OpenAI's Hits $2 Billion Revenue & Google Pledge $27 Millions To Boost AI Skills In Europe

👋 Hey, Sahil here! Welcome to today’s Venture Daily Digest Newsletter. Every day I quick updates on startup funding, new VC funds and tech in just 5 minutes! Today we have major updates on -

• OpenAI Annual Run Rate Has Hit The $2 Billion Mark.

• Founders Fund, led by Peter Thiel, has invested $200 million in bitcoin and ether after a market downturn in 2022.

• Google Pledge $27 Millions To Boost AI Skills In Europe

• Featured Article : Understanding Convertible Note With An Example!

• What Do You Think?: Enterprise fintech deal value in Q4?

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💰 MASSIVE FUNDING UPDATES

Nucleus Security, a Sarasota, FL-based provider of a risk-based vulnerability management platform, raised $43M in Series B funding. The round was led by Arthur Ventures and Lead Edge Capital. More Here

Ilara Health, a Kenya-based health tech enabling private clinics to access diagnostic devices and pharmaceutical products, has secured $4.2 million debt-equity in a pre-Series A round. It secures $2.5M equity round led by DOB Equity, with participation from Philips Foundation and existing investors. Additional debt investment from Alphamundi, Kiva Capital, and Boehringer Ingelheim brings total funding to $11.7M. More Here

BRIJ Medical, a Marietta, GA-based medical device manufacturer, raised $5.5M in funding. The round was led by Tim Gleeson (Vidant Capital) and a list of MedTech industry veterans. More Here

Motif Analytics, a San Francisco, CA-based data analytics startup, raised $5.7M in Seed funding. The round was led by Amplify Partners and Felicis, with participation from the InvestInData angel group. More Here

Khyaal, a Mumbai, India-based provider of an app for senior citizens, raised USD 4.2M in funding. The round, which brought the total amount to $5.4M, was led by 62Ventures, SVQuad, and Inventus Capital. More Here

Swirl, a Vadodara, India-based live shopping mobile SaaS platform provider, raised $1.1M in Seed funding. The round was led by Shastra VC with participation from angel investors spanning India, Middle East, and USA. More Here

Prosal, a Miami, FL-based provider of a Request for Proposals (RFPs) platform for agencies, reached $1.58M in Seed funding with a new influx of $400k. The round was led by Fusen Fund, with participation from a consortium of investors including Recursive Ventures, Brickyard Fund, Alumni Ventures, Mana Ventures, and Raiz Capital, complemented by a group of angel investors. More Here

Bugcrowd, a San Francisco, CA-based provider of an AI-powered crowdsourced security platform, raised $102M in Growth funding. The round was led by General Catalyst, with participation from existing investors Rally Ventures and Costanoa Ventures. More Here

Reken, a San Francisco, CA-based AI and cybersecurity company, raised $10M in Seed funding. The round was led by Greycroft and FPV Ventures with participation from Firebolt Ventures, Fika Ventures, Omega Venture Partners, Homebrew, and JAZZ Venture Partners. More Here

Officine Maccaferri S.p.A., a Bologna, Italy-based global leader in providing solutions for the civil engineering, geotechnical, and environmental construction market, received an undisclosed strategic investment from Ambienta. More Here

Pluto markets, a Copenhagen, Denmark-fintech startup, raised a $2.6m in funding. The round was led by Magnetic with participation from Y Combinator and Nordic Makers. More Here

Greyparrot, a London, UK-based AI waste analytics startup, raised a $12.8m in funding led by Bollegraaf. More Here

MediConCen, a Hong Kong-based insurtech company that automates insurance claims using AI and blockchain, raised USD 6.85M in Series A funding. The round was led by HSBC Asset Management with participation from existing investors including G&M Capital, ParticleX, and new investor Wings Capital Ventures. More Here

Cosmic Aerospace, a Centennial, CO-based aerospace startup, raised $4.5M in Seed funding. The round was led by Pale blue dot with participation from tech investors including Aera VC, Visionaries Club TOMORROW, Fifty Years, Possible Ventures, Syndicate One, Course Corrected, Understorey Capital and Samurai Incubate. More Here

Nicer, a San Juan, Puerto Rico-based company providing a travel planning and booking solution, raised $2M in Pre-Seed funding. The round was led by Trip Ventures and others. More Here

Artificial Labs, a London, UK-based algorithmic underwriting insurtech company, raised £8M in Series A+ funding. The round was led by Augmentum Fintech, with participation from existing investors MS&AD Ventures and FOMCAP IV. More Here

Jow, a Paris, France-based provider of a grocery shopping and menu recommendation app, raised $13m in additional funding. Backers included Northzone, and Eurazeo. More Here

Alys Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a Boston, MA- and Geneva, Switzerland-based immuno-dermatology focused company, launched with a $100m funding from Medicxi. More Here

Nuqlea, a Buenos Aires, Argentina-based provider of a B2B digital platform for the construction industry, raised $750K in Seed extension funding. The round, which brought the total amount to $4M, was led by Foundamental. Foundamental joined previous investors Newtopia VC, former NBA player Emanuel Ginobili, Matías Woloski, co-founder of Auth0, and more. More Here

