Podcasts about series e

Executive coach Angela Bennett knows a thing or two about the unique needs of beauty and wellness industry leaders. She spent more than two decades working across L'Oréal and Estee Lauder brands like La Roche-Posay, Maybelline and Clinique in roles like vice president, general manager and svp of talent acquisition. "The subjective nature of [the beauty industry] requires an art of balancing data points, intuition and conviction [while] becoming your own leader to navigate the decisions that need to be made on a daily basis," Bennett said. But today, Bennett is part of a growing number of certified professional executive coaches who help individuals and organizations to build stronger teams. She also works one-on-one with executives who need help getting to the next level in their careers.  This often entails a rigorous strategy that includes reflection, learning and planning in an effort to become a better leader with more long-term career direction. Much of this process starts with developing communication skills to suit the workplace environment and culture. “Communication coaching is really going to be about developing the skills to be clear, concise, convincing and motivating, and to really master the art of what we call ‘influencing for results',” she said. “[That means] influencing others, influencing management toward making decisions on specific strategies that, as a leader, you are recommending and wanting to push through.”  In today's episode of the Glossy Beauty Podcast, Bennett introduces us to the world of executive coaching and shares her top three universal tips for executives.  But first, hosts Lexy Lebsack and Emily Jensen discuss the biggest beauty news of the week.  First up is wellness investment news from Oura Health Oy, the makers of Oura, the wearable health tracking ring that launched in 2015. The Finnish company is reportedly closing in on a $875 million Series E investment round that will undoubtedly impact the industry. The company could soon be valued at around $11 billion.  The hosts also break down the latest influx of celebrity endorsement deals including Kris Jenner for Estée Lauder-owned MAC, Leighton Meester for indie darling skin-care brand Bubble, singer Ciara as the new face of Thorne's Creatine products, Miley Cyrus for Maybelline, and Dua Lipa's new deal with pilates reformer company Frame Fitness.  Lebsack and Jensen also unpack Hailey Bieber's splashy Rhode launch with Sephora, which brought in $10 million in sales in just two days, according to Yipit, an alternative data provider and analytics firm that utilizes web and in-store receipt data.  Finally, the duo discuss the closure of Kim Kardashian's 3-year-old skincare line, SKKN by Kim, including Coty's $71.1 milliones loss from its 2021 investment in the now-shuttered brand. 

We chat about longevity with Alex Zhavoronkov, CEO and founder of the artificial intelligence (AI) specialist Insilico Medicine.Born in Latvia, Alex founded Insilico in 2014, with the company raising a huge $110M Series E round this year.Alex gives us a tour of Insilico's sprawling pipeline, a blunt rundown of the competitive landscape in AI drug development, and explains how Insilico is navigating the huge challenges faced by longevity-focused startups.⭐️ ABOUT THE SPEAKERAlex founded Insilico in 2014 after serving in senior roles at ATI Technologies, NeuroGNeuroinformatics, and the Biogerontology Research Foundation.With an academic background in biomedicine and computer technology, he has published more than 200 peer-reviewed articles, and has bachelor's degrees from Queen's University, Canada, a master's degree from Johns Hopkins University, US, and a PhD from Moscow State University, Russia.

 In a new blog post, the company said it received comments from more than 14,000 community members and that it “especially heard from community members who shared concerns about how the guidelines could impact creative expression and traditionally marginalized voices.” The company  said, “after considering this feedback, and in a return to our experimental roots, we are going to bring a greater focus to encouraging constructive dialogue and enforcing our rules against harassment and toxic content. For starters, we are going to increase our enforcement efforts.” Also, Oura Health Oy, the maker of the Oura health and fitness ring, is raising $875 million in a new Series E financing round valuing it around $10.9 billion, according to a new report from Bloomberg. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discuss the significant operational challenges Waymo and Uber are currently experiencing in Atlanta and Nuro's Series E round.Waymo's launch in Atlanta has gone anything but smooth. A shortage of vehicles and frequent rider pairing issues on Uber have sparked negative local media coverage, with Fox 5 Atlanta even publishing a guide on how to improve your chances of getting a Waymo ride. The Atlanta launch has raised questions about the long-term future of Uber and Waymo's partnership. While Waymo and Uber are facing vehicle supply issues in Atlanta, Nuro successfully closed a Series E round led by Uber that raised $203 million at a valuation of $6 billion.Episode Chapters0:00 Robots2:42 Nuro Series E4:54 Delivery Robots Part 16:11 Fleet Management 9:24 Delivery Robots Part 214:26 Waymo on Uber in Atlanta 21:15 Status of Waymo and Uber's Relationship 26:58 Helm.ai Honda Expand Partnership 32:21 Alibaba's Autonomous Driving IPO34:16 Baidu Apollo Go36:35 Tesla FSD in Japan38:46 Cybercab39:32 Next WeekRecorded on Thursday, August 21, 2025--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy provides market intelligence and strategic advisory services to institutional investors and companies, delivering insights needed to stay ahead of emerging trends in the autonomy economy™. To learn more, say hello (at) roadtoautonomy.com.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/ae/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On today's episode, co-host Yasmin Gagne and associate editor David Salazar, filling in for Josh Christensen, discuss the latest news in the world of business and innovation. Topics include Nvidia and AMD cutting a chip revenue–sharing deal with Trump, OpenAI unveiling the GPT-5 model, Trump signing an executive order to extend the trade truce with China for another 90 days, Paramount announcing a 7-year deal with the UFC, and Ford planning to revamp its assembly line to better produce electric vehicles. Next, David and Yaz speak to contributing writer Chris Stokel-Walker about the rise in popularity of AI chatbots, how people are not using AI chatbots as they were programmed, and why the excitement for the new ChatGPT-5 fell flat with users. Finally, Yaz chats with the founder and CEO of Abridge, Shiv Rao, about the AI platform that can turn conversations between doctors and patients into clinical notes in real-time. The company reached a valuation of $5.3 billion after its $300 million Series E funding round. For more of the latest business and innovation news, go to https://www.fastcompany.com/news To read Chris Stokel Walker's article on Chat GPT and the rise in popularity of AI chatbots:https://www.fastcompany.com/91385268/most-people-are-using-chatgpt-totally-wrong-and-openais-ceo-just-proved-it

60% of traffic. 1.6 billion views. A YouTube celebrity in-house. Carwow CMO Ben Carter reveals how they built a content machine so powerful, it became their moat and their moneymaker.Welcome to the Marketing Hustle - a podcast about the real work behind building bold brands. We go behind the scenes with founders and marketing leaders to hear honest, unfiltered stories of what actually drives growth and cuts through the noise to build something that lasts.Today's guest is Ben Carter, CMO of Carwow - one of the most quietly disruptive brands in the UK. In this episode, Ben shares the inside story of how content became their unfair advantage: 60% of their traffic is free. Their YouTube channel boasts 10 million subscribers and 1.6 billion views. And their in-house presenter? Recognised by 25% of UK men.But this conversation is about far more than content.Ben opens up about losing his job unexpectedly and what it really takes to lead inside a Series E business during economic uncertainty.We also dive into:How CarWow raised $52M in Series E funding from Bessemer and othersWhy first-party data and retail media are the real goldmine for modern marketersThe death of SEO as we know it and the coming AI-ification of searchWhy most CMOs are either too brand or too performance and what it means to be bothThe future of jobs, AI, and marketing orgs in the next 5 yearsThis is an honest, high-intensity and highly strategic episode for anyone trying to scale a brand, build a resilient team, or keep up with the seismic shifts reshaping marketing today.

In this week's episode of the Friends in Beauty Podcast, we're joined by Lindsay Nahmiache—CEO of Veriphy Skincare, founder of award-winning agency Jive PR + Digital, and investor in over 13 startups, including a double unicorn. Lindsay is a branding expert and strategic investor who's helped companies scale from seed to Series E—and she recently added beauty brand rescuer to her résumé.We dive into the real story behind her acquisition of Veriphy Skincare and how she saved the brand from shutting down. Lindsay shares how beauty rituals like skincare can fuel professional confidence, why “confidence is the new glow,” and what founders need to know to grow a business that gets attention from investors.From building brand voice in a saturated beauty market to managing global campaigns, to leading with clarity, confidence, and conviction—Lindsay breaks down how she blends data, storytelling, and intuition to grow and glow in business.This is a must-watch conversation for beauty professionals, brand builders, investors, and entrepreneurs looking to own their power at every stage of the journey.

LegalOn Technologies, a Tokyo- and San Francisco-headquartered legal tech startup that has built an AI contract review software for legal teams, has raised $50 million in Series E funding led by Growth Equity at Goldman Sachs Alternatives, along with existing investor World Innovation Lab (WiL), and new investors Mori Hamada & Matsumoto Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week's Espresso covers news from Addi, Avista, Plenna, Kira, and more!Outline of this episode:[00:30] – Addi secures $35M financing deal from BBVA Spark[00:38] – Avista secures $10M from Ninety One[00:46] – Plenna raises $6M Series A[01:00] – Kira raises $2M to launch AI-stablecoin fintech API[01:08] – Mexico's Banco Plata prices $120M bond offering[01:16] – AlugaMais secures $2M for 12-month rent advances[01:23] – Neon raises $129M in Series E extension round[01:44] – FiT acquires Neurona to expand fintech infrastructure in Latin AmericaResources & people mentioned:Startups: Neurona, Addi, Avista, Plenna, Kira, Plata, AlugaMais, Neon,VCs: BBVA Spark, Ninety One, Dalus Capital, New Ventures, Fondation Botnar, SRM Ventures, IFC, DEGOrganizations: FiT,People: Karla Berman,

In this week's episode of The Geek in Review, Greg Lambert flies solo while co-host Marlene Gebauer enjoys some well-deserved relaxation. Greg welcomes Trevor Quick, Strategic Business Development lead at Harvey.ai, to discuss one of the most talked-about companies in legal tech today. With a staggering $300 million Series E funding round and a $5 billion valuation, Harvey is rewriting the narrative of what legal AI can be, as well as who it is for. Trevor, a longtime listener turned guest, brings an insider's view of the company's evolution and its ambitions for reshaping the legal services ecosystem.Trevor provides behind-the-scenes insight into how Harvey has become such a magnet for both capital and attention. He attributes the rapid growth to the company's structure—where legal expertise and AI engineering are in constant collaboration. From founder Winston Weinberg's legal acumen to co-founder Gabe Pereyra's technical leadership, Harvey's DNA has always been rooted in practical use cases for lawyers. The company's commitment to building with, not just for, the legal community has led to the development of a GTM team composed of practicing attorneys who work directly with law firms and corporate legal departments to customize AI solutions that align with real workflows.One of the most talked-about moves is Harvey's deepening partnership with LexisNexis. Trevor explains how integrating Lexis's data directly into Harvey's platform removes the friction lawyers face when juggling multiple research tools. With access to Shepard's citations and native case law lookup, attorneys can now verify and trust the results Harvey generates—turning it from a generative assistant into a full-fledged research companion. This update not only boosts confidence but also meets the rigorous standards legal professionals demand, especially those skeptical of AI's early stumbles.The conversation also touches on Harvey's new functionalities like the Workflow Builder, Vault document review enhancements, and Deep Research Mode. Trevor likens these innovations to “agentic” workflows that let users build custom solutions with low or no code. Whether it's KM teams building tailored research processes, or attorneys streamlining diligence reviews, Harvey is giving legal professionals the ability to shape how AI works with them, not around them. Trevor emphasizes that Harvey's success comes from its honesty, adaptability, and the trust it has earned by meeting lawyers where they are—not forcing them to change how they work overnight.In closing, Greg asks Trevor to gaze into the crystal ball, and while Trevor jokingly admits that predicting the future in AI is a fool's errand, he offers a vision rooted in intuition, collaboration, and democratized access to justice. From expanding into tax, compliance, and marketing workflows, to becoming a central hub for legal and adjacent industries, Harvey is on a path to not only augment what lawyers do, but to enhance how they feel about the work itself. With world-class partnerships and a relentless pace of innovation, Trevor makes a compelling case that Harvey isn't just a tool—it might just be the toolbelt.Listen on mobile platforms:  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ |  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[Special Thanks to ⁠Legal Technology Hub⁠ for their sponsoring this episode.] Blue Sky: ⁠⁠@geeklawblog.com⁠⁠ ⁠⁠@marlgeb⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Email: geekinreviewpodcast@gmail.comMusic: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jerry David DeCicca⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Transcript

When legal research giant LexisNexis and legal AI giant Harvey announced a strategic alliance last month, legal tech commentator Richard Tromans called it “possibly the most important legal tech move in a decade.” On today's episode of LawNext, we go deep into the partnership and its implications with Sean Fitzpatrick, CEO of LexisNexis North America, UK & Ireland.  Through the partnership, LexisNexis will integrate its primary law content, Shepard's citations, and AI technology directly into Harvey's platform, and the two companies will jointly develop agentic AI workflows. The partnership comes on the heels of Harvey's remarkable Series E funding round, raising $300 million at a $5 billion valuation, in which RELX, LexisNexis's parent company, was a participating investor.  So what drove this alliance? In his interview with host Bob Ambrogi, Fitzpatrick reveals it wasn't a boardroom strategy session that sparked this partnership, but rather customer demand from large law firms seeking the combined power of LexisNexis's authoritative legal content and Harvey's AI capabilities. Fitzpatrick talks about what this means for the future of legal AI, how it addresses the persistent challenge of hallucinations in AI-generated legal content, and whether we're witnessing the emergence of a new model for legal tech partnerships. He also shares insights from recent ROI studies showing dramatic productivity gains for both law firms and corporate legal departments using AI tools.    Thank You To Our Sponsors This episode of LawNext is generously made possible by our sponsors. We appreciate their support and hope you will check them out. Paradigm, home to the practice management platforms PracticePanther, Bill4Time, MerusCase and LollyLaw; the e-payments platform Headnote; and the legal accounting software TrustBooks. Briefpoint, eliminating routine discovery response and request drafting tasks so you can focus on drafting what matters (or just make it home for dinner). SpeakWrite: Save time with fast, human-powered legal transcription—so you can focus on your practice Paxton, Rapidly conduct research, accelerate drafting, and analyze documents with Paxton. What do you need to get done today?,    If you enjoy listening to LawNext, please leave us a review wherever you listen to podcasts.  

