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☆ SocGen and Brookfield to launch private debt fund
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

The logo of Societe Generale bank is pictured on an office building in Nantes, France, March 16, 2023. REUTERS/Stephane Mahe/file photo Acquire Licensing RightsPARIS, Sept 11 (Reuters) - French lender Societe Generale (SOGN.PA) and asset manager Brookfield Corp (BN.TO) plan to launch a private debt fund targeting total volume of 10 billion euros ($10.73 billion) over the next four years, they announced on Monday. Initial seed funding, which will be directed towards the power, transportation and finance sectors among others, amounts to 2.5 billion euros, the companies said. The fund "will have a positive impact on the real economy", SocGen Chief Executive Slawomir Krupa said in a press release. ($1 = 0.9319 euros)Reporting by Tassilo Hummel Editing by David GoodmanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Stephane Mahe, Slawomir Krupa, Tassilo Hummel, David Goodman Organizations: Societe Generale, REUTERS, Rights, Brookfield Corp, SocGen, Thomson Locations: Nantes, France

☆ Ripple buys crypto infrastructure startup in its second acquisition of 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-08 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Founded in 2021 by Scott Purcell, an entrepreneur with a background in equity and debt crowdfunding, Fortress Trust aims to help large enterprises interact with digital currencies. The company uses a blockchain-based messaging system, akin to SWIFT, to approve speedy transactions between a network of banks and other financial institutions. A Ripple spokesperson declined to comment on the size of the deal but said that it is less than the sum Ripple paid to buy Metaco. Ripple also obtained a Nevada trust with its acquisition of Fortress Trust, adding to its growing list of regulatory permits globally. The company told CNBC previously it was also looking to get an e-money license with the Irish central bank.

Persons: Brad Garlinghouse, Ripple, Scott Purcell, Purcell, BitGo, SWIFT, Britain's, Singapore's, XRP, Stu Alderoty Organizations: Trust, Prime Trust, SBI, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, MoneyGram, CNBC, Monetary Authority of, Fortress Trust Locations: Austin , Texas, Nevada, U.S, Swiss, Fortress Trust's, York, New York, Monetary Authority of Singapore, Irish

☆ Meet the AI company that just raised $1.5 million from investors like Rex Salisbury by betting big on the startup 'mass extinction event'
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( Samantha Stokes | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

SimpleClosure just raised a $1.5 million pre-seed funding round from Rex Salisbury and Vera Equity. The startup uses AI to automate the legal and procedural tasks for when a startup shuts down. The startup industry is predicted to be on the brink of a 'mass extinction event.' The numbers weren't looking good for the fintech startup, so one of the investors asked him to write a shutdown proposal. And when a business shuts down, incorrect winding-down procedures can add insult to injury in the form of fines, fees, and mistakes that can also affect customers and investors.

Persons: SimpleClosure, Rex Salisbury, Vera Equity, Earny, Dori Yona, Yona, Michael Vaughn, Jon Pomerantz, haven't Organizations: Wednesday, Cambrian Ventures, IRS Locations: fintech

☆ The cofounder of Fanhouse explains why she resigned from the startup and what she would have done differently if she started it today — including not raising VC funding
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( Shriya Bhattacharya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Creator Rosie Nguyen started Fanhouse in 2020 with two other cofounders. Nguyen explains what she would do differently as a founder if she were building the startup today. Nguyen launched Fanhouse in 2020 as a subscription platform for creators to monetize, share exclusive behind-the-scenes content, and connect with top fans. The added investments helped Fanhouse in many ways, like hiring more staff and paying creators more money through the platform. She'd also tap into equity crowdfunding like creator startup Gumroad did.

