DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Klarna, Europe's $6.7 billion buy now, pay later firm, sets wheels in motion for eventual IPO
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Buy now, pay later firm Klarna has established a holding company in the U.K. that will sit at the top of its corporate structure, in a symbolic move that paves the path for an eventual listing. A Klarna spokesperson confirmed to CNBC that the Stockholm-based business, which lets shoppers defer payments over a period of instalments, has begun a legal entity restructuring to set up the holding company. "Klarna Holding will continue to be the regulated financial holding company under the direct supervision of the SFSA and we will continue to hold a Swedish banking license." It differs from these competitors in its flexible payment plans, known as buy now, pay later. WATCH: Klarna's buy now pay later losses are 30% below industry standard, says CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski

Persons: Klarna, hasn't, Sebastian Siemiatkowski Organizations: CNBC, Heartland, PayPal, Sequoia Locations: Stockholm, Sequoia, Swedish, Silver, Britain, Sweden

☆ AI supply chain startup Tacto is set to raise funds from Sequoia. It's already in talks to bring in more cash.
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( Callum Burroughs | Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Tacto, a small German AI supply chain startup, is set to raise new funding from US giant Sequoia and is already in talks with a different high-profile investor to raise another round. Sequoia is set to lead Tacto's Series A round, six sources familiar with the deal told Insider. Unusually, the startup has already begun talks to raise another round of funding in addition to the Sequoia deal. Tacto is also in talks with London-based Index Ventures to immediately raise another funding round, five sources said. Andreessen Horowitz led a seed round in tiny AI startup ElevenLabs in March, and is also in talks with months-old company Mistral.

Persons: Tacto, Andreessen Horowitz, Fintech, Hanno Renner Organizations: London, Ventures, Sequoia, Energy, nab, Cherry Ventures, UVC Partners, Club Locations: Sequoia, Munich, Berlin

☆ Here are the emails, texts and photos that could put Sam Bankman-Fried in prison for life
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-02 | by ( Mackenzie Sigalos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +16 min

Lawyers for the U.S. Attorney's office entered into evidence a series of photos featuring the $35 million penthouse where Sam Bankman-Fried and his fellow co-workers resided. Zoom In Icon Arrows pointing outwards Government exhibit in the case against former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried. Source: SDNYZoom In Icon Arrows pointing outwards Government exhibit in the case against former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried. Source: SDNYZoom In Icon Arrows pointing outwards Government exhibit in the case against former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried. Zoom In Icon Arrows pointing outwards Government exhibit in the case against former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried.

Persons: Sam Bankman, Fried, FTX, Renato Mariotti, Bryan Cave Leighton, Caroline Ellison, —, Alameda —, Ryan Pinder, Rob Creamer, didn't, Ellison, he'd, HOOD, they'll, FTX's, Sun, Bankman, Stephen Curry, Tom Brady, Giselle Bundchen, Larry David, Nishad Singh, Michael Kives, Bryan Baum, Hillary Clinton, Katy Perry, Orlando Bloom, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kris, Kylie Jenner, SDNY Singh, Baum, Drappi, Jane Rosenberg, Joe Bankman, Ramnik Arora, Ryne Miller, Constance Wang, Ryan Salame, Changpeng Zhao, Michael Lewis, Singh, Lewis Organizations: U.S . Justice Department's Securities, Commodities, Lawyers, U.S, Alameda Research, Alameda, Geneva Trading, FIA, Traders Group, Wall Street Journal, Google, shuttering, Prosecutors, NBA, Major League Baseball, K5, Federal Court Locations: Chicago, Bahamas, Bankman, Alameda, FTX, shuttering Alameda, Hong Kong, New York City, U.S, Sequoia, Alameda's

☆ Wholesale marketplace Faire, which raised $416 million 18 months ago, laid off 250 workers in a company-wide restructuring
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-02 | by ( Madeline Stone | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Faire, the wholesale marketplace company, laid off about 250 employees on Wednesday. This is the second time in just over a year that the company has laid off workers, although this second restructuring appears to be bigger. Faire is an online marketplace that connects independent brands with retailers that can stock their products in their stores. Faire recently announced a partnership with Shopify that established Faire as the preferred wholesale marketplace for Shopify merchants. Shopify also became a shareholder in Faire as part of the deal, which Insider first reported on in July.