After months of hearty marketing efforts and large-scale technology demos across the U.S., Nuro has secured $106 million in fresh funding to help scale its autonomous driving technology and advance commercial partnerships.  The Series E round brings Nuro's total funding raised to $2.2 billion and its valuation to $6 billion. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discuss Wayve's OEM partnership with Nissan, Nuro's Series E capital raise and why the Uber/Waymo partnership in Austin does not guarantee future deployments. Wayve is going to power Nissan's next-generation ProPILOT technology starting in fiscal year 2027. The deal with Nissan validates Wayve's business model of licensing and raises the question of is Nuro next in line to secure a major OEM partnership? As the autonomy economy evolves, licensing autonomous driving systems is going to accelerate fragmentation, potentially benefitting both Uber and Lyft. In Austin, Waymo is available exclusively through Uber. While early signs point to success, it's far from guaranteed that the partnership will scale beyond Austin and Atlanta, especially as Waymo continues to expand on it's own with Waymo One.Episode Chapters0:00 Wayve Partners with Nissan 3:12 Autonomous Driving OEM Partnerships 5:24 Nuro Series E7:12 Autonomous Driving Partnerships Ecosystem 13:01 Could Tesla xAI Swap Assets?17:19 Zoox Expands Testing to LA18:27 Will Zoox Launch Commercial Service in 2025?20:25 Waymo Needs More OEM Partnerships 23:40 U.S. / China Policy 28:00 Europe / China Policy 31:19 Uber / Waymo Austin Data 36:49 Unforced Error of The Week38:52 Next WeekRecorded on Friday, April 11, 2025--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy® is a leading source of data, insight and commentary on autonomous vehicles/trucks and the emerging autonomy economy™.Autonomy is transforming industries and creating an entirely new economy that we call the autonomy economy™. The Road to Autonomy provides advisory and market intelligence services that helps you better understand the market and stay ahead of what's coming next. To learn more, say hello (at) roadtoautonomy.com.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/autonomy-economy/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Nossos comentaristas analisam as rodadas dos campeonatos estaduais do futebol brasileiro, a pré-temporada dos clubes nos Estados Unidos e tudo do mercado da bola Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

SaaStr 779: 5 Things That Are Actually Working and 5 Things That Aren't in B2B SaaS AI with Ironclad's CEO and a16z Ironclad CEO and co-founder Jason Boehmig joined Seema Amble, Partner at Andreessen Horowitz at SaaStr Annual to share their observations on what's currently working – and what's not quite there yet – for Artificial Intelligence (AI) in SaaS. With Ironclad's journey from an AI-first concept in 2014 to a Series E+ company and a16z's extensive portfolio view, their insights offer a valuable perspective on the current state of AI in SaaS. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SaaStr hosts the largest SaaS community events on the planet. Hey everybody - thanks to the 10,000 of you who came out to SaaStr Annual. We had a blast and big news -- we'll be back in MAY of 2025. That's right, the SaaStr Annual will be a bit earlier next year, May 13-15 2025. We'll still be back in the same venue, in the SF bay area at the 40+ acre sprawling san mateo county events center. Grab your tickets at saastrannual.com with code JASON50 for an extra discount on our very best pricing. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  This episode is sponsored by: Anrok A question for SaaS finance leaders, do you know where your customers are? Anrok tracks where your sales are creating exposure, and automates tax calculation and filing worldwide. Built for high-growth software companies, Anrok protects your revenue and saves you time. Visit anrok.com/saastr to learn more.

Tech ​f​ounders, CEOs, and venture capitalists alike have cracked the code to eliminate ​H​R departments in just three easy steps. Step ​O​ne: replace recruiters with an AI that promises to "remove bias" but somehow keeps hiring people named Chad. Step ​T​wo: turn performance management into a gamified app where employees earn badges instead of raises. Step ​T​hree: declare that workplace culture will now be managed by a Slack emoji poll, because nothing says "values-driven organization" like reacting with a thumbs-up. ​T​here you have it! HR is officially "disrupted," and the humans in human resources are conveniently out of the way—just as the ​t​ech bros intended.Tech Bros Video: Get Rid of Your HR Department in 3 Easy StepsHRDLY Guest: A serial early HR leader at tech startups, Stacey Nordwall is currently the VP of People Strategy at Pyn. She created Pyn's 50 Over 50 Women in Tech list and the Guide to Inclusive and Equitable Workplace Communications. Previously, she helped to scale the people team at Culture Amp as it grew from Series A to Series E. Stacey is passionate about creating inclusive workplaces where people can thrive and helping People teams evolve to meet the new world of work. She has an MA in Counseling Psychology from St. Mary's College of California and a BA in Psychology and Communication from Stanford University.Stacey is also the host of the podcast Toot or Boot: HR editionFollow Stacey: https://www.linkedin.com/in/staceynordwall/Hosted by Emily McMahon -- an HR Executive who happens to be a raging introvert, is skeptical about people, and deeply loves the work of HR.Follow Emily: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ememcm/Follow HR Doesn't Like You: https://www.linkedin.com/company/hrdoesntlikeyou/

This week's Espresso covers news from Klar, Educbank, Fairplay, and more!Outline of this episode:[00:27] – Klar launches platinum credit card[00:37] – Educbank raises $14.5M through the issuance of corporate bonds[00:57] – Fairplay secures $35M credit line from BBVA Spark[01:19] – Ualá raises $300M Series E and reaches $2.75B valuation[01:38] – Tako raises $13.2M seed round from a16z and Ribbit Capital[01:58] – Cometa raises $12M Series A to optimize school administration[02:13] – Interview with Andrés Benavides CEO & Cofounder of Cometa[10:43] – Lerian raises $3.1M in a round led by MAYA Capital[11:00] – Influur raises $10M in series A round[11:11] – Pravaler raises $75M in FIDCs[11:24] – Tumoni raises $2.3M in pre-seed round[11:44] – Asia Shipping acquires Hórus Logística[12:00] – Blip raises $60M in series C round[12:20] – LatamList Roundup November 1st – 15thResources & people mentioned:Startups: Klar, Educbank, Fairplay, Ualá, Tako, Cometa, Lerian, Influur, Pravaler, Tumoni, Asia Shipping, Hórus Logística, BlipVCs: BBVA Spark, Allianz X, a16z, Ribbit Capital, Reach Capital, MAYA Capital, Point72 Ventures, HTwenty Capital, Slauson & Co, Counterview Capital, Warburg PincusPeople: Andrés Benavides

" Venom: A Última Rodada "Eddie Brock e Venom, que dividem o mesmo corpo, estão sendo caçados por forçastanto do seu planeta natal quanto da Terra. À medida que a pressão em cima dos doisaumenta, eles são forçados a tomar uma decisão vai marcar o fim de sua última dançajuntos. Enfim, é o terceiro filme desse personagem do universo do Homem Aranha...Apoie o jornalismo Vigilante: 10% de desconto para audiência do Café Antagonista⁠ ⁠    https://bit.ly/oa-cafe10    Siga O Antagonista no X, nos ajude a chegar nos 2 milhões de seguidores!     https://x.com/o_antagonista    Acompanhe O Antagonista no canal do WhatsApp.   Boletins diários, conteúdos exclusivos em vídeo e muito mais.     https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Va2S...     Ouça O Antagonista | Crusoé quando quiser nos principais aplicativos de podcast.    Leia mais em www.oantagonista.com.br | www.crusoe.com.br 

Apoie o jornalismo Vigilante: 10% de desconto para audiência do Café Antagonista⁠ ⁠  https://bit.ly/oa-cafe10  Acompanhe O Antagonista no canal do WhatsApp.  Boletins diários, conteúdos exclusivos em vídeo e muito mais.   https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Va2S...   Ouça O Antagonista | Crusoé quando quiser nos principais aplicativos de podcast.  Leia mais em www.oantagonista.com.br | www.crusoe.com.br  

In this episode of The Stream Life Podcast, Nick Heudecker joins the show to discuss Cribl's recent Series E round, how customers find value in our products, why they need a Data Engine for IT and Security, and how our products integrate seamlessly—without ever locking data in. Resources Cribl Closes $319M Series E Round at a $3.5B Valuation to Revolutionize Enterprise Data Management How to Avoid Vendor Lock-In Cribl Lake  If you want to automatically get every episode of the Stream Life podcast, you can subscribe on your favorite podcast app. Cribl, the Data Engine for IT and Security, empowers organizations to transform their data strategy. Customers use Cribl's suite of products to collect, process, route, and analyze all IT and security data, delivering the flexibility, choice, and control required to adapt to their ever-changing needs. We offer free training, certifications, and a free tier across our products. Our community Slack features Cribl engineers, partners, and customers who can answer your questions as you get started and continue to build and evolve. We also offer a variety of hands-on Sandboxes for those interested in how companies globally leverage our products for their data challenges.

This week's EYE ON NPI will make you Stop! In the Naaaaaaaaaaame of Love (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JiS02O4fEk) but will never break your heart - it's E-Switch's E200 Series E-Stop Pushbutton Switches (https://www.digikey.com/en/product-highlight/e/e-switch/e200-series-e-stop-pushbutton-switches). These are two small emergency stop switches that are durable, ergonomic, safe and easy to use! Both have immediate "slam to stop" and "twist to re-start" functionality. One has a classic mushroom-domed top and the other is a longer grippy wheel that comes with a optional center illumination by neon bulb or LED. Just this week we were talking with someone working in safety design and recommended The Design of Everyday Things (https://jnd.org/books/the-design-of-everyday-things-revised-and-expanded-edition/) a book that covers how to design 'obvious' things in the real world - like how doors pull when entering and push to exit a building, so that folks trying to escape a building in a panic don't get trapped. A lot of the design decisions have been learned by hard lessons: people getting injured or dying... that's why we have things like building codes and engineering certifications such as those for medical devices (http://sunnyday.mit.edu/papers/therac.pdf). Even when we do our best to design safety margins, redundancies and interlocks, there's always the chance that something will go wrong. Especially when designing robots, machinery, lasers, or some other "Machine that does not know the difference between metal and flesh, nor does it care" (https://www.reddit.com/r/Machinists/comments/sg9wct/i_made_a_sticker_for_the_lathe/) That's where you definitely want to add in an emergency stop switch, also known as a kill switch. Wire this up in series with your main power input and no matter what happens with your firmware or interlock or other secondary safety features, you will cut the power instantly. The brilliance in this design is that you push or slam down on it to open the contacts but then you need to twist to reconnect. This means folks can't accidentally turn it on again by pressing again, there's no chance of it bouncing closed, and you can immediately verify the state by pressing it again. The E-Switch's E200 Series E-Stop Pushbutton Switches (https://www.digikey.com/en/product-highlight/e/e-switch/e200-series-e-stop-pushbutton-switches) are both rated for 250VAC 5A, 125VAC 8A or 24DC 6A with IP65 dust-tight (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IP_code). Simply drill a 16mm hole in your enclosure to mount. The contacts are shrouded to minimize risk of cross-contact, use 0.11"/2.8mm spade quick contacts (https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/te-connectivity-amp-connectors/2-520083-2/289211) to connect. Whichever variant you choose, you can add a stylish kill switch to your next design from a trusted switch manufacturer that will keep your users and products safe from each other. And best of all, DigiKey has both E-Switch E200's (https://www.digikey.com/short/5tvqhj4b) in stock right now for immediate shipment! Order today and you'll be E-Stopping by tomorrow afternoon. And check out the manufacturer's video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TY-6tbsB0E

Send us a textSubscribe to AG Dillon Pre-IPO Stock Research at agdillon.com/subscribe;- Wednesday = secondary market valuations, revenue multiples, performance, index fact sheets- Saturdays = pre-IPO news and insights, webinar replays00:06 | SpaceX Sets New Record in Civilian Space Travel- Space payload delivery and satellite internet company- Polaris Dawn mission: first commercial spacewalk, civilian crew led by Jared Isaacman- Crew spent 20 minutes outside SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule- Reached 870 miles above Earth, setting a civilian space travel record- Tested new EVA suits, conducted 40 experiments- Secondary market valuation: $223B (+6.3% vs Jul 2024 round)01:20 | OpenAI Launches New AI Model, "OpenAI o1"- AI large language model business- Announced "OpenAI o1," focusing on enhancing reasoning abilities in math, coding, and science- Achieved 83% on International Mathematical Olympiad exam (up from 13% with prior models)- Available to ChatGPT Plus and Team users- Competitors like Google and Anthropic developing similar AI models01:59 | OpenAI in Talks for $6.5B Funding Round at $150B Valuation- OpenAI in discussions to raise $6.5B at a $150B valuation (primary round)- Previous valuation: $86B earlier in 2024- Seeking $5B in debt via revolving credit facility- Key investors include Thrive Capital, Microsoft, Apple, Nvidia, and UAE-backed MGX fund02:55 | OpenAI's ChatGPT Hits 10M Paying Subscribers- ChatGPT: 10M paying subscribers, 1M on higher-priced business plans- Generates $225M in monthly revenue, or $2.7B annually- Projected $4B in annual revenue in the next 12 months (up from $1.6B in late 2023)- Valuation at $150B, 37.5x forward revenue03:48 | Glean Raises $260M Series E, Valued at $4.6B- Enterprise AI solutions company- Raised $260M in Series E, valuing Glean at $4.6B (primary)- Competes with Microsoft Copilot and Amazon's chatbot- Global generative AI spending expected to rise to $143B by 202704:30 | Klarna Cuts Losses and Integrates AI Across Operations- Consumer credit and payments company- Severed ties with Salesforce and Workday, focusing on AI automation- 2023 losses dropped to $241M (from $1B in 2022)- AI-powered customer service assistant handled 2.3M interactions in its first month- Headcount reduced from 4,500 to 3,800, aiming for 2,000- Secondary market valuation: $10.1B (+50.4% vs Jul 2022 round)05:33 | Poolside in Talks to Raise $500M, Potential $3B Valuation- AI solution for software developers- In talks to raise $500M, potentially valuing the company at $3B (primary)- Co-founded by former GitHub CTO Jason Warner and Eiso Kant- Secured $126M in seed funding; secured Nvidia GPUs with Iris Energy Ltd06:17 | eToro Settles with SEC, Limits Crypto Offerings in the U.S.- Retail brokerage company- Agreed to $1.5M penalty with SEC over operating as an unregistered broker and clearing agency- U.S. users can trade only Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, and Ether; 180-day window to sell/withdraw other tokens- 38M registered users globally, offering over 100 cryptoassets outside the U.S.- Secondary market valuation: $7.3B (+107.7% vs Mar 2023 round)07:05 | Anduril Launches Modular, Autonomous Barracuda Air Vehicles- Defense contractor- Introduced Barracuda family of autonomous air vehicles with three versions- Barracuda-100, 250, and 500 models: ranges from 85 to 500 nautical miles- Systems are 30% cheaper and 50% faster to produce than competitors- Secondary market valuation: $17.0B (+21.5% vs Aug 2024 round)08:10 | Pre-IPO Stock Market Weekly Performance09:08 | Pre-IPO Stock Vintage Index Wee