Persons: Rosie Nguyen, Fanhouse, Nguyen, Lucy Guo, @jasminericegirl, Khoi Le, Jerry Meng, VCs, Jeff Morris Jr, Andreessen Horowitz, She'd, she'd, Le, Meng, shouldn't Organizations: Twitter, Investors, didn't Locations: American, Los Angeles, Fanhouse, VCs

☆ Big startups are a bust so prestige investors are fighting for deals into tiny European companies
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-05 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Funding to European startups across the board dropped by almost 60% to $23 billion in the first six months of 2023, according to Crunchbase data. ElevenLabs, a London-based artificial intelligence startup founded by Google and Palantir alumni, pulled in $18 million at a $100 million valuation a year after it was founded. Mistral, another European startup set up by ex-Facebook and DeepMind staffers, raised $113 million a month after it was founded. AI has been of particular interest to investors with similar hype surrounding a deal for London-based text-to-voice startup ElevenLabs. Industry stakeholders believe that teams springing from already successful companies to set up their own startups will be very attractive with some predicting startups founded between 2022 and 2024 primed to be very in demand in the future.

Persons: Andreessen Horowitz, David Schreiber, Duco van, Pivot, Marc, Antoine Lacroix, Romain Libeau, Sifted, Filip Dames, Dames Organizations: Google, Mistral, Facebook, Ventures, Cocoa, Club, Cherry Ventures, Sequoia, Industry Locations: Europe, London, Paris, Berlin

☆ Andrew Bialecki built Klaviyo into an email titan by breaking all the norms. Now he's taking it public as its largest shareholder.
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-01 | by ( Melia Russell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Andrew Bialecki is preparing to take Boston startup Klaviyo public eleven years after founding it. Bialecki, who cofounded the marketing tech company in 2012, owns more than a third of Klaviyo, according to the company's recent S-1 filing. In the last eleven years, the 37-year-old has quietly built the hottest Boston startup you've never heard of. For comparison, HubSpot's Brian Halligan and Toast's Chris Comparato reported salaries of roughly $240,000 before taking their Boston startups public. Bialecki has also sold few shares of Klaviyo in inside rounds, according to two people familiar with the company's financials.

Persons: Andrew Bialecki, Jason Lemkin, Peter Walker, Klaviyo, Yankee frugality, Barry Chin, Ed Hallen, Hallen, Bialecki, Alexa von, TJ Mahony, he's, Elias Torres, Bootstrapping, Jon Karlen, Karlen, Mahony, Alex Clayton, frugality, HubSpot's Brian Halligan, Toast's Chris Comparato Organizations: Boston Globe, Getty, MIT's Sloan School of Management, Capital, Harvard University, Predictive Technologies, Fortune, Red Sox, Meritech Capital, Boston, Black, Patriots Locations: Boston, Coast, Bialecki, Washington, DC, Klaviyo, Braze, Miami

☆ New York's largest health system is pushing into generative AI with help from a former Amazon exec and a $100 million venture partnership
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-22 | by ( Blake Dodge | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Northwell Health, New York's largest health system, is making a big investment in generative AI. It's working through an AI partnership with Aegis Ventures to make new products for providers. New York's largest health system is deepening its push into generative AI, the hot new technology taking the business world by storm. Northwell Health is gearing up for this effort by working with Aegis Ventures, a startup studio that's committed $100 million to joint ventures with Northwell. The team at Northwell that deals with billing health plans is also interested in taking advantage of AI, Mulry said.

Persons: that's, Mark Michalski, it's, Michalski, It's, Gregg Fergus, Richard Mulry, Mulry, Billing, Northwell, Marc Paradis Organizations: Health, Aegis Ventures, Northwell, Amazon, Northwell Holdings, Aegis, Northwell's, Microsoft Locations: Michalski

☆ Here's an exclusive look at the pitch deck a former Meta VP used to raise $7.5 million in seed funding for his AI chatbot tutoring startup that helps students with STEM homework
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-22 | by ( Madeline Renbarger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Sizzle AI is a new AI tutoring chatbot startup where students can get help with STEM homework. Sizzle AI was founded by an ex-Meta vice president and just raised $7.5 million in seed funding. Sizzle AI has launched in both the Apple App store and Google Play store and just raised $7.5 million in seed funding led by Owl Ventures, with participation from 8VC. Other AI tutoring chatbots have popped up in recent months, most notably Khan Academy's Khanmigo chatbot. See the pitch deck that Sizzle AI used to raise $7.5 million in seed funding:

Persons: Jerome Pesenti, Pesenti, Khan, Sizzle, Emily Bennett Organizations: Meta, Apple, Google, Owl Ventures, 8VC

