CoreWeave Raises $7.5 Billion in Debt for AI Computing Push & Tesla Shareholders Against Musk's $46 Billion Pay Package

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👋 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 ☕! Today’s major updates include -

• CoreWeave, a Roseland, NJ-based provider of customized solutions for workloads, received $7.5 Billion in debt financing to push AI Computing.

• Alpha Intelligence Capital (AIC), an investor in AI companies like OpenAI, is raising a $250 million fund.

• A group of Tesla shareholders, including New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, is calling for investors to vote against Elon Musk's $46 billion pay package, citing governance issues.

• OpenAI's free GPT-4o launch fueled a record $25M monthly mobile revenue from users upgrading to $20/month ChatGPT Plus for advanced AI access.

• Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella aims to revive the Windows vs Mac rivalry with a new category of AI-focused PCs called Copilot+PC.

• Featured Article : Sam Altman: Successful Pivots Typically Fall Into Two Category.

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STARTUP FUNDING UPDATES

Zen Educate, an online marketplace based in London that connects schools with teachers, has raised $37 million in a Series B funding round. The round was led by Round2 Capital, with participation from investors including Adjuvo, Brighteye Ventures, FJ Labs, Ascension Ventures, and several angel investors. More Here

CoreWeave, a Roseland, NJ-based provider of customized solutions for workloads, received $7.5 Billion in debt financing. The debt financing facility was led by funds managed by Blackstone, with strategic participation from Magnetar (Co-Lead Investor) and Coatue. Participation in the financing also included Carlyle, CDPQ, DigitalBridge Credit, funds and accounts managed by BlackRock, Eldridge Industries, and Great Elm Capital Corp. More Here

Therapeutics, a Watertown, MA-based biotech company addressing the need to regenerate myelin and restore function for patients with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and other demyelinating diseases, closed a $65m series A funding round. The round was led by Forbion which was joined by Alta Partners, Mission BioCapital, Longwood Fund, and Dolby Family Ventures. More Here

Subeca, a Richardson, Texas-based innovative internet of things (IoT) startup that provides low cost and water technology, raised $6M in Series A funding. More Here

R3 Vascular, a Mountain View, CA-based medical device company, raised $87M in Series B funding. The round was led by affiliates of Deerfield Management with participation from existing shareholders including 415 Capital and a strategic investor. More Here

Behavio, a Prague, Czech-Republic-based company which specializes in behavioral brand measurement technology, raised €2.25M in Late Seed funding. Airbridge Equity Partners made the investment. More Here

QA.tech, a Stockholm, Sweden-based company that develops an AI-based testing tool for applications and SaaS services, raised additional €3M in Seed funding. The round was led by PROfounders, with participation from Curiosity, byFounders, and angel investors Mads Johnsen, Jon Åslund, Robert Lagerström, Sven Perkmann, and Jens Saltin. More Here

Teal, a NYC-based startup specializing in accounting infrastructure for Vertical SaaS businesses, raised $8M in Seed funding. The round was led by Torch Capital with participation from Basis Set Ventures, General Advance, Dash Fund, and angel investors including executives at Service Titan, Plaid, Brex, Unit, and Gusto. More Here

Overland AI, a Seattle, WA-based company which specializes in off-road ground vehicle autonomy for the defense sector, raised $10M in Seed funding. The round was led by Point72 Ventures with participation from Shasta Ventures, Ascend VC, Pioneer Square Labs, Voyager Capital, and Cubit Capital. More Here

Nanordica Medical OÜ, a Tallinn, Harjumaa, Estonia-based healthtech startup developing advanced antibacterial products, raised €1.75m in funding. The round was led by Specialist VC, with participation from Superangel and Amalfi. More Here

Caeli Wind, a Berlin, Germany-based provider of a platform for analysing and marketing wind energy locations, raised €11M in funding. The round was led by Notion Capital with participation from Santander Alternative Investments and existing investors such as HTGF. More Here

Hamilton Health Box, a Houston, TX-based provider of a microclinic operating model suitable for various settings, raised $10M in Series A funding. The round was led by 1588 Ventures, with participation from Memorial Hermann Health System, Impact Ventures by Johnson & Johnson Foundation, Texas Medical Center Venture Fund, and the Sullivan Brothers. More Here