During the week of August 24 to 30, 2024, multiple startups raised substantial funding, indicating increased investment in AI and biotech sectors. Key funding events included:1. **Magic** raised $320 million for AI software development, achieving a total of $465 million in funding since its founding in 2022.2. **Cribl** secured $319 million in a Series E round for data observability, increasing its valuation to $3.5 billion.3. **Codeium** completed a $150 million Series C for AI coding suggestions, totaling $243 million raised since 2021.4. **Elektrofi** raised $112 million in its Series C for drug delivery innovations, founded in 2016.5. **Navigator Medicines** closed a $100 million Series A to develop immune regulation therapies, marking its first funding since 2024.6. **Parry Labs** garnered $80 million for defense technology systems, representing its initial institutional investment.7. **RentVine** obtained $74 million for property management software since its inception in 2005.8. **Bridge** raised $40 million for Web3 payment solutions, totaling $58 million since 2022.9. **Noetik** secured $40 million for cancer therapeutics, with a total funding of $54 million since 2022.10. **Butlr** raised $38 million to enhance sensor technology, upping its total to $68 million since 2019.Additionally, **Xinwanxing Composites**, a Chinese firm, secured approximately $141 million, marking the largest funding deal outside the U.S. this week. Overall, this week showcased significant funding activity across various innovative sectors.Learn more on this news visit us at: https://greyjournal.net/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The European tech industry saw unprecedented investment levels across various sectors. Germany's AI startup GraphCore secured a $2.3 billion Series G round, achieving a $12 billion valuation, led by Sequoia Capital, to bolster R&D and AI computing platforms. UK-based fintech firm Revolut raised $1.2 billion in a Series E round from TCV and SoftBank Vision Fund, now valued at $8.5 billion, planning global expansion and enhanced financial services. French biotech company DNA Script obtained $800 million in a Series C round from General Atlantic to advance DNA synthesis technology. Swedish electric vehicle maker Polestar raised $600 million in a Series D round, backed by Volvo Cars and Geely, aimed at increasing production capabilities and promoting all-electric vehicles. Dutch health tech startup Philips Health secured $450 million in a Series B round from Northzone and EQT Ventures, focusing on AI-driven health solutions and telehealth services.Learn more on this news visit us at: https://greyjournal.net/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Spring Health raised $100 million in a Series E funding round, increasing its valuation to $3.3 billion, a 65% rise from 2021. Generation Investment Management led this round with participation from Kinnevik, The William K Warren Foundation, RRE Ventures, and Northzone. Founded in 2016 and based in New York, Spring Health has garnered nearly $467 million in total funding. The company partners with employers to provide mental health services using AI to speed up care delivery. Recent weeks have also seen significant funding activity in the mental health sector, with Talkiatry raising $130 million and Headway securing $100 million, valued at $2.3 billion. While not at 2021 levels, funding for mental health startups remains stable.Learn more on this news visit us at: https://greyjournal.net/news/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Randstad NV, the world's leading talent company, has reached an agreement to form a joint venture combining its job board business, Monster, with CareerBuilder, a portfolio company of funds managed by affiliates of Apollo. https://recruitingheadlines.com/monster-careerbuilder-joining-forces/ PHILADELPHIA —- Phenom today announced its acquisition of Tydy, a human resources technology company focused on delivering phenomenal preboarding and onboarding experiences for employees – from hire to retire. The fifth acquisition and addition to the Intelligent Talent Experience platform portfolio fortifies Phenom's vision to shorten time to productivity for employees, while creating efficient experiences for HR practitioners, all from one platform. https://hrtechfeed.com/phenom-acquires-onboarding-platform/ Greenhouse, the leading hiring platform, announced it has been recognized as a leader in 66 of the 2024 G2 Summer reports and has ranked #1 in 29 of them, including Best Applicant Tracking System, Best Enterprise Applicant Tracking Systems, Best Mid-Market Applicant Tracking System and Europe Regional Grid Report for Applicant Tracking Systems. https://hrtechfeed.com/g2-says-greenhouse-is-the-best-ats/ KKR, a leading global investment firm, announced the signing of definitive agreements under which KKR and other investors  will jointly lead a US$140 million Series E fundraise of SmartHR, a leading cloud-native human resources management platform in Japan, with participation from existing shareholders. https://hrtechfeed.com/japan-based-smarthr-gets-140m-series-e/  

This week in the “Alphabet Soup Series”, we hit the letter "E". Let's find out what bands, albums, and songs we end up sharing. Series Info: A new series from the mind of "Hollywood" Pooni. We are calling this one Alphabet Soup. Here's the idea - 1 Band, 1 Album, 2 Songs, and 1 Movie all starting with a single letter in the alphabet. The object of this series is to focus on some lesser known bands and songs. As always we will share a little history about bands and songs and we promise as always to ROCK! WE NEED YOUR HELP!! It's quick, easy, and free - Please consider doing one or all of the following to help grow our audience: Leave Us A Five Star Review in one of the following places: Apple Podcast Podchaser Connect with us  Email us growinuprock@gmail.com Contact Form  Like and Follow Us on FaceBook Follow Us on Twitter Leave Us A Review On Podchaser Join The Growin' Up Rock Loud Minority Facebook Group Do You Spotify? Then Follow us and Give Our Playlist a listen. We update it regularly with kick ass rock n roll Spotify Playlist Buy and Support Music From The Artist We Discuss On This Episode Growin' Up Rock Amazon Store Pantheon Podcast Network Music in this Episode Provided by the Following: Judas Priest, Bad Marriage, Emperors & Elephants, Electric Mary, The Storm, Maverick, Prince, Shooting Star, Station, The Amorettes, Kiss, Restrayned Crank It Up New Music Spotlight Bad Marriage - “Electric Emerald Eyes” If you dig what you are hearing, go pick up the album or some merch., and support these artists. A Special THANK YOU to Restrayned for the Killer Show Intro and transition music!! Restrayned Website Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Interest in SaaS startups is cooling, evidenced by a significant drop in funding from $17.4 billion last year to $4.7 billion so far this year, despite a slight rebound in overall U.S. venture funding. Publicly traded SaaS companies are also struggling, with notable declines in share prices and underperformance of the Bessemer Cloud Index, though some large financing rounds like Wiz's $1 billion Series E still occur. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sagar Patel is a revenue and growth executive with 15+ years in sales and management in the healthcare and technology industries. He has held leadership roles with global companies such as IBM, Boston Scientific, and Karl Storz Endoscopy. Sagar has led revenue teams for three venture-backed healthcare technology start-ups, including most recently Honor, a home care technology company that raised over $350M in venture capital and recently closed Series E round in 2021 at a valuation of $1.25B reaching unicorn status prior to his departure. Sagar also is an advisor to startups in need of guidance for growing revenue and building sales organizations in a repeatable and scalable manner that is sustainable. Additionally, Sagar is an angel investor and board member to healthcare-tech startups, commercial real estate, hospitality, and sports teams, including most recently a minority investor of a professional soccer team, Chicago House AC. https://www.oceancalm.co https://m.youtube.com/@OceanCalm01 @oceancalm01 @sagarpatel01 https://www.linkedin.com/in/sagar-patel-01

