Microsoft Invests $1.5 Billion In AI Firm & Former SpaceX's Executives Launch VC Fund

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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 -

• Microsoft's Invest $1.5 billion in G42, a leading UAE-based AI company.

• Three former senior executives from SpaceX and Sequoia are teaming up to launch a new venture capital firm focus on space-tech.

• The FTC is fining mental telehealth firm Cerebral $7 million for allegedly mishandling patient data.

• Humane's AI Pin, criticized for performance flaws and high cost, raises doubts about both its value and the company's future.

• Tesla has reportedly halted production, sales, and deliveries of its Cybertruck.

• Featured Article : Why Do You Need a Moat? & Why Are Founders Afraid to Talk About It?

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STARTUP FUNDING UPDATES

Microsoft's Invest $1.5 billion in G42, a leading UAE-based AI company, represents a strategic move amidst the U.S.-China tech rivalry. The deal provides Microsoft a foothold in the Gulf region and gives it access to G42's extensive data and AI capabilities. More Here

BreachRx, a San Francisco, CA-based provider of an intelligent incident response platform designed for the entire enterprise, closed a $6.5m seed funding round. The round was led by SYN Ventures with participation from Overline. More Here

Evergreen Theragnostics, a Springfield, NJ-based clinical-stage radiopharmaceutical company, raised $26M in funding. Backers included Petrichor and LIFTT. More Here

Rippling, a leading HR tech startup, is raising $200 million in Series F funding, potentially valuing the company at $13.4 billion post-money. With existing investor Founders Fund poised to invest up to $310 million. More Here

Take2 AI, a NYC-based provider of an AI-powered job simulation platform for sales recruiting, raised $3M in Seed funding. The round was led by Reach Capital & SemperVirens, with participation from Techstars and HR leaders from Visa, Disney, HP & Google. More Here

Loft Labs, a San Francisco, CA-based creator of vCluster and DevPod and provider of platform engineering building blocks, raised $24M in Series A funding. The round was led by Khosla Ventures with participation from existing investors Fusion Fund, Surface Ventures, Emergent Ventures, and Berkeley SkyDeck Fund, with an additional angel investment from Kit Merker. More Here

Medulance, a New Delhi, India-based emergency healthcare services company, raised $3m in Series A funding. The round was led by Alkemi Growth Capital with participation from Dexter Capital, Aman Gupta, and Namita Thapar. More Here

Upstage, a San Jose, CA-based AI company specializing in large language models (LLMs) and Document AI, raised $72M in Series B funding. Backers included SK Networks, KT, Korea Development Bank, Shinhan Venture Investment, Hana Ventures, Mirae Asset Venture Investment, and Industrial Bank of Korea. More Here

Somite, a Boston, MA-based developer of AI for stem cell biology, raised $5.3M in Pre-Seed funding. The round was led by TechAviv, and joined by Next Coast Ventures, Trust Ventures and Texas Venture Partners as well as Lerer Hippeau and others. More Here

Cynomi, a Tel Aviv, Israel-based vCISO platform provider for MSPs and MSSPs, raised $20M in funding. The round was led by Canaan, with Flint Capital, s16vc, and Aloniq among the return investors. More Here

CarNow, an Atlanta, Georgia-based provider of a live-data automotive technology platform, received a $40M loan from Runway Growth Capital. More Here

Snappy, a NYC-based provider of a gifting platform, raised $25M in Series D funding. The round was led by Qumra Capital with participation from 83North, Saban Ventures, Notable Capital, and Hearst Ventures. More Here

VitusCare, a Gurgaon, India-based kidney care startup, raised $2.7M in Series A funding. The round was led by Tomorrow Capital with participation from existing investor 1Crowd, 3i Partners and a consortium of angel investors. More Here

Rivos, a Santa Clara, CA-based RISC-V accelerated platform company targeting data analytics and Generative AI, raised more than $250M in Series A-3 funding. The round was led by Matrix Capital Management. More Here

Two Chairs, a San Francisco, CA-based behavioral health company, closed a $72m Series C equity and debt financing. The round was led by Amplo with Fifth Down Capital, and other investors also participating. Bridge Bank provided the debt financing. More Here

RFX Solutions, a Oklahoma City-based SaaS compliance software for healthcare facilities, raised $9m in Series A funding. The round was led by Arthur Ventures. More Here

Bridgewise, a London, UK-based provider of an AI-based analysis platform for global securities, raised $21M in funding. The round was led by SIX Group with participation from Group11, L4 Venture Builder, and others. More Here

Quilt, a Redwood City, CA-based smart home climate solution company, raised $33M in Series A funding. The round was led by Energy Impact Partners and Galvanize Climate Solutions, with participation from Lowercarbon Capital, Gradient Ventures, MCJ Collective, Garage Capital, Incite Ventures, and Drew Scott. More Here

Bcomp, a Fribourg, Switzerland-based provider of natural fibre composites for the mobility, recreational and mass transportation sectors, raised USD$40M in Series C funding. The round was led by EGS Beteiligungen AG (EGSB). Verve Ventures, Zürcher Kantonalbank, RKKVC, Generali, Airbus Ventures also participated. More Here

Diversity Atlas, a Melbourne, Australia-based provider of a diversity data analytics platform, raised $6M in Bridge funding. The round was led by Genere8.VC. More Here

