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☆ Founders of Wise and Skype raise $436 million to build tech giants in Europe
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-23 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The founders of Wise, Skype and Songkick have raised 400 million euros ($436.4 million) for a new fund to back technology startups in Europe. Plural Fund II, the firm's second to date, arrives just 18 months after the firm raised its last fund, a 250 million-euro vehicle. Only 8% of VCs in Europe are former founders, he says, much lower than the 60% in the United States. So, if we look at the track record, and our ability to get the deals done, I think that all seems to say that this is really missing in Europe," Hinrikus added. Plural raised the funds from a mix of limited partners, including British and American university endowments, U.S. foundations and insurers, strategic family offices in Europe and the United States.

Persons: Wise, Taavet Hinrikus, fintech, Ian Hogarth, Sten Tamkivi, Khaled Helioui, Hinrikus, they're, we've, Carina Namih Organizations: Skype, Balderton, Bigpoint, CNBC Locations: Europe, VCs, United States, American

☆ As diversity, equity and inclusion comes under legal attack, companies quietly alter their programs
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-14 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

But others have targeted decades-old diversity programs that anti-affirmative action advocates have long tried to dismantle. said Danner-Okotie, who received $10,000 from a separate Fearless Fund grant. The Fearless Fund, Danner-Okotie said, grasped her mission of designing clothes for American women looking to celebrate their African heritage. The outcome of the case could be a bellwether for similar diversity programs. But some have made changes to diversity programs to try to protect them from legal scrutiny.

Persons: Sophia Danner, Okotie's, Fearless, Claudine Gay, Harvard Universitys, Erin Clark, Christopher Rufo, Harvard's, Rufo, George Floyd's, Danner, Okotie, Edward Blum, Morrison Foerster, Perkins Coie, Reagan, Dan Lennington, Lennington Organizations: Harvard, Harvard University, Boston Globe, Twitter, Black, Latina, American Alliance for Equal Rights, Disney, Pfizer, Comcast, Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty, Wisconsin Institute, U.S . Department, Business Enterprise Locations: America, Atlanta, India, Nigeria

☆ 16 VCs that are funding the future of entertainment by backing generative AI and other disruptive tech
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-12 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +17 min

AdvertisementAfter a period of "wild west" investing in AI, Blank believes activity will favor AI companies that respect artists' consent and compensation. It recently co-led a $1 million seed round in Conduiit, which centralizes entertainment companies' production finance operations. Endeavor Venture InvestmentsEndeavor Venture Investments is the venture arm of entertainment and sports behemoth Endeavor. SWaN & LegendThe Virginia-based VC firm has a broad consumer portfolio that includes a number of entertainment investments. With Hollywood in contraction, SWaN has largely hit pause on new entertainment investments to get its portfolio companies on a strong footing.

Persons: Michael Blank, Blank, Jon Miller, Miller, Slack, Garnet Heraman, BDMI, Urs Cete, Michael, TMRW, Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Elysian Park Ventures Jay Adya, Grant Lamos, Tom Brady, Gotham Chopra, Michael Strahan, Jay Adya, Morgan, Kushaan Ahuja, Drew Glover, Glover, Alex Harris, they've, Noah Doyle, Payback India, Jed Katz, Rich Greenfield, Rich, Ilya Pozin, Jamie Seltzer, LightShed, Steve Cohen's, it's, Sri Chandrasekar, Tripp Shriner, Ishan Sinha, That's, Wondery, Ian Doody, Raine, Gordon Rubenstein, Joe Ravitch, Jeff Sine, ‐, Fred Schaufeld, SWaN, that's, Oscar, Jose, Schaufeld, Sam Wick, Alex J, Investcorp, Paul Yoo, Edgar Bronfman Jr, Daniel Leff, Waverley, Leff Organizations: Service, Creative Artists, Connect Ventures, Business, Hollywood, Veteran, TPG, Integrated Media Co, Advancit, CAA, Bertelsmann, Waverley, Octopus Ventures, Accel, Facebook, Venture, Aperture Venture, Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments, Fremantle, Connect, CAA Connect Ventures, New Enterprises Associates, TMRW Sports, Disney, Universal, Elysian Park Ventures, Elysian, Sports, Endeavor Venture, Endeavor Venture Investments, behemoth Endeavor, Dapper Labs, Fiat Ventures, Fiat Ventures Fiat Ventures, Fiat, Payback, Rent, LightShed, Rich Greenfield Influential, LightShed Ventures, Pluto, Apple, Octopus Ventures Octopus Ventures, Investments, Corp, Etsy, Re, Point72 Ventures New York Mets, Range Media Partners, Point72 Ventures, Sri, Powerhouse, Athletic, The New York Times Co, Evolution Media, Creative Artists Agency, Astro, Rave Digital Media, Accel Entertainment, Jose Andrés Media, Berliner, UTA Talent, UTA, UTA Ventures, Ventures, VR, Amazon, PFL Locations: blockchain, —, Conduiit, fintech, London, Australia, Papercup, Los Angeles, Virginia, UTA.VC