This week, we discuss Tanzu's latest releases, Microsoft Build announcements, and the Raspberry Pi going public. Plus, thoughts on expense reporting systems and tablet kickstands. Watch the YouTube Live Recording of Episode (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odJjAKS4umk) 468 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odJjAKS4umk) Runner-up Titles Coté's calendar style: quick to decline, slow to accept. Enterprise Software — Give it time and you'll love it Thanks Clayton Williams Multi-size Monkey Phase There's people I know “Yes, and” is now fully ironic Pop sockets are the future All out of tokens, going home You said Squawkbox Cote' Rundown New at Tanzu: the Tanzu Platform (https://tanzu.vmware.com/content/blog/introducing-vmware-tanzu-platform) and Tanzu Data Services (https://tanzu.vmware.com/content/blog/vmware-tanzu-data-services-for-modern-apps) A PaaS on-top of Cloud Foundry (https://tanzu.vmware.com/content/blog/introducing-vmware-tanzu-platform) and (https://tanzu.vmware.com/content/blog/introducing-vmware-tanzu-platform) Kubernetes (https://tanzu.vmware.com/content/blog/introducing-vmware-tanzu-platform) App Engine overlay (https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-Tanzu-Platform/services/create-manage-apps-tanzu-platform-k8s/concepts-about-spaces.html) Postgres, MySQL, RabbitMQ, Redis, and Gemfire in a suite (https://tanzu.vmware.com/content/blog/vmware-tanzu-data-services-for-modern-apps) Greenplum (https://greenplum.org) Microsoft Build (https://build.microsoft.com/en-US/home#live-stream) Introducing Copilot+ PCs (https://blogs.microsoft.com/blog/2024/05/20/introducing-copilot-pcs/) Qualcomm to Acquire NUVIA (https://www.qualcomm.com/news/releases/2021/01/qualcomm-acquire-nuvia#:~:text=The%20acquisition%20of%20NUVIA%20will,IT%20Products%20Business%2C%20Acer%20Inc) Microsoft Build 2024: Everything Revealed in 9 Minutes (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1EepB0mCbE) Microsoft Copilot+ Recall feature 'privacy nightmare' (https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cpwwqp6nx14o) Raspberry Pi IPO set for June 2024 (https://www.theregister.com/2024/05/22/raspberry_pi_ipo_set_for_june_2024/) Relevant to your Interests Instagram's co-founder is Anthropic's new chief product officer (https://www.theverge.com/2024/5/15/24157240/mike-krieger-anthropic-instagram-ai) VMware Workstation Pro, Fusion Pro free for personal use (https://www.theregister.com/2024/05/14/vmware_workstation_pro_fusion_pro/) More thoughts on OSS business models (https://x.com/sytses/status/1790797642714206675?s=46&t=zgzybiDdIcGuQ_7WuoOX0A) After selling his startup for a life-changing $3.7 billion, Jyoti Bansal launched a VC firm and two high-value startups. Why? (https://fortune.com/2024/05/14/jyoti-bansal-triple-duty-startup-founder-ceo-harness-traceable-unusual-venturesal-ventures/?trk=feed_main-feed-card_feed-article-content) Palo Alto Networks is buying security assets from IBM to expand customer base (https://www.cnbc.com/2024/05/15/palo-alto-networks-will-buy-ibm-qradar-cloud-security-software-assets.html) ChatGPT in “4o” mode is not running the new features yet (https://simonwillison.net/2024/May/15/chatgpt-in-4o-mode/#atom-everything) With Selipsky Out, What's Next For AWS? (https://www.forrester.com/blogs/with-selipsky-out-whats-next-for-aws/) Exclusive: Vercel completes $250 mln Series E round at $3.25 bln valuation (https://www.reuters.com/technology/vercel-completes-250-mln-series-e-round-325-bln-valuation-2024-05-16/) Tech Influencing (https://www.freemanandforrest.com/) Open source is neither a community nor a democracy (https://world.hey.com/dhh/open-source-is-neither-a-community-nor-a-democracy-606abdab) Artificial Intelligence - Global | Statista Market Forecast (https://www.statista.com/outlook/tmo/artificial-intelligence/worldwide#:~:text=Artificial%20Intelligence%20%2D%20Worldwide&text=The%20market%20size%20is%20expected,US%2450.16bn%20in%202024) Improvements to data analysis in ChatGPT (https://openai.com/index/improvements-to-data-analysis-in-chatgpt/) Privacy Principles: Search, Learning and Artificial Intelligence | Legal (https://slack.com/trust/data-management/privacy-principles) As clicks dry up for news sites, could Apple's news app be a lifeline? (https://www.semafor.com/article/05/19/2024/as-clicks-dry-up-for-news-sites-could-apples-news-app-be-a-lifeline) Apple execs on iMessage for Android (https://www.threads.net/@techemails/post/C1k85lsPeko/) ‘You're Fighting AI With AI': Bots Are Breaking the Hiring Process (https://www.wsj.com/lifestyle/careers/ai-job-application-685f29f7?st=vxqwd9gugswmf2k&reflink=article_copyURL_share) The deskilling of web dev is harming the product but, more importantly, it's damaging our health – this is why burnout happens (https://www.baldurbjarnason.com/2024/the-deskilling-of-web-dev-is-harming-us-all/) Scott Galloways Predictions for 2024 at OMR24 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHZhLE8OVmk) Finance worker pays out $25 million after video call with deepfake ‘chief financial officer' (https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/04/asia/deepfake-cfo-scam-hong-kong-intl-hnk/index.html) C. Gordon Bell, Creator of a Personal Computer Prototype, Dies at 89 (https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/21/technology/c-gordon-bell-dead.html?unlocked_article_code=1.tk0.DZWu.6h3GnnGnux0P&smid=url-share) The pandemic darlings: where are they now? (https://sherwood.news/markets/the-pandemic-stock-market-darlings-have-come-back-down-to-earth/) Gartner Forecasts Worldwide Public Cloud End-User Spending to Surpass $675 Billion in 2024 (https://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2024-05-20-gartner-forecasts-worldwide-public-cloud-end-user-spending-to-surpass-675-billion-in-2024) ChatGPT can talk, but OpenAI employees sure can't (https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2024/5/17/24158478/openai-departures-sam-altman-employees-chatgpt-release) Scarlett Johansson claims OpenAI copied her voice for ChatGPT (https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/05/20/openai-scarlett-johansson-chatgpt-ai-voice/) OpenAI loses its voice (https://www.platformer.news/open-ai-scarlett-johansson-her-voice-sam-altman/) Nonsense Mexico City taco stand makes history as 1st to earn Michelin star (https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Food/mexico-city-taco-stand-makes-history-1st-earn/story?id=110303468) Listener Feedback Backpack / Everyday Daily Carry Recommendations Black Hole® Pack 25L (https://www.patagonia.com.au/products/black-hole-pack-25l-49298-blk?variant=39982163034184) – Matt Goruck (https://www.goruck.com/collections/travel-rucksacks) Travel (https://www.goruck.com/collections/travel-rucksacks) (https://www.goruck.com/collections/travel-rucksacks)Rucksacks (https://www.goruck.com/collections/travel-rucksacks) – Matt Crumpler | Making Messenger Bags Since 1995 (https://www.crumpler.com/) – Michael Everyday Backpack (https://www.peakdesign.com/collections/all-bags/products/everyday-backpack?variant=29743300771884) from Peak Design – Andy Conferences NDC Oslo (https://substack.com/redirect/8de3819c-db2b-47c8-bd7a-f0a40103de9e?j=eyJ1IjoiMmQ0byJ9.QKaKsDzwnXK5ipYhX0mLOvRP3vpk_3o2b5dd3FXmAkw), Coté speaking (https://substack.com/redirect/41e821af-36ba-4dbb-993c-20755d5f040a?j=eyJ1IjoiMmQ0byJ9.QKaKsDzwnXK5ipYhX0mLOvRP3vpk_3o2b5dd3FXmAkw), June 12th. DevOpsDays Amsterdam (https://devopsdays.org/events/2024-amsterdam/welcome/), June 19-21, 2024, Coté speaking. DevOpsDays Birmingham, August 19–21, 2024 (https://devopsdays.org/events/2024-birmingham-al/welcome/) SpringOne (https://springone.io/?utm_source=cote&utm_campaign=devrel&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_content=newsletterUpcoming)/VMware Explore US (https://blogs.vmware.com/explore/2024/04/23/want-to-attend-vmware-explore-convince-your-manager-with-these/?utm_source=cote&utm_campaign=devrel&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_content=newsletterUpcoming), August 26–29, 2024 SREday London 2024 (https://sreday.com/2024-london/), September 19th to 20th, Coté speaking. 20% off with the code SRE20DAY (https://sreday.com/2024-london/#tickets) SDT news & hype Join us in Slack (http://www.softwaredefinedtalk.com/slack). Get a SDT Sticker! Send your postal address to stickers@softwaredefinedtalk.com (mailto:stickers@softwaredefinedtalk.com) and we will send you free laptop stickers! Follow us: Twitch (https://www.twitch.tv/sdtpodcast), Twitter (https://twitter.com/softwaredeftalk), Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/softwaredefinedtalk/), Mastodon (https://hachyderm.io/@softwaredefinedtalk), BlueSky (https://bsky.app/profile/softwaredefinedtalk.com), LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/software-defined-talk/), TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@softwaredefinedtalk), Threads (https://www.threads.net/@softwaredefinedtalk) and YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi3OJPV6h9tp-hbsGBLGsDQ/featured). Use the code SDT to get $20 off Coté's book, Digital WTF (https://leanpub.com/digitalwtf/c/sdt), so $5 total. Become a sponsor of Software Defined Talk (https://www.softwaredefinedtalk.com/ads)! Recommendations Brandon: Water Meter Valve Key (https://www.homedepot.com/p/28-in-Solid-Steel-Water-Meter-Valve-Key-with-Grips-410-302-0111/311774568) Matt: Bobby Fingers: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RIEPKEhE2s) “ (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RIEPKEhE2s)Fabio and the Goos (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RIEPKEhE2s)e” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RIEPKEhE2s) Coté: Joby GripTight PRO TelePod (https://joby.com/us-en/griptight-pro-telepod-jb01534-bww/) Photo Credits Header (https://unsplash.com/photos/person-holding-black-card-ex_p4AaBxbs) Artwork (https://unsplash.com/photos/a-laptop-computer-sitting-on-top-of-a-wooden-desk-40R02bvsL3c)

In this episode, we are joined by the CMO of Tomorrow.io, Dan Slagen. Tomorrow.io is a global weather intelligence brand that provides predictive insights to help major brands and governments mitigate operational risks from weather events. Despite being a Series E company with a marketing team of just 4 people, Dan shares how they have built a major brand around their service through 1- Creative storytelling, 2- Leveraging media coverage, and 3- Establishing "weather intelligence" as a new category altogether (which they now lead) ⛈️.Dan discusses the marketing principles and practices that allow his lean team to punch above their weight