Navro (formerly Paytrix), a Dublin, Ireland- and London, UK-based digital payments company, raised USD 14M in funding. The round was led by Bain Capital and Unusual Ventures, and including Motive Partners, with participation from prior investors Fin Capital. More Here

💰 VENTURE CAPITAL UPDATES

Homebrew, a San Francisco-based venture capital firm, is reportedly targeting $50 million for a new fund, as indicated by a recent filing with the SEC. The surprise move follows their announcement two years ago about pursuing an evergreen model solely funded by general partners Satya Patel and Hunter Walk. More Here

Wingman Ventures, Swiss venture capital firm has rebranded as Founderful, securing $85 million for its Fund II with a $120 million target. With a focus on pre-seed startups in B2B software and industrial spaces, Founderful has made nearly 50 investments, including in companies like Wingtra, Chiral Nano, and Nala Earth. More Here

Peak XV, the venture capital firm that separated from Sequoia Capital, is organizing an "Immersion Week" for about 60 founders from its portfolio companies in India, Southeast Asia, and Australia. The trip to Silicon Valley includes meetings with industry leaders, strategy sessions with OpenAI and Nvidia executives, and talks from seasoned operators. More Here

Founders Fund, led by Peter Thiel, has invested $200 million in bitcoin and ether, signaling Silicon Valley's renewed interest in crypto after a market downturn in 2022. The prominent venture capital firm, known for early bets on companies like SpaceX and Meta, previously liquidated bitcoin in 2022 but re-entered the market last summer, acquiring both cryptocurrencies. Thiel, a vocal supporter of bitcoin, views it as a store of value and hedge against central bank policies, aligning with his libertarian and tech innovation interests. More Here

𝕏 FEATURED: TODAY’S FEATURED ARTICLE

Understanding Convertible Notes With An Example

A lot of founders are still confused about convertible notes. I have shared a simpler explanation with an example in a recent LinkedIn post. I tried to cover following topics -

1. What is Convertible Note?

2. When To Use Convertible Notes?

3. When To Avoid Convertible Notes?

4. The key terms generally associated with convertible notes?

5. Convertible note excel sheet model with example ..…Read More Here

💡 SARTUP’S LATEST BUZZ

Acquisition & Exits

Travel startup Layla — backed by firstminute capital, M13, Booking.com co-founder Andy Phillipps, Skyscanner co-founder Barry Smith and Paris Hilton - has acquired AI-powered itinerary building bot Roam Around. More Here

Zendesk, a San Francisco, CA-based provider of software-as-a-service products related to customer support, sales, and other customer communications, completed the acquisition of Klaus, a Tallinn, Estonia-based provider of an AI-powered quality management platform. More Here

Trading Technologies (TT), a Chicago, IL-based global capital markets technology platform provider, acquired Ateo, a Paris, France-based provider of post-trade solutions for listed derivatives. More Here

Nordic Capital has signed an agreement to acquire a majority share in Zafin, a Vancouver, Canada-based provider of SaaS core modernization and transformation solutions for financial institutions around the world. More Here

Layoffs & Shutdown

Cisco is preparing to lay off thousands of employees while it looks to restructure its business amid flagging demand. More Here

Employees at DC Universe Online studio Dimensional Ink and publisher Daybreak Games have reportedly been impacted by layoffs. At time of writing, a precise number hasn't been given. More Here

SiriusXM CEO Jennifer Witz sent a memo to staff on Monday announcing another round of layoffs with less than 3 percent (which works out to about 170 people) would be affected. Last year, the company cut 475 employees. More Here

Startups & People

X, formerly Twitter, aims to address advertiser concerns by introducing Creator Targeting, allowing ads to run alongside curated premium content creators. The move follows ad controversies on the platform, including pro-Nazi content. After Elon Musk's 2022 purchase, X faced declining ad revenue and a loosening of content moderation policies, prompting efforts to attract both advertisers and creators. More Here

🤖 LATEST IN EMERGING TECH

Word is that OpenAI annual run rate has hit the $2 billion mark. At just seven years old, it’s a major accomplishment and mirrors the success of Google and Meta. More Here

Google has pledged €25M ($26.98M) to help European companies learn how to utilize AI, focusing on training, growth academies, and expanded language support for AI courses. More Here

📰 TODAY’S MUST READ ON: STARTUP, TECH & VC

• Why are so few of Europe’s VCs former founders? Read Here​

• As VC valuation. slump, young startups remain attractive. Read Here

• Fund performance floats toward normality. Read Here

• How Many Investors Should You Talk to in a VC Fund Raise? And How Do You Prioritize? Read Here

• Steve Jobs - ‘Don’t Ask Your Customers What They Want, Why?’ Read Here

🤔 WHAT DO YOU THINK?

📬 Newsletter That You Might Be Interested

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• Techpresso: Get the most important tech news in a free daily email.

That’s It For Today! Will Meet You Tomorrow!
Happy Tuesday! 🥂

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✍️Written By Sahil R | Venture Crew Team