Google antitrust ruling may pose $20 billion risk for Apple & SoftBank Unveils $3.4 Billion Buyback

☕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

Apple's $20 billion annual deal with Google, which makes Google the default search engine on Apple devices, may be at risk following a U.S. judge's ruling that Google operates an illegal monopoly.

Crypto venture firm Arche Capital Management aims to raise a debut fund of up to $100 million, the latest firm to test the crypto waters as the sector attempts to rebound after a bruising couple of years.

Other Major News

• ByteDance launches Jimeng AI, a text-to-video tool to compete against Open AI's Sora. (Scroll To Tech Updates)

• SoftBank Group is expected to report a 109 billion yen ($748 million) first-quarter profit. (Scroll To Tech Updates)

• Figure unveils new sleeker and smarter humanoid robot in partnership with OpenAI. (Scroll To Tech Updates)

• When should startups prioritize PMF Score over NPS? (Scroll To Featured Article)

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🗞️ Startup Funding Updates

Knime, a Zurich, Switzerland-based open-source data science and AI company, raised additional $30m in funding from Invus. This brought total funding to $50M. More Here

Nob Hill Therapeutics, an Albuquerque, NM-based an early-stage pulmonary medical device and therapeutics company, raised $3M in Series A funding. The round was led by Tramway Venture Partners and included investments from TCA Venture Group and VIC Technology Venture Development (which founded NHT). More Here

Red Queen Therapeutics, a Cambridge, MA-based clinical-stage biotechnology company, raised USD55M in Series A funding. Apple Tree Partners made the investment. More Here

Nammi Therapeutics, Inc., a Los Angeles, CA-based immuno-oncology company, received $1M in investment commitment by the Myeloma Investment Fund (MIF). The investment was part of a $30M Series B financing round. More Here

Boostly, a Lehi, UT-based provider of a marketing platform for restaurants, raised $5.6M in Seed funding. The round was led by Trestle Partners, with participation from Relish Works, Singularity Capital, and Y Combinator. More Here

Adept Materials, a Somerville, a MA-based advanced materials startup, raised $4M in the first tranche of its Seed funding. The round was led by D.R. Horton and PulteGroup, joined by Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC), and Point Cove LLC. More Here

Aurascape AI, a Santa Clara, CA-based an AI cybersecurity company, raised $12.8M in Seed funding. The round was led by Mayfield Fund. Other investors and shareholders included Celesta Capital, StepStone Group and AISpace, as well as several industry leaders including Mark McLaughlin, former Chairman and CEO of Palo Alto Networks. More Here

Growlink, a Denver, CO-based controlled environment agriculture (CEA) provider of advanced IoT controllers, sensors, and cultivation software, raised $2M in Seed funding. The round was led by Casa Verde. More Here

Inscora, a Montreal, Canada-based startup providing automated cyber risk assessment and sales enablement solutions for cyber insurance brokers, raised $2M in funding. The round was led by Luge Capital, with participation from Desjardins Capital, Accelia Capital, Inovia Capital and angel investors from the cybersecurity industry. More Here

Fisent, a Toronto, Canada-based company which specializes in applied GenAI process automation solutions, raised an undisclosed amount in funding. Backers included Pegasystems, Sand Dollar Capital and others. More Here

Abnormal Security, a San Francisco, CA-based company which specializes in AI-native human behavior security, closed its Series D funding at $250M, at $5.1 Billion valuation. The round was led by Wellington Management, with participation from existing investors Greylock Partners, Menlo Ventures, Insight Partners and CrowdStrike Falcon Fund. More Here

Octane (Octane Lending, Inc.), a NYC-based fintech company improving the buying experience for major recreational purchases, raised $50M in Series E funding. The round, whihc brought the total amount to $242M, was led by Valar Ventures led the round with participation from Upper90. More Here

Spineology, a St.Paul, MN-based medical device company, raised $25M in Equity funding. The round was led by SV Health Investors, with participation from 1315 Capital and its existing investor, RC Capital. More Here

HubiFi, a Columbus, OH-based provider of a financial intelligence and revenue recognition solution, raised $2.5M in Seed funding. The round was led by Motivate Ventures, Anthemis (supported by Foxe Capital), and Rev1. More Here