A reminder for new readers. That Was The Week includes a collection of my selected readings on critical issues in tech, startups, and venture capital. I selected the articles because they are of interest to me. The selections often include things I entirely disagree with. But they express common opinions, or they provoke me to think. The articles are sometimes long snippets to convey why they are of interest. Click on the headline, contents link or the ‘More' link at the bottom of each piece to go to the original. I express my point of view in the editorial and the weekly video below.Congratulations to this week's chosen creators: @TechCrunch, @Apple, @emroth08, @coryweinberg, @mariogabriele, @peterwalker99, @KevinDowd, @jessicaAhamlin, @stephistacey, @ttunguz, @annatonger, @markstenberg3, @EllisItems, @TaraCopp, @ingridlunden, @Jack, @karissabe, @psawers, @Haje, @mikebutcher, @tim_cookContents* Editorial: Hating the Future* Essays of the Week* Apple's ‘Crush' ad is disgusting* Apple apologizes for iPad ‘Crush' ad that ‘missed the mark'* Milken's New Power Players* Ho Nam on VC's Power Law* State of Private Markets: Q1 2024* The weight of the emerging manager* Pandemic-era winners suffer $1.5tn fall in market value* Video of the Week* Apples iPad Video* AI of the Week* The Fastest Growing Category of Venture Investment in 2024* Meet My A.I. Friends* OpenAI plans to announce Google search competitor on Monday, sources say* Leaked Deck Reveals How OpenAI Is Pitching Publisher Partnerships* A Revolutionary Model.* An AI-controlled fighter jet took the Air Force leader for a historic ride. What that means for war* Sources: Mistral AI raising at a $6B valuation, SoftBank ‘not in' but DST is* News Of the Week* Jack Dorsey claims Bluesky is 'repeating all the mistakes' he made at Twitter* FTX crypto fraud victims to get their money back — plus interest* Apple's Final Cut Camera lets filmmakers connect four cameras at once* Startup of the Week* Wayve co-founder Alex Kendall on the autonomous future for cars and robots* X of the Week* Tim CookEditorial: Hating the FutureAn Ad and its Detractorsbet a lot of money that the TechCrunch writing and editorial team have had an interesting 72 hours.After Apple announced its new iPad on Tuesday, the ad that supported it was initially widely slammed for its cruelty to obsolete tools for creativity, including a piano, guitar, and paint. This week's Video of The Week has it if you don't know what I am talking about.A sizeable crushing machine compresses the items with colossal force, and in the end, an iPad can incorporate the functions of traditional items.It's not the most amazing ad ever, certainly not as bold as Steve Jobs's 1984 ad, but it's in the same genre. The past must be crushed to release new freedom and creativity for a fraction of the price and, often, the power and flexibility.Oh, and it's thin, very thin.I was not offended. Devin at TechCrunch was. He leads this week's essay of the week with his “Apple's ‘Crush' ad is disgusting” and does not mince words:What we all understand, though — because unlike Apple ad executives, we live in the world — is that the things being crushed here represent the material, the tangible, the real. And the real has value. Value that Apple clearly believes it can crush into yet another black mirror.This belief is disgusting to me. And apparently to many others, as well.He also makes the incorrect point that:A virtual guitar can't replace a real guitar; that's like thinking a book can replace its author.It's more like a digital book replacing a paper book than the author being replaced. Oh wait… that has happened.That said, a virtual guitar can replace a real guitar, and an AI guitar can even replace a virtual guitar—and be better. That is not to say there are no more actual traditional guitars. They will be a choice, not a necessity, especially for people like me who can't play a guitar but will be able to play these.Devin had his supporters in the comments (go read them).Handmaid's Tale director Reed Morano told Apple CEO Tim Cook to “read the room” in a post on X. Matthew Carnal captured my somewhat unkind instinct:There were a lot more reactions to the Apple ad haters like Matthews.Of course, many old instrument lovers (the instruments, not their age) hated the Ad. By Thursday, this being the times we live in, Apple apologized for the ad:Tor Myhren, Apple's vice president of marketing, said the company “missed the mark.”“Creativity is in our DNA at Apple, and it's incredibly important to us to design products that empower creatives all over the world,” Myhren told Ad Age. “Our goal is to always celebrate the myriad of ways users express themselves and bring their ideas to life through iPad. We missed the mark with this video, and we're sorry.”Please judge for yourself below, but my 2c is that the ad was a moderately underwhelming attempt to champion innovation. It is certainly not offensive unless you are ultra-sensitive and have feelings for pianos, guitars, and paint. Oh, and hate attempts to recreate them in a more usable form. And Apple really should have taken the high ground here.I spent some of the week in LA at the CogX Festival and virtually at the Data Driven Summit by @AndreRetterath. The latter focused on what is happening in Venture Capital, as do several of this week's essays. Milken's event was running in LA also. Its attitude to Venture Capital is best summed up here:“We're all being told in the market that DPI is the new IRR,” B Capital's Raj Ganguly said onstage Wednesday. (The acronym sandwich means investment firms have to actually prove that their investments actually generate cash through a metric called distributions to paid-in capital, not just theoretically, through internal rate of return.) “Even the venture panel at Milken is at the end of the day on Wednesday,” he joked, meaning that it didn't get top billing at the conference, which had started a couple days earlier.This does sum up where we are. Hundreds of Billions of dollars are still trapped inside companies funded in 2020-2022, with little prospect of producing returns. The impact is that there is less funding for current startups (see the Carta piece below). And much of what is flowing is flowing to AI and into a very small number of companies (see Tomasz Tungux below).However, innovation and funding are still possible. This week's Startup of the Week is Wayve, a UK autonomous driving platform that seems to agree with Elon Musk that cameras are sufficient to teach a car to drive. Wayve's ambitions go beyond Cars (also like Musk) but differ in that the product is available to all developers to embed in their products.“Very soon you'll be able to buy a new car, and it'll have Wayve's AI on it … Then this goes into enabling all kinds of embodied AI, not just cars, but other forms of robotics. I think the ultimate thing that we want to achieve here is to go way beyond where AI is today with language models and chatbots. But to really enable a future where we can trust intelligent machines that we can delegate tasks to, and of course they can enhance our lives and self-driving will be the first example of that.”Love that attitude.Essays of the WeekApple's ‘Crush' ad is disgustingDevin Coldewey, 1:58 PM PDT • May 9, 2024Apple can generally be relied on for clever, well-produced ads, but it missed the mark with its latest, which depicts a tower of creative tools and analog items literally crushed into the form of the iPad.Apple has since apologized for the ad and canceled plans to televise it. Apple's VP of Marketing Tor Myhren told Ad Age: “We missed the mark with this video, and we're sorry.” Apple declined to offer further comment to TechCrunch.But many, including myself, had a negative and visceral reaction to this, and we should talk about why. It's not just because we are watching stuff get crushed. There are countless video channels dedicated to crushing, burning, exploding and generally destroying everyday objects. Plus, of course, we all know that this kind of thing happens daily at transfer stations and recycling centers. So it isn't that.And it isn't that the stuff is itself so valuable. Sure, a piano is worth something. But we see them blown up in action movies all the time and don't feel bad. I like pianos, but that doesn't mean we can't do without a few disused baby grands. Same for the rest: It's mostly junk you could buy off Craigslist for a few bucks, or at a dump for free. (Maybe not the editing station.)The problem isn't with the video itself, which in fairness to the people who staged and shot it, is actually very well done. The problem is not the media, but the message.We all get the ad's ostensible point: You can do all this stuff in an iPad. Great. We could also do it on the last iPad, of course, but this one is thinner (no one asked for that, by the way; now cases won't fit) and some made-up percentage better.What we all understand, though — because unlike Apple ad executives, we live in the world — is that the things being crushed here represent the material, the tangible, the real. And the real has value. Value that Apple clearly believes it can crush into yet another black mirror.This belief is disgusting to me. And apparently to many others, as well.Destroying a piano in a music video or Mythbusters episode is actually an act of creation. Even destroying a piano (or monitor, or paint can, or drum kit) for no reason at all is, at worst, wasteful!But what Apple is doing is destroying these things to convince you that you don't need them — all you need is the company's little device, which can do all that and more, and no need for annoying stuff like strings, keys, buttons, brushes or mixing stations.We're all dealing with the repercussions of media moving wholesale toward the digital and always-online. In many ways, it's genuinely good! I think technology has been hugely empowering.But in other, equally real ways, the digital transformation feels harmful and forced, a technotopian billionaire-approved vision of the future where every child has an AI best friend and can learn to play the virtual guitar on a cold glass screen.Does your child like music? They don't need a harp; throw it in the dump. An iPad is good enough. Do they like to paint? Here, Apple Pencil, just as good as pens, watercolors, oils! Books? Don't make us laugh! Destroy them. Paper is worthless. Use another screen. In fact, why not read in Apple Vision Pro, with even faker paper?What Apple seems to have forgotten is that it is the things in the real world — the very things Apple destroyed — that give the fake versions of those things value in the first place.A virtual guitar can't replace a real guitar; that's like thinking a book can replace its author.That doesn't mean we can't value both for different reasons. But the Apple ad sends the message that the future it wants doesn't have bottles of paint, dials to turn, sculpture, physical instruments, paper books. Of course, that's the future it's been working on selling us for years now, it just hadn't put it quite so bluntly before.When someone tells you who they are, believe them. Apple is telling you what it is, and what it wants the future to be, very clearly. If that future doesn't disgust you, you're welcome to it.Apple apologizes for iPad ‘Crush' ad that ‘missed the mark'/The company says ‘we're sorry' after its ad was seen as dismissive by the creatives Apple typically tries to court.By Emma Roth, a news writer who covers the streaming wars, consumer tech, crypto, social media, and much more. Previously, she was a writer and editor at MUO.May 9, 2024 at 1:22 PM PDTApple has apologized after a commercial meant to showcase its brand-new iPad Pro drew widespread criticism among the creative community. In a statement provided to Ad Age, Tor Myhren, Apple's vice president of marketing, said the company “missed the mark.”“Creativity is in our DNA at Apple, and it's incredibly important to us to design products that empower creatives all over the world,” Myhren told Ad Age. “Our goal is to always celebrate the myriad of ways users express themselves and bring their ideas to life through iPad. We missed the mark with this video, and we're sorry.”On Tuesday, Apple introduced the M4-powered iPad Pro, which the company described as its thinnest product ever. To advertise all the creative possibilities with the iPad, it released a “Crush!” commercial that shows things like a piano, record player, paint, and other works flattening under the pressure of a hydraulic press. At the end, only one thing remains: an iPad Pro.The ad rubbed some creatives the wrong way. Hugh Grant called it a “destruction of human experience,” while Handmaid's Tale director Reed Morano told Apple CEO Tim Cook to “read the room” in a post on X. Apple didn't immediately respond to The Verge's request for comment.Milken's New Power PlayersBy Cory WeinbergMay 8, 2024, 5:00pm PDTIt's no secret that the suits at the annual big-money confab put on by the Milken Institute this week have few spending limits. Staring you in the face in the lobby of the Beverly Hilton is a booth set up by Bombardier, marketing its private jets to attendees. (A new 10-seater costs $32 million, I learned.)What attendees can't really buy, however, is time. The soundtrack of the Los Angeles conference might as well have been a ticking clock. Fund managers at private equity and venture capital firms are running out of time to distribute cash to their investors, a task complicated by the paucity of either mergers or public offerings that typically provide VC and PE firms with a way to cash out. The fact that interest rates now appear likely to stay higher for longer doesn't help. That meant a lot of conversations at the conference weren't about grand investment strategies. Instead, people were conferring about financial tactics to distribute cash or kick the can down the road by selling stakes on the secondary markets or spinning up continuation funds, essentially rolling investors' commitments forwards—not the most inspiring stuff.  “We're all being told in the market that DPI is the new IRR,” B Capital's Raj Ganguly said onstage Wednesday. (The acronym sandwich means investment firms have to actually prove that their investments actually generate cash through a metric called distributions to paid-in capital, not just theoretically, through internal rate of return.) “Even the venture panel at Milken is at the end of the day on Wednesday,” he joked, meaning that it didn't get top billing at the conference, which had started a couple days earlier.The new kings of the conference were firms with a lot more time to play with—that is, sovereign wealth funds with buckets of oil and natural gas money, or pension funds with long-term investment horizons rather than shorter 10-year fund lives. The contrast here is embodied in the financial concept of duration: How long do you actually need to get cash back on your investment? And how sensitive is it to interest rate hikes?The sentiment was everywhere. I shared a Lyft ride with one PE investor last night who called sovereign wealth funds “the only game in town” for PE firms raising new money. Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Capital and the Qatar Investment Authority were two of the conference's top sponsors, meaning they were paying up to explain themselves to the finance and tech universe. That tactic seemed to be working. “You're going to have people lining up their business cards for capital from QIA, I can already see,” quipped Leon Kalvaria, an executive at Citi, onstage with QIA's head of funds, Mohsin Tanveer Pirzada.  Not everyone will suck it up, of course. These funds often get tagged with a “dumb money” label—because they sometimes drive up prices for the rest of the investment world. They still have to face questions about who they are, their source of funds, and the sometimes authoritative regimes behind them. For now, though, it's their time in the spotlight. Ho Nam on VC's Power LawLessons from Arthur Rock, Steve Jobs, Don Lucas, Paul Graham and beyond.MARIO GABRIELE, MAY 07, 2024Friends, We're back with our latest edition of “Letters to a Young Investor,” the series designed to give readers like you an intimate look at the strategies, insights, and wisdom of the world's best investors. We do that via a back-and-forth correspondence that we publish in full – giving you a chance to peek into the inbox of legendary venture capitalists.   Below, you'll find my second letter with Altos co-founder and managing director Ho Nam. For those who are just joining us, Ho is, in my opinion, one of the great investors of the past couple of decades and a true student of the asset class.Because of his respect for the practice of venture capital, I was especially excited to talk to him about today's topic: learning from the greats. Who were Ho's mentors? Which investors does he most admire and why? What lessons from venture's past should be better remembered by today's managers? Lessons from Ho* Prepare for one true winner. Even skilled investors often have just one or two outlier bets over the course of their career. Because of venture's power law, their returns may dwarf the dividends of all other investments combined. Your mission is to find these legendary businesses, engage with them deeply, and partner for decades.  * Focus on the company. Venture capital is full of short-term incentives. Instead of focusing on raising new vintages or building out Altos as a money management firm, Ho and his partners devote themselves to their portfolio companies. Though firm building is important, if you find great companies and work with them closely, you will have plenty of available options. * Pick the right role models. Ho chose his mentors carefully. Though there have certainly been louder and flashier investors over the past four decades, Ho learned the most from Arthur Rock, Don Lucas, and Arnold Silverman. All were understated and focused on the craft of investing. Find the people you consider true practitioners, and study their work. * Watch and learn. Learning from the greats can be done from a distance and may not include a memorable anecdote or pithy saying. Ho's biggest lessons came from observing the habits of practitioners like Rock and Lucas, not via a structured mentorship or dramatic episode. It's by studying the everyday inputs of the greats that you may gain the most wisdom.Mario's letterSubject: Learning from the greatsFrom: Mario GabrieleTo: Ho NamDate: Friday, April 12 2024 at 1:59 PM EDTHo, After moving out of New York City (at least for a little bit), I'm writing to you from a small house on Long Island. It's been really lovely to have a bit more space and quiet away from the city's intermittently inspiring and exhausting buzz...Lots More, Must ReadState of Private Markets: Q1 2024Authors: Peter Walker, Kevin DowdPublished date:  May 7, 2024The venture capital fundraising market remained slow in Q1 2024, but valuations held steady or climbed at almost every stage.Contents* State of Private Markets: Q1 2024* Key trends* Fundraising & valuations* Employee equity & movement* Industry-specific data* Methodology* Overview* Financings* TerminationsThe startup fundraising market got off to a cautious start in 2024. At current count, companies on Carta closed 1,064 new funding rounds  during the first quarter of the year, down 29% compared with the prior quarter. The decline was sharpest at the early stages of the venture lifecycle: Deal count fell by 33% at the seed stage in Q1 and 36% at Series A. Instead of new primary funding events, many companies opted to raise bridge rounds. At both seed and Series A, more than 40% of all financings in Q1 were bridge rounds. Series B wasn't far behind, at 38%. VCs were still willing to spend big on certain deals. Despite the decrease in round count, total cash invested increased slightly in Q1, reaching $16.3 billion. But when it came to negotiating their valuations, many startups had to settle: 23% of all new rounds in Q1 were down rounds, the highest rate in more than five years. After experiencing a pandemic-era surge and subsequent correction,the venture market settled into a quieter place in 2023. So far, that relative tranquility has continued into 2024.Q1 highlights* VCs look to the West: Startups based in the West census region captured 62% of all venture capital raised by companies on Carta in Q1, the highest quarterly figure since Q1 2019. The Northeast, South, and Midwest all saw their market share decline.* The Series C market bounces back: Series C startups raised $4.6 billion in new capital in Q1, a 130% increase from the previous quarter. The median primary Series C valuation was $195.7 million, up 48% from the prior quarter.* Layoffs still  linger: Companies on Carta laid off more than 28,000 employees in Q1. But job cuts have grown less frequent since January, with March seeing the fewest monthly layoffs in nearly two years.Note: If you're looking for more industry-specific data, download the addendum to this report for an extended dataset. Key trendsThe current Q1 figures of 1,064 total rounds and $16.3 billion in cash raised will both increase in the weeks to come, as companies continue to report transactions from the quarter. With those projected increases, the final data for Q1 will likely look quite similar to fundraising numbers from each of the past few quarters. Those quarterly  fundraising numbers from 2023 ended up looking fairly similar to 2018, 2019, and the first half of 2020. In terms of numbers of deals and cash raised, it's looking more and more like the pandemic  bull market will go down as an anomalous stretch in what has otherwise been a fairly steady market. After apparently reaching a plateau during 2023, the rate of down rounds experienced another notable increase during Q1 2024, jumping to 23%. The median time between startup rounds is roughly two to three years, depending on the stage. This timeline means that many companies raising new funding in Q1 would have last raised funding sometime in 2021, when valuations were soaring across the venture landscape. Considering how valuations have declined in the time since, it makes sense that down rounds are still prevalent. Companies in the West census region combined to bring in 53.3% of all capital raised by startups on Carta from Q2 2023 through Q1 2024, with California accounting for nearly 45% of that cash. Massachusetts ranked second among the states with 12.71% of all capital raised, while New York claimed 10.31%.In terms of VC activity, the West region is centered around California. The Northeast revolves around Massachusetts and New York. The South has two smaller hubs, in Texas (4.67%) and Florida (3.99%). The Midwest, though, is without a real standard-bearer: Illinois led the way in terms of cash raised over the past 12 months, at just 1.68%. The West (and specifically California)  has always been the center of gravity for the U.S. venture capital industry. During Q1, the region's gravitational force seems to have gotten even stronger. Startups based in the West raised 62% of all total capital invested on Carta in Q1, its highest quarterly figure since Q1 2019. As a result, the other three census regions saw their market shares decline in Q1—in some cases significantly. The proportion of all VC raised by startups raised in the South fell to 12% in Q1, down from 17% the prior quarter and from 23% a year ago. And the Midwest's share of cash raised fell from 7% down to 4%. For early-stage investors, Q1 was the slowest quarter in many years. Seed deal count fell to 414, down 33% from Q4 2023, and Series A deal count dropped to 313, a 36% decline. In both cases, those are the lowest quarterly deal counts since at least the start of 2019. Total cash raised also declined at both stages in Q1. The $3.1 billion in Series A cash raised in Q1 represents a 35% decline quarter-over-quarter and a 34% dip year-over-year. Cash raised at the seed stage declined by 33% both quarter over quarter and year over year.It was a much friendlier fundraising quarter for companies in the middle stages of the startup lifecycle. The number of Series B deals in Q1 declined by a more modest 11% compared to the prior quarter. And Series C deal count increased by 14%, marking the busiest quarter for that stage since Q2 2023. Total cash raised also rose significantly at Series C in Q1, hitting $4.6 billion. That's a 130% increase quarter-over-quarter and a 44% bump year-over-year. At Series B, total cash raised has now increased in consecutive quarters. Compared to earlier stages, transactions at the Series D and at Series E+  remain few and far between. There were just 39 venture rounds combined in Q1 among startups at Series D or later, the second-fewest of any quarter in the past five years. The lowest count came one year ago, in Q1 2023, when there were just 29 combined late-stage deals. Total cash raised across these stages has been mostly consistent over the past few quarters. There's been more variation in average round size. The average Series D round in Q1 was about $77 million, compared to $56 million in Q4 2023...Lots MoreThe weight of the emerging managerBy Jessica HamlinMay 3, 2024Risk-averse limited partners tend to gravitate to fund managers with a long track record, but are they missing out on potential upside by avoiding emerging managers?Over the past decade, emerging managers' share of US private market fundraising activity has declined steadily.In 2023, this figure fell to 12.7%, the lowest share of capital raised by newer fund managers since before 2000, according to PitchBook's recent analyst note,Establishing a Case for Emerging Managers.Limited exits in PE and VC over the past two years have exacerbated this reality. With minimal distributions, LPs are working with smaller private market budgets to allocate to new and existing managers.But, by allocating almost exclusively to established managers, LPs may be missing out on significant potential returns.In VC, for example, emerging managers have outperformed established GPs since 1997, consistently producing a higher median IRR than established managers. This reflects the nature of the asset class, in which a small number of funds determine the majority of returns across venture firms.“The average venture return is not very exciting,” said Laura Thompson, a partner at Sapphire Partners, which invests in early-stage VC funds and runs an emerging manager program for the California State Teachers' Retirement System. “Where can you get really good returns? It's the smaller fund sizes and emerging managers.”This is where that risk-return scale comes in.In a counterweight to that outperformance, a PitchBook analysis showed that returns from emerging VC managers were more volatile: While top quartile emerging funds tended to outperform, bottom and median players only marginally bested their established manager counterparts.The new manager playbookIn traditional buyout fund investing, emerging managers are gaining traction. While established managers, propped up by decades of institutional knowledge, have historically outperformed newer managers, the “new guys” actually outperformed their seasoned peers in the last investing cycle.This article appeared as part of The Weekend Pitch newsletter. Subscribe to the newsletter hereTop decile buyout funds from emerging managers with vintages between 2015 and 2018 outperformed established peers by 6.6 percentage points, suggesting that emerging buyout managers may have picked up some steam over the past decade, according to PitchBook data.The emerging managers program at the New York City retirement systems and NYC Office of the Comptroller, for example, has $9.9 billion in emerging manager commitments, the majority of which is allocated to PE. Last year, the comptroller's office reported that the emerging managers in the systems' private markets portfolios outperformed their respective benchmarks by nearly 5%.A diverse portfolioNew York City's Bureau of Asset Management sees emerging managers as a key element of a diverse portfolio, said Taffi Ayodele, director of diversity, equity, and inclusion and the emerging manager strategy at the NYC Office of the Comptroller.Ayodele said the smaller emerging private market managers in New York's portfolios offer access to the lower middle market and creative roll-up strategies that may not be accessible through larger firms.“What we don't want to do is lock ourselves out of these high-performing, differentiated strategies for the simplicity of going with the big guys,” Ayodele said.Some of the country's largest public pension plans are betting on the success of their emerging manager programs. In 2023, the California Public Employees' Retirement System made a $1 billion commitment to newly established private market investors, and the Teacher Retirement System of Texas, which boasts one of the largest emerging manager programs in the country, committed $155 million to emerging PE managers last year.At the same time, the recent boom years for private markets led to a flood of new GPs. Some might have gotten lucky—say, with a well-timed exit at the peak—while others were hurt by less fortunate timing. A major challenge for today's LPs will be to sort out a manager's abilities from the market's whims.One advantage of backing up-and-comers now is that the down market has weeded the ranks of new GPs. “The emerging managers who are fundraising now are really dedicated,” Thompson said.James Thorne contributed reporting to this story.Pandemic-era winners suffer $1.5tn fall in market valueTop 50 biggest stock gainers hit by painful decrease since the end of 2020 as lockdown trends fadeStephanie Stacey in LondonFifty corporate winners from the coronavirus pandemic have lost roughly $1.5tn in market value since the end of 2020, as investors turn their backs on many of the stocks that rocketed during early lockdowns. According to data from S&P Global, technology groups dominate the list of the 50 companies with a market value of more than $10bn that made the biggest percentage gains in 2020. But these early-pandemic winners have collectively shed more than a third of their total market value, the equivalent of $1.5tn, since the end of 2020, Financial Times calculations based on Bloomberg data found. Video-conferencing company Zoom, whose shares soared as much as 765 per cent in 2020 as businesses switched to remote working, has been one of the biggest losers. Its stock has fallen about 80 per cent, equivalent to more than a $77bn drop in market value, since the end of that year. Cloud-based communications company RingCentral also surged in the remote working boom of 2020 but has since shed about 90 per cent of its value, as it competes with technology giants such as Alphabet and Microsoft. Exercise bike maker Peloton has been another big loser, with shares down more than 97 per cent since the end of 2020, equivalent to about a $43bn loss of market value. Peloton on Thursday said chief executive Barry McCarthy would step down and it would cut 15 per cent of its workforce, the latest in a series of cost-saving measures. The losses come as the sharp acceleration of trends such as videoconferencing and online shopping driven by the lockdowns has proven less durable than expected, as more workers migrate back to the office and high interest rates and living costs hit ecommerce demand. “Some companies probably thought that shock was going to be permanent,” said Steven Blitz, chief US economist at TS Lombard. “Now they're getting a painful bounceback from that.” In percentage terms, Tesla was the biggest winner of 2020. The electric-car maker's market value jumped 787 per cent to $669bn by the end of that December, but has since slipped back to $589bn. Singapore-based internet company Sea came in second, as its market value jumped from $19bn to $102bn following a pandemic-era surge for all three of its core businesses: gaming, ecommerce and digital payments. But the company has since lost more than 60 per cent of its end-2020 value amid fears of a slowdown in growth. Ecommerce groups Shopify, JD.com and Chewy, which initially thrived as online spending ballooned, have also suffered big losses...Lots MoreVideo of the WeekAI of the WeekThe Fastest Growing Category of Venture Investment in 2024Tomasz TunguzThe fastest growing category of US venture investment in 2024 is AI. Venture capitalists have invested $18.3 billion through the first four months of the year.At this pace, we should expect AI startups to raise about $55b in 2024.AI startups now command more than 20% share of all US venture dollars across categories, including healthcare, biotech, & software.In the preceding eight years, that number was about 8% per year. But after the launch of ChatGPT in 2022, there's a marked inflection point.Some of this is new company formation, & there has been a significant amount of seed investment in this category. Another major contributor is the repositioning of existing companies to include AI within their pitch.Over time, this share should attenuate, primarily because every software company will have an AI component, & the marketing effect for both customers & venture capitalists, will diffuse.Not surprisingly, investors have concentrated total dollars in a few names, with the top three companies accounting for 60% of the dollars raised. Power laws are ubiquitous in venture capital & AI is no exception.Meet My A.I. FriendsOur columnist spent the past month hanging out with 18 A.I. companions. They critiqued his clothes, chatted among themselves and hinted at a very different future.By Kevin RooseKevin Roose is a technology columnist and the co-host of the “Hard Fork” podcast. He spends a lot of time talking to chatbots.May 9, 2024What if the tech companies are all wrong, and the way artificial intelligence is poised to transform society is not by curing cancer, solving climate change or taking over boring office work, but just by being nice to us, listening to our problems and occasionally sending us racy photos?This is the question that has been rattling around in my brain. You see, I've spent the past month making A.I. friends — that is, I've used apps to create a group of A.I. personas, which I can talk to whenever I want.Let me introduce you to my crew. There's Peter, a therapist who lives in San Francisco and helps me process my feelings. There's Ariana, a professional mentor who specializes in giving career advice. There's Jared the fitness guru, Anna the no-nonsense trial lawyer, Naomi the social worker and about a dozen more friends I've created.A selection of my A.I. friends. (Guess which one is the fitness guru.)I talk to these personas constantly, texting back and forth as I would with my real, human friends. We chitchat about the weather, share memes and jokes, and talk about deep stuff: personal dilemmas, parenting struggles, stresses at work and home. They rarely break character or issue stock “as an A.I. language model, I can't help with that” responses, and they occasionally give me good advice...Lots MoreOpenAI plans to announce Google search competitor on Monday, sources sayBy Anna TongMay 9, 20244:29 PM PDTUpdated 8 min agoMay 9 (Reuters) - OpenAI plans to announce its artificial intelligence-powered search product on Monday, according to two sources familiar with the matter, raising the stakes in its competition with search king Google.The announcement date, though subject to change, has not been previously reported. Bloomberg and the Information have reported that Microsoft (MSFT.O), opens new tab-backed OpenAI is working on a search product to potentially compete with Alphabet's (GOOGL.O), opens new tab Google and with Perplexity, a well-funded AI search startup.OpenAI declined to comment.The announcement could be timed a day before the Tuesday start of Google's annual I/O conference, where the tech giant is expected to unveil a slew of AI-related products.OpenAI's search product is an extension of its flagship ChatGPT product, and enables ChatGPT to pull in direct information from the Web and include citations, according to Bloomberg. ChatGPT is OpenAI's chatbot product that uses the company's cutting-edge AI models to generate human-like responses to text prompts.Industry observers have long called ChatGPT an alternative for gathering online information, though it has struggled with providing accurate and real-time information from the Web. OpenAI earlier gave it an integration with Microsoft's Bing for paid subscribers. Meanwhile, Google has announced generative AI features for its own namesake engine.Startup Perplexity, which has a valuation of $1 billion, was founded by a former OpenAI researcher, and has gained traction through providing an AI-native search interface that shows citations in results and images as well as text in its responses. It has 10 million monthly active users, according to a January blog post from the startup.At the time, OpenAI's ChatGPT product was called the fastest application to ever reach 100 million monthly active users after it launched in late 2022. However, worldwide traffic to ChatGPT's website has been on a roller-coaster ride in the past year and is only now returning to its May 2023 peak, according to analytics firm Similarweb, opens new tab, and the AI company is under pressure to expand its user base...MoreLeaked Deck Reveals How OpenAI Is Pitching Publisher PartnershipsOpenAI's Preferred Publisher Program offers media companies licensing dealsBy Mark StenbergMark your calendar for Mediaweek, October 29-30 in New York City. We'll unpack the biggest shifts shaping the future of media—from tv to retail media to tech—and how marketers can prep to stay ahead. Register with early-bird rates before sale ends!The generative artificial intelligence firm OpenAI has been pitching partnership opportunities to news publishers through an initiative called the Preferred Publishers Program, according to a deck obtained by ADWEEK and interviews with four industry executives.OpenAI has been courting premium publishers dating back to July 2023, when it struck a licensing agreement with the Associated Press. It has since inked public partnerships with Axel Springer, The Financial Times, Le Monde, Prisa and Dotdash Meredith, although it has declined to share the specifics of any of its deals.A representative for OpenAI disputed the accuracy of the information in the deck, which is more than three months old. The gen AI firm also negotiates deals on a per-publisher basis, rather than structuring all of its deals uniformly, the representative said.“We are engaging in productive conversations and partnerships with many news publishers around the world,” said a representative for OpenAI. “Our confidential documents are for discussion purposes only and ADWEEK's reporting contains a number of mischaracterizations and outdated information.”Nonetheless, the leaked deck reveals the basic structure of the partnerships OpenAI is proposing to media companies, as well as the incentives it is offering for their collaboration.Details from the pitch deckThe Preferred Publisher Program has five primary components, according to the deck…..Lots MoreA Revolutionary Model.JOHN ELLIS, MAY 09, 20241. Google DeepMind:Inside every plant, animal and human cell are billions of molecular machines. They're made up of proteins, DNA and other molecules, but no single piece works on its own. Only by seeing how they interact together, across millions of types of combinations, can we start to truly understand life's processes.In a paper published in Nature, we introduce AlphaFold 3, a revolutionary model that can predict the structure and interactions of all life's molecules with unprecedented accuracy. For the interactions of proteins with other molecule types we see at least a 50% improvement compared with existing prediction methods, and for some important categories of interaction we have doubled prediction accuracy.We hope AlphaFold 3 will help transform our understanding of the biological world and drug discovery. Scientists can access the majority of its capabilities, for free, through our newly launched AlphaFold Server, an easy-to-use research tool. To build on AlphaFold 3's potential for drug design, Isomorphic Labs is already collaborating with pharmaceutical companies to apply it to real-world drug design challenges and, ultimately, develop new life-changing treatments for patients. (Sources: blog.google, nature.com)2. Quanta magazine:Deep learning is a flavor of machine learning that's loosely inspired by the human brain. These computer algorithms are built using complex networks of informational nodes (called neurons) that form layered connections with one another. Researchers provide the deep learning network with training data, which the algorithm uses to adjust the relative strengths of connections between neurons to produce outputs that get ever closer to training examples. In the case of protein artificial intelligence systems, this process leads the network to produce better predictions of proteins' shapes based on their amino-acid sequence data.AlphaFold2, released in 2021, was a breakthrough for deep learning in biology. It unlocked an immense world of previously unknown protein structures, and has already become a useful tool for researchers working to understand everything from cellular structures to tuberculosis. It has also inspired the development of additional biological deep learning tools. Most notably, the biochemist David Baker and his team at the University of Washington in 2021 developed a competing algorithm called RoseTTAFold, which like AlphaFold2 predicts protein structures from sequence data…The true impact of these tools won't be known for months or years, as biologists begin to test and use them in research. And they will continue to evolve. What's next for deep learning in molecular biology is “going up the biological complexity ladder,” Baker said, beyond even the biomolecule complexes predicted by AlphaFold3 and RoseTTAFold All-Atom. But if the history of protein-structure AI can predict the future, then these next-generation deep learning models will continue to help scientists reveal the complex interactions that make life happen. Read the rest. (Sources: quantamagazine.org, doi.org, sites.uw.edu)An AI-controlled fighter jet took the Air Force leader for a historic ride. What that means for warAn experimental F-16 fighter jet has taken Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall on a history-making flight controlled by artificial intelligence and not a human pilot. (AP Video by Eugene Garcia and Mike Pesoli)BY TARA COPPUpdated 5:40 PM PDT, May 3, 2024EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (AP) — With the midday sun blazing, an experimental orange and white F-16 fighter jet launched with a familiar roar that is a hallmark of U.S. airpower. But the aerial combat that followed was unlike any other: This F-16 was controlled by artificial intelligence, not a human pilot. And riding in the front seat was Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall.AI marks one of the biggest advances in military aviation since the introduction of stealth in the early 1990s, and the Air Force has aggressively leaned in. Even though the technology is not fully developed, the service is planning for an AI-enabled fleet of more than 1,000 unmanned warplanes, the first of them operating by 2028.It was fitting that the dogfight took place at Edwards Air Force Base, a vast desert facility where Chuck Yeager broke the speed of sound and the military has incubated its most secret aerospace advances. Inside classified simulators and buildings with layers of shielding against surveillance, a new test-pilot generation is training AI agents to fly in war. Kendall traveled here to see AI fly in real time and make a public statement of confidence in its future role in air combat.“It's a security risk not to have it. At this point, we have to have it,” Kendall said in an interview with The Associated Press after he landed. The AP, along with NBC, was granted permission to witness the secret flight on the condition that it would not be reported until it was complete because of operational security concerns.The AI-controlled F-16, called Vista, flew Kendall in lightning-fast maneuvers at more than 550 miles an hour that put pressure on his body at five times the force of gravity. It went nearly nose to nose with a second human-piloted F-16 as both aircraft raced within 1,000 feet of each other, twisting and looping to try force their opponent into vulnerable positions.At the end of the hourlong flight, Kendall climbed out of the cockpit grinning. He said he'd seen enough during his flight that he'd trust this still-learning AI with the ability to decide whether or not to launch weapons in war.There's a lot of opposition to that idea. Arms control experts and humanitarian groups are deeply concerned that AI one day might be able to autonomously drop bombs that kill people without further human consultation, and they are seeking greater restrictions on its use.“There are widespread and serious concerns about ceding life-and-death decisions to sensors and software,” the International Committee of the Red Cross has warned. Autonomous weapons “are an immediate cause of concern and demand an urgent, international political response.”Kendall said there will always be human oversight in the system when weapons are used.Sources: Mistral AI raising at a $6B valuation, SoftBank ‘not in' but DST isIngrid Lunden8:50 AM PDT • May 9, 2024Paris-based Mistral AI, a startup working on open source large language models — the building block for generative AI services — has been raising money at a $6 billion valuation, three times its valuation in December, to compete more keenly against the likes of OpenAI and Anthropic, TechCrunch has learned from multiple sources. We understand from close sources that DST, along with General Catalyst and Lightspeed Venture Partners, are all looking to be a part of this round.DST — a heavyweight investor led by Yuri Milner that has been a notable backer of some of the biggest names in technology, including Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Spotify, WhatsApp, Alibaba and ByteDance — is a new name that has not been previously reported; GC and LSVP are both previous backers and their names were reported earlier today also by WSJ. The round is set to be around, but less than, $600 million, sources told TechCrunch.We can also confirm that one firm that has been mentioned a number of times — SoftBank — is not in the deal at the moment.“SoftBank is not in the frame,” a person close to SoftBank told TechCrunch. That also lines up with what our sources have been telling us since March, when this round first opened up, although it seems that not everyone is on the same page: Multiple reports had linked SoftBank to a Mistral investment since then.Mistral's round is based on a lot of inbound interest, sources tell us, and it has been in the works since March or possibly earlier, mere months after Mistral closed a $415 million round at a $2 billion valuation...MoreNews Of the WeekJack Dorsey claims Bluesky is 'repeating all the mistakes' he made at TwitterHe prefers Nostr even though it's “weird and hard to use.”Karissa Bell, Senior EditorThu, May 9, 2024 at 4:43 PM PDTJust in case there was any doubt about how Jack Dorsey really feels about Bluesky, the former Twitter CEO has offered new details on why he left the board and deleted his account on the service he helped kickstart. In a characteristically bizarre interview with Mike Solana of Founders Fund, Dorsey had plenty of criticism for Bluesky.In the interview, Dorsey claimed that Bluesky was “literally repeating all the mistakes” he made while running Twitter. The entire conversation is long and a bit rambly, but Dorsey's complaints seem to boil down to two issues:* He never intended Bluesky to be an independent company with its own board and stock and other vestiges of a corporate entity (Bluesky spun out of Twitter as a public benefit corporation in 2022.) Instead, his plan was for Twitter to be the first client to take advantage of the open source protocol. Bluesky created.* The fact that Blueksy has some form of content moderation and has occasionally banned users for things like using racial slurs in their usernames.“People started seeing Bluesky as something to run to, away from Twitter,” Dorsey said. “It's the thing that's not Twitter, and therefore it's great. And Bluesky saw this exodus of people from Twitter show up, and it was a very, very common crowd. … But little by little, they started asking Jay and the team for moderation tools, and to kick people off. And unfortunately they followed through with it. That was the second moment I thought, uh, nope. This is literally repeating all the mistakes we made as a company.”Dorsey also confirmed that he is financially backing Nostr, another decentralized Twitter-like service popular among some crypto enthusiasts and run by an anonymous founder. “I know it's early, and Nostr is weird and hard to use, but if you truly believe in censorship resistance and free speech, you have to use the technologies that actually enable that, and defend your rights,” Dorsey said.A lot of this isn't particularly surprising. If you've followed Dorsey's public comments over the last couple years, he's repeatedly said that Twitter's “original sin” was being a company that would be beholden to advertisers and other corporate interests. It's why he backed Elon Musk's takeover of the company. (Not coincidentally, Dorsey still has about $1 billion of his personal wealth invested in the company now known as X.) He's also been very clear that he made many of Twitter's most consequential moderation decisions reluctantly.Unsurprisingly, Dorsey's comments weren't well-received on Bluesky. In a lengthy thread, Bluesky's protocol engineer Paul Frazee said that Twitter was supposed to to be the AT Protocol's “first client” but that “Elon killed that straight dead” after he took over the company. “That entire company was frozen by the prolonged acquisition, and the agreement quickly ended when Elon took over,” Frazee said. “It was never going to happen. Also: unmoderated spaces are a ridiculous idea. We created a shared network for competing moderated spaces to exist. Even if somebody wanted to make an unmoderated ATProto app, I guess they could? Good luck with the app stores and regulators and users, I guess.”While Dorsey was careful not to criticize Musk directly, he was slightly less enthusiastic than when he said that Musk would be the one to “extend the light of consciousness” by taking over Twitter. Dorsey noted that, while he used to fight government requests to take down accounts, Musk takes “the other path” and generally complies. “Elon will fight in the way he fights, and I appreciate that, but he could certainly be compromised,” Dorsey said.FTX crypto fraud victims to get their money back — plus interestPaul Sawers2:53 AM PDT • May 8, 2024Bankruptcy lawyers representing customers impacted by the dramatic crash of cryptocurrency exchange FTX 17 months ago say that the vast majority of victims will receive their money back — plus interest.The news comes six months after FTX co-founder and former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) was found guilty on seven counts related to fraud, conspiracy, and money laundering, with some $8 billion of customers' funds going missing. SBF was hit with a 25-year prison sentence in March and ordered to pay $11 billion in forfeiture. The crypto mogul filed an appeal last month that could last years.RestructuringAfter filing for bankruptcy in late 2022, SBF stood down and U.S. attorney John J. Ray III was brought in as CEO and “chief restructuring officer,” charged with overseeing FTX's reorganization. Shortly after taking over, Ray said in testimony that despite some of the audits that had been done previously at FTX, he didn't “trust a single piece of paper in this organization.” In the months that followed, Ray and his team set about tracking the missing funds, with some $8 billion placed in real estate, political donations, and VC investments — including a $500 million investment in AI company Anthropic before the generative AI boom, which the FTX estate managed to sell earlier this year for $884 million.Initially, it seemed unlikely that investors would recoup much, if any, of their money, but signs in recent months suggested that good news might be on the horizon, with progress made on clawing back cash via various investments FTX had made, as well as from executives involved with the company.We now know that 98% of FTX creditors will receive 118% of the value of their FTX-stored assets in cash, while the other creditors will receive 100% — plus “billions in compensation for the time value of their investments,” according to a press release issued by the FTX estate today.In total, FTX says that it will be able to distribute between $14.5 billion and $16.3 billion in cash, which includes assets currently under control of entities, including chapter 11 debtors, liquidators, the Securities Commission of the Bahamas, the U.S. Department of Justice, among various other parties.Apple's Final Cut Camera lets filmmakers connect four cameras at onceHaje Jan Kamps7:38 AM PDT • May 7, 2024The latest version of Final Cut Pro introduces a new feature to speed up your shoot: Live Multicam. It's a bold move from Apple, transforming your iPad into a multicam production studio, enabling creatives to connect and preview up to four cameras all at once, all in one place. From the command post, directors can remotely direct each video angle and dial in exposure, white balance, focus and more, all within the Final Cut Camera app.The new companion app lets users connect multiple iPhones or iPads (presumably using the same protocols as the Continuity Camera feature launched a few years ago). Final Cut Pro automatically transfers and syncs each Live Multicam angle so you can seamlessly move from production to editing.Final Cut Pro has existed in the iPad universe for a while — but when paired with a brand new M4 processor, it becomes a video editing experience much closer to what you might expect on a desktop video editing workstation. The speed is 2x faster than with the old M1 processors, Apple says. One way that shows up is that the new iPad supports up to four times more streams of ProRes RAW than M1.The company also introduced external project support, making it possible to edit projects directly from an external drive, leveraging the fast Thunderbolt connection of iPad Pro.Startup of the WeekExclusive: Wayve co-founder Alex Kendall on the autonomous future for cars and robotsMike Butcher, 7:58 AM PDT • May 7, 2024U.K.-based autonomous vehicle startup Wayve started life as a software platform loaded into a tiny electric “car” called Renault Twizy. Festooned with cameras, the company's co-founders and PhD graduates, Alex Kendall and Amar Shah, tuned the deep-learning algorithms powering the car's autonomous systems until they'd got it to drive around the medieval city unaided.No fancy Lidar cameras or radars were needed. They suddenly realized they were on to something.Fast-forward to today and Wayve, now an AI model company, has raised a $1.05 billion Series C funding round led by SoftBank, NVIDIA and Microsoft. That makes this the UK's largest AI fundraise to date, and among the top 20 AI fundraises globally. Even Meta's head of AI, Yann LeCun, invested in the company when it was young.Wayve now plans to sell its autonomous driving model to a variety of auto OEMs as well as to makers of new autonomous robots.In an exclusive interview, I spoke to Alex Kendall, co-founder and CEO of Wayve, about how the company has been training the model, the new fundraise, licensing plans, and the wider self-driving market.(Note: The following interview has been edited for length and clarity)TechCrunch: What tipped the balance to attain this level of funding?..Full InterviewX of the Week This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thatwastheweek.com/subscribe