GridBeyond, a Dublin, Ireland-based intelligent energy and smart grid platform provider for distributed energy resource management, raised €52M in Series C funding. The round was led by Alantra’s Energy Transition Fund, Klima, with participation from Energy Impact Partners, Mirova, ABB, Constellation and Yokogawa Electric Corporation as well as investment from existing investor, Act Venture Capital. More Here

finmid, a Berlin, Germany-based financial infrastructure company, raised €35m in early-stage equity funding. Backers included Blossom Capital, Earlybird VC and N26-founder Max Tayenthal. More Here

Inference Labs, a Hamilton, ON, Canada-based company combining artificial intelligence (AI) with Web3 technologies, raised $2.3m in Pre-Seed funding. The round was led by Digital Asset Capital Management, Delphi Ventures & Mechanism Capital. More Here

VENTURE CAPITAL UPDATES

Three former senior executives from SpaceX and Sequoia are teaming up to launch a new venture capital firm called Interlagos Capital. The startup is focused on providing venture capital funding to emerging and start-up companies, particularly those in the space industry. The founding team includes Tom Ochinero, Achal Upadhyaya, and Spencer Hemphill, all of whom have extensive experience in the technology and investment sectors. More Here

Bay Bridge Ventures, a recently founded climate-focused venture firm by Andrew Karsh, Joe Blair, and Kim Kolt, is raising a new $200 million fund to invest in sustainability and ESG startups. More Here

SOSV, a Princeton, NJ-based multi-stage deep tech venture investor, announced the close of SOSV V fund, at $306M. Limited partners included corporates, sovereign wealth funds, institutional investors, and private family offices around the world. More Here

Maven Ventures, a VC firm founded in 2013 and based in the San Francisco Bay Area, has raised $60 million for its fourth fund to back "massive consumer tech trends" despite the recent pivot of some prominent VC firms away from consumer tech. More Here

Evolution Equity Partners, a NYC-, Palo Alto, CA-, London UK- and Zurich, Switzerland-based investment firm, closed Evolution Technology Fund III, LP, at $1.1 Billion. The fund raise saw participation from existing and new limited partners representing a diversified mix of institutions, sovereign investors, insurance companies, endowments, foundations, fund of funds, family offices, and high-net-worth individuals. More Here

Regeneron Ventures, a Greenwich, Conn.-based biotech focused venture capital firm, announced its launch of $500 M Fund. More Here

FEATURED ARTICLE

Why Do You Need a Moat? & Why Are Founders Afraid to Talk About It?

A moat is your startup’s ability to maintain an advantage over your competitors, and investors love to talk about it. It is one of the most important things a founder should get across when pitching.

Peter Thiel agrees. He says startups without a moat are companies that can create a lot of value yet still be worth very little.

In an essay, Packy McCormick argues that the most successful companies are the ones who desperately need moats.

His reasoning is simple: good ideas get noticed… quickly. And the best ideas need strong moats to maintain their advantage and grow fast enough to become dominant.

As a result… Depth of moat needed = How obviously good your idea is - How hard it is to build. But what does it mean by a good idea, especially one that's hard to build?

Remember - “Generational companies are not built on the latest technologies but in bold statements.” By the end of this write-up, you will grasp the real meaning of these statements. And learn about how startups like Stripe, Airbnb, and Spotify are perfectly aligned with these statements… Read Here

STARTUP’S LATEST BUZZ

ACQUISITION & EXITS

BeyondTrust, an Atlanta, GA-based company which specializes in intelligent identity and access security, acquired Entitle, a Tel Aviv, Israel-based privilege management solution company. More Here

BMC, a Houston, TX-based company which specializes in software solutions for the autonomous digital enterprise, acquired Netreo, an Irvine, CA-based provider of smart and secure IT network and application observability solutions. More Here

Swedish Modern Times Group MTG AB (publ) announced that its wholly-owned game studio Ninja Kiwi has acquired AutoAttack Games, the developer behind the tower defense success Legion TD 2. More Here

LAYOFFS & BANKRUPTCY

With a layoff of 10% of Tesla workforce, Elon Musk has been urged to provide a clear vision for Tesla after several high-profile executives, including the head of powertrain and electrical engineering. More Here

STARTUPS & PEOPLE

The FTC is fining mental telehealth firm Cerebral $7 million for allegedly mishandling patient data and sharing it with third parties for advertising purposes without consent. The FTC also accuses Cerebral of having misleading cancellation policies and making deceptive claims about ADHD treatment. More Here

LATEST IN EMERGING TECH

Boston Dynamics is retiring its iconic humanoid robot, Atlas, after 11 years of development. The robot was known for its impressive capabilities, including backflips, gymnastics routines, and navigating complex environments. More Here

Humane, a company founded by former Apple executives, has launched the AI Pin, a $699 wearable device with a $24 monthly subscription fee. The AI Pin has been widely criticized by reviewers, who have called it the "worst product" they've ever reviewed, citing issues with cooling, latency, and missing features. The company has faced challenges, including layoffs, just months before the device's launch, leading to questions about its long-term viability and whether the AI Pin will ever be considered worth the asking price. More Here

Tesla has reportedly halted production, sales, and deliveries of its Cybertruck, perhaps due to issues with the vehicle's accelerator pedal. More Here

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That’s It For Today! Will Meet You Tomorrow. Happy Wednesday! 🥂

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