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☆ Artificial intelligence is coming for venture firms. VCs predict it could reduce headcount by more than 50%.
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-24 | by ( Ben Bergman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Firms like Correlation Ventures, 645 Ventures, and Fly Ventures have long used data and AI to help guide investment decisions. AdvertisementEarlier this year, Sri Chandrasekar, a partner at Point72 Ventures, noticed a startup in his portfolio was having a breakout week. Related stories"If you go to any venture firm's website, you'll find that half the names are not doing anything to do with investing," Chandrasekar said. Advertisement"If you look at the large firms, they got very, very large in the last few years," said Andy McLoughlin, managing partner at Uncork Capital. Venture firms will have to remake themselves into a combination of people and A.I."

Persons: —, Matt Krna, Krna, Sri, Chandrasekar, Christina Melas, Andreeseen Horowitz, Andy McLoughlin, James Currier, Currier, McLoughlin Organizations: Service, Business, Ventures, Fly Ventures, Point72 Ventures, Bain Capital Ventures, Bain Capital, Catalyst, Lightspeed, Uncork, Venture, Deloitte, San Locations: San Francisco, Sri Chandrasekar

☆ Exclusive: A16z-backed Knownwell is buying AI-powered Alfie Health to supercharge its obesity care
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-20 | by ( Rebecca Torrence | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

With that market shaking out this year, one obesity care startup just scooped up another. Knownwell, which provides obesity-centered primary care and weight management, has acquired Y Combinator startup Alfie Health, Business Insider has learned exclusively. But many investors leaned away from backing obesity care startups as the virtual prescription-focused model clashed with medication shortages. AdvertisementKnownwell has taken a different approach to weight management, with in-person providers alongside its virtual care services, and primary care in addition to obesity care. Alfie HealthGetting obesity care rightBoyarsky Pratt founded Knownwell alongside Dr. Angela Fitch, the president of the Obesity Medicine Association and the former associate director of Massachusetts General Hospital's weight care center.

Persons: —, Alfie, Alexander Singh, Ozempic, Knownwell, It's, Andreessen Horowitz, Alfie Health, Y Combinator, Nina Capital, Brooke Boyarsky Pratt, Boyarsky Pratt, it's, Angela Fitch, Vineeta, Kindbody, Agarwala Organizations: Service, Health, Business, Alfie Health, Knownwell, Flare Capital Partners, Nina, Obesity Medicine Association, Massachusetts, Oak, Carbon Health Locations: WeightWatchers, Plenty, Needham , Massachusetts, Boston, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Dallas, Minneapolis

☆ Decagon raises $35 million from Accel and A16z to build AI customer support agents. Here's an exclusive look at the pitch deck it used.
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-18 | by ( Sri Muppidi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

AI startup Decagon builds AI agents to automate customer support for enterprise customers. Founded in July 2023, Decagon uses generative AI to automate customer support for enterprise customers. The company has emerged from stealth and raised $35 million in funding for its seed and Series A rounds. Accel led the company's $30 million Series A, with participation from Andreessen Horowitz, A*, and Elad Gil. A16z led the company's $5 million seed round.

Persons: Andreessen Horowitz, —, Jesse Zhang, Ashwin Sreenivas, Zhang, Elad Gil, A16z, Decagon, Aaron Levie, Howie Liu Organizations: Accel, Service, Decagon, Business

☆ Bitcoin miners at Donald Trump's closed-door event say he thinks bitcoin can help win AI arms race
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-13 | by ( Mackenzie Sigalos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +17 min

Less than four hours after Trump's roundtable wrapped, the former president took to social media to extol the virtues of the bitcoin mining business. "Bitcoin mining may be our last line of defense against a CBDC," Trump posted shortly before midnight on Tuesday. "That's where you've got all these ancillary jobs; it's not just the bitcoin mining directly," said Cook. Enter bitcoin miners. Adding bitcoin miners to the portfolio of energy buyers has helped to improve the core economics of renewable power production.

