Google Faced $275 Million Fine & OpenAI's GPT Store Copyright Scrutiny

👋 Hey, Sahil here! Welcome to today's quick rundown in the Venture Daily Digest Newsletter. I've got the scoop on startup fundraising, fresh VC funds, and some cool tech – all in just 5 minutes!

• Astera Labs IPO soars 46% to $52.56 per share from $36 IPO price.

• OpenAI's GPT Store under fire for hosting copyright-infringing content and promoting academic dishonesty.

• France fines Google €250 million for breaching news publisher commitments and using content for AI training without notification.

• DOJ to sue Apple over alleged iPhone antitrust violations, targeting restrictions on rivals' features.

• Featured Article : The One Slide - “Ask”, Most Founders Get Wrong When Fundraising.

• Daily Digest Board: Which solution do you think AI companies should focus on to tackle copyright issues with publications?

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STARTUP FUNDING UPDATES

Pocket FM, a Los Angeles, CA-based provider of an audio entertainment platform, raised $103M in Series D funding. The round, which brought the total amount to $196.5M, was led by Lightspeed with participation from StepStone Group. More Here

Greenly, a Paris-based startup, raised a $52 million Series B led by Fidelity International Strategic Ventures to expand its carbon accounting software, targeting SMBs struggling with emissions tracking. More Here

Morph, a NYC-based provider of a permissionless Ethereum virtual machine (EVM) Layer 2 for value-driven dApps, raised $19M in Seed funding. The round was led by DragonFly Capital with additional participation from Pantera Capital, Foresight Ventures, The Spartan Group, MEXC Ventures, Symbolic Capital, Public Works, MH Ventures, Everyrealm, with an additional $1M raised in an angel round. More Here

Candela, New Zealand based an electric boat maker, secures $25 million in funding led by Groupe Beneteau, as it launches its P-12 ferry in New Zealand, aiming to revolutionize eco-friendly boating with its efficient hydrofoil technology. More Here

Fetch, a Madison, WI-based provider of a rewards app, raised $50M in Debt funding from Morgan Stanley Private Credit. More Here

Anima, a U.K. startup, secures a $12 million Series A funding round led by Molten Ventures to advance its "care enablement" platform for healthcare clinics, blending Slack, Salesforce, and Figma-like functionalities. More Here

PocketHealth, a Toronto, Canada-based company which specializes in patient-centric medical image exchange, raised $33M USD in Series B funding. The round was led by Round13 Capital with participation from Deloitte Ventures, Samsung Next, and existing investors Questa Capital and Radical Ventures. More Here

AirMyne, a Berkeley, CA-based greentech startup, raised $6.9M in Seed funding. Backers included Y Combinator, Alumni Ventures, Liquid 2 Ventures, EMLES, Impact Science Ventures, Another Brain, Soma Capital, and Wayfinder. More Here

Buzz Solutions, a Palo Alto, CA-based AI company that inspects and protects critical energy infrastructure, raised $5M in funding. The round was led by GoPoint Ventures with participation from Blackhorn Ventures and MaC Venture Capital. More Here

Monaire, a Boston, MA-based startup that uses AI to curb waste and emissions from small commercial buildings, raised $3.5M in Seed funding. The round was led by Construct Capital with participation from Workshop Ventures, as well as strategic individual investments from Steve Fredette, and Tom Kuo. More Here

Dymium, a Los Gatos, CA-based data access management company, raised $7M in funding. The round was led by $5m from Two Bear Capital and $2m from angel investors. Mike Goguen, Founder and Managing Partner of Two Bear Capital, has joined the Dymium board. More Here

Mermaid Chart, a San Francisco, CA-based company offering text-based diagramming and workflow management tools, raised $7.5M in Seed funding. The round saw participation from Microsoft’s M12, Sequoia Capital, Open Core Ventures (Sid Sibrandij, CEO, GitLab), Streamlined Ventures & Good Friends Capital. More Here

StepsConnect, a Milan, Italy-based recritment platform for companies to quickly find qualified candidates, raised €1m in funding. Backers included 40Jemz Ventures, Eden Ventures by IAG, Maggioli Ventures, Moffu Labs, GĔNĔRAS Corporate, Moonstone Fund, KF-Invest and Enzima12, as well as business angels such as Emiliano Maria Cappuccitti, Gianpaolo Naef, Massimo Cioffi, Dino Caprioni, and Massimo Pagnetti. More Here

