Top related persons:
Top related locs:
Top related orgs:

Search resuls for: "Venture Fund"


25 mentions found


Visa launches $100 mln venture fund for generative AI startups
  + stars: | 2023-10-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com   time to read: +1 min
Credit card is seen in front of displayed Visa logo in this illustration taken, July 15, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsOct 2 (Reuters) - Payments processor Visa (V.N) on Monday launched a $100 million venture fund for generative artificial intelligence (AI) startups, joining a list of investors who have flocked to the sector this year. Several high-profile names such as Microsoft (MSFT.O) and Alphabet's (GOOGL.O) Google have backed the AI space, a buzzword in technology circles this year, after chatbot ChatGPT's popularity. Generative AI is a technology that creates brand new content based on what it has learnt from past data. Reporting by Niket Nishant in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi MajumdarOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Persons: Dado Ruvic, Jack Forestell, Niket, Shilpi Majumdar Organizations: REUTERS, Monday, Microsoft, Google, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru
SINGAPORE, Sept 28 (Reuters) - Singapore state investment firm Temasek's (TEM.UL) wholly owned unit True Light Capital said on Thursday it raised $3.3 billion in its flagship fund that invests in Greater China and has now closed it to new capital. The Singapore-based asset manager said in a statement the True Light Fund I secured capital from global investors including sovereign wealth funds, foundations, financial institutions, and family offices. The closing of the fund indicates that True Light can now focus on investing the capital. The fund will invest alongside Temasek in opportunities related to Greater China, True Light said. It invests directly in private and public equity as well as indirectly through private equity and venture funds, it added.
Persons: Yeo Chee Kian, Yibing Wu, Yantoultra Ngui, Muralikumar Organizations: U.S, Temasek, Milken Institute Asia, Thomson Locations: SINGAPORE, Singapore, Greater China, China, Taiwan
Loyst founded Gen Z VCs, a community of over 25,000 young investors, founders and operators. A plurality of young investors and founders said they wanted venture capital to be more accessible. AdvertisementAdvertisementFor newcomers, the clubby world of venture capital can often seem like a black box. AdvertisementAdvertisementAccording to her poll, 45% of respondents said they wished the venture capital industry was "more accessible" to newcomers. AdvertisementAdvertisementLoyst's survey responses are reflective of how many young investors and founders feel shut out of the venture capital industry today, which could potentially get worse during the venture capital downturn.
Persons: Loyst, Z, , Meagan Loyst, Hippeau Organizations: Service, Black Venture, Venture, Sequoia, Forbes, Oxford University
The days of easy money are over as entrepreneurs face a funding winter amid a slowing global economy — and start-ups in India are not exempt. According to a local report, venture funding came in at $2.19 billion from January to March, dropping from the $11.34 billion invested in the same quarter last year. However, there are sectors that have "demonstrated resilience amid challenging times," said Pooja Chhabria, LinkedIn APAC's head of editorial. "Fintech remains a bright spot for investors despite the downturn, especially as we see funding on the recovery path and global tech giants eyeing fintech in India," she added. "The rise of edtech also underscores the continued demand for upskilling among professionals and students, especially with rapid changes due to technologies such as AI."
Persons: Pooja Chhabria, edtech Locations: India
Venture funding has taken a hit since 2022, as investors pull back on capital amid economic headwinds. According to a report from research firm Tracxn, total funding into Southeast Asian startups fell by 71% to $2.3 billion in the first half of 2023 — compared to the same period one year ago. Singapore startups attracted at least half of the funding and was the most-funded Southeast Asian city in the region, said the report. LinkedIn added that the startups that made the list "have trailblazed their way through recent economic and workplace challenges — and managed to stand out to investors and top talent along the way."