CNBC is now accepting nominations for the 2024 Disruptor 50 list — our annual look at the most innovative venture-backed companies using breakthrough technology to meet increasing economic and consumer challenges. A notable past Disruptor 50 company that made it to the public market this year, Instacart , has failed to maintain its IPO pricing. Business failures, too, have occurred for formerly high-flying, high-profile backed Disruptor 50 companies, including Convoy and WeWork. This is especially true of companies involved in the booming AI hype cycle sparked by 2023's top Disruptor 50 company, OpenAI, just over a year ago. 2024 honorees will be notified in April, and the list will be released in May across CNBC's TV and digital platforms.

Persons: Jan Organizations: CNBC, U.S, Convoy, CNBC's

☆ Binance might be peak for U.S. crypto enforcement cases, says CFTC official
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-05 | by ( Huw Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Representations of cryptocurrencies are seen in front of displayed Binance logo in this illustration taken November 10, 2022. U.S. regulators have brought several cases against crypto firms such as Binance, helping to establish "guardrails" to bring "order and structure" to the market, CFTC Commissioner Kristin Johnson told an FT crypto and digital assets summit. She urged crypto firms to study the Binance settlement to see what sort of governance regulators look for at crypto firms. The CFTC will also be "deeply thoughtful" on requiring better disclosures at crypto firms that are vertically integrated, combining different activities under one roof. In the meantime, crypto firms are setting up shop in Britain to build an ecosystem that can service the rest of the world and benefit from "nuanced" regulators, Quintenz said.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Kristin Johnson, Johnson, Brian Quintenz, Quintenz, Xiao, Xiao Zhu, Huw Jones, Mark Potter Organizations: REUTERS, Futures Trading Commission, Treasury Department, Justice Department, European Union, CFTC, KKR, Thomson Locations: U.S, Binance's, Britain

☆ The Art Basel party circuit is kicking off in Miami. Here are 6 must-attend events for the Wall Street set.
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-05 | by ( Emmalyse Brownstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

High-brow art and millionaires tend to go hand in hand, so Art Week also means some of the world's wealthiest come out to play. Ciara attends the NYLON Presents NYLON House At Miami Art Week 2022 at Strawberry Moon at Goodtime Hotel on December 02, 2022 in Miami Beach, Florida. Regardless of the events you attend, Art Basel week is a great time to mingle and do business, explained Jasmina Midzic, Typhon's director of Investor Relations. Desperate ApeWives perform at #0XGenesis presented by Marshland, Magnus and FloodFM.com at Maps Backlot during Art Basel Miami on December 01, 2021 in Miami, Florida. Erika Goldring / Getty ImagesHere are 6 Art Basel parties the Wall Street elite and wannabes alike are vying to attend.

Persons: —, There's, galas —, Ciara, Arturo Holmes, Kim Kardashian, Serena Williams, James Koutoulas, Koutoulas, Miami's, Jasmina Midzic, she'll, who've, Magnus, FloodFM.com, Erika Goldring, It's, Midzic, Alessandra Ambrosio, Alexander Tamargo, Andreas Metaxa, Metaxa, I've, Guy Gerber, Blondish, Bella Thorne, e.l.f, Mona Lisa, Rampa, Desiree, Talon, Luciano Scalioni, — Bryan Goldberg Organizations: Miami Art, Wall, Magic City, Art, Business, Strawberry, JPMorgan, UBS, Capital Management, Investor Relations, Art Basel Miami, Art Basel, Wall Street, Fund, Party, Miami, Flex, Waterfront, Digital Locations: Miami —, Art Basel, Miami Beach , Florida, Miami, Basel, Miami , Florida, South Beach, Miami Beach, Midzic, SoHo, New York, Saxony