Persons: Shopify, We're, who've, Layoffs.fyi Organizations: Dragoneer Investment, Sequoia Capital, Founders Fund, Forerunner Ventures, Tech Locations: mstone@insider.com

☆ How generative AI's uncomfortable relationship with copyright law will determine the future of the industry
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-01 | by ( Riddhi Kanetkar | Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Rights holders argue that AI using their work without a license should be considered "unauthorized derivative work" — an infringement of copyright law. Meanwhile, AI startups insist that their models comply with fair-use doctrine, which grants them some leeway to others' works. This month, Universal Music Group sued the AI startup Athropic for circulating copyrighted lyrics. He believes that future regulations may explicitly forbid AI data scraping. "They can train models on data that's not universally available to customers, and tell them it's licensed and compliant."

Persons: Eva Toorenent, who's, that's, Simon Menashy, Menashy, Ekaterina Almasque, OpenOcean Almasque, Getty, Sunny Dhillon, Harvey, Horowitz, Andre Retterath, GDPR, CCPA, Taylor, Swift Organizations: Universal Music Group, Getty, Harvard Business, MMC Ventures, Kyber Knight Capital, Nvidia, Earlybird Venture Locations: what's, Europe

Not every AI company is hot right now. While European and US tech investors are throwing funding at startups that look like the next Nvidia or ChatGPT, they're less optimistic about one big player: British AI chip company Graphcore. The UK tech industry is small, and Insider granted anonymity to these people to avoid jeopardizing their professional relationships. One founder operating in the same space as the AI chip firm speculated that Arm could be a leading contender to acquire Graphcore. In September, Toon pitched Graphcore in an interview with Insider as a viable rival to Nvidia, which holds around 70% of the AI chip market, per Omdia analysis.

Persons: Graphcore, Baillie Gifford, it's, Nigel Toon's, Toon, we'll, Rishi Sunak Organizations: Nvidia, Graphcore, Insider, Sequoia Capital, Bloomberg, UK, China Locations: British, Europe

☆ Shares of Tencent-backed J&T Express fall in lackluster Hong Kong debut
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-27 | by ( Sheila Chiang | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The logistics service provider traded at 11.84 Hong Kong dollars ($1.51) on Friday morning, after opening at HK$12. The HK$3.92 billion ($500 million) IPO is the second largest listing in Hong Kong this year, after premium Chinese liquor company ZJLD Group . J&T Express is listing in an uncertain economic environment, characterized by hiking inflation, high interest rates and ongoing conflict such as the Israel-Hamas war and Ukraine invasion. Hong Kong's global IPO ranking dropped to eighth following a historically slow third quarter," said KPMG in a report published on Oct. 9. "The IPO pricing is dropping significantly by more than 50% or even 70%."

Persons: Irene Chu, Ringo Choi Organizations: T Express, Hong, HK, ZJLD Group, KKR, SF Express, Temasek, T, KPMG, KPMG China, CNBC, Reuters . Companies Locations: Hong Kong, U.S, Sequoia, Israel, Ukraine, Asia, Pacific

That has allowed forests to become four to seven times more densely wooded than they once were, Safford said. Fire scientists advocate more deliberate burning at low-to-moderate severity to clear vegetation that makes forests susceptible to big fires. Susan Britting, executive director of one of the groups, Sierra Forest Legacy, acknowledged any cutting triggers skepticism because loggers historically took the largest, most marketable trees. But she said thinning trees up to a certain diameter is acceptable, though she prefers prescribed burning. Homeowners are anxious prescribed fires will jump perimeters and destroy houses.

