OpenAI Crosses 1 Million Paying Users & Salesforce Acquired Company For $2 Billion

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Top News

OpenAI now has over 1 million paying users for its ChatGPT Enterprise, Team, and Edu products, up from 600,000 in April.

The rise reflects CEO Sam Altman’s push for corporate adoption of the chatbot. OpenAI is also discussing higher-priced subscriptions, with models like "Strawberry" and "Orion" potentially costing up to $2,000 per month. Currently, ChatGPT Plus costs $20, while the free tier has hundreds of millions of monthly users. OpenAI, backed by Microsoft, is valued at over $100 billion with reported interest from Apple and Nvidia.

Salesforce has acquired Own Company, a data management and protection solutions provider, for $1.9 billion in cash.

Other Major News

• Over 25% of advertisers planning to reduce spending on X (Scroll To Tech Updates)

• 26 percent of marketers plan to reduce their advertising expenditure on X next year. (Scroll To Startups & People Updates)

• Spotlight Framework: Turn Customer Feedback into Action. (Scroll To Featured Article)

• VC & Startups Job Opportunities (Scroll To Today’s Opportunities)

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🗞️ Startup Funding Updates

E-PAL, a Los Angeles, CA-based gaming and social companion platform, raised two funding rounds which brought total funding to $30m. The rounds were led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and Galaxy Interactive, with participation from Animoca Brands, K5, CLF Partners, MBK Capital, New Heights Fund, AMBER, MarbleX, Sky Mantra, Tuna, Aptos Labs, IOBC, Leland, Halcyon Capital, Uphonest, Taisu Ventures, Gate Labs, DWF Ventures, BING, WAGMI, YouTube co-founder Steve Chen, Riot Games CEO Marc Merrill, and League of Legends Director Thomas Vu.

Endolith, a Colorado-based startup, uses microbes to help miners extract more copper from their mines, potentially increasing recovery rates by 10% or more. The company, founded by CEO Liz Dennett, has raised $5.13 million in an oversubscribed seed round led by Collaborative Fund and Overture, with participation from Grok Ventures, Nomadic Venture Partners, and Nucleus Capital.

Stylus, a London, UK-based developer of an AI-powered service for the education sector to automate the marking and personalised feedback of paper-based assessments, raised £500K in funding. The round was led by Sure Valley Ventures.

ATLAS Space Operations, a Traverse City, MI-based provider of ground station services for satellite communications, raised $15M in Growth funding. The round was led by NewSpace Capital with participation from Michigan Capital Network, Beringea, Wakestream Ventures, Boomerang Catapult, Michigan Rise and Red Cedar Ventures.

Vesta Healthcare, a NYC-based virtual care provider raised $65M in Series C funding with new debt financing. The equity round was led by Boston-based RA Capital Management, with participation from Oak HC/FT, Chrysalis Ventures, CareCentrix/Walgreens, Nationwide, Kaiser Permanente Ventures, Lux Capital, Generator Ventures, Deerfield Management and others.

Portex, a San Francisco, CA-based tool where shippers can handle everything related to freight management in one place, raised $6.25m in seed funding. The round was led by Footwork and joined by Cowboy Ventures. Existing investors Susa Ventures and Base 10 also participated in the round.

Cobre, a Bogotá, Colombia-based provider of a treasury platform for Latin American CFO offices, raised $35m in Series B funding. The round was led by Oak HC/FT with participation from existing investors Kaszek, QED and Canary.

Agree.com, a San Francisco, CA-based provider of an agreements platform that integrates money movement, raised $3M in Pre-Seed funding. The round was led by Better Tomorrow Ventures with participation from 8-Bit Capital, Everywhere Ventures, Expedite Ventures, Firsthand Alliance, Hustle Fund, NEA, Singh Capital Partners, and Trust Fund.

DubClub, a Chicago, IL-based platform for people to consume, discuss, and buy premium sports content from creators, raised $7.5M in Series A funding. The round was led by Roseanne Wincek of Renegade Partners. Other investors included Dave Gilboa of Warby Parker, former Barstool Sports operators, and former athletes including Hall of Fame NFL players.