☆ Sam Altman's biggest lesson for founders: control freaks win
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-04 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A takeaway for other founders: control matters. A founder's narrative control can wane too if board members disagree with a founder's vision. AdvertisementAltman did not, in practice, start with much control at OpenAI, despite being its CEO and, prior to the blowup, a board member. "A lot of VCs still act as if founders retaining board control after a series A is unheard-of. OpenAI's version of founder control doesn't necessarily look like others: its CEO apparently doesn't hold the majority of stock.

Persons: Sam Altman, Paul Graham, —, Altman, Altman's, Helen Toner, Toner, Y, Graham's, Graham, aren't, Mark Zuckerberg, Bret Taylor, Larry Summers Organizations: Service, Microsoft Locations: OpenAI

Both children received help through telehealth therapy, a service that schools around the country are offering in response to soaring mental health struggles among American youth. The growth reflects a booming new business born from America’s youth mental health crisis, which has proven so lucrative that venture capitalists are funding a new crop of school teletherapy companies. For rural schools and lower-income students in particular, it has made therapy easier to access. Schools let students connect with online counselors during the school day or after hours from home. It now employs more than 300 clinicians providing teletherapy in over 150 school districts in 15 states.

Persons: Maria Ishoo’s, Valerie Aguirre’s, ”, Ishoo, “, ” Ishoo, Trish Wilson, that’s, Wilson, Doreen Hogans, Kevin Dahill, Hazel, Josh Golomb, Prince George’s, Golomb, ” Golomb, Ashwin Vasan, ” Vasan, Fern Yoshida, Valerie Aguirre's, Aguirre, teletherapy, ” Aguirre, ’, Sharon Lurye Organizations: Associated Press, Schools, Hazel Health, Hazel, Los, Clark County, Dade, Press, Carnegie Corporation of New, AP Locations: California, Hawaii, Lancaster , California, Lancaster, Prince George’s County , Maryland, San Francisco, Los Angeles County, Clark, Las Vegas, Miami, Houston, New York City, New York, Maui, Carnegie Corporation of New York

☆ Zepz, a $5 billion fintech unicorn, is laying off more staff
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Zepz, the money transfer group that owns WorldRemit, made a fresh round of layoffs. "Zepz has entered a redundancy consultation which will could affect less than 2% of its global headcount," a Zepz company spokesperson said in an exclusive statement to CNBC. "Zepz values the contributions these colleagues have made to our company," the spokesperson added. "To fully realise our mission to unlock the prosperity of cross-border communities, we sometimes need to make tough decisions," Zepz told CNBC. The business was last valued at $5 billion, making it one of the largest and most valuable fintech companies in Europe.

Persons: Zepz, Zepz hasn't Organizations: TCV, CNBC, Sendwave Locations: British, Europe

☆ Israeli cyber VC fund Cyberstarts names new general partner
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

JERUSALEM, Nov 29 (Reuters) - Israeli venture capital fund Cyberstarts on Wednesday named Hila Zigman as general partner. Before joining Cyberstarts, Zigman worked closely with Cyberstarts portfolio company Noname Security as chief product officer, leading the company's development and product teams, and overseeing its Israeli headquarters. Zigman also served as a captain in the technology unit of the Israeli Defense Forces. Zigman's appointment comes two months after Cyberstarts announced its Scale fund with $480 million in committed capital slated for seed investments in cyber startups. Cyberstarts said it has $663 million of assets under management while its portfolio is valued at $30 billion.

Persons: Hila Zigman, Zigman, Cyberstarts, Steven Scheer, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: Cyberstarts, Security, Israeli Defense Forces, Thomson Locations: Cyberstarts

LONDON, Nov 29 (Reuters) - The owners of fund administrator Alter Domus are pursuing the sale of a stake in the Luxembourg-based group that could value it at more than 4 billion euros ($4.4 billion), three people familiar with the matter told Reuters. Alter Domus offers back office services to private capital funds, such as fund accounting and reporting, and oversees around $2 trillion in client assets. Permira, Alter Domus, Goldman Sachs and Raymond James all declined to comment. Alter Domus shareholders were reported in June 2022 to have held initial discussions with potential buyers, but a deal never materialised as soaring borrowing costs and market volatility rocked the deals market. Earlier this year, Reuters reported that buyout group Thomas H. Lee Partners had clinched a deal to invest in U.S. fund administrator Standish Management.

