OpenAI Buys Database Analytics Startup In Nine-Figure Stock Deal & Stability AI Appoints New CEO

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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, VC funds, and some cool tech – all in just 5 minutes ☕! Today’s major updates include -

• OpenAI acquired Rockset, a search and database analytics startup, in a stock deal valued at a few hundred million dollars to bolster its enterprise product infrastructure.

• Stability AI appoints Prem Akkaraju as new CEO. Akkaraju, along with a group of investors including Sean Parker, is providing a cash infusion to save the company.

• A*, a venture capital firm led by Kevin Hartz, Bennett Siegel, and Gautam Gupta, has raised $315 million for its oversubscribed Fund II.

• Apple delays three new AI features in EU due to regulatory concerns. Company cites Digital Markets Act's interoperability requirements as potential privacy and security risk.

• Featured Article : Framework: The 4 P’s of AI

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Startup Funding Updates

APIGen, founded by high school graduates Christopher Fitzgerald and Nicholas Van Landschoot in Boulder, Colorado, is developing a platform that generates custom APIs from natural language prompts for web apps, databases, and IoT devices. It has secured a $500,000 pre-seed investment from Varana Capital, led by Philip Broenniman. More Here

Marble, founded by Jake Sussman and Dan Ross in New York, offers online group therapy for children in grades five through 12 to address the growing mental health crisis among teens. Marble has raised $5 million in seed funding from investors including Khosla Ventures, Town Hall Ventures, IA Ventures, Daybreak Ventures, and Lorimer Ventures. More Here

OmniAI, founded by Anna Pojawis and Tyler Maran, transforms unstructured enterprise data into a format suitable for data analytics apps and AI. The startup, which doesn't specify a location, offers tools that sync with companies' data storage services and databases, allowing them to run various AI models on their data. OmniAI recently closed a $3.2 million seed round led by FundersClub at a $30 million valuation. More Here

Aether Fuels, a spin-out from Temasek's Xora Innovation, is developing e-fuels for aviation and maritime shipping using waste carbon streams. Aether Fuels has raised $30.4 million of a $34.3 million round, adding to its previous $8.5 million raised via convertible notes. More Here

Daydream, a USA-based AI-poered search and discovery shopping platform, raised $50M in Seed funding. The round was led by Forerunner Ventures and Index Ventures with participation from GV (Google Ventures) and True Ventures. More Here

BillionToOne, a Menlo Park, CA-based precision diagnostics company, raised $130M in Series D funding at an over $1B+ valuation. The round was led by Premji Invest, with participation by another incoming investor, Neuberger Berman, as well as by existing investors, including Adam Street Partners, Baillie Gifford, Hummingbird Ventures, Civilization Ventures, Libertus Capital, and Fifty Years. More Here

QpiAI, a Bangalore, India-based company which specializes in quantum computing and generative AI, raised $6.5M in Pre-Series A funding. The round was led by Yournest and SVCL. WFC, Ramesh Radhakrishnan, Ramaswamy Prabhakar, Kailash Katkar, Sanjay Katkar, Lakshmeenarayanan, Bhupinder Singh, Pratap Reddy, and Sahasra capital also participated. More Here

Verituity, a Mclean, VA-based provider of verified payouts solutions, raised $18.8M in funding. The round was led by Sandbox Industries and Forgepoint Capital with participation from Ardent Venture Partners and MTech Capital. More Here

Synspective Inc., a Tokyo, Japan-based startup that develops and operates small SAR satellites and provides solutions based on satellite data analysis, received an investment from Tojoda Gosei. The amount of the deal was not disclosed. More Here

GIST Impact, a Zurich, Switzerland-based provider of impact data and analytics, received an investment from UBS Next, the universal Swiss bank’s venture and innovation unit. The amount of the deal was not disclosed. More Here

Elixir Games, a Barcelona, Spain-based provider of a Web3 gaming platform, received a strategic investment from Wemix, a global blockchain developer and gaming platform. The amount of the deal was not disclosed. More Here

MEandMine, a Palo Alto, CA-based startup built for classroom well-being, using AI-flagging to identify psychological risks in young children, raised $4.5M in funding. The round was led by K5 Global. More Here

Amplify Life Insurance, a San Francisco, CA-based digital platform empowering wealth-building through permanent life insurance, raised $20M in Series B funding. The round was led by Crosslink Capital and Anthemis. New investors Moneta Ventures and Evolution Ventures joined the round, with continued support from existing investors Greycroft, Munich Re Ventures, and Foxe Capital. More Here

Sava, a London, UK-based health monitoring company providing a wearable biosensor platform, raised $8M in Seed funding. The round was led by Balderton Capital and Exor Ventures. More Here

Eatr.com, a provider of an AI-powered nutrition and diet planning application, raised $350K in funding. V3V Ventures made the investment. More Here

