Amazon to Invests Billions In Anthropic & OpenAI Acquired Chat.com From HubSpot Co-founder Shah

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☕ Good Friday Morning. Welcome to today's quick rundown in the Venture Daily Digest Newsletter.

Scroll down to find

• Amazon’s multi-billion-dollar bet on Anthropic after last year's $4B deal

• OpenAI's $15M acquisition of Chat.com from HubSpot’s co-founder, and

• what a Trump 2.0 could mean for the tech industry.

• Canada orders TikTok shutdown over security concerns, and

• SpaceX gears up for its sixth Starship launch this month.

Plus, today's must-read intel: Jason from SaaStr Fund reveals why startups are more overpriced than ever, Visual Capitalist dives into a decade of AI venture capital deals and exits, and TechCrunch uncovers surprising insights from the surge in VC megadeals (hint: AI isn’t #1!).

Also, don’t miss how an AI bot became a crypto millionaire on 'The Ben & Marc Show.' Fresh VC and startup job opportunities await!

🤝 The Most Emerging Startup You Can't Miss…

You know how finding reliable overseas talent can be a total nightmare? (Been there, done that, got the horror stories!) Well, A Team Overseas is doing something that made me go "Why didn't anyone think of this before?!"

Here's the tea: Most agencies are charging businesses a whopping $3K/month for virtual assistants but only paying them $700-800. Yikes! These folks looked at that system and said "Nope, we're doing better." They're connecting you with Executive Assistants who've crushed it at big agencies but were tired of getting the short end of the stick.

The best part? They're paying their EAs a fair $1,400/month (literally double!) while charging businesses just $2.5K. Math nerds, you're seeing this right - everyone wins!

But wait - it gets better. These aren't your typical "just tell me what to do" VAs. We're talking about pros who've managed complex projects, know how to think three steps ahead, and actually understand your business goals. The kind who'll message you saying "Hey, I noticed XYZ and here's how we can improve it" before you even spot the issue.

Look, I'm usually skeptical about these things (occupational hazard, sorry!), but this is legit changing the game for both businesses AND talent.

If you're drowning in tasks or tired of micromanaging overseas teams, you need to check this out.

🗞️ Startup Funding Updates

Corgea, a San Francisco, CA-based cybersecurity startup providing an AI-powered security platform, raised $2.6M in Seed funding. The round was led by Shorooq Partners, with participation from investors Y Combinator (YC), Propeller, Decacorn Capital, Unbound Ventures, and various angels such as Jawed Karim (co-founder of Youtube & Y Ventures) and Sam Kassoumeh (Co-founder of SecurityScoreCard).

Glint Solar, based in Norway, provides a SaaS platform to speed up the planning and pre-design of large-scale solar installations. The startup raised $8 million in a Series A round led by Smedvig Ventures, with participation from Antler Nordic, Antler Elevate, Futurum Ventures, and Momentum.

Cytonic, a Road Town, British Virgin Islands-based multi-virtual-machine blockchain company, raised $8.3M in Seed funding. The round was led by Lattice and Lemniscap, with participation from IOBC, Nomura, Lyrik, Public Works, Arthur Hayes and other investors.

Research Grid, based in London, automates administrative and data management workflows to make clinical trials more efficient. The startup raised $6.48 million in a seed round led by Fuel Ventures, with participation from Ada Ventures and Morgan Stanley Inclusive Ventures Lab. Research Grid’s products streamline trial processes, improving recruitment and compliance for clinical trials.

Cloverleaf AI, a Denver, CO-based provider of solutions for government contractors, raised $2.8M in Seed funding. The round was led by Jackson Square Ventures, with participation from First Mile, TechStars, and legal Tech Fund.

Boston Materials, a Billerica, MA-based manufacturer of advanced materials for semiconductors and aircraft platforms, raised $13.5M in funding. The round was led by AccelR8 and Diamond Edge Ventures with participation from participation from returning and new investors, including Valo Ventures, Gatemore Venture Partners, Collab Fund, and Woori Venture Partners.

Thesys, a San Francisco, CA-based user interface startup focused on AI apps, raised $4m in seed funding. The round was led by Together Fund, with participation from 8vc.

Embed Security, a Reno, Texas-based provider of an agentic security platform, raised $6M in funding. The round was led by Paladin Capital Group with participation from industry executive angel investors.

NitroVolt, a Søborg, Denmark-based startup developing green ammonia for farmers, raised €3.5M in Seed funding. Backers included BackingMinds, EIFO, EQT Foundation, Satgana, and DivisionM.

Siit, a Paris, France-based provider of a AI-powered service desk solution for IT and internal operations teams, raised $5M in Seed funding. The round was led by StageOne Ventures and Seventure Partners.

Symbiotic Security, a NYC-based company providing real-time security for software development, raised $3M in Seed funding. Backers included Lerer Hippeau, Axeleo Capital, Factorial Capital, and others.

Parallel Fluidics, a Boston, MA-based microfluidic device manufacturer, raised $7M in Seed funding. The round was led by J2 Ventures with participation from 8VC and Praxis.

AI KAT, a London, UK-based brand-building company using AI, raised £290K in Pre-Seed funding. The round was led by SFC Capital.

Forefront RF, a Cambridge, UK-based semiconductor company, raised £16M in funding. The round was led by BGF and Foresight Group, alongside new VC partners, Octopus Ventures and Cambridge Innovation Capital.

Pulse, a Hyderabad, India-based agentic AI-powered platform for SaaS product teams, raised $1.4m in seed funding. The round was led by founders of Zluri and Yellow.ai.

