Paypal's Mafia Launched AI Startup & NVIDIA Hit $2 Trillion Market Cap

👋 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! Today's highlights include...

• Paypal's Co-founder and Former CFO launched AI-powered email assistant startup backed by Peter Theil and Sequoia Capital.

• Sam Altman holds an 8.7% stake in Reddit, valued at $435 million if Reddit goes public at a $5 billion valuation.

• Nvidia hit a $2 trillion market cap, marking yet another high point in Wall Street.

• Featured Article : How To Run A Great User Interviews? By Emmett Shear.

• Daily Digest Board: Get Your MVP In 15 Days & Community Updates.

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Startups Funding Updates

Mindy, an innovative AI-powered email assistant, was founded in 2023 by Yu Pan (Paypal Co-founder), Cuong Do (Former Paypal’s CFO), and Benoit Berthoux. Backed by a significant $6 million seed funding round led by Sequoia Capital and Founders Fund, the startup has quickly gained attention in the burgeoning field of agent-based AI applications. More Here

Abridge, a Pittsburgh, PA-based company which specializes in generative AI for clinical documentation, received an additional $150M investment. The Series C investment was led by Lightspeed Venture Partners. More Here

Frontier Medicines Corporation, a Boston, MA- and San Francisco, CA-based precision medicine company developing therapies against otherwise undruggable disease-causing targets, received $80M in Series C funding. The round, which brought the total amount to$235.5M, was led by Deerfield Management Company and Droia Ventures. More Here

Elve, a four-year-old startup based in Davis, Ca., that produces millimeter wave amplifiers for wireless networks, raised a $15 million Series A round. Investors include TomEnterprise Private AB, Green Sands Equity, Yu Galaxy, Cambium Capital, and Lockheed Martin Ventures. More here.

spektr, a Copenhagen, Denmark-based provider of a platform that automates and streamlines compliance tasks for businesses, raised €5m in seed funding. The round was led by Northzone, Seedcamp, and PreSeed Ventures. More Here

Tuned, a NYC-based digital hearing health company providing preventive and comprehensive hearing health for employers, raised $3.2m in seed extension. The round was led by Unum Group, with participation from Distributed Ventures. More Here

Apica, a Stockholm, Sweden-based company which specializes in data management and active observability, raised an undisclosed amount in funding. The round was led by Riverside Acceleration Capital (RAC), with participation from existing investors Industrifonden, SEB Foundation, Oxx, and Leo Capital. More Here

Spektr, a one-year-old Copenhagen startup that automates and streamlines compliance tasks for businesses, particularly focusing on risk management and monitoring, raised a $5.4 million round. Investors included Northzone, Danish PreSeed Ventures, and Seedcamp. More Here

EigenLayer, a Seattle, WA-based blockchain infrastructure startup, raised $100m in Series B funding. The round was led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z Crypto). More Here

Zūm Rails, a Montreal, Canada-based payments gateway company that merges open banking with instant payments, raised $10.5M CAD Series A funding round. The round was led by Arthur Ventures. More Here

Synadia, a San Mateo, CA-based creator and maintainer of NATS.io(NATS), the open-source cloud and edge-native messaging system for data streaming, raised $25M in Series B funding. The round, which brought the total amount to $51M, was led by Forgepoint Capital, with participation from Singtel Innov8, LDVP and 5G Open Innovation Lab. More Here

Monumo, a Cambridge and Coventry, UK-based deeptech company that reinvents the electric motor, raised £10.5M in Seed funding to date. Backers included LQD VC and undisclosed angels. More Here

ISHI Health, a San Diego, CA-based AI-powered virtual clinic specializing in heart failure and complex cardiac disease care, raised $4M in funding. The round was led by Takeda Digital Ventures. More Here

Xergy, an Aberdeen, Scotland, UK-based technology company providing a work solution for project management, raised £3.1M in Series A funding from undisclosed investors. More Here

ExactTrak, a UK-based cybersecurity company, raised £1M in funding. The round included a £500k investment from UKI2S’s £18m MOD-backed defence & security seed (D2S) fund alongside several angel investors including major existing backers. More Here

Didimi, a London, UK-based provider of a digital twins and information management platform for the construction industry, raised €880K in Pre-Seed funding. The round was led by Creator Fund. More Here

Antora Energy, a Sunnyvale, CA-based company which specializes in zero-emissions industrial heat and power, raised $150M in Series B funding. The round was led by Decarbonization Partners. More Here

Axle Health, a Los Angels, CA-based provider of scheduling and workforce management software in the home health care space, raised $4.2M in Seed funding. The initial seed round was led by Pear VC, with an additional round of funding, which brought the total amount to $4.4M, led by TRAC VC. More Here

Finpilot, a Seattle, WA-based provider of an AI fintech platform for financial analysts, raised $4M in Seed funding. The round was led by Madrona with participation from Ascend.vc and angels. More Here

CrewLAB, a Marina Del Rey, CA-based provider of a team sports management platform, raised $1.6M in funding. The round was led by Scott Sandell with participation from Manning Ventures and existing angel investors. More Here

