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Former President Donald Trump was charged with 34 felony violations of falsifying records to hide hush-money paid to suppress potentially damaging sexual allegations during his 2016 campaign for the White House. During a brief court appearance Tuesday, Mr. Trump pleaded not guilty to the charges, which were brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg .

☆ Exclusive: How generative AI startup Treat scored $8.5 million in funding from Greylock to help companies create personalized product photos
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Stephanie Palazzolo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Treat uses generative AI technology to create personalized product images based on customer data. The startup recently raised $8.5 million in seed funding from Greylock Partners. Their startup Treat, which leverages generative AI to create personalized product photos, recently landed $8.5 million in seed funding from Greylock Partners. A number of other up-and-coming generative AI startups, like Flair AI, have emerged to tackle the issue of creating branded product photos quickly. With its new seed funding, Treat is planning to hire more machine learning, sales, and operations talent.

☆ Former Greylock VC Sarah Guo is betting her career on the AI boom with new fund Conviction. Here's why.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Stephanie Palazzolo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Ex-Greylock GP Sarah Guo surprised the tech world when she launched her AI fund Conviction last year. In addition to her fund, Guo has gained prominence in SF's AI scene through her podcast and events. Kovalsky knew of only one person who could be behind this — Sarah Guo, then a general partner at VC firm Greylock. Within the tech community, Guo has differentiated herself from other VCs through her honesty, business savvy, and grit, they added. Although Guo launched Conviction, a $100 million fund investing up to Series A, in late 2022, her interest in artificial intelligence has been long in the making.

☆ Trump Lawyer Hits Airwaves to Attack New York Indictment
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Corinne Ramey | Joe Palazzolo | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

One of Donald Trump’s lead lawyers mounted a public offensive Friday morning, saying the newly indicted former president, who is expected to surrender Tuesday, would never take a plea deal in New York and was shocked by the charges. Lawyer Joe Tacopina appeared on major television networks to defend his client from charges he said were unprecedented and unfair. He said there was “zero” chance Mr. Trump would take a plea in the case, which centers on his role in making a hush-money payment to a porn star before the 2016 election.

New York officials and Donald Trump’s legal team began making preparations for the former president to surrender Tuesday to face charges for his role in paying hush money to a porn star, as one of Mr. Trump’s lawyers mounted a public offensive against the indictment. A grand jury handed up the indictment, sought by the office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg , on Thursday afternoon. The charges aren’t public and are expected to remain sealed until Mr. Trump makes an initial appearance in court, scheduled for 2:15 p.m. on Tuesday. He is first expected to report to the district attorney’s office that morning, when he will be arrested, fingerprinted and photographed.

☆ Trump Hush-Money Case Will Likely Hinge on Evidence of Coverup
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Joe Palazzolo | Corinne Ramey | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A New York judge will soon unseal criminal charges against Donald Trump related to a payment to a porn star. The alleged cover-up that followed the payment is likely to be as important for the future of the case. A Manhattan grand jury has indicted Mr. Trump after an investigation of the hush-money payment to adult-film star Stormy Daniels in the final stretch of his 2016 presidential campaign. Mr. Trump’s then-lawyer, Michael Cohen , paid Ms. Daniels $130,000 in October 2016 to keep her from going public with allegations of an alleged sexual encounter with the then-candidate.

☆ Dozens of AI enthusiasts gathered in San Francisco's Cerebral Valley for a summit on Thursday. Here are the top 3 takeaways from the event.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Stephanie Palazzolo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Dozens of AI enthusiasts gathered in SF's Cerebral Valley on Thursday for Eric Newcomer's AI summit. The handful of streets between San Francisco's Fillmore and Mission neighborhoods have been called a variety of names in recent times — Cerebral Valley, Bayes Valley, Hayes Valley — but on a Thursday morning in March, they were the home for dozens of AI enthusiasts, founders, and VCs looking to learn more about the space at independent journalist Eric Newcomer's Cerebral Valley AI Summit. The model to rule them allWith representation from several OpenAI competitors, including Anthropic, Adept, and Stability AI, a common question during panels was how the landscape of AI model providers would shake out. Others, like Stability AI founder and CEO Emad Mostaque, claimed that the question of AI models went beyond performance or cost to issues around transparency and accessibility. The future of codingWith the recent AI boom, a flock of startups have emerged to help developers build AI and non-AI applications.