Directly.xyz, a Dubai, UAE-based real estate agency, raised $1M in funding. V3V Ventures made the investment. More Here

HeyGen, a Los Angeles, CA-based AI video generation platform for businesses, raised $60M in Series A funding at a $500M post-money valuation. The round was led by Benchmark with participation from Thrive Capital, BOND, Conviction, Bond Capital, and others. More Here

The Picklr, a Kaysville, UT-based indoor pickleball franchise, raised a Series B funding, at $59M valuation. The round was led by Pickleball Inc. More Here

Zing Coach, a Munich, Germany-based health tech startup, raised $10M in Series A funding. The round was led by Zubr Capital and Triple Point Capital. More Here

Maxterial, a Pleasanton, CA-based material science company, raised nearly $8M in Series A funding. The round was led by Helios Climate Ventures, with participation from QEMETICA (formerly Ciech) and the Mott Corporation. More Here

Backstroke, an Indianapolis, IN-based provider of a generative AI messaging platform, raised $2M in Seed funding. The round was led by High Alpha and Ground Game Ventures, with participation from Allos Ventures. More Here

Venture Capital Updates

A*, a venture capital firm led by Kevin Hartz, Bennett Siegel, and Gautam Gupta, has raised $315 million for its oversubscribed Fund II. The firm focuses on leading seed rounds and doubling down on portfolio companies at Series A, with select new investments at Series B. A* has backed 35 startups in Fund I, including Ramp, Notion, and Faire, and plans to continue its generalist approach across different industries, with a current emphasis on AI and consumer tech. More Here

Featured Article

Framework: The 4 P’s of AI

If you ever took a marketing class in college you’re probably groaning right now because you’ve heard of the “4 P’s of marketing. - Product, Price, Place, Promotion.”

This framework is unfortunately named the 4 P’s as well but is more practical for startups. Adobe’s Scott Belsky broke down the lifecycle of going from discovering a new AI tool up to when it becomes part of your normal workflow.

It’s relevant regardless of whether your team is just yourself and your cofounders, or if you’ve built a much bigger org:

Read detailed article in our Venture Curator newsletter.

Startup’s Latest Buzz

Acquisition & Going Public

OpenAI acquired Rockset, a search and database analytics startup, in a stock deal valued at a few hundred million dollars to bolster its enterprise product infrastructure. The acquisition brings Rockset's expertise in real-time data processing and vector search to OpenAI, aiming to enhance the speed and accuracy of its AI models for enterprise applications. This move supports OpenAI's efforts to expand its offerings and maintain its competitive edge in the rapidly evolving AI landscape. More Here

Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE: BSX), a Marlborough, MA-based medical technology company, acquired Silk Road Medical, Inc. (Nasdaq: SILK), a medical device company. More Here

Honeywell (Nasdaq: HON), a Charlotte, NC-based integrated operating company, acquired CAES Systems Holdings, an Arlington, VA-based provider of radio frequency technologies, from private equity firm Advent International, for approximately $1.9 Billion in an all-cash transaction. More Here

Layoffs & Bankruptcy

Startups & People

Scale AI, founded by Alexandr Wang, sparked controversy with a post about moving from DEI (Diversity, equity, and inclusion) to "MEI" (merit, excellence, and intelligence) in hiring practices.

The post received mixed reactions, with support on X (formerly Twitter) but criticism on LinkedIn and from DEI experts. Critics argue that Wang's approach ignores systemic barriers faced by underrepresented groups and that true meritocracy is subjective. Scale AI, valued at over $13 billion, has faced scrutiny for its treatment of data annotators, who reportedly work long hours for low pay. More Here

Elon Musk just convinced Tesla shareholders to approve his $56 billion pay package, making him the highest-paid CEO in history — assuming he can dodge a Delaware judge’s disapproval. More Here

Stability AI appoints Prem Akkaraju as new CEO, according to a report by the Information. Akkaraju, along with a group of investors including Sean Parker, is providing a cash infusion to save the company. This new funding may result in a lower valuation for Stability AI and reduced stakes for some existing investors.

Latest In Emerging Tech

Meta has made its Llama-3-powered AI chatbot, Meta AI, available to all users in India across WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, and Facebook, as well as through the meta.ai website. The chatbot, which currently only supports English, offers functionalities similar to other AI assistants like ChatGPT and Google's Gemini, including suggesting recipes, planning workouts, and generating images. While Meta AI is now accessible to India's massive user base of 500 million WhatsApp users and hundreds of millions on other Meta platforms, the company does not allow users to turn off or hide the AI functionality in its apps. More Here

Apple delays three new AI features in EU due to regulatory concerns. Company cites Digital Markets Act's interoperability requirements as potential privacy and security risk. Apple commits to working with European Commission to find a solution for EU customers. More Here

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