Persons: ” Hugh Safford, Davis, John Muir, What’s, Safford, “ We're, ”, Brandon Collins, Chad Hanson, there's, Hanson, Christy Brigham, ” John Muir, Jeffrey, “ John Muir, ” Safford, gesturing, “, it's, Weeks, Susan Britting, ” Britting, John Muir Project's Hanson, Safford —, that's, what’s Organizations: University of California, Eldorado National, Sierra, U.S ., American Geophysical Union, John Muir Project, Earth Island Institute, Sequoia, National Parks, National Park Service, U.S . Forest Service, Service, Forest Service, Infrastructure Law, Sierra Forest Locations: Calif, Lake, Eldorado, Sierra Nevada, U.S, California, . California, Yosemite, Sequoia, Canyon, —, Berkeley, Lake Tahoe, Safford, New, Sierra

☆ With China playing catchup with the U.S., these 3 charts show the top countries for fintech in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-26 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

UK has second-biggest number of top fintech firmsThe U.S. was home to 65 of the top fintech companies, according to CNBC's list of world's top 200 fintech companies. In the U.S., some of the top global fintech companies on Statista's list include names like Stripe, PayPal and Intuit . Stateside, meanwhile, the largest fintech unicorns are Stripe ($95 billion), Chime ($25 billion), Ripple ($15 billion), Plaid ($13.5 billion), Devoted Health ($12.6 billion, and Brex ($12.3 billion). Other leading ecosystems for fintech unicorns include India, on 17 unicorns, and China, on eight. Standing in 8th place is Mexico, with five fintech unicorns, Singapore, also with five, and the Netherlands, which has four in total.

Persons: Ed Jones, Starling, Tencent, Statista, Andreessen Horowitz, Wise, Vlad Tenev, Group's, —, Nick Parmenter Organizations: AFP, Getty, CNBC, Statista, Ant Group, Plaid, Visa, Mastercard, European Union, Apple, Google, Sequoia Capital, PayPal, Intuit, Financial, Authority, Consumers Locations: U.S, Beijing, China, Silicon, Europe, Ukraine, Covid, India, France, Brazil, Germany, Mexico, Singapore, Netherlands, Statista

☆ Web Summit Chief Steps Down Over Israel Remarks
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-21 | by ( Michael J. De La Merced | More About Michael J. De La Merced | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

The chief executive of Web Summit, one of Europe’s biggest technology conferences, stepped down on Saturday after major sponsors and speakers withdrew from the event, set for next month, following backlash over his public criticism of Israel’s response to the Hamas attacks. “I sincerely apologize again for any hurt I have caused.”A spokeswoman for Web Summit said that the organization aimed to appoint a new chief executive as soon as possible. Web Summit said on Friday that it expected about 70,000 people to attend, about the same as last year. Among those to drop out were Ravi Gupta, a partner at Sequoia Capital, and Garry Tan, the chief executive of the technology incubator Y Combinator. But by Tuesday, he published an apology on Web Summit’s site in which he said he defended “Israel’s right to exist and to defend itself.”

Persons: Paddy Cosgrave, —, ”, “, Cosgrave’s, Ravi Gupta, Garry Tan, Cosgrave Organizations: Web, Google, Intel, Meta, Siemens, Web Summit, Western, Sequoia Capital Locations: Irish, Lisbon, Israel

☆ Alibaba, Tencent among investors in China's rival to OpenAI with $341 million funding
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-20 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Zhipu has raised more than 2.5 billion Chinese yuan ($341 million) this year, the company said in a statement. Sequoia and Hillhouse are among the high-profile venture backers, and smartphone maker Xiaomi, Alibaba and Tencent are some of the corporate investors. Zhipu is one of China's promising start-ups creating AI models trained on huge amounts of data that can underpin various applications. The world's second-largest economy plans to increase its computing power by 50% by 2025, which would help continue to develop AI applications. However, the U.S. has looked to cut China off from key technologies required to develop AI models.

