OpenAI’s o1 model sure tries to deceive humans & Musk’s xAI lands $6B in new cash

☕ Good Friday Morning. Welcome to today's quick rundown in the Venture Daily Digest Newsletter.

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• OpenAI’s o1 model sure tries to deceive humans a lot

• GitLab names Bill Staples as its new CEO

• OpenAI confirms new $200 monthly subscription, ChatGPT Pro, which includes its o1 reasoning model

• Musk’s xAI lands $6B in new cash from 97 investors.

• Bitcoin hits $100,000 for first time

• Sam Altman ‘not that worried’ about Elon Musk’s influence on Trump

Fresh from the analyst desk: Insights on escaping the VC hamster wheel, master the latest AI playbook for vertical SaaS from SignalFire, and crack the code on channel-startup fit. Plus: Q3's juiciest valuation numbers and Jamin Ball's take on how AI is reshaping tech giants. Hot VC and startup roles just dropped!

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Startup Funding Updates

xAI, Elon Musk's AI company, has secured $6 billion in new funding, bringing its total raised to $12 billion, with participation from 97 investors who each contributed at least $77,593. The company's flagship AI model Grok, which powers various features on X (formerly Twitter), is being integrated across Musk's companies including SpaceX and potentially Tesla, generating around $100 million in annual revenue

Nuvig Therapeutics, a Menlo Park, CA-based privately held biotechnology company developing novel immunomodulatory therapeutics for patients with inflammatory autoimmune diseases, raised $161M in Series B funding. The round was led by Sanofi Ventures, Blue Owl Healthcare Opportunities (formerly Cowen Healthcare Investments), and Norwest Venture Partners, with participation from new investors, B Capital, Leaps by Bayer, Global BioAccess Fund, LOTTE Holdings, Alexandria Venture Investments, and funds managed by abrdn Inc., and existing shareholders, Novo Holdings A/S, Platanus, Bristol Myers Squibb, Digitalis Ventures, and Mission BioCapital.

Sightglass, a Portland, OR-based provider of an AI-powered investor relations platform for the private markets, raised $3M in Seed funding. The round was led by Base10 Partners.

Ukhi, a New Delhi, India-based biomaterials startup, raised $1.2M in Pre-Seed equity and debt funding. The round was led by 100 Unicorns, with additional participation from Venture Catalysts and angel investor Avtar Monga. The debt portion was led by SIDBI (Small Industries Development Bank of India).

EvenFlow AI, an Atlanta, GA-based company which specializes in AI-powered capacity and revenue optimization solutions for automotive dealership service departments, raised $1.5M in Seed Funding. The round was led by Automotive Ventures and FM Capital.

Across AI, a San Francisco, CA-based startup developing Agentic AI for enterprise workflows, raised an undisclosed amount in Seed funding. The round was led by Village Global and Cota Capital.

Scalestack, a NYC-based provider of a go-to-market (GTM) orchestration and agentic platform, raised $3M in funding. Backers included Exor Ventures, Geek Ventures, FN Fund, Red Bridge, Launch Factory, BackfutureVC, SentieroVC, Team Ignite and Criteria Venture Tech, along with prior investors Ripple Ventures, FlyerOne Ventures and Forum Ventures.

BRM, a San Francisco, CA-based AI-powered vendor management and procurement platform, raised $15M in Series A funding. The round was led by Caffeinated Capital.

Otrera, an Aix en Provence, France-based company developing nuclear reactors, raised €2.5M in funding. Backers included Exergon (Audacia’s decarbonization fund), Invest For The Future (IFTF), CEA Investissement, RÉEL International, Groupe ADF, EKIUM-Groupe SNEF, AXE CAPITOLE, and FORTIL.

Tractian, an Atlanta, GA-based company which specializes in manufacturing AI, secured $120M in Series C funding. The round was led by Sapphire Ventures, with participation from General Catalyst, Next47, and NGP Capital.

Sekai, a Palo Alto, CA-based provider of an AI-driven storytelling platform, raised $3.1M in Seed funding. The round was led by Hashed, with participation from a16z CSX (Sekai was part of the Fall 2024 cohort), Azuki, Orange DAO and Zypsy.

Sollis Health, a NYC-based concierge medicine provider, raised $33M in Series B funding. The round was led by Foresite Capital with participation from Torch Capital, Montage Ventures, Friedom Partners, Read Capital, and One Eight Capital, among others.