☆ Edtech startup Kinjo incentivizes kids to play educational mini-games in Roblox. Check out the pitch deck it used to raise $6.5 million in seed funding.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-21 | by ( Madeline Renbarger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

With Kinjo, kids can earn virtual currency called Robux by playing higher-ranked learning games. To earn these Robux, kids can spend real-world money, or they can play simple mini games to "grind" for Robux rewards. Kids who use Kinjo are three times more likely to spend time on games that are more productive than kids without Kinjo, Malcolm said. Many edtech gaming platforms are already on the market, such as the social-emotional learning game Social Cipher or the STEM learning game Royelles. Check out the 16-slide pitch deck that Kinjo used to raise $6.5 million in seed funding:

Persons: Charles Thornburgh couldn't, Thornburgh, Jim Breyer's Breyer, Kinjo, Laura Malcolm, Kinjo's, Malcolm said, Krishna Srinivasan Organizations: Austin, LiveOak Venture Partners, Silverton Partners, Jim Breyer's Breyer Capital, Roble, Robux, Roblox Locations: Roblox, Silverton, Austin , Texas, Fortnite

☆ See the presentation that got a healthtech startup $7 million from Khosla Ventures to help patients find new treatments using AI
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-17 | by ( Rebecca Torrence | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Eureka Health is building a platform to help patients with chronic conditions find new treatments. Eureka Health used this 11-slide pitch deck to land $7 million in a round led by Khosla Ventures. Eureka Health seeks to give patients with chronic conditions a community to find new treatments based on reports of what other patients have tried. Then, Eureka patients can log how effective a specific treatment was for their symptoms, as well as any side effects they may have experienced. Eureka Health provided Insider with the deck it used to raise $7 million in seed funding.

Persons: Zain Memon, Noah MacCallum, Memon, MacCallum, Anne Wojcicki, Susan Wojcicki, Eureka, we're Organizations: Eureka Health, Khosla Ventures, Health, South Park, SciFi, Able Partners, Bow, 23andMe, South Locations: Eureka, South Park

☆ Marqo, a startup using AI and machine learning to improve search, just raised $5.2 million with this 14-slide pitch deck
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Vector search startup Marqo has raised $5.2 million in seed funding from Blackbird Ventures. "There's a huge opportunity to improve search," Tom Hamer, Marqo's cofounder and CEO said. Marqo, a startup that helps e-commerce businesses and marketplaces improve their search functionality, has raised $5.2 million. Its vector search uses machine learning (ML) and AI to capture the meaning and context of data such as text and images, transforming it into a numeric representation that can then be queried by users through an API. While vector search models have been around for a while, improved AI technology has made the sector more accessible.

Persons: Tom Hamer, Marqo's, Marqo, Hamer, Cohere's, Ivan Zhang, Aidan Gomez Organizations: Blackbird Ventures, Amazon, Fund Locations: London, Melbourne, Canadian

☆ Sequoia-backed insurance tech startup SureIn just raised $4.4 million in seed funding with this 13-slide pitch deck
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-15 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

German insurance tech startup SureIn just raised $4.4 million in a seed funding round. We got an exclusive look at the 13-slide pitch deck it used to raise the fresh funds. German insurance tech startup SureIn has raised $4.4 million in fresh funds. The wider insurance tech market has been difficult for the past year with VC funding to the sector falling dramatically to 2018 levels so far this year. Check out the 13-slide pitch deck SureIn used the raise the fresh funds below:

Persons: I've, Daniel Dierkes, Dierkes, Robin Capital Organizations: Robin Locations: Sequoia's, Berlin

☆ How $7.75 billion Hopin went from pandemic darling to selling off its flagship business for $50 million and handing back some investor cash
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-10 | by ( Callum Burroughs | Tasmin Lockwood | Michael Cogley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Virtual-events startup Hopin was a pandemic winner when it hit a $7.8 billion valuation in 2021. Now its CEO is stepping down, it's selling off parts of its business, and is set to hand back investor cash. But as vaccinations arrived and the travel restrictions eased, demand for Hopin's platform waned. "The pandemic was an extraordinary time to be investing," one London-based tech investor who had not backed Hopin said. Armed with more than $1 billion in investor cash, Boufarhat opted to make acquisitions.