Persons: Zhipu, China's, OpenAI, ChatGPT Organizations: Getty, Zhipu, U.S, Nvidia Locations: U.S, China, Washington

☆ Rep. Gallagher: U.S. firms should not be capitalizing Chinese military and surveillance companies
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-19 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailRep. Gallagher: U.S. firms should not be capitalizing Chinese military and surveillance companiesHouse Select Committee on China Chairman Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) and Ranking Member Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) join 'Squawk Box' to discuss the letter sent to VC firm Sequoia asking for a list of their tech investments in China, the level of bipartisanship on efforts to curb U.S. investment in China, the race for House Speaker, and more.

Persons: Mike Gallagher, Raja Krishnamoorthi Organizations: Gallagher, U.S, Sequoia, House Speaker Locations: China

☆ Read the secret Signal messages that could help put Sam Bankman-Fried behind bars
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-19 | by ( Mackenzie Sigalos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +16 min

Sam Bankman-Fried appears at federal court in New York on Oct. 4, 2023, in this courtroom sketch. Zoom In Icon Arrows pointing outwards Prosecutors are relying heavily on text messages sent among FTX and Alameda Research executives in the case against Sam Bankman-Fried. In a direct appeal to Bankman-Fried, Singh wrote on Nov. 6, 2022, "one thing that'd seriously help me is if I didn't have debts." Zoom In Icon Arrows pointing outwards Prosecutors are relying heavily on text messages sent among FTX and Alameda Research executives in the case against Sam Bankman-Fried. Zoom In Icon Arrows pointing outwards Prosecutors are relying heavily on text messages sent among FTX and Alameda Research executives in the case against Sam Bankman-Fried.

Persons: Sam Bankman, Fried, Claudia Johnson, Caroline Ellison, Gary Wang, Nishad Singh, Ryan Salame, Damian Williams, Yuki Iwamura, Ellison, Bankman, Joe Bankman, Ramnik Arora, Ryne Miller, Constance Wang, Singh, Wang, reassurances, FTX, Changpeng Zhao, he'd, Um, Sam, Binance, Zhao, it's, Sam Trabucco, Ben Xie, Michael Lewis, Lewis, Adam Yedidia, Yedidia, chares, SDNY Singh, Gabe, Salame, Michael Sadowsky, Sadowsky, FTX's, Dawn Giel Organizations: Alameda Research, Stanford, Bloomberg, Getty, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, alameda, Prime Trust Bank Locations: New York, Alameda, Manhattan, U.S, FTX, Sequoia, Alameda's, Bahamas

☆ ChatGPT can now respond with images and search the web
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-18 | by ( Hayden Field | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

OpenAI, the company behind the viral chatbot, has officially launched real-time internet browsing for ChatGPT, three weeks after reintroducing the beta version of the capability — but it has been a significantly bumpy ride. But one of OpenAI's goals has been to expand ChatGPT's data — and search engine capabilities — into the here and now. In March, the company experimented with a ChatGPT web-browsing plugin for a limited number of users. The company has been slowly rolling out the feature again, after allowing site owners to opt out of the web crawling. Two of the foremost competitors in that race are OpenAI with ChatGPT and Google with its competitor, Bard.

Persons: OpenAI, Bing, OpenAI's, ChatGPT, Bard, Andreessen Horowitz Organizations: UBS, Google, Sequoia Capital, CNBC

☆ Amazon rolls out robotic system at Houston warehouse to speed up deliveries
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The logo of Amazon is seen at the company logistics center in Lauwin-Planque, northern France, November 15, 2022. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsOct 18 (Reuters) - Amazon.com (AMZN.O) said on Wednesday it was using a robotic system at one of its Houston warehouses to improve inventory management and speed up deliveries, building on its years-long bet that automation will help boost sales and worker safety. The technology, called "Sequoia", brings together a series of systems including mobile robots and robotic arms. Amazon said Sequoia can help identify and store inventory 75% faster, while reducing the time to process orders at a warehouse by as much as 25%. The company said it would begin testing a bipedal robot called "Digit" from Agility Robotics, a startup backed by Amazon.

