Apple joins OpenAI board & Jeff Bezos Plans To Sell $5 Billion Worth Of Shares

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

Top News

Sidney Scott, solo GP of Driving Forces, a $5 million fintech and deep tech VC fund, has announced the closure of his fund after four years of operation. Despite achieving a solid 30% net internal rate of return and investing in notable companies like SpaceX and xAI, Scott cited increasing competition in the deep tech sector as a key factor in his decision.

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos plans to sell $5 billion worth of shares after stock hits record high. He'll retain 8.8% of Amazon's stock post-sale. Bezos, worth $214.4 billion, remains world's second-richest person.

Apple to get observer role on OpenAI's board, with Phil Schiller representing the company. This follows Apple's June announcement integrating OpenAI's ChatGPT into its devices. OpenAI recently appointed new directors, including CEO Sam Altman and executives from various tech and non-profit backgrounds.

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Startup Funding Updates

Granza Bio, a biotech startup based in Oxford, is developing a novel approach to delivering immunotherapy and other "attack particles" throughout the body. Founded by Ashwin Nandakumar, Ashwin Jainarayanan, and Michael Dustin, the company has raised a $7.14 million seed round led by Felicis and Refactor, with participation from Y Combinator. More Here

Nycrypto Labs, a NYC-based blockchain development hub dedicated to simplifying the transition from Web2 to Web3, raised $800K in Pre-Seed funding. The round was led by DNA Fund, with participation from Michael Terpin’s Transform Ventures and a host of angel investors. More Here

Redactive AI, a Melbourne, Australia-based provider of a developer platform that solves for the missing AI engineering and security skill sets lacking within enterprise software teams, raised $7.5M USD in Seed funding. The round was led by Felicis and Blackbird, alongside Atlassian Ventures and automation unicorn Zapier. More Here

Noplace, a new social media app developed in Tokyo and San Francisco, offers customizable profiles and text-based updates to help users connect with friends and share interests. Founded by Tiffany Zhong, the app aims to bring the "social" back to social media, targeting younger users with features reminiscent of Myspace. Noplace has raised over $19 million in funding from investors including 776 (founded by Alexis Ohanian) and Forerunner Ventures. More Here

Altrove, a French deep tech startup, is developing AI models and automated lab processes to accelerate the discovery and production of new inorganic materials, with an initial focus on rare earth elements. Based in France, the company has raised €3.7 million (approximately $4 million) in a funding round led by Contrarian Ventures, with participation from Emblem and notable angel investors including Thomas Clozel, Julien Chaumond, and Nikolaj Deichmann. More Here

Cooby, a Taipei, Taiwan-based provider of a WhatsApp sales platform, raised US$1.75M in Seed funding. The round, which brought the total amount to US$4.75M, was led by Shilling VC, along with existing investors Peak XV’s Surge and Pear VC. More Here

SendBloks, a Tel Aviv, Israel-based startup in blockchain data management, raised $8.2M in Seed funding. Backers were not disclosed. More Here

Amethyst Radiotherapy Group, an Amsterdam, The Netherlands-based oncology company, secured a €300m financing agreement with Credit funds managed by Ares Management Corporation, a global alternative investment manager. More Here

Iron Path Capital, a Nashville, TN-based operationally focused private equity firm investing in the specialty industrials and healthcare sectors, closed its Fund I, at $273M. Limited partners consisted of a diverse group of global investors including endowments, fund of funds, institutional investors and family offices. More Here

Vida, an Austin, TX-based provider of carrier-grade AI voice agents for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), raised $3M in Seed funding. The round was led by Stillmark. More Here

Kvantify, a Copenhagen, Denmark-based quantum software startup, raised EUR 10M in seed funding. The round was led by Dreamcraft, together with biotech investor Lundbeckfonden BioCapital and the private investment company 2degrees. Other investors included international sector-focused tech investor Redstone VC, Danish lead quantum VC 2xN as well as EIFO. More Here

Tembo, a Cincinnati, OH-based provider of a Postgres managed service for organizations to handle open-source database for transactional, analytical and AI workloads, raised $14M in Series A funding. The round was led by GreatPoint Ventures with participation from Venrock, Grand Ventures, Wireframe Ventures, Defined Capital, Cintrifuse Capital, and angels. More Here