☆ Grand Jury Votes to Indict Donald Trump
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Corinne Ramey | Joe Palazzolo | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Former President Donald Trump has said he would remain in the 2024 presidential race irrespective of any criminal charges. Donald Trump was indicted Thursday for his role in paying hush-money to a porn star on the eve of the 2016 election, marking the first time in American history that a former president has faced criminal charges. The grand jury returned the indictment of Mr. Trump after a vote on Thursday, kicking off a process in which the former president is expected to come to New York to face the charges. The indictment, sought by the office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg , isn’t public. In New York, judges routinely keep charges under wraps until defendants make their initial appearance in court.

☆ Trump Grand Jury Digs Into Hush Money Paid to Second Woman
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Joe Palazzolo | Corinne Ramey | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Manhattan prosecutors investigating Donald Trump’s role in paying hush-money to a porn star also have been examining a $150,000 payment to a former Playboy model who alleged that she had an affair with the former president, according to people familiar with the matter, raising the prospect that Mr. Trump could face charges connected to the silencing of both women. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg ’s office has been presenting a grand jury with evidence of Mr. Trump’s involvement in a $130,000 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels since January. In those proceedings, the people said, Mr. Bragg’s prosecutors also have questioned grand-jury witnesses extensively about an earlier deal involving Karen McDougal, Playboy Magazine’s Playmate of the Year in 1998, who has said she began a 10-month relationship with Mr. Trump beginning in 2006.

☆ Trump Grand Jury Won’t Consider Hush-Money Probe Again This Week
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Corinne Ramey | Joe Palazzolo | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The Manhattan grand jury investigating Donald Trump’s role in paying hush money to a porn star has concluded its work for the week, according to people familiar with the matter, making the timing of any potential charges against the former president unknown. The grand jury isn’t expected to meet Wednesday, when it has often heard Trump-related evidence, and any work the panel does on Thursday is expected to be on other cases, the people said. It isn’t clear whether grand jurors will consider the Trump matter next week, according to the people.

☆ AI startup Pinecone was just valued at $700 million. Here's why VCs like Andreessen Horowitz are obsessed with it and other vector databases.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Stephanie Palazzolo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Vector database startups like Pinecone have received term sheets from top-tier VCs, Insider has learned. Similar to the investor excitement around generative AI, VCs are now flocking to another area within the buzzy AI ecosystem. Instead, a vector database can store and quickly find past responses to similar questions by understanding the meaning behind the statements without having to call the base model. Because the vector database space is so intertwined with LLMs, it's benefitted greatly from recent hype around generative AI and LLMs. "The LLM tax is real," one VC said, referring to the high valuations for buzzy vector database startups like Chroma, Weaviate, and Pinecone.

☆ Former Tabloid Publisher Testifies Again Before Trump Grand Jury
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Corinne Ramey | Joe Palazzolo | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

David Pecker, the former publisher of the National Enquirer, made his second appearance before a grand jury investigating the payment of hush money to a porn star who alleged a sexual encounter with former President Donald Trump, according to a person familiar with the matter. Mr. Pecker was among the earliest witnesses in the grand jury investigation by the office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg . With his appearance on Monday, he may be among the last. Mr. Bragg’s office could seek a vote on an indictment of Mr. Trump as soon as this week.

☆ Here's an exclusive look at the 12-slide pitch deck generative AI startup Sutro used to score $2.2 million in funding
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Stephanie Palazzolo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Sutro helps non-technical users build apps, including their websites, mobile versions, and backends. Here's an exclusive look at the pitch deck it used to raise $2.2 million in seed funding from Eniac. Sutro also offers low-code tools that help its non-technical users inspect code for issues. Sutro is currently in beta and is accessible through a waitlist, mainly serving non-technical startup founders and small businesses so far. Here's an exclusive look at the 12-slide pitch deck Sutro used to raise $2.2 million in seed funding from Eniac Ventures and angel investors:

☆ A History of the Trump Hush-Money Saga
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Joe Palazzolo | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is nearing a final decision on whether to charge Donald Trump for his role in paying hush money to a porn star, a case that would mark the first-ever criminal prosecution of a former U.S. president. At issue are events that date back nearly seven years, to the final stretch of Mr. Trump’s 2016 campaign. Here is a timeline. October 2016: A 2005 recording of Donald Trump speaking in crude sexual terms about woman surfaced in the media and threatened to upend his presidential campaign.