Persons: Organizations: LinkedIn Locations: Singapore, Asian
Silicon Valley fund Bessemer Venture Partners has expanded its European investment team with the hire of former SoftBank vice president Justina Chung. Chung has joined Bessemer's London office, which is led by partner Alex Ferrara who opened the fund's European operations in 2020. Bessemer made its first European investment in 2004 and has continued to back startups in the region, including German fintechs Upvest and Mambu as well as British neobank Zopa. Chung was a vice president at SoftBank's Vision Fund, where she served on the boards of temp staffing agency Jobandtalent and second-hand designer fashion marketplace Vestiaire Collective. "It's clear that great founders begin their journey here, in Tallinn or Stockholm, London, Paris or Berlin," Chung, who is now a vice president at Bessemer, told Insider.
Persons: Justina Chung, Chung, Alex Ferrara, Bessemer, Jobandtalent, Goldman Sachs Organizations: Bessemer Venture Partners, LinkedIn, Bessemer's London, SoftBank's Vision, Sorare, SoftBank, Credit Suisse, Bessemer, US Locations: San Francisco, Tallinn, Stockholm, London, Paris, Berlin, Europe, Mistral
Europe, often a few years behind when it comes to startup trends, is also starting to produce its own solo GPs. After a record-breaking 2021, bigger VC funds in Europe have generally found it more challenging to raise their next funds. Lots of fund managers speak to everyone and waste lots of time going over unqualified leads," she said. In short, knowing who to pitch for investment is crucial when looking to raise funds. One advantage for solo funds in Europe is that smaller funds — often $15 million to $20 million — are easier to return than larger funds, said David Cruz e Silva, an angel investor and LP in smaller VC funds through EU.VC.
Persons: Gloria Baeuerlein's, Robin, Robin Capital, Sarah Drinkwater's, Harry Stebbings, Annelie Ajami, there's, VCs, Ramzi Rafih, Rafih, Carolina Huaranca, Joe Schorge, Masha Butler, Sam Altman's, Butler, David Cruz e Silva, Ajami Organizations: Ventures, London, KKR, Silver, Close, Sequoia, Day One Ventures Locations: America, Sand, Europe, profligacy, Dubai, Carolina, San Francisco, Swiss, London, EU.VC
Sept 18 (Reuters) - Cadence Bank (CADE.N) CEO Dan Rollins calls the regional banking crisis from earlier this year "March madness." Interviews with half a dozen regional bank executives and economists show the March banking crisis has had a lasting impact on the regional banking industry and the economy. Torsten Slok, chief economist at Apollo Global Management, said the banking crisis had "a magnifying effect" on the Fed's tightening but its full impact would come with a lag. The failure triggered a crisis of confidence, with depositors moving their money from regional banks to the perceived safety of the largest lenders. The KBW Regional Bank Index (.KRX) is down about 20% since early March despite a summer rebound.
Persons: Dan Rollins, Rollins, Mark Zandi, , Zandi, Torsten Slok, Slok, Cadence's Rollins, Steve Wyett, Wyett, Banks, Cadence’s Rollins, Randy Chesler, Chesler, Moody's Zandi, Jeff Jackson, Raj Singh, Singh, Paritosh Bansal, Anna Driver Organizations: Cadence Bank, Moody’s, Apollo Global Management, Bank, Reuters Graphics, Valley, Regional, BOK, Federal, Loan, Thomson Locations: . Federal, Silicon, Tulsa , Oklahoma, Kalispell , Montana, Wheeling , West Virginia
Bahat brings this same radical directness to Bloomberg Beta, the early-stage venture capital fund housed within the larger Bloomberg empire that he's run for the past decade. And Bloomberg Beta was making investments in generative AI as far back as 2015, before the term "generative AI" even existed. "It felt like we were just waiting for the right moment," said Cham, Bloomberg Beta partner and de-facto chief technologist, "where the rest of the world would see it." Bloomberg Beta made the decision early on to publish its entire operating manual on GitHub, including sensitive information about average check size and investment criteria. Kieran Snyder, the founder of generative AI startup Textio which Bloomberg Beta invested in in 2015, has a shorthand for describing the role of Beta's three partners.