Persons: Donald Trump, Eva Marie Uzcategui, —, New York —, Jason Les, Bitcoin, Bill Hagerty, David Bailey, Trump, Bailey, Sen, Elizabeth Warren, Les, Warren, Geoff Kendrick, bitcoin, Matthew Schultz, Jayson Browder, Brian Hughes, Biden, Harris, Andreessen Horowitz, Ron Conway, Fred Wilson, Cameron, Tyler Winklevoss, Schultz, Browder, CleanSpark, Coke, Chris Cook, Cook, There's, Amanda Fabiano, Fabiano, Marathon's Browder, We've, Exacore's Cook, you've, it's, Digital's Browder Organizations: U.S, Mar, Lago, Trump, Riot, Marathon Digital Holdings, Arkon Energy, Cholla Energy, Exacore, CNBC, Senate's Banking, Finance, China, BTC Inc, Radical Communist, Democratic, Trump —, solana, Internal Revenue Service, Libertarian National Convention, Standard Chartered, Circuits, Government Affairs, Federal Reserve, Biden, U.S . Treasury Department, Republican, NASDAQ, Fabiano Consulting Locations: Lago, West Palm Beach , Florida, New York, Palm Beach , Florida, bitcoin, China, Russia, U.S, America, Washington, San Francisco, Beijing, Marathon, United States, West Texas

Abercrombie & Fitch has transformed itself from a dying mall brand into a Wall Street darling after spending years revamping its product assortment, overhauling its supply chain and rebranding as an inclusive retailer. Shares of the apparel company have surged over the last year as it posted quarter after quarter of sales growth and profits that consistently topped Wall Street's expectations. Under the direction of CEO Fran Horowitz, Abercrombie has become one of the biggest winners in retail, but its turnaround was years in the making and far from an overnight success. Perhaps most importantly, Abercrombie rebranded itself into a more equitable retailer after it earned a reputation for racism, toxicity and exclusivity. To learn more about Abercrombie's comeback and what's ahead for the retailer after a year of meteoric growth, check out the video above.

Persons: Fitch, Fran Horowitz, Abercrombie, Horowitz Organizations: Abercrombie

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailThe comeback of Abercrombie & FitchAbercrombie & Fitch has transformed from a dying mall brand into a Wall Street darling in about a decade, arguably one of retail's biggest comebacks. After reporting yet another strong earnings, the stock surged 24% on May 29th. Watch the video above to how CEO Fran Horowitz changed the business and defeated competitors like Gap, Banana Republic, American Eagle Outfitters and Urban Outfitters.

Persons: Fitch Abercrombie, Fitch, Fran Horowitz Organizations: Abercrombie, Fitch, American Eagle Outfitters, Urban Outfitters Locations: Banana Republic

☆ Inside the Abercrombie & Fitch Resurrection: Sales, Stock Are Soaring
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-12 | by ( Emily Stewart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

If it's any solace, the company was not really for Wall Street, either; its stock has been languishing over the past decade or so. Investors are eating it up: Abercrombie's stock a year ago, your returns would be better than that of almost any other stock, including the Wall Street darling Nvidia. "Can you and I think of another apparel retailer who literally reinvented themselves and then went to the moon with sales and earnings? When its longtime CEO exited the company at the end of 2014, its sales had declined for 11 consecutive quarters. AdvertisementAs opposed to the Abercrombie of 20 years ago, whose logos screamed A&F, the modern Abercrombie is muted.

Persons: Abercrombie, millennials, Gen Zers, Janet Joseph Kloppenburg, Fitch, Fran Horowitz, Zachary Warring, Horowitz, It's, Abercrombie doesn't, it's, " Horowitz, Women's, Kloppenburg, they're, Ali Grant, they've, They've, Emily Stewart Organizations: Abercrombie, Fitch, JJK Research, Outfitters, Netflix, Hollister, CFRA Research, Digital, Banana, Old Navy, Business Locations: cologne

☆ Mistral, a French A.I. Start-Up, Is Valued at $6.2 Billion
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-11 | by ( Adam Satariano | More About Adam Satariano | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Mistral, a French artificial intelligence start-up, said on Tuesday that it had raised 600 million euros, or about $640 million, from investors, a sign of robust interest in a company seen as Europe’s most promising rival to OpenAI and other Silicon Valley A.I. Mistral is now valued at €5.8 billion, according to a person familiar with the investment, an eye-popping sum for a company founded just one year ago by alumni from Meta and Google. Since OpenAI released ChatGPT in November 2022, investors have poured money into generative A.I. Two weeks ago, Elon Musk raised $6 billion for his start-up, xAI. OpenAI has raised roughly $13 billion from Microsoft, while another California start-up, Anthropic, has raised more than $7.3 billion.

