. Papaya Global is an Israel-based payments processing startup that last raised at a $3.7 billion valuation in 2021 in a round led by Insight Partners and Tiger Global. He also floated the possibility of an eventual full takeover of Papaya Global, which would require the approval of its board.

Persons: Philippe Bouaziz, Bouaziz, Deel, Eynat Guez, Dovi Frances, Guez, Francis, onboarding, Andreessen Horowitz, Emerson, Alexis Ohanian, Elad Gil, Y, Goldman Sachs, Adam Schiff, Julie Su Organizations: Insight Partners, Tiger Global, Global, Coatue Management, Nike, Labor Locations: San Francisco, Israel

Adept: a machine learning research labNiki Pezeshki is a general partner at Felicis Ventures. FelicisStartup: AdeptRecommended by: Niki Pezeshki, FelicisRelationship: No financial interestTotal funding: $415 million, according to the companyWhat it does: Adept is a machine-learning research and product lab aiming to build AI technology that can automate human tasks as varied as running software and browsing the web. Why it's on the list: "Fresh off a massive round of funding, Adept is poised to deliver artificial general intelligence that truly benefits working people," Pezeshki said. "So much software is repetitive tasks, and Adept is creating an AI that will enable workers to increase productivity and focus on more creative tasks."

Persons: Niki Pezeshki, Pezeshki Organizations: Felicis Ventures, Felicis

☆ As the IPO market comes back to life, Navan (formerly TripActions) is targeting an April 2024 listing
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( Ben Bergman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The company is now targeting a late April 2024 IPO, Insider has learned. Navan, formerly known as TripActions, is now targeting a late April 2024 IPO, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter not authorized to speak publicly. However, this month the nearly two year dormant IPO market has finally shown signs of coming to life. Andreessen Horowitz first invested in TripActions in 2018, when it led the company's series C funding round at a $1.1 billion valuation and general partner Ben Horowitz joined the board. Navan has raised more than $2 billion in equity and debt financing since it was founded 2015, according to Pitchbook.

Persons: Ariel Cohen, Kelly Soderlund, Instacart, Goldman Sachs, Andreessen Horowitz, Ben Horowitz, It's, " Horowitz Organizations: Navan, NASDAQ, Bloomberg, Softbank, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Coatue Management, Zeev Ventures Locations: Navan, Caplight, TripActions

☆ Fin Capital has become the most prolific fintech investor in the world. Behind the scenes, there's been a phishing attack, whistleblower complaints, and a wave of exits.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-23 | by ( Ben Bergman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

It was August 2021, during the waning months of the frothy startup bull market, and Fin Capital was on the ascent. The message was a phishing attack — Fin Capital had been hacked. But there is dispute over how Fin Capital handled the attack and its aftermath. Still, as other firms have sharply pulled back on investing in the downturn, Fin Capital has done the opposite. It's unclear whether the whistleblower complaints that former Fin Capital employees filed with the SEC are being investigated.

Persons: Logan Allin, Fin Capital, Allin, you've, Gene Price, Frost Brown Todd, who'd, It's, fiduciaries, Capital, Tom Allin, Obama, Forbes, you'll, he'd, Peter Thiel ., Henry Kravis, Roelof Botha, Thiel, Kravis, Botha, fintech, Pipe's cofounders, Peter Ackerson, Ackerson, Andreessen Horowitz, fundraisings, Ben Bergman, bbergman Organizations: Fin, Sequoia, SEC, Securities and Exchange Commission, Fin Capital, Francis Yacht Club, Constellation, titans, KKR, Sequoia Capital, Caplight, FT Partners, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook Locations: York, Los Angeles, Fin, Silicon Valley, San Francisco, fintech, Sequoia

☆ The 30 early-stage startups most likely to become tech's next unicorns, according to a proprietary AI model known as 'Moneyball for VC'
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-15 | by ( Ben Bergman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The firm developed a propriety model that uses AI to predict which early-stage startups are most likely to become unicorns, which are companies valued at more than a billion dollars. "Our AI eliminates about 99% of all early-stage companies from consideration, because our data predicts these companies have a higher probability of failure." Another surprising thing about TRAC's model is it does not value founders as predictive. "Similar vintage early-stage VCs would have had upwards of 20% of their portfolio be false positive within the first few years. Here are the 30 companies TRAC's model identified as being the next unicorns, in alphabetical order, all with a valuation of less than $250 million.

Persons: Fred Campbell, Joseph Aaron, Scott Pyne, Steve Marek, Dick Fredericks, Aaron, Sam Altman, MBAs, Angel SuperForecasters, Campbell Locations: San Francisco

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