Persons: Pascal, Zaheer Kachwala, Shounak Dasgupta Organizations: REUTERS, Walmart, Agility Robotics, Amazon, Ford, Thomson Locations: Lauwin, France, Houston, Bengaluru

☆ Vanguard sells stake in joint venture with China's Ant
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A logo of Ant Group is pictured at the headquarters of Ant Group, an affiliate of Alibaba, in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, China October 29, 2020. REUTERS/Aly Song/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsOct 17 (Reuters) - U.S. mutual fund issuer Vanguard Group said on Tuesday it had sold its stake in a joint venture with Chinese fintech giant Ant Group, hastening its retreat from the world's second-biggest economy. Vanguard said it will prioritize regions where it offers its own investment products and services. Its 49% stake in the venture, a digital investment advisory service, has been sold to Ant. A Reuters report in March said Vanguard was mulling a retreat from China after a six-year presence in the country.

Persons: Aly, Niket, Anil D'Silva Organizations: Ant Group, REUTERS, Vanguard, Ant, BlackRock, Fidelity, Reuters, Bloomberg News, Thomson Locations: Alibaba, Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, China, Washington, Beijing, Taiwan, Bengaluru

☆ Web Summit CEO apologises for comments on Israeli conflict
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

JERUSALEM, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Web Summit Chief Executive and founder Paddy Cosgrave on Tuesday apologised for comments he made on the Israeli-Hamas conflict that prompted some technology companies and investors to withdraw plans to attend its conference in Portugal next month. Web Summit, one of the world's largest tech conferences, will take place in Lisbon from Nov. 13-16, with attendees from companies such as Meta (META.O) and Microsoft (MSFT.O) to investors such as Atomico. "War crimes are war crimes even when committed by allies, and should be called out for what they are," wrote Cosgrave, who was born in Ireland. Among executives to have cancelled their participation at Web Summit are AI21 Labs' Ori Goshen; Tome's Keith Peiris; Sequoia Capital partner Ravi Gupta; Yinon Costica, co-founder of Israeli cybersecurity unicorn Wiz; and Y Combinator’s Garry Tan, according to LinkedIn and X posts. Philippe Botteri, CEO of tech investor Accel, said in a LinkedIn post on Monday he would no longer speak at Web Summit.

Persons: Paddy Cosgrave, Cosgrave, I’m, Leo Varadkar's, Israel, Cosgrove, Goshen, Tome's Keith Peiris, Ravi Gupta, Yinon Costica, Y, Garry Tan, Philippe Botteri, Portugal Dor Shapira, Steven Scheer, Supantha Mukherjee, Josephine Mason, Alison Williams, Mark Potter Organizations: Web, Microsoft, Palestinian, Hamas, Irish, AI21 Labs, Sequoia Capital, Thomson Locations: Portugal, Lisbon, Gaza, Israel, Ireland, Jerusalem, Stockholm, London

☆ CEO apologizes for Israel remarks after 4 days of backlash and conference dropouts
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-17 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The founder of tech conference Web Summit apologized for "profound hurt" over his Israel remarks. AdvertisementAdvertisementThe founder of European tech conference Web Summit has apologized for the "profound hurt" caused by his comments criticizing the West's support for Israel, which triggered several high-profile withdrawals from the event. AdvertisementAdvertisementGil Dibner, general partner at Angular Ventures, said it was "a time that calls for moral clarity" after canceling his speaking engagement at Web Summit. Dropouts increased, and within 24 hours the number of Israel-based speakers at Web Summit dropped from at least five to zero, according to Insider analysis. Other speakers lined up for Web Summit include Meta's Nick Clegg, as well as comedian Amy Poehler and actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

Persons: Israel, Paddy Cosgrave, —, I'm, Garry Tan, Ravi Gupta, Cosgrave, State Anthony Blinken, Moshiel Biton, hadn't, Biton, Gil Dibner, Nick Clegg, Amy Poehler, Joseph Gordon, Levitt, Benjamin Netanyahu Organizations: Service, Israel, Sequoia Capital, State, Web, Angular Ventures, Web Summit, Hamas, West Bank Locations: Gaza, Hamas, Lisbon, Portugal, Israel

☆ Sam Bankman-Fried's lieutenant Nishad Singh said he was embarrassed by 'flashy' FTX spending
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-16 | by ( Jacob Shamsian | Katie Balevic | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Singh testified at Bankman-Fried's trial that his concerns were almost always rebuffed. In Manhattan federal court Monday, Singh testified about how he frequently questioned and pushed back against Bankman-Fried's spending sprees and investment decisions — and was almost always rebuffed. "I would hear that my opinions were already factored in, and I didn't need to continue sharing them," Singh testified. Singh testified that he came to know Bankman-Fried through a friendship with the FTX founder's younger brother, Gabe Bankman-Fried. Infighting over expensesThe pair often disagreed on money, Singh testified.

