SpaceX announces world's first human polar mission & Musk's xAI launches Grok-2 For Image Generation

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☕Hey there, Welcome to today's quick rundown in the Venture Daily Digest Newsletter. We've got the scoop on startup fundraising, VC funds, and some cool tech – all in just 5 minutes!

Top News

SpaceX is set to launch the Fram2 mission, the first-ever human spaceflight over Earth's poles, before the end of this year. Led by Chinese-born cryptocurrency entrepreneur Chun Wang, the crew includes a polar explorer, a roboticist, and a filmmaker. Launching from Florida aboard the Endurance spacecraft, this third Crew Dragon venture will fly directly over the north and south poles, timed to maximize lighting over Antarctica near the Southern Hemisphere's summer solstice.

Google is rolling out AI-powered search features, including AI Overviews, to users worldwide. These features use Gemini AI to understand queries, summarize web content, and organize search results. The aim is to simplify complex searches and provide more comprehensive answers. While not every search will use AI, Google believes this approach will lead to more clicks to valuable web content and a new way for users to interact with the internet.

Other Major News

• Intel sold its 1.18 million share stake in British chip firm Arm Holdings, raising about $146.7 million. (Scroll To Tech Updates)

• Elon Musk's xAI has launched Grok-2 and Grok-2 mini in beta, featuring improved reasoning and image generation. (Scroll To Tech Updates)

• WeRide, a Chinese autonomous vehicle company prepares for a U.S. IPO. (Scroll To IPO Updates)

• What Makes a Good Product Market Fit Metric? Is Cohort Retention Rate the Best Metric for PMF ?. (Scroll To Featured Article)

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🗞️ Startup Funding Updates

Clearly, a London, UK-based provider of a climate intelligence platform using AI to provide fleet operators with critical trip-level emission and energy insights, raised $4.3M in Seed funding. The round was led by Pace Ventures and Nine Realms, with participation from existing mobility investors Mobilion, Next Gear and M1720 alongside angels Lord Nash and Margaux Primat. More Here

PayZen, a San Francisco, CA-based fintech technology company tackling healthcare affordability via AI-powered solutions, raised $232M in Series B funding. The round was led by NEA, with participation from existing investors including 7wireVentures, SignalFire, Viola Ventures, and others. More Here

Encord, based in London and San Francisco, is a data development platform for preparing and managing data for AI models. The company was founded by Eric Landau and Ulrik Hansen. Encord recently raised $30 million in a Series B round led by Next47, bringing its total funding to $50 million. Other investors include Y Combinator, CRV, and Crane Venture Partners. More Here

Tedu, a Miami, FL-based EdTech company, raised $2M in Seed-1M in funding. The round was led by Cofounders Capital and included participation from Greenwood Cavalier and angel investors. More Here

Syfe, a Singapore-based investment platform that offers wealth management through a smartphone app, has raised $27 million in a Series C funding round. Investors include Valar Ventures, Unbound, and two U.K.-based family offices. More Here

Aviva, a Mexico City-based fintech startup, raised $5.5m in seed funding. Backers included Carao Ventures, Rainforest Capital, Ignia Partners, Krealo, Credicorp, Newtopia, 500 Global, DCG, Wollef, and Magna VC. More Here

ArborXR, a Norman, Oklahoma-based enterprise-grade extended reality (XR) mobile device management, content management, and content distribution solution for enterprise companies and solutions providers, raised $12M in funding. The round was led by Mercury Fund and Cortado Ventures, with participation from Impact Venture Capital and Lewis & Clark Ventures. More Here

EyeROV, India-based marine robotics deep-tech startup providing products and solutions in the field of underwater domain, raised $1.2 Million in Pre-Series A funding. The round was led by Unicorn India Ventures. More Here

FRVR, a Lisbon, Portugal-based game platform provider, raised $12.7M in funding. The round was led by Iberis Capital, with participation from Indico Capital Partners, Lince Capital, and returning investors such as Hiro Capital. More Here

Collo, a Tampere, Finland-based technology company offering IoT analyzers for optimizing industrial liquid processes, raised €5M in funding. The round was led by SEB Greentech Venture Capital and FORWARD.one, and joined by an existing investor Scale Capital. More Here

Livly, a Chicago, IL-based provider of technology-driven residential management platforms, raised $10M in funding from undisclosed investors. More Here

Ragie, a San Francisco, CA-based platform that enables developers to build AI applications connected to their own data, raised $5.5M in funding. The round was led by Craft Ventures, Saga VC, Chapter One, and Valor. More Here

NewBold Corporation, a Greenville, SC-based provider of managed technology services to the quick service restaurant, retail, warehousing, and healthcare industries, received an investment from Fort Point Capital. More Here

Setpoint, a NYC-based infrastructure provider for the credit industry, raised $31M in Series B funding. The round was led by 645 Ventures with participation from Citi and Wells Fargo, alongside Andreessen Horowitz, NextView Ventures, Floating Point, Henry Kravis, Zillow founder’s 75 & Sunny, Vesta Ventures, Fifth Wall, Eltura Ventures, and Outrunner Capital. More Here

Boshhh Mobile, a Manchester, UK-based fin-telco startup, raised £1M in Seed funding. Backers were not disclosed. More Here

MD Ally, a NYC-based leader in 911 diversion, care, and navigation solutions, closed a $14m Series A funding round. The round, which brought MD Ally’s total funding to $25m, was led by Frist Cressey Ventures, and anchored by General Catalyst, with participation from Techstars, Seae Ventures, Red & Blue Ventures, and Alumni Ventures. More Here

