VC Daily Digest - 23/11/2023

📮Today’s Major News

• US lawmakers ask SEC to scrutinize Musk comments on Neuralink

• Sam Altman Back to Open AI - Short Netflix Story Over

• xAI's chatbot Grok will be available to X's Premium Subscribers

• Featured Article: The Best Companies Create A Market

Altman’s polarizing past hints at OpenAI board’s reason for firing him

Sam Altman, the recently ousted CEO of OpenAI, faced previous removal by Y Combinator founder Paul Graham four years ago due to concerns about prioritizing personal interests and absenteeism.

Altman's clashes with allies and mentors, along with allegations of double-dipping by personally investing in start-ups, have marked his career in Silicon Valley.

The recent boardroom saga at OpenAI, involving Altman's return as CEO, reflects tensions over power dynamics and concerns about his commitment to oversight. More Here

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💰 Massive Fundings Updates

Birdseye, a Toronto-based company focused on retail and e-commerce artificial intelligence. to provide e-commerce analytics for Shopify brands to improve their marketing and advertising efforts. It has raised $3M Seed Funding, led by drive capital partner. More Here

Waspito, a health-focused social network that allows users (patients) to access and consult with verified doctors over video calls.has secured a $2.5 million seed extension from DP World through Newtown Partners, Saviu Ventures, AAIC Investment, Axian Ventures and CFAO’s Health54 to spur its growth in the Francophone region. More Here

Pocket FM, India Based Audio entertainment startup raising over $80 million in a new funding round. Lightspeed, an existing investor in Pocket FM, is in late stages of talks to lead the funding round into the startup. More Here

Climate Alpha’s, A singapore based AI-based platform helps real estate owners and investors analyze the impact of climate change on their portfolios. It has raised $5 million in seed funding led by Jungle Venture. More Here

Relay, a uber delivery platform for parcels which has a delivery platform for e-commerce companies, has raised a $10 million seed round, led by Project A Ventures of Berlin and Prologis Ventures in the U.S. More Here

Osium AI, france based startup, which aims to speed up the material innnovation raised a $2.6 million seed round from Y Combinator, Singular, Kima Ventures, Collaborative Fund, Raise Phiture and several business angels. More Here

Quotient Therapeutics, a startup based in Cambridge, Ma., that is researching genetic variation at the cellular level in order to discover new therapeutics, raised a $50 million round. Flagship Pioneering, which incubated the company, was the deal lead. More Here

Craftwork, a startup founded this year based in Charlotte, N.C., that aims to create a consumer brand for home repairs, starting with house painting, raised a $6 million seed round. Forerunner Ventures led the transaction, with additional funds provided by General Catalyst, Y Combinator, a16z General Partner Jeff Jordan, and DoorDash Co-founder Evan Moore. More Here

Quoherent, a two-year-old startup based in Huntsville, Al., that is developing developing room-temperature edge-capable quantum processors, raised a $4.7 million seed round led by Morpheus Ventures, with Draper Associates, Khosla Ventures, and Alpha Edison also taking part. More Here

Zerve, a two-year-old Irish startup that is working on a coding platform to allow data scientists and developers to collaborate more easily, raised a $3.8 million pre-seed round led by Elkstone Ventures. More Here

Vizcab, an eight-year-old startup based in Lyon, France, that is designed to assist builders in developing net-zero building strategies, meeting environmental regulations, and adhering to carbon budget requirements, raised a $5.5 million Series A round led by KOMPAS VC, with additional investment from Rise PropTech Fund, Cemex Ventures, and Altur Investissement as well as previous investors A/O and Banque des Territoires (Groupe Caisse des Dépôts). More Here

SeeChange Technologies, a five-year-old British startup that uses AI and machine vision systems at retail locations to reduce product losses from damage, theft, and fraud, raised a $10 million seed extension round led by Triple Point Ventures, with Runa Capital, True, Portfolio Ventures, and Material Ventures as well as existing investor Crane Venture Partners also stepping up. More Here

