Sequoia Capital is shutting down its D.C. office & A $6M bet on Wiz turned into 200x return for VC.

DAILY PICKS

🗞️ What else is brewing

• How VCs assess risk and opportunity: the ladder of proof framework.

• The new way to build software: Inside Replit’s journey to making 2 million apps in 6 months

• The pivot to Product-Market Fit: how Plaid, Clay, Lattice & other startups broke out.

• Marketing Max's marketing hack.

• Build your pitch deck with experts at $550 within 5-6 days.

• Eric Lay on the advice that helped him scale to 500k ARR in 3 months.

• Rejected from Y Combinator? here's what to do next.

• SaaS startup financial model: All-in-One excel template to download.

• MVP is over. You need to think about MVE.

• All-in-One VC fundraising guide for founders.

• 2700+ US angel investors & VC firms contact database (email + LinkedIn link).

• AI resources for you: Must-have resources to stay updated on AI tools, trusted by leading founders and investors.

🤝 A MESSAGE FOR DEVELOPERS, CREATORS AND BUSINESSES…

The AI Voice API with 99.38% Pronunciation Accuracy—And You Can Try Them for Free

Let’s be real—most AI voices still sound robotic. Flat, emotionless, and nowhere near the quality needed for real-world applications. But that’s exactly what Murf AI is solving.

Their AI Voice API is built for developers, creators, and businesses who want ultra-natural, human-like voices that don’t sound like a machine reading a script.

If you’re a developer, creator, or business looking for ultra-realistic AI voices, Murf’s AI Voice API delivers:

✅ 99.38% pronunciation accuracy, making speech sound human-like and natural
✅ 130+ voices across 13+ languages, with 15+ speaking styles for added versatility
✅ MultiNative feature that lets the same voice seamlessly switch between languages and accents.
✅ Advanced audio duration control, ensuring precise timing while keeping speech smooth
✅ Developer-friendly RESTful API & Python SDK, making integration fast and easy

And here’s the best part:

• Early-stage startups get $5,000 in free API credits for 3 months

• Not a startup? You still get 100,000 free characters to test it out

If you’ve ever wanted to add AI-generated voices that actually sound real to your product, this is your chance to try it for free →

FEATURED YOUR STARTUP

💪 Get your startup in front of over 85,000+ audience

Our newsletter is read by thousands of tech professionals, founders, investors (VCs / Angel Investors) and managers around the world. Get in touch today.

STARTUPS RAISING MILLIONS

💰 Startup funding updates

Tera AI, a San Francisco, CA-based provider of a spatial reasoning system for robots, raised $7.8M in Seed funding. The round was led by Felicis, Inovia, Caltech + Wilson Hill, and Naval Ravikant.

Factorial, a Barcelona-based HR tech unicorn, has secured a $120 million non-dilutive investment from General Catalyst’s Customer Value fund. This brings its total borrowing under these terms to $200 million, following an $80 million round in April 2024.

Blueshift, a Boston, MA-based electrochemical climate tech innovator, raised $2.1M in Pre-Seed funding. Backers included ConocoPhillips Company, Ridgeline and the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC), with participation from others.

ClearGrid, a Dubai-based AI-driven debt collection startup, has emerged from stealth with $10 million in funding ($3.5 million pre-seed, $6.5 million seed). The startup, founded in May 2023 by Mohammed Al Zaben, Khalid Bin Bader Al Saud, and Mohammed Khalili, helps lenders recover debts efficiently while reducing customer harassment. Backed by Beco Capital, Nuwa Capital, Raed Ventures, and angel investors like Replit CEO Amjad Masad and Marqeta CEO Jason Gardner, ClearGrid plans to scale in the UAE and expand into Saudi Arabia this year.

Noble Gas Systems, a Wixom, MI-based developer and manufacturer of conformable high-pressure hydrogen gas storage vessels, raised $4.2M in Series B funding. The round was led by AP Ventures, with participation from new investors ALIAD (Air Liquide Venture Capital) and NOVA by Saint-Gobain, the venture arm of Saint-Gobain.

Hunted Labs, a Mclean, VA-based software security company, raised $3M in Pre-Seed funding. The round was led by Red Cell Partners.

Stable Sea, a San Francisco, CA-based stablecoin liquidity and orchestration company, raised $3.5M in funding. The round was led by Kindred Ventures with participation from Ludlow Ventures, DFS Lab, The Venture Dept. and The Fintech Fund.