Persons: Andreessen Horowitz, Elon Musk, OpenAI Organizations: Meta, Google, Catalyst, Lightspeed Ventures, Nvidia, Samsung, Salesforce, Cisco, IBM, BNP, Microsoft Locations: California

☆ 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

☆ Synapse bankruptcy trustee says $85 million of customer savings is missing in fintech meltdown
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-07 | by ( Hugh Son | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Al Drago | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesThere is an $85 million shortfall between what partner banks of fintech middleman Synapse are holding and what depositors are owed, according to the court-appointed trustee in the Synapse bankruptcy. Customers of fintech firms that used Synapse to link up with banks had $265 million in balances. But the banks themselves only had $180 million associated with those accounts, trustee Jelena McWilliams said in a report filed late Thursday. The missing funds explain what is at the heart of the worst meltdown in the U.S. fintech sector since its emergence in the years after the 2008 financial crisis. She said Synapse apparently commingled funds among several institutions, using multiple banks to serve the same companies.

Persons: Jelena McWilliams, Al Drago, Andreessen Horowitz, McWilliams, Bank —, it's, Banks, Cravath, Judge Martin Barash Organizations: Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Banking, Housing, Urban Affairs Committee, Washington , D.C, Bloomberg, Getty, Synapse, Evolve Bank & Trust, American Bank, AMG, Bank, Partner Bank Locations: Washington ,, U.S, what's

☆ Databricks acquires data optimization startup Tabular in fresh challenge to Snowflake
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-04 | by ( Jordan Novet | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Data analytics software maker Databricks said in a statement on Tuesday that it's acquiring Tabular, a startup that helps optimize data stored in the cloud. The gesture could help Databricks more quickly bring out products as it faces competition from Snowflake and other entities. Databricks is paying over $1 billion to buy Tabular, Databricks CEO Ali Ghodsi said in an interview. Snowflake was also bidding on Tabular, as was Confluent , a person familiar with the matter told CNBC. Focusing more on Iceberg tables might allow Databricks to take business from Snowflake clients that embrace the format.

Persons: Ali Ghodsi, Databricks, Snowflake, Ryan Blue, Dan Weeks, Okta, Mike Scarpelli, Morgan Stanley, Ghodsi, Andreessen Horowitz, Frank Slootman's, Jefferies, Brent Thill Organizations: Databricks, Summit, Street Journal, CNBC, Developers, Netflix, Salesforce, Amazon, Services, Monday, Zetta Venture Partners Locations: San Francisco, Snowflake, Delta

☆ Buy these growth stocks that are reasonably priced and have earnings momentum as June begins, Jefferies says
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-03 | by ( Lisa Kailai Han | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Looking ahead, the best path forward for equity investors is to buy GARP stocks, or those that provide growth at a reasonable price. "With peaking rates favoring growth stocks while strong economic data is backing value, we advise traversing the middle path." In a Friday research note, he shared a list of U.S. stocks that fall into the GARP strategy and possess strong earnings momentum. "Long-term investors should look beyond the deep-value cyclicals and extremely expensive growth stocks in favor of sustainable outperformance through stocks with both valuation and earnings support," he wrote. Clothing retailer Abercrombie & Fitch currently has a price/earnings-to-growth ratio of 1.2.

Persons: Jefferies, GARP, Stocks, Morgan Stanley, Evercore, Benjamin Swinburne, Louis Miscioscia, Abercrombie, Fran Horowitz Organizations: Dow Jones, Nasdaq, Jefferies, Netflix, Evercore ISI, Nvidia, Abercrombie, Fitch, Texas Locations: U.S, Progressive

☆ Cramer says buy Conoco on Marathon deal weakness — but he's shocked by this tumbling stock
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-29 | by ( Kevin Stankiewicz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

ConocoPhillips , Marathon Oil : Conoco shares fell 3% after the company said it planned to buy Marathon Oil in a deal $17.1 billion all-stock transaction. "Conoco is a very, very good company," Jim Cramer said, though he wondered whether U.S. antitrust regulators may heavily scrutinize the tie-up. "This deal makes a ton of sense, but I would buy Conoco over Marathon here." "Now, the can't-last theory is so stupid because what that says is, without doing any work, that stock can't be up 100%. "Cava is a great company," Cramer said.

Persons: Jim Cramer's, Jim Cramer, Cramer, Abercrombie, Fran Horowitz, she's, I'm Organizations: CNBC, Club, ConocoPhillips, Marathon, Airlines, Fitch Locations: Marathon, Texas

☆ Abercrombie & Fitch CEO: We're staying close to our costumers and really listening to their needs
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-29 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

In this videoShare Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailAbercrombie & Fitch CEO: We're staying close to our costumers and really listening to their needsAbercrombie & Fitch CEO Fran Horowitz joins 'Squawk on the Street' to discuss what's showing acceleration in Abercrombie & Fitch's business, the company's marketing efforts, and more.