Pibox, a Los Angeles, CA-based provider of an audio collaboration platform, raised $1.2M in funding. Backers included Presto Ventures, Globalive Capital, and Startup Wise Guys. As a part of this financing, Pibox had also received funding from Google for Startups.

Dovetail Genomics, a Scotts Valley, CA-based company providing genomic solutions, received a $2M SBIR Grant from the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI).

Marosa 2024, a Vigo, Spain-based provider of VAT compliance and e-invoicing technology solutions, received an investment of $12M from Aquiline Capital Partners.

📰 Venture Capital Updates

Faber, a Lisbon-based venture firm, has launched its €31 million ($33.9 million) Faber Tech Fund III, aiming to invest in pre-seed and seed-stage startups in deep tech, AI, robotics, and biotech across Portugal, Spain, and the Netherlands. The fund is anchored by the European Investment Fund, NATO Innovation Fund, and Caixa Capital. Faber's portfolio includes Sword Health, Smartex, and Unbabel.

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🤖 Latest In Tech

Amazon is in talks to invest billions more in Anthropic, following a $4 billion deal last year. However, the new investment comes with a condition: Anthropic must use Amazon's silicon on AWS to train its AI, though the company currently prefers Nvidia chips. With projected costs of $2.7 billion in 2024, Anthropic may have to consider the offer as it seeks funding at a $40 billion valuation.

OpenAI has acquired the domain Chat.com, which now redirects to its AI chatbot, ChatGPT. HubSpot co-founder Dharmesh Shah, who bought Chat.com for $15.5 million last year, confirmed that he sold it to OpenAI, likely for shares. OpenAI did not disclose how much it paid for the domain, and this move doesn't seem to signify a brand change.

What Trump 2.0 could mean for tech: Trump’s return could bring significant changes to the tech industry, with Musk’s influence potentially benefiting companies like Tesla and SpaceX while disadvantaging competitors such as OpenAI and Meta. Trump may abandon Biden’s AI safety guidelines, reduce semiconductor subsidies, and push for tariffs and export controls affecting the US-China tech dynamic. TikTok could avoid another ban under Trump, who now sees the app as a challenge to Meta, while antitrust laws may become more lenient, favoring tech mergers and reducing oversight.

Andreessen Horowitz founders Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, alongside Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and President Brad Smith, have jointly opposed regulations like SB 1047, claiming it stifles innovation and imposes burdens on startups. Despite their claims, the bill was designed to protect small companies, and their lobbying effort exaggerated compliance costs. They argue for market-based approaches and flexible AI regulation, favoring reactive policies over proactive regulation.

SpaceX is set to conduct the sixth test flight of its massive Starship rocket on November 18, following a recent successful mission that achieved notable milestones. This test will aim to replicate previous successes, such as catching the Super Heavy booster and targeting a precise splashdown, with the Federal Aviation Administration having pre-approved this launch alongside the last one. SpaceX plans to test several upgrades, including redundancy in the booster propulsion and new thermal protection materials, while also trying to relight one of the Raptor engines on orbit to further reusable capabilities.

🪄 Other News

Canada has ordered the closure of ByteDance's TikTok Technology Canada offices due to national security risks, though the app remains available for users and businesses. TikTok, which has about 15 million Canadian users, plans to appeal, stating the closure will eliminate hundreds of local jobs. This follows Canada’s 2023 ban of TikTok on government devices, part of a broader global scrutiny of the platform.

The Mozilla Foundation has laid off 30% of its workforce, citing a need for increased agility amid rapid changes in the tech world. Executive Director Nabiha Syed announced that the advocacy and global programs divisions are no longer part of the organization’s structure.

🧐 In-Depth Insights

• Start-ups are the most "overpriced" ever. Far more than 2021. Why?: Jason (Partner at SaaStr fund shared an interesting report on how startup are overprices than 2021.

• Ten Years of AI Venture Capital Deals and Exits Visual Capitalist provides an in-depth look at AI venture capital trends over the last decade, showcasing the major deals, exits, and growth in the AI sector.

• VC Megadeals Are Booming, and AI Isn’t the Top Category TechCrunch analyzes the recent surge in VC megadeals, revealing surprising data on which sectors see the biggest deals beyond AI.

• How An AI Bot Became a Crypto Millionaire In this episode of "The Ben & Marc Show," Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz explore the story of Truth Terminal, an autonomous AI chatbot that went from an experiment to launching a meme coin valued at $300M.

📬 Venture Daily Digest Picks

• Why Your Product Idea Sounds Too Complicated: The 'Simple to WTF' Scale By a16z Partner. (Read)

• How to Create A Value Proposition: A Four-Step Framework. (Read)

• The gap between pre-seed and seed is getting large By Hustle Fund Partner. (Read)

• AI startups will need ‘quality of revenue’ to raise in 2025, seed VCs warn. (Read)

• What KPIs should I track for SEO? - Cheatsheet (Read)

• AI is killing remote work - Sahil Lavingia (Read)

• How Do VCs Decide to Take a First Meeting? - 12 Reasons. (Read)

• Why Great Ideas Get Lost in Translation: Do You Know the Three Languages of Modern Business? (Read)

• Marc Andreessen's All-in-One Guide for Founders. (Read)

• Are AI Agents the Missing Piece in Social Networks? (Read)

• In-Depth Guide on Why Startup Founders Fail. (Read)

• The Market Size Mistake - Tobi Lutke, the founder of Shopify. (Read)

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