Voltera, a Palo Alto, CA-based developer, owner, and operator of charging infrastructure for zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) fleets, secured a $100m debt facility. ING Capital acted as Bookrunner and together with Investec as Lead Arranger and Green Loan Co-Coordinator on the financing. More Here

ITpipes, a Seattle, WA-based provider of pipeline inspection software, raised $20M in funding. The round was led by Trilogy Search Partners and Miramar Equity Partners. More Here

Guidewheel, a San Francisco, CA-based provider of an AI-powered platform that enables factories to reach sustainable peak performance, raised $31M in Series B funding. The round was led by Decarbonization Partners, a partnership between BlackRock and Temasek. Ecolab, Rethink Impact, and GSBackers also participated, alongside existing investors Greycroft and Breakthrough Energy Ventures (BEV), among others. More Here

Pelage Pharmaceutical, a Los Angeles, CA-based clinical-stage regenerative medicine company focused on hair loss, raised $14M in Series A-1 funding. The round was led by GV. More Here

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📰 Venture Capital Updates

Radical Ventures, a Canadian venture capital firm that has invested early in a number of popular artificial intelligence startups, has raised nearly $800 million in commitments for a new fund, people familiar with the plans said. The firm is currently approaching the close of a new fund, which will increase its assets under management to approximately $1.8 billion. More Here

Balderton Capital, London based firm has raised $1.3 billion across two funds, with $615 million for early-stage investments and $685 million for growth-stage companies. Previously they have backed startups like Revolut and Wayve. The VC firm focuses on European tech companies, particularly those leveraging AI for specific solutions. More Here

📌 Featured Article

What Makes a Good Product Market Fit Metric? Is Cohort Retention Rate the Best Metric for PMF ?

Product-market fit (PMF) is the mythical goal of early-stage startups — and rightfully so. Once you have PMF you are at that point where you can shift your daily focus from building something people want to getting what you’ve built out into the world and making money.

Despite PMF being the central goal of an early-stage startup, it is not well defined. Almost every definition of PMF I’ve seen from investors and entrepreneurs is different — and often conflicting. There are tons of definitions you will find on the internet -

• PMF is your NPS score

• PMF is when 40% of your users would be “very disappointed” if they no longer have access to your product

• PMF is a feeling

• You need a good distribution channel to have a product market fit…..

These are good metrics, but before using them, founders often forget to ask this question:

“What makes a good product market fit metric?’

A strong product-market fit (PMF) metric should signal when your product is ready for broader distribution, without leading you astray. Before reaching PMF, your focus should be on refining your product to better serve your current users. Once you achieve PMF, it’s time to shift your attention toward scaling your acquisition channels.

A good PMF metric should minimize the chances of false positives and false negatives. A false positive could lead you to start scaling too soon, causing you to waste resources on acquiring users who may churn because the product isn’t good enough yet. On the other hand, a false negative could delay your growth efforts, allowing competitors to get ahead or causing you to miss critical milestones, such as securing the next round of funding before your runway runs out.

To summarize, a good product market fit metric:..

We haves shared in detailed writeup in our Venture Curator newsletter, Check out here…

📑 Startup’s Latest Buzz

Acquisition & Going Public

mrge, a Hamburg, Germany-based intelligent platform for commerce advertising, acquired MaxBounty, a provider of a performance marketing network based in Ottawa, Canada.

Experian, a global data and technology company, acquired NeuroID, a Whitefish, MT-based company which specializes in behavioral analytics.

WeRide, a Chinese autonomous vehicle company, received permits to test driverless vehicles with passengers in California as it prepares for a U.S. IPO.

Layoffs & Bankruptcy

Score, a credit-focused dating app, shut down after 6 months with 18,000 users and 8,000 matches. It revealed interesting data on credit score disparities between genders and generations. Parent company Neon Money Club plans to focus on other financial wellness projects.

Startups & People

Starbucks announced that CEO Laxman Narasimhan is being replaced by Chipotle CEO Brian Niccol, causing Starbucks' stock to soar by 24.5% while Chipotle's fell by over 10%. Narasimhan's departure follows weak sales and pressure from activist investors like Elliott Management.

🤖 Latest In Emerging Tech

Rumors suggest that Apple might release a new “iPhone Slim” model, which initially seemed to be an ultra high-end device, but has since shifted to the idea of an "iPhone Air" version. DSCC analyst Ross Young indicated that Apple plans to replace the mid-range iPhone Plus with a slimmer model featuring a 6.5-inch display, as opposed to the current 6.7 inches in the existing models.

A judge allowed some claims to proceed in a lawsuit against AI companies like Stability AI and Midjourney, filed by artists alleging copyright infringement. The ruling permits direct and induced copyright infringement claims against various companies, as well as trademark infringement claims against Midjourney for its artist style list.

Elon Musk's xAI has launched Grok-2 and Grok-2 mini in beta, featuring improved reasoning and image generation on the X social network, available to Premium and Premium+ users. The models will be available to developers via an enterprise API later this month. Concerns have arisen over the lack of guardrails for creating images of political figures, especially with the U.S. presidential election approaching.

California's SB 1047 aims to prevent large AI models from causing "critical harms" by imposing strict safety protocols on developers. The bill has sparked controversy, with Silicon Valley leaders arguing it could stifle innovation, while proponents see it as essential for preventing AI-driven disasters. It is set for a final vote in the state senate later in August.

Intel sold its 1.18 million share stake in British chip firm Arm Holdings, raising about $146.7 million. The sale aligns with Intel's restructuring efforts, which include cutting over 15% of its workforce and suspending its dividend to focus on AI chips and manufacturing. Intel's stock has dropped over 59% this year.

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