Persons: Nishad Singh, Sam Bankman, Singh, —, Fried, Bill Clinton, Tony Blair, spender, Caroline Ellison, Gary Wang, Gabe Bankman, FTX, SBF, I've, Sam, Tom Brady, Gisele Bündchen, Steph Curry, Kevin O'Leary, Larry David, Jon Kopaloff, Fatih Aktas, Getty Images Singh, Michael Kives, Hillary Clinton, Katy Perry, Orlando Bloom, Ted Sarandos, Jeff Bezos, Kate Hudson, Leonardo DiCaprio, Corey Gamble, Kendall Jenner, Singh wasn't, Kris Organizations: Service, Bankman, Alameda, US Securities and Exchange Commission, University of California, Facebook, Engineering, Sequoia Capital, Yuga, Miami, Major League Baseball, of Legends, Getty Images, Anadolu Agency, K5 Global Locations: Bankman, FTX, Manhattan, Berkeley, Alameda, Bahamas, Kazakhstan, Albany

☆ Tech leaders are pulling out of a CEO's conference over remarks he made about Israel
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-16 | by ( Erin Snodgrass | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

"War crimes are war crimes even when committed by allies, and should be called out for what they are." War crimes are war crimes even when committed by allies, and should be called out for what they are. Israel's ambassador to Portugal, Dor Shapira, announced Monday that his country would no longer participate in the Web Summit conference as a result of Cosgrave's "outrageous statements." AdvertisementAdvertisement"We are saddened to hear that some Israelis in the tech community will no longer be attending Web Summit," a spokesperson said. "To repeat: War crimes are war crimes even when committed by allies & should be called out for what they are," Cosgrave wrote.

Persons: Israel, —, Paddy Cosgrave, I'm, Cosgrave, I’m, — Paddy Cosgrave, Dor Shapira, Shapira, Garry Tan, Y, Goshen, Ravi Gupta, Keith Peiris, Tome, Adam Singolda, David Marcus Organizations: Tech, Service, Web, AI21 Labs, Sequoia, PayPal, Web Summit, Hamas Locations: Europe, Israel, Irish, Lisbon, @paddycosgrave, Portugal, Goshen, Gaza, Palestinian

☆ Another US venture capital firm, Leonardo DiCaprio-backed Regeneration.VC, moves a general partner to Europe
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-13 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

US venture capital firm Regeneration.VC, backed by Leonardo DiCaprio, has moved a founding partner to Europe and is raising its second fund. Michael Smith, a general partner at LA-headquartered Regeneration.VC, moved his family to Amsterdam, the Netherlands, in August. Smith set up Regeneration.VC in 2020 to back seed and Series A stage companies in what he dubbed "consumer climate technology." "For our first fund, we had investors and then companies in our portfolio in Europe. Around one third of Regeneration.VC's first fund has gone to European companies so far, Smith said.

Persons: Leonardo DiCaprio, Michael Smith, Smith, Regeneration.VC, Biden's Organizations: LA, Lightspeed Ventures, Economy Foundation Locations: Regeneration.VC, Europe, Amsterdam, Netherlands, Sequoia, Denmark, New York, New Zealand, California

☆ Atlassian to buy video messaging provider Loom for nearly $1 billion
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Oct 12 (Reuters) - Atlassian (TEAM.O) said on Thursday it had agreed to acquire privately held video messaging platform Loom for about $975 million, beefing up its team collaboration tools to tap into resilient demand fueled by the adoption of hybrid work. Integration of Loom's technology into Atlassian software such as collaboration tools Jira and Confluence will help users use video in their workflows. The acquisition of Loom, which has more than 25 million users globally, will enable customers communicate and collaborate more effectively, Atlassian said. Loom, which counts Sequoia, Kleiner Perkins and a16z among its investors, makes tools that help users record their screens, camera and microphone to make and share videos. The deal is expected to close in the quarter-ending March 2024 and will be funded with existing cash balances, Atlassian said.