Persons: We're, Abercrombie, Fran Horowitz Organizations: Abercrombie, Fitch

☆ Benefits of secondhand clothing, goods according to Alicia Silverstone
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-29 | by ( Jessica Dickler | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Alicia Silverstone stars in the 1995 film "Clueless." "I've been fighting the good fight to encourage people to buy used and make it sound cool," she said. Online shopping's hefty toll on the environmentWith the explosion of online shopping during the pandemic, a surge in returns seemed like a small price for everyone to pay. The return rate in 2023 was about 15% of total U.S. retail sales, or $743 billion in returned goods, according to the National Retail Federation's most recent data. For online sales, the numbers are even higher, with a return rate closer to 18%, or $247 billion of merchandise purchased online returned.

Persons: Alicia Silverstone, Stringer, Cher Horowitz, Cher, Silverstone, I've, Shraysi Tandon Organizations: CNBC, eBay, National Retail

☆ Abercrombie & Fitch posts its strongest first quarter ever, as sales jump 22%
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-29 | by ( Gabrielle Fonrouge | In Gabrielle-Fonrouge | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

An Abercrombie & Fitch signage is seen on a store on Fifth Avenue on August 25, 2022 in New York City. Abercrombie & Fitch reported its strongest first quarter in its history on Wednesday, continuing a winning streak that again exceeded expectations. "Growth was broad-based across regions and brands with Abercrombie brands registering 31% growth and Hollister brands delivering growth of 12%." As it stares down a tough year of comparisons, the company is building on the double-digit sales growth it saw in 2023. For the current quarter, Abercrombie anticipates sales will increase by a mid-teens percentage, ahead of estimates of up 9%, according to LSEG.

Persons: Fran Horowitz, Abercrombie, LSEG, Horowitz Organizations: Abercrombie, Fitch, LSEG Locations: New York City, U.S

☆ 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 and Mark Zuckerberg are reportedly going head-to-head again — this time over a buzzy AI startup
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-28 | by ( Tom Carter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Meta and xAI are competing to partner with buzzy AI startup Character.AI, per the Financial Times. It's the latest twist in the rivalry between Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg. The two billionaires have been feuding for years, and are now both racing to build superhuman AI. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . AdvertisementThe rivalry between Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg may be heating up again.

Persons: Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, —, Musk's xAI, Character.AI, Andreessen Horowitz Organizations: Financial Times, Elon, Service, Meta, Financial

☆ Elon Musk’s xAI firm valued at $24 billion as investors pledge more money
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-27 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

London CNN —The AI firm founded by Elon Musk has raised another $6 billion from investors, including Silicon Valley venture capitalists and a Saudi prince, boosting its valuation to $24 billion. Investors providing the second-round funding included Sequoia Capital, Andreesen Horowitz, and Saudi Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal, xAI announced in a blog post on Sunday. Investors, lured by the potential for AI to revolutionize the way people live and work, have thrown huge sums of money at AI companies in recent years. Microsoft (MSFT) is OpenAI’s biggest stakeholder, with a $13 billion investment in the firm. Last year, Amazon (AMZN) announced it would invest up to $4 billion in Anthropic AI in exchange for partial ownership of the company.

Persons: Elon Musk, Andreesen Horowitz, Saudi Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal, xAI, Musk, Grok Organizations: London CNN, Elon, Sequoia Capital, xAI, London . Investors, Microsoft, Google Locations: Silicon, Saudi, OpenAI, Palo Alto, San Francisco, London

☆ Musk’s A.I. Firm Raises $6 Billion in Race With Rivals
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-27 | by ( Jason Karaian | More About Jason Karaian | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company, xAI, said on Sunday that it has raised $6 billion, helping to close the funding gap with OpenAI, Anthropic and other rivals in the red-hot industry. Mr. Musk, who founded xAI in July, said in a social media post the funding round valued the company at $18 billion, not including the new money. Investors included the Silicon Valley heavyweights Andreessen Horowitz and Sequoia Capital, along with Saudi Arabia’s Prince Alwaleed bin Talal. Investors and large tech companies like Google, Meta and Microsoft have poured billions into the businesses developing A.I. systems, which require huge amounts of processing power to generate text, sounds and images.