Recess, an Austin, TX-based provider of a marketplace platform for parents to find and book enrichment classes, after-school care, and camps, raised $1.75M in pre-seed funding. The round was led by Baukunst.

PhilosopherKing, a Las Vegas, NV-based provider of an AI-driven gaming platform, raised $3M in Seed funding. The round was led by 468 Capital and 212.

Utila, an institutional digital assets operations platform, raised $18m in Series A funding. The round was led by Nyca Partners with participation from Wing VC and NFX, as well as funds such as Haymaker Ventures, Gaingels and Cerca Partners.

Kaiko Systems, a Berlin, Germany-based company which specializes in AI-driven frontline intelligence in the maritime industry, raised €6M in Series A funding. The round was led by Hi inov and Flashpoint Venture Growth, with participation from Motion Ventures.

Spangle, a San Francisco, CA-based provider of an AI-powered commerce platform for retailers, raised $6M in Seed funding. The round was led by Madrona Ventures and Streamlined Ventures.

Daisy, a NYC-based provider of a platform for brands to maximize content performance through creator-powered engagement, raised $3.9M in seed funding. The round was led by CMT Digital, Volt Capital, and EV3 Ventures.

257, a NYC-based software and AI company focused on the residential energy market, raised $9.2m in seed funding. The round was led by F2 Venture Capital, with participation from Mike Fallquist (Founder & CEO of Crius Energy, Co-Founder & CEO of Energywell), Jeff Hammerbacher (founder and co-CEO of Open Athena, founder of Cloudera, original Facebook data team manager), Otto von Troschke (a European growth capital investor focusing on the energy transition, co-founder of SUSI), and Gil Golan (former GM CTO and head of GM Ventures).

Ampersand Biosciences, a Boston, MA-based multi-product platform company developing smart medicines, raised $65M in Series B Funding. Backers included Ampersand’s founder, Flagship Pioneering, Eli Lilly & Company, and several additional new investors.

CoLab Software, a St. John, Canada-based engineering design software company, raised CAD$5.6M in funding. Backers included Hibernia and Hebron Projects.

Proscia, a Philadelphia, PA-based software company improving pathology’s transition to digital and AI, raised $50M in funding. The round, which brought the total amount to $130M, was led by Insight Partners along with AI Capital Partners (Alpha Intelligence Capital’s US fund) and Triangle Peak Partners.

Capalo AI, a Helsinki, Finland-based energy technology company, raised €3.8M in Seed funding. The round was led by VentureFriends and PROfounders, with participation from existing investors Inventure and Innovestor.

Multiply Mortagage, a Denver, CO-based financial technology company making homeownership accessible through employer benefits, raised $23.5M in Series A funding. The round was led by Kleiner Perkins. A*, Box Group, Mischief, and Workshop also participated, bringing the total funding to $27M.

CaseBlink, a Miami, FL-based AI startup which specializes in immigration law, raised $2M in pre-seed funding. The round was led by Tower Research Ventures, VCs, and immigration law firms, including Fakhoury Global Immigration (FGI).

NEW VCs IN THE MARKET

🏦 Venture Capital updates

A $6M bet on Wiz turned into a massive 200x return for one early backer:

• Sequoia will make around $3 billion from Wiz’s acquisition, a 25x return on its investment, while Israel-based VC Cyberstarts will see a staggering 222x return on its seed round investment.

• Cyberstarts’ first fund invested $6.4 million in Wiz’s seed round, now worth $1.3 billion, making it one of the best-returning VC funds in history, with a 26x multiple on LP capital.

• Index Ventures, which owns a 12% stake in Wiz, is expected to make over $3.8 billion from the sale once the deal is finalized.

Ribbit Capital, a Palo Alto-based fintech-focused venture firm, is raising $500 million for a new fund, Ribbit Capital Y, according to an SEC filing. This follows its $800 million fundraise in 2023 for Ribbit Capital X. The firm, known for backing fintech giants like Nubank, Affirm, and Robinhood, has also invested in Indian startups like CRED, Groww, and PhonePe, as well as crypto firms including Coinbase and Uniswap.

Sequoia Capital is shutting down its D.C. office and parting ways with its policy team at the end of March, marking a shift from other major VC firms like Andreessen Horowitz, which has been expanding its policy influence. The firm originally opened its D.C. office five years ago to navigate regulatory issues and deepen ties with policymakers but now believes it can maintain those relationships without a dedicated team.