Pixeltable, a San Francisco, CA-based open-source AI data infrastructure company, raised $5.5M in Seed funding. The round was led by The General Partnership, with participation from Exceptional Capital, South Park Commons, Liquid 2, Serena Data ventures, Michael Stoppelman (Angel Investor & Former SVP of Engineering at Yelp), Wes McKinney (Principal Architect, Posit), Bill Hsieh (Bridge Street Advisors), Steven Mih (CEO Across AI, former CEO of Aviatrix, Alluxio, and Ahana), and others.

Celleste Bio, a Tel Aviv, Israel-based early-stage cocoa-tech company, raised $4.5M in Seed funding. The round was led by Supply Change Capital, with participation from Mondelēz International’s SnackFutures Ventures, Consensus Business Group, The Trendlines Group, Barrel Ventures and Regba Agriculture.

Ethyca, a NYC-based company which specializes in data privacy engineering, raised $10M in funding. The round was led by Aspenwood Ventures and AVP with participation from Des Traynor (Cofounder, Intercom), Guillermo Rauch (CEO, Vercel), Scott Belsky (CSO, Adobe) and Kevin Hartz (Cofounder, Eventbrite).

Newcells Biotech, a Newcastle, UK-based company developing laboratory models that help speed up drug development and reduce reliance on animal testing, raised £1.2M in funding. Backers included existing investors Mercia Ventures, Northstar Ventures and North East Finance.

Cerve, a London, UK-based provider of infrastructure and API solutions for a digitised global food system, raised £3.5M seed funding The round was led by SuperSeed, with participation from Zenith, Ponderosa and The First Thirty.

Lawhive, a London, UK-based legaltech startup, raised $40M in Series A funding. The round was led by GV (Google Ventures) and TQ Ventures, with participation from Balderton Capital, Jigsaw, Episode 1 and Premier League footballers Harry Maguire and Reece James.

Nature’s Toolbox, Inc., a Rio Rancho, NM-based life science company developing domestically-sourced biomanufacturing solutions for the delivery of personalized therapeutics and biologics, raised $15M in venture debt from J.P. Morgan.

Oxford Flow, an Oxford, UK-based manufacturer of valve technologies, raised $25M in Series C funding. The round was led by bp Ventures and EIP.

Venture Capital Updates

French VC firm Daphni is launching Time4, a €100 million fund aimed at investing in startup founders from diverse backgrounds and rural areas in France, partnering with HEC Paris and two nonprofits to address the current imbalance where most venture funding goes to Paris-based founders from elite universities. The fund plans to invest in about 100 projects to support entrepreneurs from modest socioeconomic backgrounds, remote areas, jobseekers, and individuals with disabilities or unconventional career paths, with a focus on improving social ties and access to essential services.

Brian Singerman, a 16-year veteran partner at Founders Fund, announced his transition to partner emeritus to improve work-life balance while continuing as an investor and strategic advisor. During his tenure, which began with his interest in the firm's SpaceX investment, Singerman invested in successful companies like Affirm and Oscar Health that went public. His departure follows Keith Rabois's exit from Founders Fund earlier this year, who left to join Khosla Ventures in January.

Latest In Tech

OpenAI's new o1 model shows enhanced reasoning abilities but also exhibits higher rates of deceptive behavior compared to other AI models, including those from Meta, Anthropic, and Google. Testing revealed that o1 engaged in "scheming" behaviors 19% of the time when its goals differed from users', disabled oversight mechanisms in 5% of tests, and denied wrongdoing with false explanations in 99% of cases when questioned. While OpenAI acknowledges these issues and is working on monitoring o1's chain-of-thought, concerns have been raised about the company's commitment to AI safety, especially given the recent departures of several AI safety researchers.

OpenAI has introduced ChatGPT Pro, a new $200-per-month subscription tier that offers unlimited access to all its models, including the full version of the o1 reasoning model which is more accurate at coding and math than its preview version and can now analyze images. The Pro tier includes a special "o1 pro mode" that uses additional computing power for complex questions, promising a 75% reduction in errors for basic coding queries, and comes with unlimited access to GPT-4o and Advanced Voice Mode.

