OpenAI Fired It's Employees & Google Invested $4.5 Million In AI Startup

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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!

• OpenAI has fired two safety researchers (including an ally of cofounder Ilya Sutskever) for allegedly leaking company secrets.

• VCs adopting secondary sales strategy to return LPs money throughout the fund cycle.

• Gradient (Google’s AI focused VC Arm) Invested $4.5 M in Patlytics, an AI-powered patent workflow platform.

• Ark Investment Management's $54 million VC fund now holds a 4% stake in OpenAI, valued at $86 billion, with Microsoft's $13 billion investment.

• Featured Article : 12 Things That Get VCs To Write A Check (Backed By 100+ Founder Interviews).

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Startup Funding Updates

Patlytics, a San Francisco, CA-based provider of an AI-powered patent workflow platform, raised $4.5M in Seed funding. The round was led by Gradient (Google’s AI focused VC Arm) with participation from 8VC, Joe Montana’s Liquid 2 Ventures, Tribe Capital, Vermilion Ventures, Gaingels & Alumni Ventures. More Here

Ark Investment Management's $54 million VC fund now includes a stake in OpenAI, representing about 4% of the fund's holdings. With OpenAI's valuation at $86 billion and Microsoft's $13 billion investment, the AI darling stands at the forefront of the industry's rapid expansion. More Here

Writ, a San Francisco, C-based startup that enables companies to use data to make decisions, raised $3.8M in Seed funding. The round was led by Gradient Ventures, with participation from Defy.vc, High Alpha, Toba Capital, and numerous angels. More Here

SunCulture, a Nairobi, Kenya-based solar irrigation startup, raised $27m in Series B funding. Backers included InfraCo Africa, Acumen Fund, Reed Hastings, and Eric Schmidt. More Here

Windrose Technology, a Hong Kong-based electric heavy-duty truck developer, raised US$110M in Series B funding. Backers included HITE Hedge Asset Management, Goodman Group (ASX:GMG), and others. More Here

Arcadia, a Washington-DC-based provider of a utility data and community solar platform, raised $50M in funding. Backers included Macquarie Asset Management as a new equity investor, alongside existing investors Energy Impact Partners, J.P. Morgan Asset Management, BoxGroup, G2 Venture Partners, Camber Creek, Triangle Peak Partners, and Broadscale Group. More Here

Cohesity, a San Jose, CA-based AI-powered data security and management company, received an undisclosed investment from IBM. The amount of the deal was not disclosed. With it, Cohesity completed its Series F financing, with IBM joining NVIDIA as a strategic investor. More Here

Scavenger AI, a Frankfurt, Germany-based data analytics and AI startup, raised €1.1M in Pre-Seed funding. Backers included HTGF, Calm/Storm Ventures, Femventix​,​​ and ​the B4i Fund. More Here

Tabs, a NYC-based provider of an accounts receivable (AR) platform for B2B businesses, raised $7M in Seed funding. The round was led by Lightspeed Venture Partners. More Here

Udio, a NYC-based company that leverages AI to easily create extraordinary and original music, reportedly raised $10M in Seed funding. The round was led by a16z, with participation from angel investors will.i.am, Common, Kevin Wall, Tay Keith, Steve Stoute’sUnitedMasters, Mike Krieger (Cofounder & CTO of Instagram) and Oriol Vinyals. More Here

Magnetic Insight, an Alameda, CA-based magnetic particle imaging (MPI) vompany, received a $3M NIH SBIR Phase II Grant. More Here

PeerDB, a San Francisco, CA-based provider of a data movement platform for PostgreSQL, raised $3.6M in Seed funding. The round was led by 8VC, Y Combinator, Wayfinder Ventures, Webb Investment Network, Flex Capital, Rogue Capital, Pioneer Fund, Orange Collective, and several angel investors. More Here

Simbian, a Mountain View, CA-based company providing AI solutions into business operations across diverse IT environments, raised $10M in seed funding. The round was led by Cota Capital, Icon Ventures, Firebolt and Rain Capital. More Here

DeepCure, a Boston, MA-based developing novel, small molecule therapeutics powered by AI and automation of chemistry, raised $24M in Series A-1 funding. The round was led by IAG Capital Partners (IAG) with participation from current investors. More Here

Abre, a Cincinnati, OH-based K-12’s data solution company, raised $24M in Series A funding. The round was led by PeakSpan Capital, with participation from JumpStart Ventures, JobsOhio Growth Capital Fund, and Golden Angels Investors. More Here

Uplink, a NYC-based company focused on democratizing Internet access, raised $10M in funding. Backers included Framework Ventures (leader), Blockchange, Stratos, Mustard Seed Maze, and Outlier Ventures. More Here

Pactio, a London, UK-based digital infrastructure for private markets, raised $14M in Series A funding. The round was led by EQT Ventures, with participation from Matt Henderson, Volt founder Tom Greenwood, Tom Blomfield, Matt Robinson, Charles Delingpole, Jim Freis, Charlie Songhurst, Weiheng Zhang, and Entrepreneur First. More Here

Smartpay, a Tokyo, Japan-based digital embedded finance startup, raised $7m in a pre-Series A funding round. The round was led by SMBCVC and Angel Bridge VC. More Here