Synadia Communications, a seven-year-old startup based in San Mateo, Ca., that specializes in connecting applications and data across different environments like the cloud, on-premise systems, and edge devices, raised a $25 million Series B round. Forgepoint Capital was the deal lead, with Singtel Innov8, LDVP, and 5G Open Innovation Lab also taking part. The company has raised a total of $51 million. More Here

Venture Capital Updates

Many companies use corporate venture capital funds to make strategic investments into potential suppliers and customers, but there is something unique about OpenAI’s ‘Startup Fund’. The fund, which was launched in late 2021, is legally owned by Sam Altman, not OpenAI. While the company claims that this was a temporary measure to reduce administrative headache, this arrangement has stood for more than a year. More Here

Golden Ventures, a Canada-based venture capital firm, closed on over $100 million in capital commitments for its fifth fund targeting high-potential, seed-stage founders working across technologies, including AI, climate, blockchain and quantum. More Here

Featured Article

How To Run A Great User Interviews?

Emmett Shear, the former CEO of Justin TV shared " The primary objective during the initial set of interviews is not to inquire about optimizing user flow or delve into specific features details. Such questions can be distracting because users often think they know what they want.

This situation can lead to the "horseless carriage effect," where users request a faster horse instead of seeking a solution to the underlying problem.

Thus, it is crucial to avoid discussions about features as much as possible.. Read More Here

Startup’s Latest Buzz

Acquisition & Exits

Datasite, a Minneapolis, MN-based, provider of a SaaS platform used by enterprises globally to execute complex, strategic projects, acquired Sherpany, a Zurich, Switzerland-based board reporting and meeting management software provider. More Here

Timetoact Group, a Cologne, Germany-based provider of IT services for medium-sized businesses, corporations and public institutions, is acquiring Trustbit, an Austrian consulting firm focused on digital transformation and the development of digital business models. More Here

Local networking site Nextdoor has been struggling since it hauled itself onto the public market via a SPAC in 2021. Now, the vultures are circling, reports The Information, as the ad-driven site debates whether to replace current CEO Sarah Friar with original CEO Nirav Tolia or to potentially sell itself to a buyer. More Here

Layoffs & Shutdown

The Sewdish Company, Textile recycler filed for bankruptcy, after failing to secure additional funding and consecutive quarters of slow sales. The Swedish company, a pioneer in textile-to-textile recycling and maker of the Circulose fiber, was due to report its full fiscal year earnings. More Here

Startups & People

Byju Raveendran, CEO of Byju's, refutes rumors of his firing after shareholder group's attempt to remove him. He claims the meeting lacked quorum and adherence to legal procedures, with only 35 out of 170 shareholders present. Despite financial challenges, Byju's remains optimistic, citing strong response to a recent $200 million rights issue. More Here

The seemingly ubiquitous Sam Altman is the third largest shareholder in Reddit, with an 8.7% stake, Reddit revealed when it released its IPO prospectus today. It's not yet clear what that stake will be worth. Fortune estimates it could be valued at $435 million if Reddit gets the $5 billion valuation its advisers are reportedly targeting. More Here

At a hearing today, Meta cofounder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg argued that he should be excused from being personally liable for class action lawsuits accusing Meta of making social media products that are addictive to children. More Here

After nineteen years since its inception, Reddit has initiated the process to go public, with CEO Steve Huffman expressing high confidence in the company's future. The platform saw a notable revenue increase to $804 million in 2023, marking a growth of over 20% from 2022. Notably, Huffman and COO Jennifer Wong received a combined total of $286 million in compensation for the year, including stock and option awards. With an average of over 76 million daily visitors in December, Reddit continues to solidify its position in the digital landscape. Moreover, recent news reveals a lucrative deal with Google, wherein the tech giant will pay Reddit $60 million annually to utilize its content for training AI models. More Here

Latest In Emerging Tech

Nvidia hit a $2 trillion market cap, marking yet another high point in Wall Street's frenzy for all things AI. More Here

Despite the challenges posed by Russia's invasion, Ukraine's tech ecosystem has shown remarkable resilience. Google's $10 million fund aims to bolster Ukrainian startups, while the tech industry continues to contribute significantly to the country's GDP, accounting for 4.9%. Despite the ongoing conflict, Ukrainian startups have managed to secure funding and expand their operations, with initiatives supporting innovation amidst adversity. More Here

Google Pay is discontinuing its standalone app in the United States by June, consolidating its services with Google Wallet to simplify payment options. Users can transfer remaining balances until June 4, after which they can manage funds via the Google Pay website. Google Wallet remains the primary platform for mobile payments, offering various features like in-store purchases and digital key storage. More Here

Venture Daily Digest Picks

• It’s Not MVP, it’s MUP By Marc Randolph. Read Here

• Most VC Hate Cold Emails From Entrepreneurs... Read Here

• Netflix Co-founder's 'The Canada Rule' For Building Successful Startups. Read Here

• When Should You Raise Funding For Your Startup? Read Here

• Fundraising tips: How To Answer 'Why Now?' Read Here

Daily Digest Board

Community Updates

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

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✍️Written By Sahil R - The Venture Crew