Panoptic, a one-year-old Boston startup that is building a decentralized exchange platform for perpetual options, raised a $7 million seed round led Greenfield Capital, with HashKey, gumi Cryptos Capital (gCC), L1D, Heartcore Capital, Comma3, and Zee Prime Capital also pitching in. The company has raised a total of $11.5 million. More Here

Ingenious Build, a seven-year-old Nashville startup that specializes in project management software for real estate development and construction, raised a $37 million Series A round co-led by Morpheus Ventures, Navitas Capital, and Koch Real Estate Investments, with additional participation from American Family Ventures, JLL Spark Global Ventures, and Crow Holdings. More Here

Scalestack, a two-year-old New York startup that helps B2B SaaS sales teams make sense of their existing data by enriching it with third-party data sources, raised a $1 million round from Ripple Ventures, Forum Ventures, Flyer One Ventures, and Founders Network Fund. More Here

Reboxed, a three-year-old London startup that sells refurbished and pre-owned phones, laptops, tablets, and smartwatches, raised a $2 million seed round from ACF Investors. More Here

🚀 Venture Capital Highlights

Venture Downturn Isn’t The End: In Australia and New Zealand, the startup ecosystems face similarities with Silicon Valley, experiencing a shift towards capital efficiency over rapid growth. Geographic isolation has fostered a sense of urgency for startups to access international markets and foreign funds, turning challenges into strengths. Despite a recent funding slowdown, investors anticipate the emergence of new unicorns, increased acquisitions, and strategic mergers, highlighting the region's resilience and adaptability. More Here

📬 Featured: Today’s Featured Tweet

The Best Companies Create A Market

If you look at companies like Airbnb, Dropbox or Apple - you will find that all these companies have created their own market!

How? - In case of creating your own market - market research is not going to help you. As it's based on existing markets… Read More Here

💡 Startups Snap: The Latest Buzz

Startup Acquired

French insurtech Luko, recently acquired by Admiral, faces uncertainty as Admiral abandons the deal due to disagreements during due diligence. Luko is now set to be sold by its parent company, Demain ES, under judicial reorganization, with Allianz offering €8 million for the assets. The insurtech's future remains uncertain, and potential buyers include Allianz, AXA, Ornikar, or Leocare. More Here

People

US lawmakers ask SEC to scrutinize Musk comments on Neuralink: Four House representatives have asked the SEC to investigate whether Elon Musk misled investors about the safety of Neuralink's brain implants in light of veterinary records that show that monkey test subjects suffered "debilitating health effects," including paralysis, seizures and brain swelling. More Here

Linda Yaccarino, CEO Of X (Twitter) To Resign: Linda Yaccarino is resisting growing pressure from advertisers to step down as the CEO of X, as big brands pause their spending on the platform over concerns about its antisemitic content. More Here

Meet Matthew Butterick, the man who is leading a string of lawsuits against major AI companies ranging from OpenAI to Meta. More Here

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🤖 The Latest In Emerging Tech: AI

xAI's chatbot Grok will be available to X's Premium+ subscribers next week, featuring a unique personality and real-time knowledge access through the X platform. Grok, introduced as Musk's answer to AI competitors like ChatGPT, aims to enhance X Premium+ subscriptions, providing additional revenue amid challenges such as advertiser exodus and content concerns on the platform. The move follows a week of drama at OpenAI, where CEO Sam Altman was briefly ousted and later reinstated, drawing attention to the competitive dynamics in the AI space. More Here

Sam Altman returned as the CEO of OpenAI following an "agreement in principle" after his abrupt dismissal last week. OpenAI is also reforming its board, removing several members and appointing new ones, including Bret Taylor and Larry Summers. Microsoft, which owns about 49% of OpenAI, expressed encouragement for the changes, emphasizing the strong partnership between the two organizations. More Here

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

• Sudden Disturbances in Rapidly Moving Objects : The Implications of the OpenAI Fiasco Read More (Technology & Startups)

• Don't Fall In Trap Of Tarpit Ideas, It's Worst Than Bad Ideas, Why? Read More (startups)

• Hard Pivot From Crypto Read More (startups & Tech)

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

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✍️Written By Sahil R | Venture Crew Team

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