Persons: Johnny Boufarhat, Boufarhat, Andreessen Horowitz, Catalyst, Slack, Hopin, Johnny ", Hopin Boufarhat, outsized, Streamyard, Badri Rajasekar, Klarna Organizations: Tiger, UPS, RingCentral, University of Manchester, Financial Times, Venture, Founders, Microsoft, Private Locations: London, Australia, Lebanese, US, Dubai, Papua New Guinea, Switzerland, Hopin

☆ Inside the secret Google DeepMind mafia of founders working on new stealth AI startups
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-08 | by ( Riddhi Kanetkar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

There is an influx of cash and interest into artificial intelligence startups right now. Insider spoke to ex-Google DeepMind staffers who have founded AI startups in stealth. He isn't the only DeepMind alum working on practical applications of artificial intelligence. Last month, Mistral, an AI startup founded by DeepMind alum, secured $113 million in seed funding from Lightspeed just four weeks after it launched. He has since been working on his second AI startup in stealth mode since June 2023, adding that working under the radar was inspired by DeepMind's "own model of working in stealth."

Persons: Mustafa Suleyman, Suleyman, Devang Agrawal, Jonathan Godwin, DeepMind, Godwin, Simon Kohl, Ang Li, isn't, Li, Simon Menashy, Adam Liska, Demis Hassabis, GlyphicAI's Agrawal, Mehdi Ghissassi, OpenAI's, Agrawal, Karl Moritz Hermann, DeepMind's Organizations: Google, Microsoft, Nvidia, Labs, MMC Ventures, DeepMind, Lightspeed Locations: DeepMind, London, California

☆ Here's the 7-slide presentation healthcare startup Helpful used to raise $7.5 million for its management program for family caregivers
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-01 | by ( Samantha Stokes | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Healthcare startup Helpful wants to disrupt the family caregiving industry. Check out the 7-page pitch deck Helpful used to secure $7.5 million from Redesign Health. Helpful launched in July with a 5,000-caregiver waitlist, CEO Wes Donahoe, who was a founder-in-residence at Redesign Health while building the startup, told Insider. Redesign Health is a startup studio that creates, builds, and funds healthcare startups from the ground up. Check out the seven-slide pitch deck Helpful used to raise $7.5 million in seed financing from Redesign Health.

Persons: waitlist, Wes Donahoe, Donohoe Organizations: Health, National Alliance for Caregiving, AARP, Ianacare, Medicare, Senior Health Care, Catalyst, CVS, Aily

☆ Thymia uses AI to assess and track patients' mental health conditions. Check out the 9-slide deck it used to secure $2.7 million.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( Riddhi Kanetkar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The startup deploys AI to monitor patients' mental health symptoms, for depression and anxiety. Check out the 9-slide deck it used to secure the fresh funding. A startup that uses AI to detect, assess, and track symptoms of mental illnesses — such as depression and anxiety disorder — has secured $2.7 million. Given the "subjective" nature of mental health diagnoses, doctors hadn't realized the severity of her friend's condition, Molimpakis said. In a bid to make "mental health as objectively measurable as physical health," Thymia has developed an AI-powered platform that combines neuropsychology, linguistics, and machine learning to assess signs of mental illness in patients — and evaluate how their symptoms are progressing.

Persons: —, Thymia, Emilia Molimpakis, hadn't, Molimpakis, Amanda M Cardinale, Nadav Rosenberg Organizations: Kodori Ventures, Syndicate, Ventures Locations: London, Crowdcube

☆ Meet the contrarian VC: Why Mayfield's Navin Chaddha is writing more checks than ever before while other investors pull back
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Vishal Persaud | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The longtime VC firm just announced a new $250 million seed fund focused on AI. In tough economic times, the firm's leader, Navin Chaddha, believes it's a prime time to invest. That has essentially been Navin Chaddha's mantra since he took over the reins at venture-capital stalwart Mayfield Fund in 2009. With a dedicated $250 million AI seed war chest, Mayfield is now prepared to lean in even more. "We believe that AI will emerge as our teammate and that the Gen.AI wave will create many iconic companies," Chaddha said in a press release.