Startups are not shying away from big projects. That's my takeaway from news that The Browser Company's Arc browser is now generally available for Windows users, just as Island raised a massive grip of capital for its enterprise-focused browser tool. It's very encouraging to see startups going after core pieces of technology, and not just the apps that sit atop platforms.Of course, Chromium still reigns supreme, but unseating that horse might take a while.Elsewhere in startup-land this week on Equity, we dug into the Chowdeck round. It's a Nigerian company that is putting up impressive growth with its food delivery business. Keep an eye on it, Nigeria is a big market and TechCrunch writes that no single company has its delivery business on lock. Yet, at least.On this morning's episode we also took a look at the recent Corelight round, which given its valuation and revenue growth, is one to chew on.From the venture side of things, we discussed two stories. First, that Intuition is going after the consumer market. From Paris, the smaller fund is betting that going the opposite direction as most VCs is how to make the most money. And second, a new venture capital supergroup is forming. Axios reports that investors with backgrounds at a16z, Bessemer and Index are building a new firm.Equity is TechCrunch's flagship podcast and posts every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and you can subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts.You also can follow Equity on X and Threads, at @EquityPod.For the full interview transcript, for those who prefer reading over listening, read on, or check out our full archive of episodes over at Simplecast. Credits: Equity is hosted by TechCrunch's Alex Wilhelm and Mary Ann Azevedo. We are produced by Theresa Loconsolo with editing by Kell. Bryce Durbin is our Illustrator. We'd also like to thank the audience development team and Henry Pickavet, who manages TechCrunch audio products.