Persons: Alter Domus, Goldman Sachs, Raymond James, Thomas H, Lee, Standish, Pablo Mayo Cerqueiro, Amy, Jo Crowley, Emma, Victoria Farr, Anousha Sakoui, Tomasz Janowski Organizations: Reuters, Goldman, Domus, Alter Domus, Lee Partners, Standish Management, Thomson Locations: Luxembourg, London, Frankfurt

Many countries are working on them — and neither China, Russia, Iran, India or Pakistan have signed a U.S.-initiated pledge to use military AI responsibly. Another AI project at Space Force analyzes radar data to detect imminent adversary missile launches, he said. One urgent challenge, says Jane Pinelis, chief AI engineer at Johns Hopkins University’s Applied Physics Lab and former chief of AI assurance in Martell’s office, is recruiting and retaining the talent needed to test AI tech. Testing and evaluation standards are also immature, a recent National Academy of Sciences report on Air Force AI highlighted. Might that mean the U.S. one day fielding under duress autonomous weapons that don’t fully pass muster?

Persons: —, Replicator —, Kathleen Hicks, ”, Gregory Allen, we’ve, Missy Cummings, George Mason, Lisa Costa, Wallace ‘ Rhet ’ Turnbull, Tom Siebel, Matt Visser, Palantir, Jack Shanahan, Maven, Mark Milley, Christian Brose, Paul Scharre, ” Anduril, Nathan Michael, Michael, Shanahan, Craig Martell, Martell, Jane Pinelis, “ Organizations: U.S ., Russia, Air Force, China, Pentagon, Department of Defense, Center for Strategic, International Studies, Navy, ” U.S . Space Force, Space Force, Space Systems Command, Blackhawk, ., U.S . Missile Defense Agency, Defense Counterintelligence, Security Agency, Third Infantry Division, NATO, Maven, National Geospatial - Intelligence Agency, U.S . Special Operations, ISIS, Command, Control, Chiefs, Armed Services Committee, U.S, Marines, Special Forces, Industry, BAT, Marine Expeditionary, Pentagon AI, LinkedIn, Johns Hopkins, Lab, National Academy of Sciences Locations: Md, Ukraine, U.S, China, Russia, Iran, India, Pakistan, ” U.S, Silicon Valley

[1/2] British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak speaks during the opening session of the Global Food Security Summit at Lancaster House in London, Britain November 20, 2023. Years of political churn - with five prime ministers and a non-stop ministerial carousel since the 2016 Brexit vote - have shaken Britain's reputation for stability among investors. Some executives say the country, long a magnet for FDI, has simply taken them for granted. But companies and investors say that a focus by regulators on limiting costs for bill-payers in sectors such as water, telecoms and energy has crimped investment. British investment minister Dominic Johnson said the government would be in listening mode at the gathering on Nov. 27 to hear how it can remove hurdles.

Persons: Rishi Sunak, Dan Kitwood, Sunak, Emanuel Macron, Jack Paris, Paris, Jeremy Hunt, EY, Alina Osorio, Mikhail Taver, Richard Harrington, Harrington, Dominic Johnson, Johnson, Kate Holton, Sinead Cruise, Andy Bruce, Alexander Smith Organizations: British, Global Food Security, Lancaster House, Hampton Court, Partners, Reuters, European Union, United, Labour Party, India's Tata Group, Britain, AstraZeneca, Ireland, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, Hampton, France, Versailles, European, Germany, United States, Europe, Delaware

I asked financial planners where I could invest my money other than the stock market. Early last year, when I finally decided to invest some of the cash sitting idle in my high-yield savings account, I turned to the stock market. I've come a long way since then, optimizing my stock market strategy to include studying earnings reports and being more strategic with my picks. Real estateA good amount of my friends have turned to real estate investing over the past few years. "You can invest in real estate through REITs — Real Estate Investment Trusts — which pool together investor money to purchase, and sometimes operate, different forms of property.

