Ex-SpaceX Leaders Raises $550 Million Deep tech Fund & Tesla Set to Unveil ‘Cybercab’ Robotaxi

☕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

Interlagos, a new venture capital firm founded by ex-SpaceX leaders, aims to raise $550 million for its first fund focusing on deep tech startups. The firm plans to invest in 26-32 companies from inception through Series B, led by partners Achal Upadhyaya, Tom Ochinero, and Spencer Hemphill.

Tesla is anticipated to unveil its new "Cybercab" robotaxi, which might not include traditional controls like a steering wheel or pedals, during a high-profile event in Hollywood amid skepticism about its autonomous abilities. This launch comes as Tesla's CEO, Elon Musk, aims to convince investors of the company's focus on artificial intelligence and robotics while facing challenges with their primary electric vehicle lineup and questions about the reliability of its self-driving technology. Amid enthusiastic expectations for the event, some analysts remain critical, expressing concerns over Musk's promises on autonomous driving capabilities, which have historically been overly optimistic, casting doubt on the readiness of Tesla's self-driving systems.

Other Major News

• Google's Nobel prize winners stir debate over AI research. (Scroll To Tech Updates)

• ByteDance's TikTok cuts 700 of jobs in shift towards AI content moderation (Scroll To layoff Updates)

• NASA confirms it’s developing the Moon’s new time zone (Scroll To Tech Updates)

• Google DeepMind researchers win Nobel Prize in chemistry (Scroll To Startups & People Updates)

• Venture Daily Digest Picks on Startups, Venture Capital, Funding & AI.

• VC & Startups Job Opportunities (Scroll To Today’s Opportunities)

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🗞️ Startup Funding Updates

Covu, a San Francisco, CA-based company which specializes in AI-native services for insurance agencies, raised $12.5M in Series A funding. The round, which brought the total amount to $20M, saw participation form Benhamou Global Ventures, ManchesterStory, and Markd, and other new and existing investors.

Centaur Labs, a Boston, MA-based company which specializes in health data annotation, raised $16M+ in Series B funding. The round was led by SignalFire, with participation from Matrix, Accel, Susa, Omega, Y Combinator and new investors Samsung Next and Alumni Ventures.

Braintrust, a San Francisco, CA-based provider of a platform that enables companies to evaluate and enhance the performance of AI products, raised $36m in Series A funding at a $150m post-money valuation. The round, which brought total funding raised to date to $45m, was led by Andreessen Horowitz, with participation from Elad Gil, Greylock, and Basecase, as well as Datadog, Databricks Ventures, Guillermo Rauch (Vercel), Simon Last (Notion), Bryan Helmig (Zapier), Greg Brockman (OpenAI), and Arthur Mensch (Mistral).

RadiantGraph, a San Francisco, Ca-based provider of a platform using artificial intelligence to drive consumer engagement for healthcare, raised $11M in Series A funding. The round was led by M13, with participation from XYZ Ventures and True Ventures.

RotoUnderworld, a Fairfield, CT-based technology company that analyzes statistical data for fantasy sports, raised $1.5M in Pre-Seed funding. Backers included undisclosed iGaming mavens and technology investors.

Fission Labs, an East Hampton, N.Y.-based developer of a DeFi application built to bring venture capital on chain, raised $1.6M in pre-seed funding. The round was led by SALT Fund and Kraynos Capital, with participation from Anthony Scaramucci (Skybridge).

Farther, a NYC-based tech-powered financial advisory firm, raised $72M in Series C funding. The round, which elevated Farther’s post-money valuation to $542M, was led by CapitalG and Viewpoint Ventures.

SuiteSpot, a Toronto, Canada-based provider of multifamily centralization software, raised an undisclosed amount in Series A funding. The round was led by RET Ventures, with participation from UDR, a multifamily REIT.

FlexFactor, a Miami, FL-based provider of decline recovery solutions for eCommerce brands, closed a $16.8 Series A funding round. The round was led by Bessemer Venture Partners, with additional participation from seed investors.

Suki, a Redwood City, CA-based leader in artificial intelligence (AI) technology for healthcare, raiserd $70 in Series D funding. The round, which brought total funding to $165m, was led by Hedosophia, with a substantial additional investment from Venrock, as well as participation by existing investors including March Capital, Flare Capital, Breyer Capital, and inHealth Ventures.