☆ Trump Grand Jury Hears From Likely Final Witness on Hush-Money Payment
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Corinne Ramey | Joe Palazzolo | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Robert Costello on Monday after testifying before a grand jury investigating Donald Trump. The Manhattan grand jury investigating Donald Trump’s role in a hush-money payment to a porn star heard Monday from what is likely to be its last witness, while law-enforcement officials planned for a potential indictment of the former president as soon as this week. Robert Costello, a partner in the New York office of Davidoff Hutcher & Citron LLP and former federal prosecutor, appeared before the grand jury at the request of Mr. Trump’s lawyers. Mr. Costello in 2018 advised Michael Cohen , a former Trump lawyer and key witness in the hush-money probe, while Mr. Cohen was facing federal scrutiny for multiple offenses.

☆ An exclusive look at how AI startup Coactive scored $10.4 million in funding from Andreessen Horowitz and Bessemer to analyze unstructured visual content
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Stephanie Palazzolo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Coactive helps companies glean insights from unstructured visual content like photos and videos. Media and consumer retail customers can flag inappropriate content or search through visual data. On a Thursday afternoon, Cody Coleman told me that he was looking forward to a rare weekend vacation to Hawaii with an unexpected guest — his high school trigonometry teacher. With the rise of e-Commerce and creator platforms, visual content has exploded, and with the increasing usage of generative AI, it'll only become easier for consumers to create their own video and image content, Coleman told Insider. The startup largely serves media and consumer retail companies through its closed beta, Coleman told Insider.

☆ The SVB fallout has been a wake up call for startup founders. Many are rethinking their VC relationships: 'There's certain people I wouldn't want to take money from now.'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Stephanie Palazzolo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Startup founders are wary of some VCs after their actions during the SVB crisis. Some founders were disheartened by investor advice on what to do with their money in SVB. "There's certain people I wouldn't want to take money from now," Sami Khan, cofounder and CEO of mobile games company Atlas Reality told Insider. He adds that it's difficult to blame people, both investors and founders, for the decisions they make in fast-moving situations. Without access to the dependable venture debt SVB offered, more founders may be forced to turn to dilutive venture capital for financing instead.

☆ Former Michael Cohen Lawyer Expected to Testify in Grand Jury Investigating Trump
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-19 | by ( Corinne Ramey | Joe Palazzolo | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A New York defense attorney who briefly advised Michael Cohen is expected to testify Monday before the Manhattan grand jury investigating Donald Trump’s alleged role in a hush-money payment to a porn star, according to people familiar with the matter. Robert Costello, a partner in the New York office of Davidoff Hutcher & Citron LLP and former federal prosecutor, is slated to testify at the request of the former president’s lawyers, according to people familiar with the matter.

☆ Donald Trump Braces for Potential Charges in N.Y. Hush-Money Case, Calls for Protests
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-18 | by ( Joe Palazzolo | Corinne Ramey | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Donald Trump says he expects to be arrested next week. Donald Trump called on his supporters to protest in the face of expected charges against the former president in New York connected to the payment of hush money to a porn star. Mr. Trump posted a message on his social media site Saturday morning, saying leaks indicated that he would be charged by the Manhattan district attorney’s office and arrested on Tuesday “BASED ON AN OLD & FULLY DEBUNKED (BY NUMEROUS OTHER PROSECUTORS!) FAIRYTALE.”