Raft, a Reston, VA-based modern technology and data-focused, advanced software engineering firm, received a $60M Growth investment from Washington Harbour Partners. More Here

Mimo, a London, UK- and and Stockholm, Sweden-based platform providing global payments, cash flow, and financial management for SMBs and accountants, raised £15.5M in funding. The round was led by Northzone with participation from Cocoa Ventures, Seedcam & Upfin VC. More Here

Factorial, a Barcelona, Spain-based provider of a business and HR management platform for SMBs globally, raised $80M in funding. Backers included General Catalyst. More Here

Meysey, a London, UK-based fraud protection startup, raised £250K in funding. The round was led by QVentures with participation from angel investors. More Here

North AI, a Manchester, UK-based AI powered insights platform for the media and entertainment industry, raised £580K in Pre-Seed funding. Backers included Innovate UK, and SFC Capital. More Here

Jena, a London, UK-based provider of a vertical SaaS platform for solopreneurs, raised £1.2M in Pre Seed funding. The round was led by True and Gfund, with participation from angel investors including Rob Small (Founder of Miniclip), David Pritchard (Founder OpenTable Europe), Misha Gopaul (Founder Fatmap), David Szekely, George Graham (Founder Wolf & Badger), and the angel collective Ventures Together, among others. More Here

Veremark, a London, UK-based background screening company, raised $3M in Pre-seed funding. The round was led by Samaipata, and Stage 2 Capital with participation from ACF Investors and Vulpes Investment. More Here

Superintelligent, a NYC-based company providing a platform that teaches to use artificial intelligence for work and fun, raised $2M in Pre-Seed funding. The round was led by Learn Capital. More Here

Datafy, a Tel Aviv, Israel-based cloud storage optimization startup, raised $6M in Seed funding. The round was led by Insight Partners. More Here

Venture Capital Updates

Airtree Venture, A Syndney based VC firm adopts a unique approach by slimming down equity stakes through company-led secondary sales while still maintaining majority ownership, aiming for consistent returns throughout the investment lifecycle. With this strategy they have made good return throughout the fund cycle from startups like Canva, Linktree & Immutable. More Here

Lone View Capital, a Los Angeles, CA-based private equity firm investing across the technology ecosystem, raised $850M for its inaugural fund. Fund I is backed by a diverse group of experienced investors, including university endowments, sovereign wealth funds, charitable foundations, pension funds, asset managers, insurance companies and family offices and brought Lone View’s assets under management to approximately $1.1 Billion. More Here

Cendana Capital and Kline Hill Partners launch a $105 million fund targeting secondary interests in seed-stage venture firms and startups, leveraging the current buyer's market for illiquid positions. This strategic partnership aims to capitalize on discounted opportunities in the wake of overvalued early-stage investments amidst the prolonged lack of IPOs. With traditional secondary investors also eyeing venture stakes, this initiative stands out for its focus on smaller, seed-stage opportunities. More Here

Featured Article

12 Things That Get VCs To Write A Check (Backed By 100+ Founder Interviews)

Most people have no idea what VCs look for….

When it comes to fundraising, founders often follow a well-trodden path - building a pitch deck, cold-emailing investors, or reaching out to them through LinkedIn. However, without the right strategy, these tactics are unlikely to yield the desired results. To develop an effective strategy, it's crucial to understand the key factors that compel venture capitalists (VCs) to invest in a startup.

Through my work with VC firms and conversations with successful founders who have raised money from leading VCs, I've found 12 key things that can help you get VC funding. We have shared this in our Venture Curator newsletter..…Read More Here

Startup’s Latest Buzz

Acquisition & Exits

Postman, a San Francisco, CA-based API collaboration company, acquired Orbit, a San Francisco, CA-based provider of a community growth platform for developer companies. More Here

Accenture (NYSE: ACN) has acquired Unlimited, a London, UK-based integrated customer engagement agency. More Here

Empower Finance, a San Francisco, CA-based financial technology company, acquired Petal, a NYC-based consumer credit card and financial technology company, and completed the acquisition of Cashalo, a Manila, Philippines consumer credit and lending company. More Here

Layoffs & Bankruptcy

Hinge Health, a digital health company, laid off around 10% of its workforce as part of a strategic realignment to accelerate profitability ahead of a potential IPO, aiming to focus investments and streamline decision-making. More Here

Startups & People

OpenAI has fired two safety researchers (including an ally of cofounder Ilya Sutskever) for allegedly leaking company secrets.. More Here

Sam Bankman-Fried, former CEO of bankrupt crypto exchange FTX, appeals his 25-year prison sentence for fraud and money laundering. He's accused of embezzling $8 billion from customers, while his company faces complex bankruptcy proceedings. Other crypto moguls, like Terraform Labs' Do Kwon and Binance's Changpeng Zhao, also face legal troubles. More Here

Latest In Emerging Tech

The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) confirms Russian government-backed hackers stole emails from multiple U.S. federal agencies in an ongoing cyberattack targeting Microsoft's corporate email accounts. CISA issues an emergency directive ordering government agencies to secure their email systems as Microsoft faces increasing scrutiny over security practices following multiple intrusions by adversarial nation-state actors. More Here

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That’s It For Today! Will Meet You On Monday!
Happy Weekend! 🥂

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✍️Written By Sahil R - The Venture Crew