Codesphere, a Redwood City, CA- and Karlsruhe, Germany-based based provider of a platform that enables developers to program and scale complex applications directly in the cloud, raised $18m in funding. The round was led by Creandum with participation from existing investors LEA Partners, Begin Capital, 42CAP and 468. More Here

Merit, a Riyadh, Saudi Arabia-based customer and engagement technology company, raised $12M in Pre-Series B funding. The round was led by Alisthithmar Capital i-Cap with participation from existing Series A investors including Tech Invest Com and Hambro Perks Oryx Fund. More Here

AssetWatch, a Columbus OH-based condition monitoring and predictive maintenance company, raised $38M in Series B funding. The round was led by Wellington Management, with participation from G2 Venture Partners, Triangle Peak Partners, Standard Investments, Osage University Partners, and JobsOhio Growth Capital Fund. More Here

Veda, an Alsdorf, Germany-based HR software and payroll-as-a-service provider, raised €17M in financing. The round was led by CIBC Innovation Banking. More Here

Amplexd Therapeutics, a Gaithersburg, MD-based clinical stage patient-scientist-led biotech company, raised USD2M in funding. Backers included an Asia-based life sciences focused family office. More Here

Osome, a Singapore-based an online bookkeeping and accounting software provider, raised $17M in Series B funding. The round included equity and debt from both new and existing investors. More Here

Ember, a London, UK-based financial technology company providing automated expense management, MTD-ready software and on-demand accounting support in one app, raised £5m in funding. The round was led by Valar Ventures, Viola Fintech and Shapers. More Here

Daffodil Health, a San Francisco, CA-based provider of healthcare pricing and administration AI-powered solutions, raised $4.6M in Seed funding. The round led by Maverick Ventures, with participation from Epic Ventures. More Here

VENTURE CAPITAL UPDATES

Alpha Intelligence Capital (AIC), an investor in AI companies like OpenAI, is raising a $250 million fund and has secured $160 million so far, attracting government-backed entities from France, Singapore, and Taiwan as backers. The new fund is already operational, with early investments in OpenAI and FlexAI, betting on accelerating global adoption of AI fueled by services like ChatGPT. More Here

OpenseedVC is a new $10 million early-stage fund in Europe and Africa that focuses on backing experienced operators turned founders with pre-seed investments up to $150,000. The firm, led by Maria Rotilu who has an operator background herself, provides not only capital but also support from a network of over 50 seasoned operators across areas like software engineering, product, and go-to-market. More Here

Patrick Sheehan at ETF Partners has raised a €284 million fund to invest in more software-centric companies that can rapidly scale and have an impact within a 10-year venture capital fund lifetime. The firm focuses on verticals like energy, transportation, and agriculture, with an emphasis on "the intelligence layer on top of infrastructure," such as a portfolio company optimizing maritime shipping operations to reduce emissions. More Here

New Form Capital, Crypto and blockchain-focused venture firm is returning to the fundraising market, seeking to raise a $100 million fund in the latest sign investors remain bullish on the once-beleaguered crypto sector. More Here

FEATURED ARTICLE

Sam Altman: Successful Pivots Typically Fall Into Two Category.

“Pivoting in the business world has become a bit of a buzzword, hasn't it?

It's almost like a shiny badge of honour that some wear proudly. The whole concept revolves around changing course when things aren't going as planned, and there are people out there who actually brag about how many times they've pulled off a pivot. But let's just pause for a moment and really think about what this means. Pivoting, in essence, is a sign that things didn't go according to plan, in simple words - it’s a failure!

It's a recognition that the initial strategy or idea didn't pan out as expected. And you're right, failure is undeniably part and parcel of the entrepreneurial game. It's important to be tolerant of failure, not holding it against anyone, and certainly not turning it into a celebration.

However, there's a fine line between acknowledging failure and glorifying it as a success. Some entrepreneurs proudly wear the badge of multiple pivots, almost boasting about how many times they've changed direction.

But here's the thing – pivoting a startup is sucks, plain and simple. The focus should be on learning from it and avoiding the repetition of the same mistakes, rather than treating it as a badge of honour.

Great startups, the ones that truly succeed, don't necessarily see pivoting as a badge of honour. They view it as a learning experience that contributes to building a potentially successful business.

Not all pivots are created equal, and the distinction lies in the reasons behind them.

If you look at some great startups that pivot you will find that - there are two types of pivots that tend to be more successful and make total sense.

