Harry Stebbings' $400 Million 20VC Fund & Chinese Researchers Crack Military-Grade Encryption With Quantum Computer.

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☕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!

In today’s newsletter:

• Sam Altman's $15 Million New Investment In Aviation Intelligence Startup.

• Harry Stebbings & Josh Buckley, former CEO of Product Hunt Launches $400 M & $250 M Fund.

• Google goes nuclear to power AI.

• Chinese researchers reportedly crack military-grade encryption with quantum computer.

• US weighs capping exports of AI chips from Nvidia and AMD to some countries

• In-Depth Insights: Generative AI's "Service as a software" opportunity By Sequoia Capital, The Software Explosion & More.

• Venture Daily Digest’s Picks on Startups, VC & AI.

• VC & Startups Job Opportunities

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🗞️ Startup Funding Updates

Decagon, a San Francisco, CA-based innovator in AI customer support agents, raised $100M, including its latest Series B funding round. The $65M Series B round was led by Bain Capital Ventures with participation from Elad Gil, A, Accel, BOND Capital and ACME Capital.

Neuron7 AI, a San Jose, CA-based company which specializes in service resolution intelligence, raised $44M in Series B funding. The round was led by Smith Point Capital. Existing investors Nexus Venture Partners and Battery Ventures joined the funding round, bringing the total capital raised to date to more than $63M.

Ghost, a Los Angeles, CA-based B2B marketplace connecting brands and retailers, raised $40M in Series C funding. The round was led by L Catterton, a global consumer-focused investment firm, with participation from existing investors including USV, Cathay Innovation, Equal Ventures, and Eniac.

Beacon AI, a San Carlos, CA-based aviation intelligence startup, raised $15M in Series A funding. The round was led by Costanoa Ventures, with participation from Scout Ventures, joining numerous new and existing investors including Sam Altman, and JetBlue Ventures.

Monument Therapeutics, a Manchester, UK-based precision neuroscience company, received a £1M equity investment from the Forster Foundation.

Parakeet Health, a San Francisco, CA-based generative AI company focused on improving patient engagement for healthcare providers, raised $3M in Seed funding. The round was led by Canvas Ventures with participation from CoFound Partners, StoryHouse Ventures and other investors, including former One Medical CEO Tom Lee, MD, and former Twitter CTO Adam Messinger.

Blue Stripes, a NYC-based cacao brand, raised $20M in Series B funding. The round was led by Zintinus, The Hershey Company and Whole Foods Market, among others.

Shift Biosciences, a Cambridge, UK-based biotech company using generative AI models for aging processes, raised $16M in Seed funding. The round, which brought the total amount to $18M, was led by BGF, with participation from existing investors F-Prime Capital, Kindred Capital, and Jonathan Milner.

Beyond Presence, a Munich, Germany-based startup building real-time, AI-powered conversational avatars, raised $3.1M in pre-seed funding. The round was led by HV Capital, with participation from 10x Founders, Alba VC, Buildery VC, and key Business Angel investors, including executives from Meta, Deel, DeepMind, and Zalando.

Path Robotics, a Columbus, OH-based AI-enabled robotic welding, raised $100M in venture capital funding. The round was led by Matter Venture Partners and Drive Capital, with participation from Yamaha Ventures, Taiwania Capital, MediaTek, Catapult Ventures, Gaingels, Addition, Tiger Global and Basis Set.

Qantev, a Paris, France-based provider of an AI-powered platform for health and life insurers manage claims, reduce costs and improve services, raised €30M in funding. The round was led by Blossom Capital, with participation from existing investors Elaia, Omnes and RAISE Venture.

Monogoto, a Palo Alto, CA-based provider of software-defined connectivity solutions, raised $27M in Series A funding. The round was led by Toyota Ventures, with participation from Samsung Next, The ACTIVE Fund, Assembly Ventures, Magenta Venture Partners, J-Ventures, and existing investors including Triventures, Singtel Innov8 Ventures, Telefónica, Team8, and Alter Venture Partners.

Alchemy, a San Francisco, CA-based company implementing clinical pharmacy programs, raised $31M in Seed funding. The round was led by Andreessen Horowitz (“a16z”) Bio + Health with participation from Earvin “Magic” Johnson, Sandberg Bernthal Venture Partners, Banc of California and existing investors Twine Ventures, Springbank and AlleyCorp.

Gladia, a Paris, France-based AI transcription and audio intelligence provider, raised $16M in Series A funding. The round was led by XAnge, with participation by Illuminate Financial, XTX Ventures, Athletico Ventures, Gaingels, Mana Ventures, Motier Ventures, Roosh Ventures, and Soma Capital.

📰 Venture Capital Updates

Harry Stebbings, U.K. podcaster turned VC, has closed a $400 million fund for 20VC, focusing on European startups. $125 million will target seed investments, and $275 million for Series A rounds. Stebbings raised the fund in four weeks, backed by U.S. investors and institutional money. Despite a tough climate, Stebbings believes Europe offers significant opportunities and aims to "make Europe great again.

Swell VC, a NYC-based early-stage venture capital firm that invests in market-defining opportunities, closed Fund II with $11.5m in commitments.