Redacted, a startup working in the intersection between web3 and entertainment, with a focus on integrated gaming systems, raised over $10m in funding. Backers included Polygon Ventures, Spartan Group, Animoca Brands, Saison Capital, Bitrue Ventures, and numerous other investment funds. More Here

Apromore, a Melbourne, Australia-based provider of AI-driven process mining and digital solutions, raised $15M in Series B-1 funding. The round was led by existing investors with participation by Tin Alley Ventures and other investors. This financing brings the total amount of the Series B round to $25.3M USD / $38.7M AUD. More Here

H3X, a Denver, CO-based manufacturer of high power density electric motors, raised $20M in Series A funding. The round was led by Infinite Capital, with participation from Hanwha Asset Management, Cubit Capital, Origin Ventures, Industrious Ventures, Venn10 Capital, Lockheed Martin Ventures, Metaplanet, Liquid 2 Ventures, and TechNexus. More Here

Climatize, a Santa Cruz, CA-based provider of a SEC-registered impact investing platform, raised $1.75M in Pre-Seed funding. The round was led by Myriad Venture Partners, with participation from Climate Capital, Techstars, Responsibly Ventures, and Temerity Capital. More Here

NeuroTherapia, a Cleveland, OH-based clinical-stage company focused on developing therapies for neurodegenerative diseases, raised $12.3M in Series B funding. The round was led by Cleveland Clinic, and included all previous investors, Brain Trust Accelerator Fund II, Dolby Family Ventures and the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF) as well as new investors, Foundation for a Better World and CRUINT. More Here

Artax Biopharma, a Cambridge, MA-based clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on improving the treatment of autoimmune diseases, raised $8M in convertible debt funding. Backers included Eli Lilly and Company, Advent Life Sciences, Columbus Ventures, Sound Bioventures and Belinda Termeer. More Here

Seeq, a Seattle, WA-based company which specializes in industrial analytics, AI, and monitoring, raised $50M in Series D funding. The round, which brought the total amount to $165M, was led by Sixth Street Growth, with participation from existing investors including Insight Partners, Altira Group, Second Avenue Partners, and Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures. More Here

Dcubed, a Munich, Germany-based NewSpace supplier, raised an undisclosed amount in Series A funding. The round was led by Expansion BayBG, with participation from High-Tech-Gründerfonds, Rymdkapital, Ventis Capital, Decisive Point Europe and Aurelia Foundry. More Here

Phinxt Robotics, a London, UK-based AI-led robotics software company, raised £2M in funding. The round was led by Sure Valley Ventures with participation from Ada Ventures, Atlas Ventures and Heartfelt Ventures. More Here

MuukTest, a Raleigh, North Carolina startup, has developed an AI agent to automate software quality assurance testing. The company, founded by Ivan Barajas Vargas and Renan Ugalde, combines various AI technologies to create and run test suites with minimal human effort. MuukTest has raised $6 million in total funding through investments and grants. More Here

Cala Systems, a Boston-based startup founded by Michael Rigney in 2020, is developing an AI-powered heat pump water heater that predicts household hot water demand and optimizes energy usage. The company has raised a $5.6 million seed round led by Clean Energy Venture Group and Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, with participation from Burnt Island Ventures, CapeVista Capital, and Leap Forward Ventures. More Here

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📰 Venture Capital Updates

Moxxie Ventures, founded by Katie Jacobs Stanton ex-twitter media head, closed a $95 million third fund, surpassing its $85 million target. Despite a challenging fundraising environment, Moxxie, which invests in pre-seed and seed startups, secured strong LP support, including Cendana Capital and Accolade Partners. The firm focuses on underrepresented founders, with about a third of its portfolio companies led by female founders and half by BIPOC. More Here

📌 Featured Article

When should startups prioritize PMF Score over NPS?

(PMF Score - Product market fit score & NPS - Net Promoter Score)

One of the common mistakes seen with NPS (Net Promoter Score) is that it is used at the wrong time by most of the founders. Combine this with the fact that it is also a lagging indicator and you get not only misrepresented information but you get it, way, way too late. But there is a simple way to help you make it more effective.