Cytovale, a San Francisco, CA-based commercial-stage medical diagnostics company, raised $100M in Series D funding. The round was led by Sands Capital with participation from new investor Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments), as well as existing investors Norwest Venture Partners, Global Health Investment Corporation and Breakout Ventures.

Relyance AI, a San Francisco, CA-based AI-powered data governance platform that provides complete visibility and control over enterprise-wide data, raised $32M in Series B funding. The round was led by Thomvest Ventures with participation from M12, Microsoft Ventures Fund, Cheyenne Ventures and existing investors Menlo Ventures and Unusual Ventures.

Noetica AI, a NYC-based provider of an AI-powered software platform for benchmarking deal terms, raised $22M in Series A funding The round was led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, with participation from Thompson Reuters Ventures, Bling Capital, Flybridge Capital, Company Ventures, and TheLegalTech Fund.

Scope3, a NYC-based provider of a collaborative sustainability platform decarbonizing media and advertising, raised $25M in funding. The round was led by GV with participation from existing investors Venrock, Room40 Ventures, Craft Ventures, Aperiam Ventures and Virgo Strategic Investments.

Document Crunch, an Atlanta, GA-based provider of a construction document compliance platform, raised $21.5M in Series B funding. The round was led by Titanium Ventures and included participation from key strategic partner Nemetschek Group, along with construction companies such as Andres Construction and Satterfield & Pontikes, plus existing investors, including Navitas Capital, Zacua Ventures, Fifth Wall and Ironspring Ventures.

Rivermark Medical, a Milwaukee, WI-based company which specializes in minimally invasive solutions for Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH), raised $30M in Series C funding. The round was led by American Century Investments (ACI) including new investors Venture Investors Health Fund, Time BioVentures, and an unnamed strategic investor, with follow-on participation from existing investors View Ventures, Cadence Healthcare Ventures, and Anduril Investors LLC.

watchTowr, a Singapore-based cybersecurity startup improving external attack surface management, raised $19M in Series A Funding. The round, which brought the total amount to $29M, was led by Peak XV, fka Sequoia India & Southeast Asia, with repeat participation from Prosus Ventures and Cercano Management.

Case Status, a Charleston, SC-based provider of an AI-powered client engagement platform for law firms, raised $19.7M in Series B funding. The round was led by Grayhawk Capital and Topmark Partners. BIP Ventures, and Front Porch Ventures.

Glooko, Inc., a Palo Alto, CA-based global integrated digital health company connecting patients, providers, biopharma and medical device partners, raised $100m in Series F financing. The round was led by Georgian, with participation from Health Catalyst Capital, Canaan and other investors and business partners.

Booster Therapeutics, a Berlin, Germany-based biotechnology company developing a new class of proteasome activator medicines, raised $15M in Seed funding. The round was led by Apollo Health Ventures and Novo Holdings.

Paebbl, a Rotterdam, The Netherlands-based decarbonization technology company, raised €22.8m in Series A funding. The round was led by Capnamic, with participation from The Climate Pledge Fund (Amazon), Holcim, and industrial family offices such as Aurum Impact, the family office of German construction company Goldbeck, 2050, Pale Blue Dot, and the Grantham Foundation.

Quartr, a Stockholm, Sweden-based software and data provider improving qualitative public market research for finance and investor relations (IR) professionals, raised $6M in funding. The round was led by Altos Ventures, which will take a seat on Quartr’s board.

Numeric, a San Francisco-based startup, develops AI-powered accounting software that automates book-closing processes. The company has raised $38 million in total funding, including a recent $28 million Series A led by Menlo Ventures, with participation from IVP, Socii, Founders Fund, Long Journey, 8VC, Friends & Family Capital, and Fifth Down.

MiLaboratories, a San Francisco-based startup with an R&D facility in Bilbao, Spain, has developed a computational biology platform to help biologists process, analyze, and aggregate genomic data. The company has raised $12.5 million in total funding, including a recent $10 million Series A led by Kfund, with participation from Acrobator Ventures, EGB Capital, Courtyard Ventures, Somersault Ventures, Speedinvest, and Ten13.