Josh Buckley, former CEO of Product Hunt, is raising a fourth $250 million fund for Buckley Ventures, per a regulatory filing. His third fund aimed for $500 million but closed at $337 million in 2022 amid a VC downturn. Known for offering better terms than traditional VCs, Buckley’s high-profile bets include Airlift, which shut down in 2022 after an $85 million Series B.

🤖 Latest In Tech

The U.S. government is considering limiting the export of advanced AI chips from American manufacturers, such as Nvidia and AMD, to particular nations, including those in the Middle East, due to national security concerns. This potential restriction may follow the Commerce Department's recent changes, making it easier for American companies to send AI chips to countries in the Middle East developing data centers. In reaction, U.S. authorities have begun slowing down the approval of export licenses for AI accelerators from Nvidia and AMD while conducting a national security assessment of the AI technologies being created in the Middle East.

Chinese scientists have reportedly used a D-Wave quantum computer to crack encryption, revealing vulnerabilities in widely used methods like RSA. The study shows the quantum device, based on the quantum annealing algorithm, successfully decomposing a 50-bit RSA integer, highlighting risks to encrypted data. Machines like the D-Wave Advantage, rentable for $2,000 an hour or costing $15 million to purchase, pose a significant cybersecurity threat.

Dane Stuckey, former CISO at Palantir, has joined OpenAI as its new CISO alongside Matt Knight. Stuckey will focus on securing AI products and advancing OpenAI's compliance, trust, and security standards. His background may support OpenAI’s growing involvement with the U.S. Department of Defense.

The New York Times issued a cease and desist to Perplexity, accusing the AI company of using its content without permission. Perplexity, backed by Jeff Bezos, has faced similar accusations from other publishers and is under scrutiny for summarizing paywalled content. CEO Aravind Srinivas expressed willingness to collaborate with NYT to resolve the issue.

Elon Musk’s X still struggles to grow subscription revenue: Elon Musk's X has generated around $200 million in mobile in-app purchases since launching X Premium in 2021, though this revenue remains a small part of X’s overall earnings. Estimates suggest X may have around 1.3 to 3.7 million paid subscribers, with subscription tiers including Premium, Premium Plus, and Basic. Despite growth in subscription revenue, advertising still dominates X's revenue streams, with new initiatives aiming to boost creator engagement.

Google is partnering with Kairos Power to build seven nuclear reactors, aiming to supply 500 megawatts of carbon-free electricity for its data centers by 2030. This ambitious plan reflects the tech industry's push toward nuclear energy, as Microsoft and Amazon explore similar paths. Challenges include cost, construction speed, and public acceptance.

 🧐 In-Depth Insights

• Generative AI's "Service as a software" opportunity By Sequoia Capital. The Generative AI landscape is shifting from quick responses to deeper reasoning, enabling smarter applications. Companies like OpenAI are developing models that "think" before answering, enhancing problem-solving skills. This evolution opens up new opportunities for AI-driven services, focusing on real-world tasks rather than just software.

• Big Funds, Small Funds, and the Changing VC Landscape Jord Snel explores the evolving dynamics between large and small venture funds and what it means for the future of VC.

• Inside the Secret School for the World’s Best Founders The Generalist dives into Avra's ambitious strategy to invest in transformative frontier technologies.

• Lab-Grown Meat: The Future of Sustainable Food? The New York Times explores whether lab-grown meat can be the next step toward sustainable food solutions.

• The Software Explosion Philip Joubert breaks down the rapid growth and transformation happening within the software industry.

• Venture Capital's Crisis Marvin Liao outlines the major crisis looming over the venture capital industry and its implications.

• VC Math Explained: The High-Stakes Game of Startup Funding Forbes breaks down the critical numbers that founders need to know to secure funding in today's competitive VC landscape.

• Norway's Startup Crisis 🚨
  Haje Jan Kamps discusses the imminent challenges that Norway's startup ecosystem is facing due to regulatory changes.

📬 Venture Daily Digest Picks

• Is Freemium Right Choice For Your Company? (Read)

• The most important growth metric for early startups. (Read)

• How to Turn SlideShare into a Powerful Marketing Tool for Your Startup? (Read)

• How Sheryl Sandberg Turned Facebook into a $118 Billion Powerhouse. (Read)

• Zombie Funds: Startup investor ranks have fallen another 25%—can they come back to life? (Read)

• Software has eaten the world but now AI will digest it. (Read)

• The anatomy of high-converting homepages. (Read)

• A definitive list of everything startups did that didn’t scale. (Read)

🧑‍🔧 How Can I Help You?

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💼 Today’s VC Job Opportunities

• Director, Network and Investments - MBX Capital | USA - Apply Here

• (Consumer) Venture Scout - hEADLINE | Remote - Apply Here

• General Partner - ESCALATOR VENTURE | USA - Apply Here

• Investment Director Growth Equity - Luminance | Germany - Apply Here

• Investment Professional - Titan Capital | India - Apply Here

• Investment Manager - Wellington Parter | Germany - Apply Here

• Part-Time Student at Impact VC - Kopa Venture | Germany - Apply Here

• Senior Associate, Investment - Technology/AI - B Capital Group | USA - Apply Here

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