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Open AI Valued $143 Billion In Secondary Market & Carta Sells It's Secondary Business

Open AI Valued $143 Billion In Secondary Market & Carta Sells It's Secondary Business

Venture Daily Digest - 02/09/2024

Venture Daily Digest
September 02, 2024

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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!

Top News

OpenAI is reportedly in talks to raise funding at a valuation exceeding $100 billion, led by Thrive Capital with a potential $1 billion investment. Investors are already valuing the AI leader at up to $143 billion in secondary markets, driven by its rapid revenue growth and market potential. Rainmaker Securities notes intense demand for OpenAI shares, predicting the new funding round will boost valuations across the AI sector, impacting companies like Anthropic, Cohere, and Hugging Face.

Amazon is hiring three co-founders from AI startup Covariant, including CEO Peter Chen, and obtaining a non-exclusive license to the company's AI models. About a quarter of Covariant's employees will join Amazon's Fulfillment Technologies & Robotics team, while Covariant continues to operate independently.

Other Major News

Carta Sells It's Secondary Business (Scroll To Acquisition Updates)
Scientists build DNA-based computer that can play chess and solve sudoku puzzles. (Scroll To Tech Updates)
Bolt CEO Justin Grooms hinted at legal action against Silverbear Capital over a disputed $200 million commitment to their funding round. (Scroll To VC Updates)
What Founders Should Ask VCs In Fundraising Meetings? (Scroll To Featured Article)
VC & Startups Job Opportunities (Scroll To Today’s Opportunities)

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🗞️ Startup Funding Updates

Pylon, a San Francisco, CA-based provider of a support platform for B2B companies, raised $17M in Series A funding. The round, which brought the total amount to $20M, was led by Andreessen Horowitz, with participation from General Catalyst, Y Combinator, and others. More Here

RevolKa, a Tokyo, Japan-based biotech company advancing an AI-driven protein engineering technology platform, raised US$0.7M and completed a US$1.7M in Series A funding. D3 co-led the Series A extension round along with DEEPCORE. More Here

EVOQ Therapeutics, an Ann Arbor, CA-based biopharmaceutical company providing disease-specific immune modulators, received a $2M grant from National Institutes of Health (NIH). More Here

EydisBio, a Durham, NC-based pharmaceutical company, received a $2.6M SBIR Grant from National Institute of Health’s (NIH) National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI). More Here

Peregrine Exploration, a NYC-based blockchain development and research company, raised $3.6M in funding. The round was led by Polychain Capital and Dragonfly. Robot Ventures, Pier Two, EIV and Global Coin Research and angels Balaji Srinivasan, Jeff Feng (Sei), Julian Koh (Aevo), Sidney Powell (Maple Finance) and others also participated. More Here

Quai, an Austin, TX-based provider of a Layer-1 crypto network for the global and compute economies, raised $5M in strategic funding. Backers included Cogitent Ventures, MH Ventures, TPC Ventures, Giga Chad Ventures, and DexCheck Ventures. More Here

Codeium, a Mountain View, CA-based provider of an AI-powered code acceleration platform, raised $150M in Series C funding, at $1.25 Billion valuation. The round was led by General Catalyst, with participation from existing investors Kleiner Perkins and Greenoaks. More Here

Uniqkey, a Herlev, Hovedstaden, Denmark-based a provider of a password and access management solution, raised €5.35m in funding. Backers included BackingMinds, in combination with industry veterans such as Jesper Zerlang (ex-CEO of Logpoint), Lars Ankjer, Otto Krabbe, Rolf Bladt and several angels and key employees. More Here

Turntable Labs, the Miami, FL-based company behind the new social music platform Hangout, raised $8.2M in Seed funding. The round was led by Founders Fund, Elizabeth Street Ventures, 468 Capital, and f7 Ventures, with participation from angel investor Michael Guimarin. More Here

Vybe, an AI-generated photos social media app provider, raised $4.75M in seed funding. The round was led by Stellation Capital with participation from Scribble Ventures, Coalition Operators, Neo, and Blueprint FTC, as well as Peter Boyce II, Kelvin Beachum, Ali Partovi, and Kevin Weil. More Here

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📰 Venture Capital Updates

Bolt CEO Justin Grooms hinted at potential legal action against Silverbear Capital, claiming the firm committed $200 million to their funding round, which Silverbear disputes. The controversy follows Bolt's attempt to raise $200 million in equity and $250 million in "marketing credits" at a $14 billion valuation. Silverbear partner Brad Pamnani clarified the deal involves a UAE-based private equity SPV, not Silverbear itself. Meanwhile, The London Fund, involved in the "marketing credits," stated no transaction has been finalized despite discussions.

📌 Featured Article

What Founders Should Ask VCs In Fundraising Meetings?

Top-performing founders know a key secret: when meeting with VCs, don't just focus on securing their money—focus on learning from them.

Most VC meetings won't end with a check, but that doesn't mean they're a waste of time. Each meeting is a chance to build your company using the insights you gain from the VC, not just the funding you might receive.

Remember, investors have seen countless startups, invested in many, and have a broad view of the market. That experience is incredibly valuable, and it’s right there in front of you. They hear and see things that you might not. This wealth of knowledge is yours to tap into—you just need to ask the right questions.

To help founders get into the right mindset, I’ve pulled (Shared by GP) together a few questions that have seen in pitch meetings. We've divided questions intro six parts.

1️⃣ Understanding How Your Company Is Perceived
2️⃣ Turning the Tables
3️⃣ Competitive Landscape
4️⃣ Addressable Market
5️⃣ Fundraising Process
6️⃣ The Right KPIs

We have shared a detailed writeup in our recent Venture Curator newsletter, check out here….

📑 Startup’s Latest Buzz

Acquisition & Going Public

Public has acquired the brokerage accounts of Carta's secondaries business, following a controversy where Carta was accused of using private cap table data to broker sales without startups' consent. The backlash led Carta to exit the secondary marketplace brokerage business, finding a buyer in Public. Public confirmed customers can opt out of the transfer, while Carta will continue handling company-led secondary offerings through its SEC-registered transfer agent.

Layoffs & Bankruptcy

Startups & People

Brazil's top court has ordered a nationwide suspension of the X platform following a legal dispute over content moderation. The court imposed fines for VPN usage to access X, after the platform refused to comply with orders to remove alleged misinformation. X has closed its Brazil operations and vows not to comply with the court's demands.

Bluesky has gained a million new users in the last three days.The platform posted about the milestone this afternoon, which it crossed after Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered a ban on Elon Musk’s X yesterday as part of an ongoing feud with the platform. Apparently, enough are headed to Bluesky to drive its iOS app to the top of the Brazilian App Store, as TechCrunch writes.

🤖 Latest In Tech

Scientists developed a DNA-based computer capable of solving basic chess and sudoku puzzles, marking a step forward in DNA computing. Using synthetic cellulose, these DNA computers achieved high stability and storage capacity, holding around 1,000 terabytes per cubic centimeter. An enzyme was used to transcribe DNA into RNA, preserving original data while solving 3x3 grid puzzles.

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VC Associate/Sr Associate - W Health Venture | India - Apply Here

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