Oyster, a San Francisco, CA-based provider of a solution to employ, pay, and care for distributed teams, raised $59M in Series D funding. The round was led by Silver Lake Waterman, with participation from existing investors, including Emergence Capital, Stripes, Georgian, G2 Venture Partners, and Endeavor Catalyst.

Thatch, a San Francisco, CA-based personalized health benefits platform for businesses, raised $38M in Series A funding. The round was led by Index Ventures and General Catalyst, along with new investors SemperVirens and The General Partnership, with participation from existing investors including Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and Avid Ventures.

Ediphi, an Austin, Texas and Manila, and Davao, Philippines-based hospitality technology provider, raised $1.5M in funding. Backers included Tripadvisor co-founder and former CEO Steve Kaufer, Pixel Perfect Ventures, Allied VC and Techstars.

Mesa Quantum, a Boulder, CO-based quantum sensing company, raised $3.75M in Seed funding. The round was led by J2 Ventures with participation from SOSV.

CytoTronics, a Boston, MA-based provider of semiconductor-based platforms for discovery in cell biology, raised $13.5M in Series Seed 2 funding. The Series Seed 2 round was led by new investor LYFE Capital, and existing investor Anzu Partners.

Venova Medical, a Los Gatos, CA-based company developing technology for the creation of percutaneous arteriovenous fistulas (pAVF) for hemodialysis access, raised $30M in Series B funding. Catalyst Health Ventures and a medical device company co-led the financing, with participation from ShangBay Capital, Mirae Asset Capital, KOFA Healthcare, Cadence Healthcare Ventures, Aphelion Capital and other new and existing investors.

Drip Capital, a Palo Alto, CA-based provider of a digital platform for trade finance, raised $113M in funding. The round consisted of $23M in equity from Japanese investors, GMO Payment Gateway and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC), and $90M in debt financing, led by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and East West Bank.

Capsa AI, a London, UK-based startup transforming due diligence in private equity, raised £1.7M in Seed funding. The round was led by Outward VC, with participation from Cornerstone VC, Antler, and angel investors such as Chris Adelsbach, and other.

The Demex Group, a Washington, DC-based risk analytics and intelligence company, raised $10.25M in funding. The round consisted of a Series A and a SAFE funding round, led by Congruent Ventures and included Moxxie Ventures, MetaProp, and existing investor Blue Bear Capital.

Mantel, a Boston, MA-based technology provider of a carbon capture system using molten borates, raised $30M in Series A funding. The round was led by Shell Ventures and Eni Next. Additional participating investors included Engine Ventures, New Climate Ventures, Hartree, bp Ventures, Arosa Ventures, Vale Ventures, Newlab, MCJ Collective, and others.

Ume, a São Paulo, Brazil-baserd payment network and merchant services platform for small- and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) on Pix, raised $15m in Series A equity funding. The round was led by PayPal Ventures, with participation from NFX, Globo Ventures, Clocktower Ventures, Big Bets, FJ Labs, Endeavor and Norte Ventures. Ume has also raised a USD $20m FIDC debt facility from Verde, Wersten Asset, Itaú, Credit Saison and Milenio.

Sedric AI, a NYC-based provider of a compliance-dedicated AI platform for financial institutions, raised $18.5M in Series A funding. The round, which brought the total amount to $22M, was led by Foundation Capital with participation from Amex Ventures.

Entalpic, a Paris, France-based startup using generative AI technology for materials discovery targeted to the chemical industry, raised €8.5M in Seed funding. The round was led by Breega, Cathay Innovation & Felicis, alongside Jörg Weiser, Gilles Wainrib, Thomas Wolfe, Arnaud Robert, Michal Valko and Yoshua Bengio.

Angel Kids AI, a Nashville, TN-based AI-powered browser designed to provide children with a safe and age-appropriate internet experience, raised $1.1M in Seed funding. Backers included Magnify Ventures, CityLight, and Atland Ventures.

Switch Bioworks, a San Carlos, CA-based biotechnology company developing low-cost and sustainable fertilizers, raised $17M in Seed funding. The round was led by Change Forces Capital and joined by Grantham Foundation, Astanor Ventures, Acre Venture Partners, Anthos Capital, Thia Ventures, Emerson Collective, Ag Ventures Alliance and others.