Persons: Musk, Andreessen Horowitz, Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Organizations: Elon, xAI, Sequoia Capital, Saudi, Investors, Google, Meta, Microsoft

☆ 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

☆ Some Prominent Silicon Valley Investors Shift to the Right
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-23 | by ( Erin Griffith | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

At a tech conference last week, Mr. Sacks said his view had changed. Such public support for Mr. Trump used to be taboo in Silicon Valley, which has long been seen as a liberal bastion. But frustration with Mr. Biden, Democrats and the state of the world has increasingly driven some of tech’s most prominent venture capitalists to the right. (He is set to co-host the fund-raiser for Mr. Trump alongside Mr. Others, like Marc Andreessen of Andreessen Horowitz and Shaun Maguire of Sequoia Capital, have criticized Mr. Biden without expressing support for Mr. Trump.

Persons: David Sacks, Donald J, Sacks, “, Biden, Trump, Mr, Marc Andreessen, Andreessen Horowitz, Shaun Maguire, Keith Rabois Organizations: U.S . Capitol, Trump, Mr, Social Capital, Sequoia Capital, Khosla Ventures, Republicans, Congress Locations: Silicon Valley

☆ Fintech nightmare: 'I have nearly $38,000 tied up' after Synapse bankruptcy
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-22 | by ( Hugh Son | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The situation deteriorated in April after Synapse declared bankruptcy following the exodus of several key partners. That has left users of several fintech services stranded with no access to their funds, according to testimonials filed this week in a California bankruptcy court. One customer, a Maryland teacher named Chris Buckler, said in a May 21 filing that his funds at crypto app Juno were locked because of the Synapse bankruptcy. Synapse had contracts with 20 banks and 100 fintech companies, resulting in about 10 million end users, according to an April filing from founder and CEO Sankaet Pathak. The freeze-up of customer funds exposes the vulnerabilities in the banking as a service, or BAAS, partnership model and a possible blind spot for regulatory oversight.

Persons: Andreessen Horowitz, Chris Buckler, Buckler, Dave, Juno, Sankaet Pathak, Pathak, Joseph Dominguez, Dominguez, Jason Mikula, Mikula Organizations: Istock, Synapse, Evolve Bank & Trust, Mercury, CNBC, Evolve Bank, Trust, Regulators, FDIC, Federal Reserve Locations: California, Maryland, Joseph Dominguez of Sacramento , California, Silicon

☆ Opinion | Loneliness Is a Problem That A.I. Won’t Solve
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-18 | by ( Jessica Grose | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

One day it will be better than a real [girlfriend]. One day, the real one will be the inferior choice.” The article goes on to breathlessly outline use cases for “A.I. companions,” suggesting that some future iteration of chatbots could stand in for mental health professionals, relationship coaches or chatty co-workers. This week, OpenAI released an update to its ChatGPT chatbot, an indication that the inhuman future foretold by the Andreessen Horowitz story is fast approaching. While some observers, including the Times Opinion contributing writer Julia Angwin, who called ChatGPT’s recent update “rather routine,” weren’t particularly impressed, there’s been plenty of hype about the potential for humanlike chatbots to ameliorate emotional challenges, particularly loneliness and social isolation.

Persons: Andreessen Horowitz, A.I, OpenAI, Horowitz, ”, Scarlett Johansson, Julia Angwin, weren’t, there’s Organizations: The Washington Post, omni

☆ How one rising Miami VC raised more money for his first fund. Other emerging investors haven't been so lucky.
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-16 | by ( Vishal Persaud | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Evans is the founder of Exceptional Capital, which launched in 2022 among the many emerging VC firms that sprouted during the fundraising boom years. Before pursuing a life in venture capital and tech, Evans hoped to make it to the NFL as a linebacker at the University of Michigan. And then in 2022, Evans decided to launch Exceptional Capital and invest as a solo VC. Exceptional CapitalBecause he's been able to increase the size of his fund, Evans has been able to expand his team. "I could see that for Marell as well, just his work with Exceptional Capital and kind of his determination there."

Persons: —, Marell Evans, Evans, he's, Dave Brandon, Brandon, Ben Horowitz, Andreessen Horowitz, Horowitz, A16z, Okta, Owen Van Natta, Hustling, Melissa Morano Aurigemma, Graham Stoddard, Andrew Van Nest, I've, Cody Coleman, Coleman, what's Organizations: Service, Exceptional, Business, NFL, University of Michigan, NCAA, IBM, Facebook, Vision, SV Angel, A16z, Exceptional Capital Locations: Miami, Michigan, San Francisco, Okta, Silicon Valley, SoftBank, —, Bessemer

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