Persons: Roy Bahat's, Bahat, James Cham, Karin Klein, Shivon Zillis, Elon Musk's, Cham, ChatGPT, VCs, Bloomberg Beta, Dan Doctoroff, Mike Bloomberg, Doctoroff, Bahat's chutzpah, Bloomberg —, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Tade Oyerinde, Sam Altman, Peter Thiel's Founder's, Roy didn't, Oyerinde, Kieran Snyder, who's, Apple Lisa, Klein, Karen, Snyder, Roy, Zilis Organizations: Port Authority, World Trade Center, IGN, Bloomberg Beta, Bloomberg, LinkedIn, Elon, Beta, Apple, New Locations: New York, Silicon Valley, East, California
Like many PeerStreet investors who spoke with Insider, Mincher has a strong résumé. Another form of crowdfunding, equity crowdfunding, works a bit like the stock market without the onerous and expensive process of initial public offerings. The PeerStreet investors who spoke with Insider said the outcome of this case could determine whether they stick with real-estate crowdfunding. Others, such as Fundrise, have moved away from crowdfunding in favor of a model for private real-estate investment trusts, similar to the BREIT later offered by Blackstone. Fritton, the former Patch of Land CEO, said Fundrise's fund model was the wave of the future for real-estate crowdfunding.
Persons: Michael Burry, Christian Bale, Burry's, Crowdfunding, Burry, Andreessen Horowitz, they're, Braun Mincher, PeerStreet, who've, Judge Laurie Selber Silverstein, Brew Johnson, he's, Braun, Mincher, , it's, Michael Burry Astrid Stawiarz, Ian Ippolito, Ippolito, John McNellis, PeerStreet Ippolito, McNellis, El, Marc Andreessen, Phil McCarten, Silverstein, wouldn't, Sean Quinn, Doug Lyon, Lyon, that's, Jason Fritton, Kirk Brett, there's, Brett, iFunding, CrowdStreet, Nightingale's Elie Schwartz, Nightingale, Schwartz, Yieldstreet, Fritton Organizations: CNBC, Main, PeerStreet, Facebook, McNellis Partners, Funding Trust, Fairfield University, Magnetar, Adler, Securities and Exchange Commission, Department of Justice, Securities, Exchange Commission, SEC, Investors, Blackstone Locations: Delaware, El Segundo , California, crowdfunding, There's
"Instead, I wanted this interactive lesson tool where students can express themselves and have agency — the opposite of this lecture model." With Curipod, teachers can create lessons on any school subject using generative AI, first by inputting the subject of the lesson, the grade level, and any additional learning objectives. Curipod is free for teachers and students to use at the moment, with paid tiers for school districts, said Seip. The team only launched its AI product at the beginning of this year, and had not previously sought venture capital funding. Check out the nine-slide pitch deck that Curipod used to raise $4.6 million in seed funding.
Persons: Jens Aarre Seip, Seip, Eirik Hernes Berre, Frikk Fossan, Curipod, GPT3 Organizations: Norwegian School of Economics, Reach, aha, Emerson, Sondo, Edovate Locations: Norway
There were 441 seed rounds recorded on Carta in the second quarter of this year, the slowest quarter for deal activity since early 2019. Funding for early-stage startups leveled off in the second quarter of this year. That has to do in part with a greater number of seed startups trying to raise extension rounds, multiple investors said. Carta data shows the median seed valuation hit $13.7 million in the second quarter, which is significantly higher than any quarter prior to 2021. "The founders that are raising seed rounds are raising them for decent cash and at decent valuations — healthy on both fronts," said Peter Walker at Carta.
Persons: That's, Jenny Fielding, Fielding, Carta, Andreessen Horowitz, they're, Marlon Nichols, Lily Lyman, , it's, Brian Sugar, Sugar, Peter Walker Organizations: Carta, Ventures, New, Sequoia, Greylock Partners, MaC Venture Capital, Fund, Sugar Capital Locations: New York, Boston, Carta
AI (Artificial Intelligence) letters are placed on computer motherboard in this illustration taken June 23, 2023. Chips from Nvidia (NVDA.O), the world's most valuable semiconductor firm, are at the heart of that transition. Enfabrica has designed a network chip that aims to connect the different pieces of a data center together in new ways to solve that problem. The Enfabrica chip creates a network that looks like a hub and spokes, allowing the Nvidia GPUs doing the data crunching to draw data from multiple different places without hitting speed bumps. Enfabrica added new backers that included IAG Capital Partners, Liberty Global Ventures, Valor Equity Partners, Infinitum Partners and Alumni Ventures.