Malaa, a Saudi Arabia-based provider of a wealth management tool, raised $17.2M in Series A funding. The round was led by SNB Capital, with participation from Derayah Financial, Khwarizmi Ventures, Impact46, and WKN.

Baseload Capital, a Stockholm, Sweden-based company scaling geothermal energy worldwide, raised €53M in Series B funding. The round was led by ENGF, with participation from Baker Hughes, Nefco, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, and Gullspång Invest. 

Acuvity, a Sunnyvale, CA-based provider of a comprehensive AI security and governance platform for both employees and applications, raised $9M in Seed funding. The round was led by Foundation Capital, with participation from individual investors like Basil Alwan, Sri Reddy and Jonathan Siddharth.

Steerlab, a Paris, France-based AI startup providing a platform that automates responses to Requests For Proposals (RFPs) and security questionnaires, raised $1.9M in Pre-Seed funding. The round was led by Dreamcraft Ventures, Heartfelt_, Lumière AI Ventures, Station F, and over 20 sales leaders, founders and operators from firms in the US and Europe.

Calyxia, a French clean tech startup, develops sustainable alternatives to microparticles and microcapsules for various industries, aiming to reduce microplastic pollution and improve manufacturing processes. The company has raised a $35 million Series B round led by Lombard Odier Investment Managers and Bpifrance, with support from existing investors like Astanor.

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📰 Venture Capital Updates

Mayfield Fund is launching AI Garage, a $100 million initiative for ideation-stage founders building "AI teammate" companies. The program, modeled on Mayfield's entrepreneur-in-residence experience, will host up to five aspiring founders every six months, offering $1-5 million in funding once a business plan is developed. More Here

SET Ventures, a Dutch climate tech VC firm founded in 2007, has closed its fourth fund at €200 million, double the size of its previous fund. The firm plans to invest in 20 to 25 European startups focused on digital technologies for carbon-free energy systems, with a sweet spot for Series A rounds and initial checks between €2 and €5 million. More Here

📌 Featured Article

Spotlight Framework: Turn Customer Feedback into Action.

Talking to customers is a 101-level requirement for being a founder, but it’s easier to get tripped up by either:

• Not knowing what to do with the feedback you collect from users

• Turn feedback into actions

• Separate the signal from the noise within the sea of feedback

The Spotlight Framework helps you avoid focusing on the wrong parts of user feedback by categorizing the following types of questions and statements you get from users:

There’s also a very long, detailed, and helpful infographic in the blog I found the framework on — I highly recommend taking a look!

[Check out our Venture Curator newsletter - to get insights on startups, AI and venture capital from leading founders & investors]

📑 Startup’s Latest Buzz

Acquisition & Going Public

Layoffs & Bankruptcy

OSOM Products, a privacy-focused phone company that emerged from Essential in 2020, is shutting down due to fundraising difficulties and lack of customers.

Startups & People

Nick Pickles, X's global affairs head, announced his departure from the company after a decade of service, with his last day being Friday. Pickles, who joined in 2014 and served as a spokesperson in various governmental disputes, made the decision to leave several months ago and has been working with CEO Linda Yaccarino on the transition.

🤖 Latest In Tech

Robinhood Crypto, a platform run by Robinhood Markets, has agreed to pay $3.9 million to settle claims that it prevented customers from withdrawing cryptocurrency from their accounts between 2018 and 2022.

A Kantar report reveals that 26 percent of marketers plan to reduce their advertising expenditure on X next year due to historically low trust levels. The study, involving 18,000 consumers and 1,000 marketers worldwide, underscores a decline in X's advertising business since Elon Musk's acquisition of the company. Only 4 percent of advertisers consider X safe for brands, as many have halted or minimized spending amid concerns about hate speech and other negative content.

💼 Today’s VC Job Opportunities

• Investor Relations Associate - B Capital Group | USA - Apply Here

• Portfolio Development Manager - Insurtech | USA - Apply Here

• Senior Venture Portfolio Manager - Chemovator | Germany - Apply Here

• Junior Legal Counsel - Bleinhem | UK - Apply Here

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