KEY STORIES IN TECH

📜 Latest in tech

SoftBank to acquire semiconductor designer startup in $6.5B:

• SoftBank is acquiring Ampere Computing in a $6.5 billion all-cash deal, making it a wholly-owned subsidiary to strengthen its AI and compute capabilities.

• Ampere, backed by Carlyle (59.65%) and Oracle (32.27%), designs ARM-based server chips used by Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure, Oracle Cloud, and others.

• SoftBank’s move aligns with its AI expansion strategy, following investments in OpenAI’s Stargate data centers, the Cristal Intelligence project, and its ownership of ARM Holdings.

OpenAI launches expensive o1-pro AI model with better reasoning:

• OpenAI’s new o1-pro model, available in its API, uses more computing to provide improved reasoning and more reliable responses.

• Pricing is steep: $150 per million input tokens and $600 per million output tokens, double the cost of GPT-4.5 and 10x regular o1.

• Early feedback is mixed, with some users reporting only slight improvements over o1 in coding and math tasks, despite OpenAI's claims of better performance.

Nvidia reportedly acquires synthetic data startup Gretel:

• Nvidia has acquired Gretel, a synthetic AI training data startup, in a deal reportedly exceeding its $320 million valuation, with terms undisclosed.

• Gretel’s team of 80 will be integrated into Nvidia, where its technology will enhance Nvidia’s suite of generative AI services for developers.

• With AI firms exhausting real-world data sources, synthetic data is becoming a key strategy, with Microsoft, Meta, and OpenAI also investing heavily in this space.

Tesla secures robotaxi permit in California:

• Tesla received its first charter-party carrier permit from the California Public Utilities Commission, allowing it to operate chauffeur services but not yet fully autonomous ride-hailing operations in the state.

• This permit marks the initial step in a series of approvals Tesla needs to launch its autonomous robotaxi services, with plans to begin operations in California and Texas this year.

• Tesla aims to expand its driverless service using the new Cybercab vehicle, initially offering unsupervised rides in Austin, Texas, and eventually extending to other states by year's end.

Amazon’s AI music integration with Suno sparks major copyright concerns:

• Amazon’s Alexa Plus demo showcased integration with Suno, an AI-generated music platform already facing lawsuits for allegedly using copyrighted material, potentially escalating legal risks.

• Suno’s AI-generated songs have been flagged for closely resembling copyrighted tracks, raising concerns about whether its use in Alexa could divert listeners from licensed music and impact artist royalties.

• Industry experts warn that Amazon’s involvement with Suno could strain its relationships with major record labels, contradicting its existing music licensing deals while exposing the company to further copyright disputes.

LAST COFFEE SIP

☕Other news

AWS generative AI GM Raj Aggarwal exits to launch new startup:

• Raj Aggarwal is leaving AWS after nearly three years as GM of generative AI and revenue acceleration, where he helped build AWS’ AI foundation models, Bedrock, and Amazon Q.

• Aggarwal has a strong entrepreneurial background, having founded and exited startups like Localytics (acquired by Upland BlueVenn) and Demand Sage (acquired by Snap).

• He plans to “return to his roots” and launch a new company, though no specific details have been shared yet.

HIRING ALERT: STARTUPS & VC ROLES

💼 Today’s VC & startup job opportunities

• Principal - Mavin Ventures | India - Apply Here

• Vice President - Agritech - Mavin Venture | India - Apply Here

• Part-Time Student at Impact VC - Kopa Venture | Germany - Apply Here

• Partner 16 - a16z | USA - Apply Here

• Partnerships, Events & Outreach Intern - Succeed Venture | India - Apply Here

• Senior Associate - Hubspot Venture | USA - Apply Here

• Associate - IIFL Capital | India - Apply Here

• Associate - TenOneTen | USA - Apply Here

• Venture Partner - Pressplay Venture | Remote - Apply Here

CURATED RESOURCES

🎁 Don’t miss - Curated Resources for Founders.

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

• Write Your Monthly Investor Update (Email Template Download).

• Building Cap Table As A Founder: Template to Download.

• 1000+ Euro Tech Angel Investors & VC Firms Database.

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

• 250+ Latin America VC Firms & Angel Investors Database

• 150+ African Angel Investors Contact Database (Email + LinkedIn Link).

WHEN YOU’RE READY, HERE’S HOW I CAN HELP:

💁 You might need our help!

• Reach 86,600+ Founders & Investors: Partner with our newsletter to reach a highly engaged audience.

• Build Your Pitch Deck: We write, design and model your pitch deck into a storyteller book within 4-5 days.

BEFORE YOU GO