☆ Donald Trump Braces for Potential Charges, Calls for Protests
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-18 | by ( Joe Palazzolo | Corinne Ramey | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Donald Trump says he’ll be charged based on ‘AN OLD & FULLY DEBUNKED (BY NUMEROUS OTHER PROSECUTORS!) FAIRYTALE.’Donald Trump called on his supporters to protest in the face of expected charges against the former president in New York connected to the payment of hush money to a porn star. Mr. Trump posted a message on his social media site Saturday morning, saying leaks indicated that he would be charged by the Manhattan district attorney’s office and arrested on Tuesday “BASED ON AN OLD & FULLY DEBUNKED (BY NUMEROUS OTHER PROSECUTORS!) FAIRYTALE.”

☆ Founders and VCs reveal why they're sticking with the failed Silicon Valley Bank, at least for now: 'We owe them to keep them healthy'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-18 | by ( Stephanie Palazzolo | Samantha Stokes | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

But for some startup customers of the failed Silicon Valley Bank, there's nothing to fix about their banking situation — yet. After Silicon Valley Bank's ultimate failure on March 10, federal regulators stepped to seize control and announced two days later that all depositors would be made whole. But some founders and VCs, like Shaprio, have chosen to stay with their hometown bank. Although their own business' health comes first, for many, the survival of Silicon Valley Bank is crucial, as a long-standing emblem of the tech community and a figure that welcomed risky startups when traditional institutions turned them down. And Silicon Valley Bank, by being there for 40 years, is the hub of this community, it's the thing the most startups have in common.

Greg Becker, who was the longtime CEO of Silicon Valley Bank, pictured last year. "Looks like Silicon Valley Bank is in some deep shit," Uncommon Capital general partner Jamie Quint tweeted. Startup founders scrambled to get their funds out of Silicon Valley Bank after its collapse. Andreessen Horowitz announced this week that it will continue banking with Silicon Valley Bank "for the foreseeable future" but is crafting a longer-term plan to diversify. Even so, he added, "I think we'd be supportive, as they stabilize, for them to be one of many partners that our founders bank with."

☆ Stormy Daniels Meets With Prosecutors Investigating Donald Trump
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Corinne Ramey | Joe Palazzolo | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Stormy Daniels, seen in 2018, agreed to be a witness if needed in prosecutors’ probe into whether Donald Trump illegally concealed a hush-payment to her, her lawyer said. Porn star and director Stormy Daniels met Wednesday with the Manhattan prosecutors who are reaching the end of their investigation into whether former President Donald Trump illegally concealed a payment used to buy her silence before the 2016 election. Ms. Daniels’s lawyer, Clark Brewster, posted on Twitter that the meeting was at the request of the Manhattan district attorney’s office. “Stormy responded to questions and has agreed to make herself available as a witness, or for further inquiry if needed,” he wrote. Mr. Brewster didn’t say if prosecutors would call Ms. Daniels to testify before a grand jury weighing evidence in the probe.

☆ 9 startup founders who banked with Silicon Valley Bank share where they're moving their money: 'We will not get caught like this again'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Samantha Stokes | Stephanie Palazzolo | Melia Russell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Silicon Valley Bank's failure has left startup founders scrambling for a new home for their money. Last Friday morning, the startup founder Mang-Git Ng zipped up the interstate before sunrise to a Silicon Valley Bank branch in St. Helena, in California's wine country. Ng's plight is similar to countless other founders following the failure of Silicon Valley Bank, who waited with bated breath over the weekend on whether they'd ever get their money back. DiversificationSilicon Valley Bank's collapse could forever change how startups stash their cash, at least two investors told Insider. Silicon Valley Bank had exclusivity clauses with some of its clients, according to a CNBC report, forcing them to use the firm for most or all of their banking services.

After a bank run of $42 billion in withdrawals, Silicon Valley Bank was shut down by regulators on Friday. The founders were banking at Silicon Valley Bank and wanted to switch banks immediately after being told by their venture investors that the bank was suffering from "liquidity issues." The go-to bank of Silicon ValleySilicon Valley Bank has been a pillar of the startup of ecosystem for four decades, acting as the go-to financial institution for VC fundraising and building strong ties with founders and investors alike. This helped bolster SVB's reputation as the go-to bank of Silicon Valley in the good times, but exacerbated the crisis when it hit Thursday and Friday. "If you're given responsibility to run this iconic Silicon Valley company, you need some humility."

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