Persons: Dado Ruvic, Enfabrica, Rochan Sankar, Sankar, Gavin Baker, Stephen Nellis, Stephen Coates Organizations: REUTERS, Nvidia, Broadcom, Google, Atreides Management, Fidelity Investments, IAG Capital Partners, Liberty Global Ventures, Valor Equity Partners, Ventures, Hill Ventures, Thomson Locations: San Francisco
U.S. chip startups have raised $881.4 million through the end of August, according to PitchBook data. Nvidia has "indirectly" contributed to overall AI chip fundraising woes, because investors want "Home run only type investments with a huge investment, huge return," Mythic CEO Dave Rick said. About two years ago, new investments in chip startups were often $200 million or $300 million. At least two AI chip startups have overcome investor reluctance by trumpeting potential customers or their relationships with well-known executives. While these chip makers in Nvidia's shadow struggle, startups in AI software and related technologies do not face the same constraints.
Persons: Ann Wang, Nvidia’s, Greg Reichow, Dave Rick, Rick, Rivos, Brendan Burke, Tenstorrent, Jim Keller, Max A, Kenneth Li, Cynthia Osterman Organizations: REUTERS, Nvidia, Eclipse Ventures, Apple, Devices, Microsoft, AMD, Intel, Thomson Locations: Taipei, Taiwan, Santa Clara , California, U.S, San Francisco
BeReal recently posted a job ad for its first-ever communications and marketing lead. Social-media experts said it's probably too late for BeReal to recapture its early buzz. BeReal, the French photo-sharing app startup, is set to make its first-ever marketing hire but social-media experts say it may be too late to recapture the early buzz. But BeReal appeared to have missed its moment to capitalize on its surge in popularity in 2022, experts have said. Ultimately, it could be too late for BeReal to turn itself around without a substantial pivot, experts said.
Persons: BeReal, it's, they've, Colin Kennedy, influencers, Kennedy, Paul Armstrong, Armstrong Organizations: US App Stores Locations: BeReal, Europe
He started to see the potential for online language tutoring as a viable business model, since online lessons were cheaper than in-person lessons and class schedules were more flexible. In the summer of 2012, Bigai, Voloshyn and Lukyanov founded the online language learning startup Preply. Last month, Preply raised a $70 million Series C extension round with a combination of debt and equity led by Horizon Capital. Reach Capital, Hoxton Ventures and Owl Ventures, which led its previous $50 million Series C in 2022, also participated. The company's successful fundraising comes after a difficult year personally for the Preply team.
Persons: Preply, Kirill Bigai, Dmytro Voloshyn, Sergey Lukyanov, Bigai, Lukyanov, James Kim Organizations: Preply, Horizon Capital, Morning, Skype, Horizon, Reach, Hoxton Ventures, Owl Ventures, Datadog, Bain, Reach Capital Locations: Ukraine, Boston, Texas, Barcelona, Kyiv, Berlin, Czech, Russia
Resume SubscriptionWe are delighted that you'd like to resume your subscription. You will be charged $ + tax (if applicable) for The Wall Street Journal. You may change your billing preferences at any time in the Customer Center or call Customer Service. You will be notified in advance of any changes in rate or terms. You may cancel your subscription at anytime by calling Customer Service.
Organizations: Wall Street
The firm developed a propriety model that uses AI to predict which early-stage startups are most likely to become unicorns, which are companies valued at more than a billion dollars. "Our AI eliminates about 99% of all early-stage companies from consideration, because our data predicts these companies have a higher probability of failure." Another surprising thing about TRAC's model is it does not value founders as predictive. "Similar vintage early-stage VCs would have had upwards of 20% of their portfolio be false positive within the first few years. Here are the 30 companies TRAC's model identified as being the next unicorns, in alphabetical order, all with a valuation of less than $250 million.