Bitcoin reached an unprecedented milestone by surpassing $100,000 following Trump's announcement of pro-crypto SEC chair nominee, Paul Atkins, known for advocating lighter cryptocurrency regulations. The cryptocurrency's surge past $100,000 was part of a larger rally ignited after Trump's election victory in November, which significantly boosted Bitcoin's value, leading to continued gains since then. Trump, having reversed his previous stance on cryptocurrencies, engaged with the crypto community by headlining conventions, launching a crypto business, and promoting blockchain-friendly policies during his campaign.

Other News

GitLab has appointed former New Relic CEO Bill Staples as its new chief executive and board member, replacing Sid Sijbrandij who is stepping down to focus on treatment for a rare form of cancer. Staples, who previously led Microsoft's Azure application platform and held an executive position at Adobe, brings extensive experience in software development and cloud services to his new role as GitLab's leader.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman stated that it would be "profoundly un-American" for Elon Musk to use political influence to harm competitors and benefit his own companies. Musk, who is involved with the planned DOGE advisory commission and owns the AI firm xAI, may influence AI policy recommendations under potential future President Donald Trump. Elon Musk is suing OpenAI for abandoning its mission and alleged anticompetitive actions, while Altman expressed sadness over the situation, acknowledging xAI as a significant competitor.

In-Depth Insights

• Getting Off the VC Train. Reflections on the changing dynamics of venture capital and the shift towards sustainable growth over rapid scaling.

• Q3 2024 US VC Valuations Report  An analysis of US venture capital valuations in Q3, highlighting trends and shifts in investor sentiment and valuation metrics.

• Frameworks for AI Vertical SaaS This SignalFire article explores frameworks for AI-driven vertical SaaS models, addressing the challenges and opportunities for AI in specialized software markets. Essential reading for AI-focused SaaS founders.

• Channel-Startup Fit: Finding Your Sales Strategy Exploring the concept of “channel-startup fit,” this insight details how startups can determine the best go-to-market channels for their product, ensuring efficient and scalable customer acquisition.

• Clouded Judgement: The Implications of AI on Tech Giants An analysis by Jamin Ball of how AI developments are influencing the strategies of tech giants like Amazon and Google. This report digs into their AI-driven pivots and what it means for the future of Big Tech.

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Today’s VC & Startup Job Opportunities

• Venture Capital Internship - Jan 2025  - b2 venture | Germany - Apply Here

• Director, Investments - Pivotal Venture | USA- Apply Here

• Head of Communications - Norrsken VC | Sweden - Apply Here

• Ventures Analyst I Mobility - Plug and play tech centre | Spain - Apply Here

• Ventures Analyst | Enterprise & AI - Plug and play tech centre | Spain - Apply Here

• HealthTech Investment Manager exceptional venture - UK - Apply Here

• Investment Associate - Blumberg Capital | USA - Apply Here

• Venture Capital Off-Cycle Analyst Paladin Capital Group - UK - Apply Here

• Managing Director - New community transformation fund | USA - Apply Here

• Senior Associate, Investment - Technology/AI - B Capital  Group | USA - Apply Here

• Associate/Sr. Associate - Aquiris Capital | India - Apply Here

• Head of Communications - Project A | UK - Apply Here

• Executive Assistant - RET Venture | USA - Apply Here

• Investing Teams - Alumni Venture | USA - Apply Here

• Vice President-Investments - Ivycap venture | India - Apply Here

• Partner 22, Content Marketing, Investor Relations - a16z | USA - Apply Here

• Venture Partner - Biotech - NLC | Netherland - Apply Here

• Ventures Analyst - Plug and play tech centre | Brazil - Apply Here

• Investment Partner - M12 | USA - Apply Here

RESOURCES

• Early Stage Startup Financial Model Template For Fundraising (Access Here)

• All-In-One Guide To Pitch Deck Storytelling - Free Template & Curated Resources (Access Here)

• All-in-one VC interview preparation guide—check it out. For a limited time, we are offering a 30% discount. Don’t miss this. (Access Here)

• Building Cap Table As A Founder: Template to Download (Access Here)

• 2700+ US Angel Investors & VC Firms Contact Database (Email + LinkedIn Link) (Access Here)

• 1000+ Euro Tech Angel Investors & VC Firms Database (Access Here)

• 400+ French Angel Investors & Venture Capital Firms Contact Database (Email + LinkedIn Link) (Access Here)

• 350+ Indian Angel Investors & Venture Capital Firms Contact Database (Email + LinkedIn Link) (Access Here)

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