VC Daily Digest - 13/11/2023

📮Today’s Major News

• Google Investing hundred of millions in Character AI Startup

• VC Fund Raising Million Dollars to acquire and revitalize struggling startups

• Featured Article: How to Improve Your Odds of Getting to Yes with a VC — “Land and Expand”

Ex-FTX Execs Launching New Crypto Exchange:

Former FTX general counsel Can Sun is reportedly working on a new cryptocurrency exchange, Trek Labs, aimed at addressing issues that led to FTX's collapse. Trek Labs, based in Dubai, has secured a license from the emirate's crypto regulator. Sun and Trek Labs' CEO, Armani Ferrante, emphasize the importance of trust and transparency, with the new exchange prioritizing user fund protection through self-custody wallets offered by Backpack, a partner firm led by Ferrante ….. More Here

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💰 Massive Fundings Updates

Character AI, a two-year-old Menlo Park startup that creates AI-powered chatbots that can impersonate people or things, is in talks to raise hundreds of millions of dollars from Google. More Here

Upciti is a French startup that has been working on a hardware sensor for city centers that is easy to install and maintain. the company secured $7.5 million (€7 million) in new funding this summer. Point Nine and Chalfen Ventures are leading the round, with existing investors Demeter and Innovacom also participating. More Here

Roller, a 12-year-old, Sydney, Australia-based maker of cloud-based venue management software for attraction businesses, has raised $50 million in funding led by Insight Partners. More Here

Arch, a New York-based technology platform that automates the operations and reporting for private investments, has raised $20 million in Series A funding, led by Menlo Ventures. Existing investors Craft Ventures and Quiet Capital also participated in the funding round, as well as new investors, including Carta, Citi Ventures, GPS Investment Partners and Focus Financial Partners. More Here

Performativ, a three-year-old Copenhagen startup that helps wealth management firms upgrade their legacy software, raised a $5.9 million seed round led by FinTech Collective, with iGlobe Partners, Upfin.vc, and EIFO also taking part. More Here

Era, a San Francisco startup founded this year whose app uses AI to that offer wealth management guidance, raised a $3.1 million seed round led by Northzone, with Protagonist and Designer Fund also pitching in. More Here

DeepInfra, a one-year-old Palo Alto startup that launches and manages LLMs for their customers, raised an $8 million seed round. A.Capital and Felicis co-led the deal. More Here

Davinci Micro Fulfillment, a two-year-old New York startup that helps brands optimize their sales channels and inventory, raised a $3 million seed round co-led by Las Olas Venture Capital, Venture 53 Fund and Accelerator, and Silicon Road Ventures. The company has raised a total of $10 million. More Here

Tabnine, AI powered platform to generate the code it raised $25 million in a Series B funding round led by Telstra Ventures with participation from Atlassian Ventures, Elaia, Headline, Hetz Ventures, Khosla Ventures and TPY Capital. More Here

🚀 Venture Capital Highlights

Craft Venture Announced $1.3 Billion for it’s IV fund and Growth II: Craft Ventures, the six-year-old, San Francisco-based venture firm founded by longtime entrepreneur-investors David Sacks and Bill Lee, just closed on $1.32 billion in fresh capital across our two new funds: Craft Ventures IV, which garnered $712 million, in capital commitments, is the firm's fourth early-stage vehicle; it also raised $608 million for its second growth fund. Craft focuses on B2B software companies across stages. The outfit how has assets under management of $3.3 billion. More Here

Investors Snatch Up Startups Rejected by VC Firms: Rising interest rates have led venture capitalists to cut startup investments, creating a new trend of investment groups raising funds to buy rejected startups and implement turnarounds. For instance, Resurge Growth Partners aims to raise $137 million to acquire and revitalize struggling startups, addressing the challenges faced by firms in securing traditional venture funding. The trend reflects the difficulty for startups, as seen in declining funding for sectors like supply chain technology and a 46% decrease in private FinTech investment during Q3 2023. More Here

Dubai launches $136M VC fund to finance tech startups: The Dubai Integrated Economic Zones Authority (DIEZ) has launched a $136 million venture capital fund to support technology startups, with a focus on promoting SME growth in emerging sectors. Under the patronage of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the fund aims to strengthen Dubai's position as a hub for innovative enterprises globally. Approximately 30% of Dubai's startup community is from India, contributing significantly to the city's economic landscape. More Here

📬 Featured: Today’s Featured Article

How to Improve Your Odds of Getting to Yes with a VC ? - Land & Expands

Raising capital is a sales & marketing process. As a founder - Your company is the product and you’re selling an equity ownership in your company but much more broadly you’re selling trust & confidence that you’re going to build something enormously valuable and

that you’re going to be enjoyable to work hand-in-hand with over the coming decade of each other’s lives. Read More Here 👇

💡 Startups Snap: The Latest Buzz

An Elon Musk biopic is in development at A24 with Darren Aronofsky on board to direct; Walter Isaacson’s recently published biography of Musk will serve as the basis for the screenplay, says Variety. No word yet on who is playing Musk, but just know who'd love to star in the production. More Here

Sam Bankman-Fried’s trial is over and he was found guilty on seven charges, for which he awaits sentencing. But he also has a second trial, currently scheduled for March 11, where he faces additional charges, including for foreign bribery. More Here

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🤖 The Latest In Emerging Tech: AI

Microsoft briefly blocked employee access to ChatGPT, the AI chatbot developed by OpenAI, citing security concerns. The move, later deemed an error, highlights growing apprehension around AI services, with companies like Apple, JPMorgan Chase, and Verizon also imposing restrictions. Microsoft encourages the use of enterprise versions like Bing Chat Enterprise, ensuring enhanced privacy and security measures. More Here

Humane's Ai Pin, a display-less AI wearable priced at $699, is highlighted for its potential in outdoor fitness activities, such as running and walking. Despite its innovative features like hands-free photo and video capture, quick note-taking, language translation, and safety functions, the absence of a screen raises practical challenges. The device's potential use in fitness scenarios is recognized, but the overall value proposition, considering the price and screen limitations, remains uncertain. More Here

🗞️ Today’s Must Read On: Startup, Technology & VC

• Why Founders Are Afraid to Talk About MOAT? Read More (Startups)

• How Does the Venture Capital Fund Cycle Work ? Read More (startups & venture capital)

• What do VCs look for? 10X return or 10X fund size outcome? Read More (Startups & Venture Capital)

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✍️Written By Sahil R | Venture Crew Team

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