Persons: Atlassian, Kleiner Perkins, Akash Sriram, Shailesh Kuber Organizations: Thomson Locations: Australia, Bengaluru

☆ Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway has likely scored a 93% gain on Nubank stock this year, making the crypto-friendly bank its best performer
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-12 | by ( Theron Mohamed | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Berkshire Hathaway's best-performing stock this year is likely Nubank-owner Nu Holdings, up 93%. Apple stock is up this year, but other key Berkshire bets like Coca-Cola and Kraft Heinz are down. AdvertisementAdvertisementWarren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway has notched a 93% gain on Nu Holdings since the start of January, likely making the Nubank owner the best performer in Berkshire's stock portfolio this year. Nubank shares have slid 13% from their IPO price fo $9 to trade at $7.84 as of Wednesday's close. Munger has hailed Sequoia as perhaps the "most remarkable investment firm in America" with "the best investment record of anybody."

Persons: Berkshire Hathaway's, Warren Buffett's, Kraft Heinz, —, Warren, Berkshire Hathaway, Berkshire hasn't, Buffett, Charlie Munger, Todd Combs, Ted Weschler, David Vélez, Munger, Sequoia Organizations: Berkshire, Nu Holdings, Apple, Kraft, Service, Bank of America, Sequoia Capital, Sequoia Locations: Berkshire, America, Sequoia

☆ The giant sucking sound you hear is the gobs of capital being pulled away from emerging managers. Here's how one solo capitalist defied the slump.
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-12 | by ( Melia Russell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Those who raised their first venture capital funds in the pandemic-era boom times are now struggling with their sophomore efforts. Despite the tailwinds, some emerging managers are defying the slump and raising new funds. He told Insider exclusively that he's now closed on $15 million for fund two from investors including Cendana Capital, Invesco Private Capital, and two dozen startup founders. And so in 2019, he reached into his network of founders and raised a $2 million fund to invest in software companies. Now, he's already gearing up for fund three, which Wan said he plans to launch in 2024.

Persons: Insider's Callum Burroughs, Jordan Wan, Wan, Zocdoc, Oliver Kharraz, it's, Alan Ni, Jake Cooper, Manoj Kanagaraj, Blackstone, Cooper didn't, Cooper, they've, Wolf Organizations: Sequoia, Partners, Cendana, Invesco, Capital, Oscar Insurance, Garner Health Locations: London, Denver , Colorado, Wan

☆ Exclusive: Self-driving startup Plus splits US and China operations amid tensions
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

SHANGHAI, Oct 11 (Reuters) - Self-driving truck startup Plus has split its Chinese and U.S. operations and struck a deal in which a key shareholder, China's Full Truck Alliance (FTA) (YMM.N), will focus on the China unit, Plus said on Wednesday. Plus, which had headquarters in Suzhou, China, and California, separated its operations into two independent companies. FTA increased its stake in Zhijia Technology via a stock swap arrangement that reduced its ownership in Plus, the company said. Plus declined to comment on the size of FTA's shareholding in Zhijia Technology. The stake in Zhijia Technology will help the company's work to develop autonomous trucking fleets - a potentially lucrative market amid a truck driver shortage in China.

Persons: Uber, Zhang Yan, Roxanne Liu, Brenda Goh Organizations: Alliance, Reuters, U.S, Sequoia, GGV, Zhijia Technology, Technology, New York Stock Exchange, Thomson Locations: SHANGHAI, China, Beijing, U.S, Suzhou, California, Huochebang, United States

Search resuls for: "Sequoia"

25 mentions found