Persons: —, Jason Dall'Acqua, Carolyn Yun, Privately, Yun, Get, Marguerita Cheng, Cheng Organizations: Service, Investment, SEC, Venture Locations: REITs —

☆ A former venture capitalist known as Silicon Valley's 'party animal' has been convicted in a $19 million fraud case
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-21 | by ( Polly Thompson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Michael Rothenberg became known for his rapid rise to success with his VC firm, Rothenberg Ventures. But this week he became yet another Silicon Valley star to be convicted of fraud. AdvertisementA once high-flying Silicon Valley venture capitalist, whose partying lifestyle inspired an HBO show, has been convicted of committing fraud amounting to $18.8 million. Rothenberg first rose to prominence in 2013 after raising $5 million for his venture capital management fund, Rothenberg Ventures, aged just 27. But in 2016, Rothenberg Ventures collapsed after admitting to investors it was being investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Persons: Michael Rothenberg, Rothenberg, —, Chace Crawford's, Vox Organizations: Rothenberg Ventures, Service, HBO, US, Office, Northern, Northern District of California, Bloomberg, Rothenbergs Ventures, Golden State Warriors, San Francisco Giants, Golden Globes, TechCrunch, Rothenberg's, T, Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, Wired, River Studios, Coldplay, Valley Bank Locations: Silicon, California, Northern District, Napa Valley, Hollywood, San Francisco

☆ Where are they now: The many fascinating Bridgewater employees from the book on Ray Dalio 'The Fund'
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-16 | by ( Bradley Saacks | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +17 min

The new book, "The Fund: Ray Dalio, Bridgewater Associates, and the Unraveling of a Wall Street Legend" — which Dalio and his lawyers have pushed back against — describes everything from Bridgewater's investment process to internal grudges and backstabbing to allegations of sexual harassment. Here are the places where the dozens of Bridgewater employees and consultants named in the book ended up. Dalio, the book said, wrote into the firm's bylaws that he could never hold that title again. Before that, she was the head of investment research and a co-chief investment officer for sustainability. He's worked at different funds since leaving in 2006, including Larch Lane Advisors and Bonaccord Capital as an investor and business-development professional.

Persons: Rob Copeland's, Ray Dalio, Dalio, —, Bridgewater, Greg Jensen, YouTube Dalio, nixed, Copeland, He's, Jensen, Eileen Murray, Morgan Stanley, David McCormick, Dina Powell, McCormick, Dave McCormick, Michael M, Nir Bar Dea, Stefanova, Dalio's, Paul McDowell, Bob Eichinger, McDowell, Eichinger, Jen Healy, Osman Nalbantoglu, Matthew Granade, Steve Cohen, Steve Cohen's Point72, Bob Prince, politicking, Karen Karniol, Bridgewater Associates Karen Karniol, Vladimir Putin, Bob Elliott, Elliott, James Comey, Winn McNamee, Barack Obama, Donald Trump, Hillary, Britt Harris, Bridgewater's, Julian Mack, L, Michael Partington, Spencer Stuart, Niko Canner, Jon Rubinstein, Beck Diefenbach Jon Rubinstein, Steve Jobs, Tom Adams, Rosetta Stone, J, Michael Cline, Cline, Kevin Campbell, Campbell, Craig Mundie, Bill Gates, Gates, Mundie, Bill Clinton, George W, Bush, David Ferrucci, IBM's Watson, Ferrucci, Keith Alexander, Alexander, Larry Culp, Culp, Jamie Gorelick, conscientiously, Clinton, Jared Kushner, Jesse Horwitz, Comey, Horwitz, Samantha Holland, Perry Poulos, Murray, Joe Sweet, Tara Arnold, Arnold —, Leah Guggenheimer, She's, Charles Korchinski, Harris, Kent Kuran Organizations: New York Times, Bridgewater Associates, Business, Bridgewater, YouTube, HSBC, Broadridge, Life Insurance, Wells, Treasury Department, Republican, Getty, GOP, Israel Defense Forces, Marto, Princeton University, McKinsey, Point72, Bridgewater didn't, Domino Data, CircleUp, FBI, Trump, of, University of Texas Investment Management Co, Apple, Dalio, Health, Cognition, Mundie, National Security Agency, Amazon, General Electric, Boston Globe, Electric, Trump White House, Harvard Law School, —, Hubble, Stefanova's Marto, HBR Consulting, MIO Partners, Burford, Larch Lane Advisors, Bonaccord, Eaton Partners, Stanford, NextEra Energy Resources Locations: Bridgewater, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, China, San Francisco, of Texas, Atlanta, WilmerHale, Asia, India, Shanghai, Singapore, Israel, Africa