Blue Laser Fusion Inc., a Palo Alto, CA-based inertial fusion company, closed its $37.5m Seed funding round. Backers included SoftBank Corp., Yusaku Maezawa through the Maezawa Fund, and Itochu Corporation, which joined JAFCO Group Co., Ltd., SPARX Group Co., Ltd (Mirai Creation Fund III), and Waseda University Ventures. More Here

Quilt, a San Francisco, CA-based developer of AI assistants for solutions teams, raised $2.5m in seed funding. The round was led by Sequoia Capital. More Here

Sprih, a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania-based provider of an advanced AI technology platform that helps companies simplify their journey towards sustainability, raised $3m in Seed funding round. The round was led by Leo Capital, with participation from entrepreneurs and climate experts from around the world. More Here

Carbyne, a NYC-based provider of public safety communications, received an undisclosed investment from from AT&T Ventures. More Here

WavMaker, a Nashville, TN-based provider of a music licensing platform for video creators, raised $5M in Seed funding. The round was led by Vicky Patel. More Here

Tempo Therapeutics, a San Diego, CA-based innovator in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, raised $12M in Series A funding. The round was led by Galaxy-Sirius Partners and Johnson & Johnson Innovation. More Here

e-peas, a Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium-based company which specializes in ultra-low power management for energy harvesting, raised €17.5M in funding. The round was led by Otium Capital, with participation from new investors Nomainvest and EIC Fund, as well as existing investors KBC Focus Fund, The Faktory, Wallonie Entreprendre, Noshaq-Leansquare, and Start.Invest. More Here

CyberSaint, a Boston, MA-based cyber risk management company, raised $21M in Series A funding. The round was led by Riverside Acceleration Capital (RAC) with participation from Sage Hill Investors, Audeo Capital, and BlueIO. More Here

Clasp Therapeutics, a Cambridge, MA-based biotechnology company that develops immuno-oncology therapies using T cell engagers (TCEs), raised $150M in funding. The round was led by Catalio Capital Management, Third Rock Ventures and Novo Holdings, with participation from Vivo Capital, Cure Ventures, Blackbird BioVentures, Pictet Alternative Advisors, American Cancer Society’s Bright Edge and Alexandria Venture Investments. More Here

Arrow Risk Management, a London, UK-based provider of a managing general agency (MGA) underwriting platform, raised £2M in funding. The round was led by ACF Investors and a range of EIS investors. More Here

Automated Architecture, a London, UK-based tech company building a distributed micro-factory network, raised £2.6M in Seed funding. The round was led by Miles Ahead, with participation from Robotics & Discrete Automation and Robotics & Automation Ventures (ABB RA Ventures), Rival Holdings, Morgan Stanley, and others. More Here

Mallard Bay, a Houston, TX-based SaaS-enabled marketplace for hunting and fishing, raised $4.6M in Series A funding. The round was led by Soul Venture Partners, and included participation from Acadian Capital Ventures, The Softeq Venture Studio, Callais Capital, Varco Investments, and the Rio Grande Valley Angel Network. More Here

Ingrid, a Stockholm, Sweden-based provider of a delivery experience platform, raised €21M in funding. The round was led by Verdane, alongside Schibsted Ventures. More Here

Solaris, a Berlin, Germany-based provider of an embedded finance platform, raised €96M in funding. The round was led by SBI Group. More Here

Cure51, a Paris, France-based techbio company, raised €15M in Seed funding. Cure51 The round was led by Sofinnova Partners, with participation from Hitachi Ventures GmbH, Life Extension Ventures, Xavier Niel, and Olivier Pomel. More Here

VENTURE CAPITAL UPDATES

OTB Ventures secures a $185 million fund to invest in European deep tech startups, primarily at the Series A stage, with backing from the EIF and NATO Innovation Fund. Focused on sectors like space tech, AI, cybersecurity, and fintech infrastructure, OTB aims to foster disruptive innovation in Europe's burgeoning tech landscape. More Here

Former veteran JPMorgan Chase banker Ryan Holsheimer is starting a new firm that will make early-stage investments and plans to start fundraising over the next two months. Based in Australia’s Gold Coast, Admiralty Capital Group will seek to invest both locally and internationally. More Here

World Fund, a Berlin, Germany-based venture capital fund, says it has raised €300 million ($326 million) for a debut fund focused on climate technology companies. More Here

Former Alibaba Group Holding chief Daniel Zhang has joined a little-known Chinese investment fund, a surprise twist to a long career during which he oversaw the rise and decline of the high-profile internet firm, in which Alibaba is reportedly an anchor LP. More Here

FEATURED ARTICLE

The One Slide, Most Founders Get Wrong When Fundraising

There’s one slide that almost every founder gets wrong when they are putting together a pitch deck to raise money from venture capitalists. The slide is usually known as “the ask,” and it typically lives toward the end of the pitch deck.