First, there's the pivot where the founder ends up building something they were passionate about from the start.

Take Instagram's Kevin Systrom, for example. His initial venture, Bourbon, wasn't working out. During a vacation, he built something he was genuinely passionate about—photography with filters. This pivot worked because it aligned with his true interests.

The second type of pivot that makes sense is born out of necessity.

Consider Airbnb's founders during the financial crisis. They were broke, maxed out credit cards, using plastic sheets to keep track of them—real desperation. In this dire situation, they rented out a spare room to make ends meet. This pivot was out of sheer survival, and it worked. Today, Airbnb is known for more than just spare rooms; it's a significant player in affordable housing.

However, the common type of pivot, where founders sit down, realize their startup isn't working, and brainstorm a new idea on a whiteboard, rarely succeeds.

Why? Well, if you're rushing to come up with an idea, chances are it won't be a good one. Moreover, if you already have investors, you need a plausible-sounding idea to present to them.

It's fine to have a good idea that initially sounds bad, but pivoting into such an idea is tougher.” Sam Altman Here

STARTUP’S LATEST BUZZ

ACQUISITION & EXITS

CyberArk (NASDAQ: CYBR), a Newton, MA-based identity security company, acquired Venafi, a Salt Lake City, UT-based company which specializes in machine identity management, from Thoma Bravo, for $1.54 Billion. More Here

Glassbox (TASE: GLBX), a London, UK-based provider of AI-powered customer intelligence solutions, is to be acquired by Alicorn Venture Partners, in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $150M. More Here

LAYOFFS & BANKRUPTCY

SeekOut, an AI-powered recruiting startup based in Seattle, laid off around 30% of its workforce this week. It is the second round of layoffs for the company after cutting 7% of staff in October 2022. The layoffs aimed to reduce cash burn and refocus on key priorities amid the changing recruiting landscape. More Here

STARTUPS & PEOPLE

The CFPB is suing SoLo Funds for allegedly deceiving borrowers with hidden fees and interest rates. SoLo Funds claims it was blindsided by the lawsuit after working with the CFPB on regulations. The fintech company faces demands to change practices, refund customers, and pay penalties for alleged violations. More Here

Pine Labs, a merchant commerce startup valued at over $5 billion, has received approval from a Singapore court to merge its local entity with its Indian unit, effectively shifting its operations to India. More Here

A group of Tesla shareholders, including New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, is calling for investors to vote against Elon Musk's $46 billion pay package, citing governance issues and a board too close to Musk. They argue for rejecting the reelection of directors Kimbal Musk and James Murdoch due to their personal ties to Elon Musk. Shareholders are set to vote on the pay package and other proposals, including moving Tesla's incorporation to Texas, on June 13th after a previous court rejection. More Here

Trump Media & Technology Group reported a $327.6 million loss in Q1 2023, with just $770,500 in revenue, raising questions about the company's multi-billion valuation despite being majority-owned by former President Trump. The results were driven by one-time losses linked to going public, though operating losses were also significant at $12.1 million. More Here

LATEST IN EMERGING TECH

Despite being freely available on the web, the launch of OpenAI's GPT-4o model has driven the company's biggest-ever spike in revenue on mobile as users upgrade to the paid ChatGPT Plus subscription to access the advanced AI on their devices.

Data from Appfigures shows OpenAI's net mobile revenue nearly doubled to $900,000 daily after GPT-4o's launch, earning $4.2 million from May 13-17, with the U.S. as the top market. More Here

OpenAI is removing the 'Sky' voice from ChatGPT after users noted its similarity to Scarlett Johansson's voice, leading the actress to hire legal counsel over concerns about the voice's development.

OpenAI claims Sky's voice belongs to a different actor but agreed to pause its use, while Johansson asserts she declined providing her voice last year and wants transparency on how the similar-sounding voice was created. More Here

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella aims to revive the Windows vs Mac rivalry with a new category of AI-focused PCs called Copilot+PC, featuring dedicated AI chips and 58% faster performance than Apple's top MacBook Air.

While Apple prepares its own AI strategy, Microsoft is leveraging its OpenAI partnership for an early AI lead, though the deal faces regulatory scrutiny over competition concerns. More Here

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That’s It For Today! Will Meet You Tomorrow. Happy Tuesday!☕

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