Persons: Mayfield, Navin Chaddha, it's, Navin, that's, Chaddha, – who's, Forbes, –, Vijay Reddy, Reddy Organizations: VC, Mayfield Fund, Mayfield, Tiger, Insight Partners, Clear Ventures, Intel Capital, Wing Venture Locations: Bessemer, Sequoia

☆ ScorePlay, a sports media platform using AI, just raised $5 million in a round led by Alexis Ohanian's Seven Seven Six
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Riddhi Kanetkar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Lisbon and New York-based ScorePlay has secured a $5 million seed round from Seven Seven Six. A startup that has built a media operating system for sports has just raised $5 million in seed funding from Reddit cofounder Alexis Ohanian's Seven Seven Six. As a business-to-business software startup, ScorePlay makes its money by charging a monthly fee to organizations, depending on the range of services they use. The round was led by Reddit cofounder Alexis Ohanian's VC firm Seven Seven Six, which has previously backed climate tech Vaayu, and creator marketing platform PearPop. With the fresh funding, ScorePlay will grow its tech team so it can hone in on its enterprise offerings.

Persons: ScorePlay, Alexis Ohanian's Seven, Xavier Green, Lionel Messi, Declan Rice, Victorien Tixier, Alexis Ohanian's, Kevin Durant, Renaud Visage, Michael Philippe, Robin Sabban Organizations: Seven Seven, Premier League football, West Ham United, La Liga, Atlético de, Athletes, Seven, NBA, Tech Locations: Lisbon, New York, Atlético de Madrid, Manchester

☆ Twitter is rebranding to X. Here are 5 more tech companies that controversially changed their names or faced backlash.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-25 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Here are five more tech companies which changed their names — some controversially, and others leading to success. From The Facebook to Facebook, then MetaMark Zuckerberg at Harvard University, three months after The Facebook was created. But the business plan was first written for a company called Cadabra, as in a magician's "Abracadabra." Before Twitter became X, X.com became PayPalPeter Thiel, left, and Elon Musk, right, hold VISA credit cards branded with the X.com company logo on October 20, 2000. Paul Sakuma/APElon Musk cofounded the online payment company X.com in 1999 before it merged with Peter Thiel's Confinity a year later.

Persons: Elon Musk, Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Rick Friedman, Sean Parker, Justin Timberlake, Zuckerberg, that's, Frances Haugen, Sergey Brin, Larry Page, Martin Magunia, Brin, Sundar Pichai, Mike Krieger, Kevin Systrom, Stephen Chernin Instagram, Andreessen Horowitz, Krieger, Systrom, Instagram, Jeff Bezos, Evan Agostini, —, Bezos, Mackenzie Scott, X.com, PayPal Peter Thiel, Paul Sakuma, AP Elon Musk, Peter Thiel's Confinity, Jimmy Soni's, Thiel, Walter Isaacson Organizations: Twitter, PayPal, Morning, Facebook, Harvard University, Meta, VR, Reality Labs, Google, Getty, Stanford, Microsoft, REUTERS, Baseline Ventures, Stanford University, Inc, Amazon, AP Elon, eBay Locations: Burbn

☆ Quench.ai, a new startup from the cofounder of verification unicorn Onfido, just raised a $5 million pre-seed round with this 11-slide pitch deck
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-24 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Quench.ai, a new company from Onfido cofounder Hussayn Kassai, has raised $5 million. The pre-seed round came from an array of firms including Firstminute Capital and Tuesday VC. The startup wants to help upskill young professionals at companies to give them a competitive edge. Quench.ai, a new startup using AI to help upskill workers, has raised $5 million in pre-seed funding. The startup, which was set up by the cofounder of identity verification unicorn Onfido, aims to help professionals find relevant training content to help with learning and development.

Persons: Hussayn Kassai, Kassai, Quench.ai Organizations: Firstminute Capital, Firstminute, VC, BY Venture Partners, Ada Ventures, Ventures, Notion Locations: COVID, Europe

☆ This startup helps software-as-a-service firms drive sales through word-of-mouth. Check out the 15-slide pitch deck Cello used to raise $3.5 million.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Cello, a Munich-based startup incentivizing software-as-a-service referrals, has raised $3.5 million. We got an exclusive look at the 15-slide pitch deck it used to raise the fresh funds. A startup that aims to incentivize peer recommendations to drive growth in sales of software-as-a-service products has raised $3.5 million in fresh funds. Munich-based Cello, founded in 2022, has closed a pre-emp ted seed funding round that was led by German investor HV Capital. "Cello had strong signs of early traction soon after launching our product," Bader said.