It is meant to do something pretty straightforward: Explain how much money a startup is raising and for what. It shouldn’t be rocket science, but it’s almost universally a struggle to get right.

Here are the most common mistakes:

• Forgetting to include the slide altogether.

• Not naming a specific dollar amount you are raising.

• Including a valuation on the slide.

• Omitting what the funds will be used for.

• Listing a specific runway, i.e., “This will keep us running for 18 to 24 months.” … Read More Here

Do you need help in creating your pitch deck? We are here to help you. We will write, model and design your pitch deck into a storytelling book within 4-5 days….More Here

STARTUP’S LATEST BUZZ

ACQUISITION & EXITS

onX, a Missoula, MT-based outdoor digital navigation company, acquired TroutRoutes, a Minneapolis, MN-based mapping resource company for fly fishing enthusiasts. More Here

LAYOFFS & BANKRUPTCY

The Body Shop, a UK-based beauty cosmetic and personal care chain is shutting down its U.S. operations after filing for bankruptcy. More Here

STARTUPS & PEOPLE

Astera Labs, a connectivity hardware provider for cloud computing data centers, makes a strong public debut with its IPO trading at $52.56 per share, up 46% from its IPO price of $36 per share. With revenues soaring due to increased demand from AI-driven data centers, Astera's successful IPO signals potential for other tech companies to enter the public market amidst a period of limited IPO activity. More Here

Reddit priced its deal today at $34 per share, hitting the top end of its expected range and valuing the company at approximately $6.5 billion. The company goes out tomorrow. More Here

The U.S. Department of Justice plans to sue Apple for alleged antitrust violations regarding iPhone features blocking rivals. Apple's restrictions on hardware and software access have faced criticism, particularly from competitors like Tile and in its messaging service iMessage. More Here

LATEST IN EMERGING TECH

The White House announced an agreement with Intel to allocate up to $8.5 billion to bolster U.S.-based chip production, a move driven by supply chain disruptions and geopolitical tensions. Intel's investment plan includes opening manufacturing facilities in Ohio and other states, aiming to create over 30,000 jobs and reduce dependency on overseas semiconductor production. However, some industry experts suggest that more action is needed to bridge the gap with leading chip manufacturers like TSMC. More Here

France's competition authority fines Google €250 million for breaching commitments with news publishers and utilizing their content for AI training without notification, marking ongoing tensions over copyright protections. The authority criticizes Google's opacity in negotiations and minimum remuneration thresholds, highlighting broader issues in fair bargaining practices. Google, although not appealing the fine, disputes its proportionality and emphasizes its commitment to sustainable content partnerships. More Here

OpenAI's GPT Store, intended as a curated marketplace for powerful AI tools, faces scrutiny for hosting numerous potentially copyright-infringing GPTs mimicking popular franchises and offering academic dishonesty-promoting functionalities. Despite OpenAI's moderation efforts, the store's rapid growth to 3 million GPTs highlights challenges in maintaining quality and adherence to terms. Issues range from copyright violations to bypassing AI content detectors and impersonation of public figures. Monetization plans raise further concerns about legal ramifications and quality control, echoing early challenges of digital marketplaces. The state of the GPT Store underscores the need for robust moderation and clearer policies to mitigate spam and safeguard against misuse. More Here

VENTURE DAILY DIGEST PICKS

• ​Analyze All the Things : Data Omniscience with Omni by Tomasz Tunguz. Read Here

• ​Non-Investments Lesser-Known High-Paying Roles in Venture Capital. Read Here

• Navigating big and small checks while fundraising by hustle fund. Read Here

• The Three Most Popular Venture Capital Interview Questions (And How to Answer Them). Read Here

• The Myth of Hyper-Growth: Successful Startups Follow Quadratic Hypergrowth, Not Exponential. Read Here

DAILY DIGEST BOARD

HOW CAN I HELP YOU?

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That’s It For Today! Will Meet You Tomorrow!
Happy Thursday! 🥂

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✍️Written By Sahil R - The Venture Crew