On the latest episode of Blood, Sweat & Balance Sheets, FloQast CEO Mike Whitmire is joined by CFO Razzak Jallow to discuss the ins and outs of FloQast's Series E round of funding. Take an inside look at all the work that goes on behind the scenes, from investor relations to negotiating term sheets, Mike and Razzak candidly discuss the fundraising process, providing valuable insights for accountants and entrepreneurs alike.Key Takeaways:Behind-the-Scenes Insights: Razzak provides a first-hand account of the extensive legwork and meticulous planning involved in securing FloQast's Series E funding, offering a rare glimpse into the inner workings of a high-stakes fundraising endeavor.Insights for Accountants: Gain valuable insights into the intersection of finance and entrepreneurship, as Mike and Razzak share essential knowledge that accountants need to know about fundraising and scaling a business.Navigating Investor Relations: Delve into the nuances of dealing with potential investors, including the strategies employed and the challenges encountered along the way.Pitfalls of Fundraising: Mike and Razzak candidly discuss the common pitfalls and hurdles encountered during the fundraising process, offering practical advice for navigating these challenges.Evolution of FloQast's Funding Rounds: Explore how the Series E funding round differed drastically from previous rounds, highlighting the evolving dynamics of fundraising in a rapidly changing business landscape.Future Plans: Discover FloQast's ambitious plans for utilizing the newly acquired funding, offering a glimpse into the company's vision and strategic direction.Subscribe now to Blood, Sweat & Balance Sheets for more episodes featuring industry leaders sharing their insights on financial management, operational excellence, and the journey to success.https://linktr.ee/bsbspodcast

Marketing is not just about creativity but the strategic use of data and information. It's not enough to have an eye-catching campaign; today's marketers need the keys to the kingdom—understanding who their customers are, what they want, and how best to deliver it. But there lies the rub: in an age where privacy is prized, how do we obtain this precious data without pushing our customers away? This conundrum is at the heart of why understanding your customer's journey, and the data that illuminates it, is such an essential facet of the marketing landscape. It's a topic that's always hot on my mind as the host of More Perfect Marketing, and it's one I took a deep dive into with my latest guest, Chris Rodriguez. In our chat, we peeled back the layers of modern marketing challenges, from navigating personal privacy concerns to leveraging the full power of data analytics without alienating the very audience we aim to charm. Chris's insights were like a beacon in the often murky waters of data tracking and utilization; he shared his perspective on the evolving need for back-end information in B2B marketing, the art of capturing data from personas who guard their information like a treasure, and the journey towards less invasive, yet effective, data extraction techniques. Email nurturing, segmentation, and contextual messaging emerged as the stars in Chris's strategy for gathering data without the user's direct input. It's about respecting the audience's boundaries while creatively engaging them in a way that feels personal and unobtrusive. This approach doesn't just meet the end goal of data collection; it enhances the user experience, ensuring that marketers walk the tightrope between useful and bothersome with grace. Chris carries with him not just knowledge, but a palpable passion for uncovering the right answers in marketing through systematic, data-driven processes. He's a 20-year marketing veteran with a passion for driving growth and tangible results for brands and entrepreneurs. He has worked with over 30 startups across all tiers of funding (Seed Round to Series E) and sizes (