☆ Confessions of a startup founder's wife
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( Melia Russell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +20 min

I wished I had told Kyle that I would understand if he wanted to quit. That's as apt a description of Kyle's startup as it is of our relationship. I'm not sure Kyle has found as many perks to being a startup founder married to a startup reporter. Now Kyle's startup has pivoted a third time. The truth is, I don't know if Kyle's startup will make it.

Persons: Kyle, Kyle shrugged, pang, I'd, hadn't, Scott Belsky, It's, messier, I've, he'd, Jillian, Chris Dixon, Andreessen Horowitz, Jeff Bezos, MacKenzie Scott, Schulze, TikTok, Josh Cochran, Marc Andreessen, I'm, He'd, Eric Paley, Steve Jobs, —, Playbyte, he's, Rohan Seth, Paul Davison, Steve Huffman, hasn't, Instagram, it's, Zelda, That's, cradling, Melia Russell Organizations: Apple Watch, Steam, Francisco's Mission, University of California, TechCrunch, White House, YouTube, Labor Locations: Champagne, Francisco's, Berkeley, San Francisco, New York, America, Playbyte, Kyle, Boston, Bay, sobs

☆ Check out the pitch decks AI startups Viso, Weav.ai, Dashtoon, and Frenetic used to raise a collective $31.2 million
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( Riddhi Kanetkar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Four AI startups in the form of Weav.AI, Dashtoon, Frenetic, and Viso recently raised a combined $31.2 million in early-stage funding. All four startups, working in sectors ranging from computer vision to AI-driven illustration, shared their pitch decks with Insider. Viso raises round led by Spotify-backer AccelIn October, Swiss startup Viso secured $9.2 million from venture capital giant Accel. Developing computer vision applications is a timely and complex task, and scaling this technology usually "requires significant infrastructure," the startup said. Its platform allows clients — from construction companies to logistics enterprises and city councils — to manage and deploy these computer vision tools from one workspace.

Persons: Viso, DeepMind's Mehdi Ghissassi, Gaudenz Boesch, Slack, Mehdi Ghissassi, Mihai Faur Organizations: Accel, Sierra Ventures, Business, Spotify Locations: Swiss, —

☆ The Pitch Deck Healthtech Startup Sunnyside Used to Raise $11.5 Million
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( Samantha Stokes | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

One startup wants to help consumers be more mindful about their alcohol consumption — and it just raised $11.5 million in venture-capital funding. The startup, Sunnyside, announced that it raised a Series A funding round led by Motley Fool Ventures. Sunnyside's founder Nick Allen launched the startup in San Francisco in 2020, initially calling it Cutback Coach. Sunnyside offers a mobile app that encourages "mindful drinking" practices via weekly goal setting, text reminders, an online community, and one-on-one coaching. Check out the 10-slide pitch deck Sunnyside use to raise its Series A funding round.

Persons: Motley, Cooley, Michael Lee, Nick Allen, Allen, hasn't, Steve Lloyd Organizations: Motley Fool Ventures, Will Ventures, Uncork, Offline Ventures, Joyance Partners, Wisdom Ventures, Eudemian Ventures, Business, Big Tech, Sunnyside Locations: Sunnyside, San Francisco, Valley

☆ Alphabet-backed GoCardless considers takeovers as CEO expects a barrage of consolidation
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-14 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Hiroki Takeuchi, GoCardless chief executive, on the MoneyConf Stage, attends Web Summit 2021 in Lisbon, Portugal. Last year, GoCardless acquired the Latvian open banking startup Nordigen in its first major acquisition. Open banking is one thing and definitely something we think is really important." GoCardless' technology allows firms to collect direct debit payments from consumers. What is open banking?