Persons: Fred Campbell, Joseph Aaron, Scott Pyne, Steve Marek, Dick Fredericks, Aaron, Sam Altman, MBAs, Angel SuperForecasters, Campbell Locations: San Francisco
The Rocky Mountains are luring venture capitalists from tech hubs like Silicon Valley and New York. In 2022, according to data gathered by Carta, Denver was the 11th-busiest metropolitan area for venture investment in the country, with more than $2 billion in capital raised on Carta. Startups in Salt Lake City collected another $900 million in funding last year. In 2022, Denver and Boulder, Colorado, and Salt Lake City, Utah, ranked among the top 20 metropolitan statistical areas by venture investment. CartaOur list includes both seasoned venture capitalists who have been elevating Rocky Mountain tech for years and ambitious newcomers looking to strike gold in an overlooked territory.
Persons: Chris Sacca Organizations: Carta, Rockies, Rocky, Foundry Group Locations: Silicon, New York, Denver, Boulder , Colorado, Salt Lake City , Utah, Wyoming, Montana, Carta, Salt Lake City, Boulder
The executive order along with anti-China moves by lawmakers and agencies means the overall policy is unclear and riddled with landmines. "It will be very important to monitor how this executive order is being received in Congress." The executive order affects venture funds and private equity firms that invest in Chinese companies in semiconductors and microelectronics, quantum information technologies and artificial intelligence. MORE RESTRICTIONSSome of the investors said the administration's approach in framing the executive order had been more consultative. U.S. Representative Maxine Waters, Biden's fellow Democrat, said on Friday the executive order and rulemaking on outbound investment must be "broadened and strengthened."
Persons: Florence Lo, Biden, Anthony Rapa, Blank, Blackrock, MSCI, Maxine Waters, Paritosh Bansal, Andrea Shalal, Laura Matthews, Anna Driver Organizations: REUTERS, Fund, Investors, Blackrock, U.S, Chinese Communist Party, The, Vanguard, Morningstar, Blackrock's, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Thomson Locations: China, U.S, Beijing, Washington, MSCI, New York
Startups Are Dying Amid Drought in Venture Funding
  + stars: | 2023-08-11 | by ( Berber Jin | ) www.wsj.com   time to read: 1 min
This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com. https://www.wsj.com/articles/startups-are-dying-amid-drought-in-venture-funding-a9005ad2
Persons: Dow Jones
Edtech venture capital funding in 2023 may be on pace for its lowest annual total since 2016. The one exception to this edtech funding dropoff is in AI tools for education and upskilling. This puts the estimated total funding for 2023 at only $3.5 billion, the lowest annual total since 2016, according to HolonIQ. Additionally, there has not been a single edtech "mega round," or a startup funding round valued at over $100 million since 2022, with the exception of the Indian edtech unicorn Byju's $250 million fundraise this spring. Pujji and Mushin also indicated that AI edtech deals were the exception in this slowdown period.
Persons: VCs, It's, Vinny Pujji, Iynna Halilou, Leeor Mushin, Avalanche's Katelyn Donnelly, Mushin, they've, Chegg's, Cheggmate, Khan, Pujji Organizations: Left Lane Capital, Global, Bloomberg, Investors
Regulators and investors are putting pressure on the real estate industry to go green. The most obvious end-users are commercial real estate owners, but Ellis says the revenue potential is far bigger than that. The company's fundraising comes as more policymakers seek to require landlords and real estate investors to reduce their carbon emissions. Capital hasn't been far behind, with leading proptech venture fund Fifth Wall raising a $500 million fund to decarbonize real estate. See the deck, minus confidential financial information, that Measurabl used to raise its monster $93 million round below.