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📰 Venture Capital Updates

VanEck, a NYC-based global investment management firm, has launched a $30m early-stage fund. The fund, available to qualified purchasers only, focuses on investing in fintech, digital assets, and AI startups in the pre-seed and seed stages.

Diagram, a Montreal-based venture studio, has raised CAD $80 million ($58 million) for its fourth fund, Diagram Climate Tech Fund, surpassing its initial target. The fund, Diagram's first focused on climate tech, aims to incubate startups developing capital-lean digital solutions across various climate categories. Diagram has already launched two startups under this thesis: Relion, an EV charging infrastructure platform, and Lyteflo, an electric vehicle sales enablement solution.

📑 Startup’s Latest Buzz

Acquisition & Going Public

HR Path, a Paris, France-based global leader in HR consulting, acquired IN-RGY, a Montreal, Canada-based HR consulting firm specializing in HR digital transformation.

Cloudflare (NYSE: NET), a San Francisco, CA-based connectivity cloud company, acquired Kivera, a NYC-based provider of a cloud security, data protection, and compliance platform.

Layoffs & Bankruptcy

TikTok is laying off hundreds of employees globally, including less than 500 in Malaysia, as it shifts toward AI-driven content moderation. The move is part of a plan to improve moderation efficiency, with 80% of violative content now being removed by automated systems.

Startups & People

Babbel CEO Arne Schepker is stepping down after five years, with co-founder Markus Witte returning as executive chairman and managing director. The company is entering a new phase focused on integrating AI into language learning, leveraging its expertise and the potential of large language models.

🤖 Latest In Tech

Fidelity Investments reported a data breach affecting 77,099 customers, compromising personal information including Social Security numbers and driver's licenses. The breach occurred between August 17-19 when an unnamed third party accessed Fidelity's systems using two recently established customer accounts. Fidelity detected and terminated the access on August 19.

Nobel prizes in chemistry and physics were awarded to Google-affiliated AI pioneers, including DeepMind's Demis Hassabis and John Jumper for protein structure prediction, and Geoffrey Hinton for machine learning, sparking debate over research recognition and Google's dominance. Critics argue these awards highlight the need for a dedicated computer science Nobel and greater public research investment to balance Big Tech's influence. The prizes come as Google faces regulatory scrutiny and competition in AI, while also raising concerns about AI's potential risks and impact on academia.

OpenAI has detected over 20 attempts this year to use its AI models, including ChatGPT, to generate fake content aimed at influencing elections. In August, it neutralized accounts producing articles on U.S. elections, and in July, it banned accounts from Rwanda for generating election-related comments on social media. Concerns are rising globally over the use of AI in spreading fake content as the U.S. prepares for its November 2024 presidential elections.

Users of Instagram and Threads are facing account restrictions and deletions, with some expressing concerns over excessive moderation and automated systems incorrectly identifying inappropriate content. Meta's head of Instagram and Threads, Adam Mosseri, has acknowledged user complaints and stated that he is investigating these moderation issues, though Meta has yet to officially comment on the matter. The author shares a personal account of having their Instagram disabled due to mistaken identity as a minor, despite efforts to prove their age, highlighting broader issues with Meta's moderation practices.

NASA announced its plan to establish a unique lunar time zone, Coordinated Lunar Time (LTC), directed by a White House memo, which requires collaboration with U.S. government entities and international standards organizations to be developed by 2026. The necessity for this lunar time system stems from Einstein’s theories of relativity; due to the Moon's weaker gravity, time runs slightly faster there, potentially affecting precise calculations for future lunar missions. Nasa's Space Communication and Navigation (SCaN) program will oversee the creation of LTC, which will rely on atomic clocks to form a scalable time standard that might expand to other planets, including Mars.

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• How to Prove Your Market Is “Big Enough” to VCs? (Link)

• VC's Framework for Evaluating an AI Startup's Tech Stack. (Link)

• Hierarchy of User Engagement By Sarah Tavel. (Link)

• How much should I budget for ads & marketing to seed my app with its initial users? (Link)

• What 7 Years in VC Taught Me: 93 Untold Truths. (Link)

• The types of men who become successful (Link)

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