Persons: Hiroki Takeuchi, Harry Murphy, We're, GoCardless, Takeuchi, Rapyd, they're, we've, Nordigen Organizations: Sportsfile, Getty, GV, CNBC, Tink, PayU GPO, GoCardless Locations: Lisbon, Portugal, British, Latvian, Britain, Statista, London

"We're going to start seeing two big waves of growth" in Mexican startups, said Eric Perez-Grovas, co-founder of venture capital fund Wollef, in an interview, adding an earlier slowdown in financing activity was starting to reverse. Mexico's startups are looking to recover after a lackluster year, hit by rising inflation and high interest rates, dampened investment prospects. "The economic outlook is really, really positive, inflation is coming down and employment is steady. Nexu, an auto-financing startup, landed a $20-million investment round last month, adding onto $53 million it had previously raised. Nexu's round was oversubscribed and had buy-in from foreign investors, however, showing market appetite is increasing, said Perez-Grovas.

Persons: Edgard Garrido, Eric Perez, Melonn, Andres Felipe Archila, Perez, Grovas, Abdon Necif, Kylie Madry, Sarah Morland, Rod Nickel Organizations: REUTERS, MEXICO CITY, Mexico's, Wollef, Thomson Locations: MEXICO, Mexico, U.S

☆ 'There's a lot of things that can go wrong': A market-beating hedge fund manager shares how he's preparing for chaos in 2024 — and explains why uranium will continue to soar
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-10 | by ( James Faris | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Prepare for volatility and chaos in 2024Kupperman's confidence in his hedge fund is inversely related to his outlook for the economy. "Recent geopolitical events, along with the collapse of bonds in many developed markets, seem likely to lead to an increase in overall market volatility," Kupperman wrote in his letter. If he's right about inflation, his hedge fund would be well-positioned to beat the market for a fifth consecutive year in 2024. "I do the same thing always, which is you buy cheap companies with really strong tailwinds and you hold 'em through the volatility," Kupperman said. For the last 18 months, Kupperman has been convinced that the future is in two commodities: oil and uranium.

Persons: Harris Kupperman isn't, Kupperman, I'm, it's, Wall, Valaris Organizations: Praetorian, Fund, Praetorian Capital Management, US, Uranium Trust Fund, Valaris, Tidewater Locations: Tidewater

☆ Robinhood misses Q3 revenue estimates on muted trading activity
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( Manya Saini | Thomson Reuters | Manya Saini Reports On Prominent Publicly Listed U.S. Financial Firms Including Wall Street S Biggest Banks | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Brendan McDermid Acquire Licensing RightsNov 7 (Reuters) - Robinhood Markets (HOOD.O) missed Wall Street estimates for third-quarter revenue on Tuesday, weighed by a slowdown in trading activity, sending shares of the online brokerage down more than 9% in extended trading. Robinhood was at the center of the 2021 retail trading frenzy, driven by mom-and-pop investors who used the company's commission-free platform to pump money into so-called "meme stocks" during the pandemic-era lockdowns. Reuters GraphicsAccording to company executives, Robinhood often sees lower trading volumes around the holidays in November and December. The company also expects its interest revenue to decline in the current quarter on a sequential basis. Reuters GraphicsRobinhood's net revenue rose 29% to $467 million in the three months ended Sept. 30, but missed analysts' expectations of $478.4 million, as per LSEG data.

Persons: Brendan McDermid, Robinhood, Jason Warnick, Manya Saini, Shilpi Majumdar, Shounak Organizations: Robinhood Markets, Inc, Nasdaq, REUTERS, Reuters, U.S, U.S . Federal, Reuters Graphics, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, U.S ., Bengaluru

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

On Monday, WeWork's stock trading was halted ahead of the opening bell. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . AdvertisementAdvertisementEmbattled real estate giant WeWork filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Monday. WeWork's bankruptcy comes amidst a years-long reorientation for the office industry. Offices globally emptied, and the once-stable commercial real estate sector was thrown into unprecedented chaos, from which it has not fully recovered.

Persons: WeWork, —, David Tolley, Adam Neumann —, SoftBank, Regus, wasn't WeWork, I've, Masayoshi Son, Adam Neumann, Jackal Pan, Sandeep Mathrani, Neumann, Marcelo Claure Organizations: Service, WeWork, Wall Street, New York Stock Exchange, Visual China, Getty, CNBC Locations: Canada, WeWork, York

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