Persons: Matt Ellis, Ellis, Bob Sulentic, CBRE's, CBRE, Measurabl, hasn't Organizations: Major League Baseball, Energy Impact Partners, Sway Ventures, Suffolk Construction, Colliers, Lincoln Property Company, New Locations: San Diego, Real, Suffolk, Measurabl
It then went public in 2021 through a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, and is looking to establish deep sea mining as a business. "Voices against deep sea mining have never been so loud — from the fishing sector to financiers, indigenous peoples, scientists and big business." In addition, the findings of the study do not mean that Benchmark is endorsing deep sea mining, she added. Deep sea mining won't replace land-based mining, but rather will simply add another source of minerals, she said in March. Regardless, Singh says, there is a lot of work yet to be done by members of the council to establish regulations before any deep sea mining commences.
Persons: Gerard Barron, Carolyn Cole, it's, Amon, That's, Louisa Casson, Charlotte Selvey Miller, Miller, that's, Barron, Kannah, Pradeep Singh, It's, Singh, Allseas, Organizations: The Metals Company, Los Angeles Times, Authority, ISA, Metals Company, Maersk, CNBC, Greenpeace, Company, Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, Benchmark, Democratic, PT Vale Indonesia, . Geological Survey, Metals, Mining, Darton Commodities, Afp, Getty, International Union for Conservation of Nature Locations: Clarion, San Diego, Norway, Mexico, United Kingdom, Texas, Canada, Indonesia, Russia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sorowako ., Amon, Kolwezi, Shabara, Congo, Pacific, Nauru, Tonga, Kiribati
Yeah, you’re going to need one of those fancy pizza ovens to replicate this in your home. I think right now, every media company in the world is trying to figure out what replaces Twitter. And they say, you’re going to about to make the easiest money you’ve ever made in your entire life. You’re going to have more people beating a path down your door than you thought was possible. We now have Ubers that are so — I don’t know if you’ve looked at your Uber receipts recently.
Persons: kevin roose I’m, casey newton, kevin roose, casey newton They’re, kevin roose Gang, casey newton Oh, let’s, Kevin Roose, ” casey newton, Casey Newton, , Casey, casey newton Mhmm, it’s, kevin roose I’d, you’re, you’ve, — casey newton, Sam Altman, casey newton Isn’t, that’s, Silly Putty, I’m, casey newton Well, Kevin, what’s, kevin roose Totally, casey newton I’ll, Unobtainium, James Cameron, You’ve, Meissner, we’re, There’s, they’re, casey newton Here’s, Twitch, kevin roose There’s, Iris_IGB, she’s, there’s, casey newton There’s, Russia she’s, I’ve, They’ve, hasn’t, ChatGPT, Claude, They’re, hydroxychloroquine, Joe Rogan, Bravo, “ Fortnite, casey newton That’s, we’ve, casey newton Kevin, India Venom, Lydia Tár, we’ll, don’t, casey newton Sure, , Joe Biden, casey newton I’m, casey newton Mike Masnick, he’s, Mike, — casey newton Look, who’d, It’s, HatGPT, kevin roose —, casey newton We’re, Rupert Murdaugh, Beast, James Donaldson, Jimmy Donaldson, a.k.a, Beast — casey newton James, Uber, Beast Burger, Burger, We’re, Meta, Abraham Lincoln, Facebook — Abraham Lincoln, casey newton It’s, kevin roose Oh, Abraham —, roose, casey newton Greg Rutkowski, Greg Rutkowski, Greg Rutkowski’s, Greg, You’re, casey newton Wow, Elon Musk, San Francisco NIMBYs, Don’t, kevin roose It’s, you’re Uber Organizations: Mmm, casey newton Mmm, The New York Times, Quantum Energy Research Center, collider, Twitter, Capitol, Federal Trade Commission, Netflix, Heritage Foundation, Republican, Democrats, Republicans, California, Tax, Facebook, YouTube, HatGPT, BBC, WordPress, Health Department, Financial Times, Ford Theater, ” Workers, San, Wall Street Locations: Seoul, Russian, Russia, India, KOSA, SESTA, The, Kashmir, tooting, Washington, San Francisco, Ha, Canada
Total: 25