Sensorita, an Oslo, Norway-based trash tech company, raised $3.25M in Seed funding. The round was led by Brick & Mortar Ventures and participation from Telenor. More Here

Venture Capital Updates

Industry Ventures, which managed over $8 Billion assets has raised a $900 million early-stage hybrid fund, its seventh and largest to date. The fund will allocate 40% to backing VC funds, 40% to direct investments in Series B startups, and 20% to acquiring stakes in emerging investment firms. Despite challenging market conditions, the firm reports that most of its backed managers are successfully raising funds, albeit with longer timelines. More Here

Ardian, a Paris, France-based private investment firm, raised $3.2 Billion for the sixth generation of its global co-investment platform, Ardian Co-Investment Fund VI, including Fund commitments and mandates from Ardian Customized Solutions. The new fund received support from 188 investors globally, including from Europe, the Americas, the Middle East, and Asia. Investors comprised pensions funds, HNWIs, insurance companies and sovereign wealth funds. More Here

Featured Article

The CUP Method - A Prioritization Framework From Idea To PMF.

The CUP method is a prioritization framework that helps you go from idea to product-market fit. It’s most useful in the 0 to 1 stage before you’d consider something like “jobs to be done.”

The CUP Method is designed:

• To help entrepreneurs address user pains, not build vanity features.

• To help entrepreneurs build a unique solution, not build another copycat.

• To help entrepreneurs set and achieve short-term goals in service of reaching their ultimate vision, not get lost dreaming about what happens 3,5, or 10 years from now.

It’s broken down into three steps:

1. Current Primary Goal → Set a single goal you can reach in the short term (think a few weeks to a few months).

2. Unique Value Proposition → What makes you different from all the alternatives?

3. Pain Points → What major problems are your users experiencing?

A must-read framework for founders.

Startup’s Latest Buzz

Acquisition & Going Public

CoinDCX, India's leading cryptocurrency exchange, has acquired BitOasis, a digital asset platform in the Middle East and North Africa. The acquisition allows CoinDCX to expand internationally, with BitOasis retaining its branding and leadership while its team joins CoinDCX. More Here

Dedagroup, a Trento, Italy-based IT player, acquired Quod Orbit, a London, UK-based continuous controls monitoring (CCM) firm. More Here

Thoma Bravo, a Chicago, IL-based software investment firm, completed the acquisition of Everbridge, Inc., a Boston, MA-based company which specializes in critical event management and national public warning solutions, for approximately $1.8 Billion. More Here

SIXGEN, an Annapolis, MD-based full-spectrum solutions provider of cybersecurity products and expertise to U.S. national intelligence, defense and critical infrastructure customers, acquired Secure Enterprise Engineering, Inc., a Hanover, MD-based provider of cybersecurity products and services across various domains. More Here

Layoffs & Bankruptcy

Koo, an Indian social media platform positioned as a rival to X (formerly Twitter), is ceasing operations after failing to secure an acquisition by Dailyhunt. Despite raising over $60 million from investors like Accel and Tiger Global, Koo struggled to expand its user base and generate revenue, ultimately succumbing to the challenges of competing with established American platforms in the Indian market. More Here

OpenText Corp plans to cut 1,200 jobs (1.7% of its workforce) as part of a business optimization plan, expecting to save C$150 million in 2025. The company will reinvest C$50 million annually in 800 new sales and engineering roles to support growth and innovation.

Startups & People

Fisker seeks court approval to sell 3,321 Ocean electric SUVs to American Lease for $46.25 million, or about $14,000 per car. The EV startup filed for bankruptcy last month after facing logistics issues and pivoting to a dealer-partner model. American Lease, which serves rideshare drivers in New York City, agreed to purchase the vehicles amid the city's mandate for zero-emission rideshare fleets by 2030.

Latest In Emerging Tech

Meta's Threads reaches 175 million monthly active users as it approaches its first anniversary, growing from 150 million in April. The platform, launched as an alternative to X (formerly Twitter), sees 63% of posts as text-only, with over 50 million Tags created. While Threads continues to add features, it aims to differentiate itself from X by avoiding political discourse and not amplifying news content.

Microsoft to pay $14 million to settle California claims of penalizing workers who took medical or family leave. The settlement addresses allegations of denied raises and promotions since 2017, mainly affecting women and people with disabilities. Microsoft denies wrongdoing but agrees to implement measures preventing future discrimination.

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