Enter Product Market Fit Score

PMF score simply measures how well your product is meeting your users’ needs.

To use it, ask your users how disappointed they’d be if they couldn’t use your product anymore and give them the options of “Very”, “Somewhat”, and “Not at all”

You want over 40% of qualified responses to pick “Very” — that’s an indicator that you’re meeting the core needs of enough users to start hitting actual PMF, which is notoriously tough to measure.

For example -

In 2007, Marc Andreessen, the co-founder of Netscape and a prominent venture capitalist, made a statement that has become a central criticism of the PMF (Product/Market Fit) score.

“You can always feel product/market fit when it’s happening. The customers are buying the product just as fast as you can make it—or usage is growing just as fast as you can add more servers. Money from customers is piling up in your company checking account. You’re hiring sales and customer support staff as fast as you can.”

Basically, you’ll KNOW when you hit PMF without needing a survey to tell you. But the PMF score is still useful as an indicator, before you hit PMF, of whether you’re trending towards it or not….

We haves shared in detailed writeup in our Venture Curator newsletter, Check out here…

📑 Startup’s Latest Buzz

Acquisition & Going Public

Körber Supply Chain Software, a Bad Nauheim, Germany-based company which specializes in end-to-end supply chain software solutions, acquired MercuryGate International Inc., a Cary, NC-based provider of transportation management systems (TMS).

Layoffs & Bankruptcy

Rad Power Bikes, a Seattle-based e-bike startup, has undergone its fifth round of layoffs since April 2021, with the latest cuts primarily affecting product development teams. The company, which has raised over $300 million from investors, cited rising costs and economic headwinds as reasons for the decision.

Startups & People

Bluesky, a decentralized X competitor, added Mike Masnick to its board. Masnick, Techdirt founder and author of "Protocols, not Platforms," inspired Bluesky's project. The 6-million-user social network aims to leverage Masnick's expertise as it develops its platform and the AT Protocol.

SoftBank Group is expected to report a 109 billion yen ($748 million) first-quarter profit on Wednesday, with investors focusing on potential share buyback announcements. Amid market turmoil and a 60% discount between its market capitalization and asset value, there is growing investor pressure for a buyback, supported by SoftBank's $26 billion cash reserve. The company has been cautiously rebuilding its finances, recently investing $1 billion in Wayve and $200 million in Tempus AI.

🤖 Latest In Emerging Tech

Reddit announced plans to test AI-generated summaries for search results, using a mix of first-party and third-party technology. The feature aims to help users explore content and discover new communities, building on Reddit's partnerships with OpenAI and Google. In its second quarterly earnings report as a public company, Reddit reported 342.3 million weekly active users and revenue of $281.2 million.

Amazon has released Titan Image Generator v2, an upgraded version of its image-generating model for AWS Bedrock customers. The new model offers features like image editing, background removal, and generation of image variations. While AWS remains vague about its training data, it provides an indemnification policy for customers in case of potential copyright issues.

Figure has unveiled its Figure 02 humanoid robot, featuring improved communication capabilities through a partnership with OpenAI. The new model includes enhanced hardware and software, with six RGB cameras, improved hands, and better computing power. Figure recently raised $675 million in a Series B round, valuing the company at $2.6 billion, and has begun pilots with BMW for potential factory applications.

ByteDance's Jimeng AI, a text-to-video tool, is now available on the Apple App Store in China following its Android release. Rivaling OpenAI's Sora, similar models like Kuaishou's Kling AI and Zhipu AI's Ying have also launched recently. Jimeng AI offers subscriptions starting at 69 yuan monthly, allowing users to create 168 AI videos per month.

X has filed a lawsuit against major advertisers, including Unilever and Mars, alleging an "illegal boycott" that withheld billions in ad revenue. The suit claims these companies conspired through the World Federation of Advertisers' Global Alliance for Responsible Media initiative to coerce X into following certain safety standards. X CEO Linda Yaccarino asserts they have evidence to support their case, while Elon Musk encourages other companies facing similar situations to take legal action.

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