Persons: Stefan Bader, Bader, Cello's, ByFounders Organizations: Capital, Software Locations: Munich

☆ Stability AI cofounder dumped his entire stake for a mere $100 just months before company hit a $1 billion valuation
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( Zahra Tayeb | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The cofounder of Stability AI dumped his stake for $100 just months before the company hit a $1 billion valuation. The firm has sought a $4 billion valuation more recently, and Hodes' shares would have been worth over $500 million on that basis, he said in a lawsuit. The cofounder of artificial-intelligence startup Stability AI took a massive notional loss — when he dumped his 15% stake for a mere $100 just months before the company hit a $1 billion valuation. The suit is "without merit" and Stability AI will "aggressively defend our position," the company said in emailed comments. Stability AI, which is known for developing the open-source, text-to-image generator Stable Diffusion, was founded in 2020 and quickly rose to fame for its text-to-image product.

Persons: Cyrus Hodes, Hodes, ChatGPT, Jensen Huang, Mohammad Emad Mostaque, Mostaque, It's Organizations: Service, Nvidia, Stability, Hodes Locations: Wall, Silicon, London

☆ Zelt, a HR startup founded by a former VC investor, just raised $3.5 million in seed funding with this 12-slide pitch deck
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

London-based HR tech startup Zelt has raised $3.5 million in seed funding. The startup enables companies to manage HR, IT, and financial tasks on one platform. We got an exclusive look at the 12-slide pitch deck it used to raise the fresh funds. A startup that enables companies to manage HR, IT, and financial tasks on one platform has raised $3.5 million in fresh funds. "The current market is steps behind and people operations have become more difficult over the past five years as even small startups are global from day one."

Persons: Mumsnet, it's, Christopher Priebe, Priebe, Charlie Songhurst, Mandeep Singh, Felix Leuschner, Daniel Hegarty Organizations: Global Founders Capital, Zelt, 1, Village Locations: London

☆ A startup using AI to help with clean energy procurement just raised $5.75 million from Coatue. Check out the 8-slide pitch deck Verse used to secure the cash.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-19 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Verse, a startup using AI and optimization for clean energy procurement, just raised $5.75 million. A startup using generative AI to help businesses buy renewable electricity has just secured a $5.75 million seed round from growth investor Coatue. Switching to renewable energy is fundamental in decarbonization as energy makes up the bulk of annual carbon emissions; two-thirds of energy still comes from fossil fuels. Many do this by purchasing renewable energy credits, which certifies that they have paid for green energy, but they have faced controversy for double counting. Clean energy procurement lacks dedicated tools and comes with "massive" overheads, which is exactly what Verse wants to change, cofounder and CEO Seyed Madaeni told Insider.

Persons: Seyed Madaeni, Madaeni, Rangwalla, Climeworks, Matt Rogers Organizations: Microsoft, Meta, Google, Excel, MCJ, Firstminute, Collaborative Fund, Incite.org Locations: San Francisco

☆ The real reason Marc Andreessen is urging billionaires to homeschool their kids
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( George Glover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Marc Andreessen told billionaires to homeschool their children at the Sun Valley conference. Legendary venture capital investor Marc Andreessen has used this week's Sun Valley conference to espouse the benefits of homeschooling. Musk and Zuckerberg have been been trading barbs online since Musk summoned Zuckerberg to a cage fight last month. Meanwhile, it's not the first time that Andreessen has called for more homeschooling. "It certainly feels like we're on the front end of a pretty dramatic homeschooling boom," Andreessen said.

Persons: Marc Andreessen, “ We’re, Puck's Dylan Byers, Peter Thiel, Andreessen, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Byers, Musk, Zuckerberg, it's, Colossus, Andreessen Horowitz, Ben Horowitz Organizations: Sun, Morning

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