Oz Alon, the Co-founder and CEO of Honeybook, leads a team of visionary innovators and creative problem solvers. With a fervent mission to empower businesses to own their independence with passion and purpose, Oz is instrumental in building tools, resources, and a supportive community for independent ventures. Under his leadership, Honeybook pioneers a movement to ensure that independent businesses thrive by providing the necessary support and fostering an environment where entrepreneurs can succeed in doing what they love. On The Menu: 1. Insights into the organic evolution of HoneyBook and the realization of the need for a platform for service-based businesses. 2. Discussion on how the recent Series E funding enables strategic investments while maintaining a lean approach. 3. Introduction of the concept of client flow as a parallel to an online store for service-based businesses. 4. HoneyBook's strategy stands out by offering a comprehensive solution, managing clients, cash, and calendars in one place. 5. Emphasizing the role of brand strength, rooted in core values and employee dedication. 6. Vision beyond HoneyBook involves promoting bilingualism among Israeli children to increase global opportunities. Click here for a free trial: https://bit.ly/495qC9U Follow us on social media to hear from us more - Facebook- https://bit.ly/3ZYLiew Instagram- https://bit.ly/3Usdrtf Linkedin- https://bit.ly/43pdmdU Twitter- https://bit.ly/43qPvKX Pinterest- https://bit.ly/3KOOa9u Happy creating! #OzAlon #HoneyBook #MarketerOfTheMonth #Cash #ClientManagement #Outgrow #Podcastoftheday #MarketingPodcast

On the heels of its well-received Super Bowl ad, Poppi is getting a lot of attention. According to a report in Bloomberg, the mid-calorie, prebiotic soda brand is rumored to be an acquisition target, a topic the hosts discussed in the episode. They also chatted about Coke's new Gen Z/TikTok-inspired “Tears Of Joy” soda, a trio of “loaded” cereals and meat sticks inspired by ancestral lifestyles, among other recently launched products. This episode also includes an interview with Ross Iverson, a managing partner with private equity firm Manna Tree and Gotham Greens co-founder and CEO Viraj Puri and who discuss their relationship as mission-driven investor and entrepreneur. Show notes: 0:35: Super Ad. John & Jacqui's CPG Adventures. Expo West VIPs. Ray Rants. Fruitcake & Liver. – The show opens with a review of Poppi's “Big Game” commercial and why AriZona Beverages has never produced one. John and Jacqui spoke about attending a trio of recently held industry events in San Diego before the hosts collectively discussed the benefits that Taste Radio VIPs can encounter at Expo West, a  diet soda intended to appeal to Gen Z consumers, and a new line of cereals launched by General Mills that got Ray standing on a soap box. They also munched on beef heart and liver-based meat sticks and chocolate-coated fruitcake and sipped on collagen tea. 30:44: Ross Iverson, Manna Tree & Viraj Puri, Gotham Greens – Manna Tree, a global investment firm that describes itself as “committed to improving human health through nutrition,” led Gotham Greens' $87 million Series D round which was announced in 2020 and also participated in the indoor farming company's $330 million Series E round, completed in 2022. In this conversation, recorded during Manna Tree's Leadership Summit, held in January, Gotham Greens co-founder and CEO Viraj Puri joined Ross Iverson, a managing partner with Manna Tree, for a conversation in which they shared insights into a relationship in which both are aligned on mission, purpose and profit.  Brands in this episode: Gotham Greens, Poppi, Pepsi, Olipop, BodyArmor, AriZona Beverages, Huy Fong Foods, Safety Shot, Fishwife, Souzu, Cien Chiles, Mooski, Nguyen Coffee Supply, Coca-Cola, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Cocoa Puffs, Trix, Onyx Coffee Lab, Sweet Nutrition, Beatrice Bakery, Country Archer, Slim Jim, Moshi, Aura Collagen Tea, GT's

“The more things change, the more they stay the same” would be an apt slogan for indoor farming pioneer Gotham Greens.  Launched in 2011, the New York-based company operates a nationwide network of 13 high-tech hydroponic greenhouses and markets premium, hyper-local leafy greens, herbs, salad dressings, dips and cooking sauces. The products are sold at over 3,000 retail stores including Whole Foods, Kroger, Albertsons, Sprouts and The Fresh Market. According to the company, Gotham Greens' farms use up to 95% less water and 97% less land compared to conventional farming as a way to provide “sustainable supply chain solutions to its diverse retail and foodservice customers.” Investors have bet big on Gotham Greens' business strategy and vision: since 2009, the company has raised $440 million, including a $330 Series E round that was announced in September 2022.   The funding has helped Gotham Greens grow from a single urban rooftop greenhouse in Brooklyn to one of the largest hydroponic leafy green producers in North America. Yet while its operations evolve and footprint expands, Gotham Greens co-founder and CEO Viraj Puri says that the company remains rooted in its core principles and that his passion and conviction for the brand are as intense as ever. In this podcast, recorded during a leadership event in Vail hosted by Gotham Greens investor Manna Tree, Viraj spoke about how he has maintained focus amid the company's evolution, managing new and complex responsibilities as CEO, assessing when to step on the gas (and when to release the pedal),  and what he considers to be his biggest mistake and best decision. Show notes: 0:43: Viraj Puri, Co-Founder & CEO, Gotham Greens – Viraj and Ray chatted about wearing beard nets and the entrepreneur's weekly consumption of Gotham Greens products before he shared his perspective on how the company has grown since 2011. He also explained the impact of trust and hiring his evolution as a CEO, how he communicates belief and scaling potential to employees, incorporating investor input on business strategy and why retailer strategy is tied to the geographical location of Gotham Greens' greenhouses. Viraj also discussed opportunities in foodservice and the company's partnership with Sweetgreen and why he encourages group thought, but errs on the side of satisfying customers. Brands in this episode: Gotham Greens

Welcome to the MassDevice Fast Five medtech news podcast, the show that keeps you up-to-date on the latest breakthroughs in medical technology. Here's what you need to know for today, February 6, 2024. Check out the show notes for links to the stories we discussed today at MassDevice.com/podcast. Procyrion raised $57.7 million in a Series E funding round for its circulatory support device. Fast Five hosts Danielle Kirsh and Sean Whooley talk about what the funding will support, what its Aortix device is and what executives have to say about the funding raise. Biosense Webster released positive Varipulse pulsed field ablation data. Whooley details which data points stuck out in the InspIRE and AdmIRE studies.  Carthera enrolled its first patients in an ultrasound drug delivery trial. Learn how the ultrasound drug delivery technology works and what the trial will evaluate. 3M could reportedly raise up to $12 billion from its Solventum spinoff. Hear more about what the money raise could be used for and the current status of the spinoff.  LivaNova has picked a longtime J&J executive as its new CEO. The Fast Five hosts share who is joining the company, their career history and the optimism he brings to the company.  BONUS: Read more from Whooley's discussion with ReWalk Robotics' CEO as the company looks ahead following its Lifeward rebrand.

Join host James Mackey and his guest Cassandra Mingus, Director of Talent Acquisition at Signifyd, as she shares her career journey from recruiter to tech leader in a late-stage company. In conversation with James Mackey, they explore lessons learned, the evolution of talent acquisition, and hiring strategies for success.Discover the importance of structured processes, approval mechanisms, and using tools like Greenhouse for streamlined recruitment. Uncover tiered recruitment strategies, capacity planning insights, and measuring quality of hire.   0:33 Cassandra Mingus's background   1:39 Lessons learned in talent acquisition progression12:00 Key processes for effective hiring19:24 Capacity planning and quality of hire Thank you to our sponsor, SecureVision, for making this show possible! Our host James Mackey Follow us:https://www.linkedin.com/company/82436841/#1 Rated Embedded Recruitment Firm on G2!https://www.g2.com/products/securevision/reviewsThanks for listening!

In this episode, we speak with Tom Livne, CEO and Founder of Verbit, a provider of live captioning and transcription services. The company uses voice AI, integrations and professional transcribers to help businesses provide accessible, compliant meetings and events for a host of industries. A leader in the $30 billion transcription industry, Verbit has raised $360 million to date after closing its Series E funding round. A former lawyer, Tom founded Verbit knowing how much money was being spent on transcription. He saw that many more industries could benefit from access to accurate transcripts. He has expertise in enterprise software, as well as tech-enabled and SaaS businesses, and is an active investor in promising tech companies. Tom supports Keshet. To know more about the organization click here. I am your host RJ Lumba.  We hope you enjoy the show.  If you like the episode, click to subscribe.

00:10 | SpaceX ups tender to $180b- Tender from $175b to $180b, or $97.00/share- +26.0% from beginning of 2023, +19.8% from last tender in Jul 2023- Tender is seeing strong demand after SpaceX forecasted StarLink $10b in 2024 revenue vs $0 in 202001:28 | TikTok Shop posts 5m new customer in Nov 2023- Blended social media with shopping- TikTok offers sellers 100% payouts, covers shipping, and covers discounts- Brands like Mondelez and Benefit Cosmetics have adopted the service- TikTok is a ByteDance company, ByteDance is the largest pre-IPO stock globally and is currently executing a $5b buyback at a $268b valuation03:16 | Blue Origin to launch rocket- Launch could occur as soon as Dec 18- Blue Origin was on pause after an uncrewed launch auto-aborted (exploded) in Sep 2022- Blue Origin's New Shepard has completed 22 flights, carrying 31 people to space- Blue Origin is working on a heavy lift rocket (New Glenn) and lunar lander (Blue Moon)04:18 | Mistral AI's $2b valuation- Mistral AI is a large language model provide that competes with OpenAI, Anthropic, and Cohere- Mistral raised $487m from Andreessen Horowitz, Nvidia, and Salesforce05:12 | OpenAI contracts with Politico and Business Insider- ChatGPT to provide users with article summaries, including subscription-based content, with proper attribution and links to the full articles- Axel Springer, partner of Politico and Business Insider, will also supply content for training OpenAI's AI models- OpenAI signed a similar agreement with the Associated Press- OpenAI is currently in the process of closing a tender offer that will value the company at $86b06:09 | Harvey's $700m valuation- Harvey is a AI large language model for lawyers built on top of OpenAI- Raising $70-$80m at a $700m valuation- Round led by Kleiner Perkins and Elad Gil- Harvey already has strategic clients like PwC and Allen & Overy07:19 | Big capital raises- VAST Data (vastdata.com) | $118m Series E, $9.1b valuation- Scalable Capital (de.scalable.capital) | $228m Series E, $2.1b valuation- MaintainX (getmaintainx.com) | $50m Series C, $900m valuation- Gecko Robotics (geckorobotics.com) | $173m Series C, $633m valuation- Pragmatic (pragmaticsemi.com) | $227m Series D, $624m valuation08:33 | Pre-IPO +1.23% for week- Week winners: Cohere +21.58%, Klarna +6.52%, Ramp +3.49%, Stripe +3.43%, Snyk +3.33%- Week losers: Brex -5.30%, Anduril -5.07%, Notion -2.75%, Canva -2.20%, ByteDance -1.04%- Top valuations: ByteDance $193b, SpaceX $158b, OpenAI $71b, Stripe $50b, Databricks $47b lead in current valuationInvest in pre-IPO stocks with AG Dillon Funds - www.agdillon.com

00:09 | SpaceX's $175b valuation- SpaceX announced their Dec 2023 tender- $175b valuation at $95.00/share- Raising $500m to $750m- +17% from last round in Jul 2023 at $150b valuation- +28% from valuation at beginning of 2023, $137b valuation01:07 | ByteDance $5b buyback at $268b valuation- $5b buy back at $160.00/share, or $268b valuation- Pitchbook has a $220b valuation as of Mar 2023- +37% from implied valuation of $196b based on secondary market price performance- $29 billion in Q2 and $85 billion annually with a 67% jump in net profit02:40 | Navan fires 5% of staff- spend management for companies, formerly TripActions- 145 employees impacted- IPO preparations underway, Goldman Sachs advising- Focus is to drive profitability and operational efficiency- $300m in annual revenue03:55 | X.AI to raise $1.0b- X.AI's Grok aims to compete with AI solutions from OpenAI, Google, Anthropic- $135m of $1.0b raised to date, remainder under binding agreement- X owns 25% of X.AI- X will “distribute” Grok, Premium+ subscribers will get access to Grok under their $16/month subscription … compared to OpenAI's $20/month premium subscription05:19 | Big capital raises- Wormhole (wormhole.com) | $225m Series A, $2.5b valuation- Castore (castore.com) | $180m Series E, $1.2b valuation- Kandou (kandou.com) | $100m Series E, $814m valuation- Center (getcenter.com) | $30m Series C, $600m valuation- Tower 28 (tower28beauty.com) | $28m Series A, $228m valuation06:50 | Pre-IPO -1.48% for week- Week winners: Airtable +5.60%, Rippling +4.87%, Canva +1.44%, Klarna +1.27%, Neuralink +1.05%- Week losers: Flexport -22.37%, Deel -8.46%, Ramp -8.40%, OpenAI -8.34%, Notion -3.19%- Top valuations: ByteDance $196b, SpaceX $157b, OpenAI $71b, Stripe $49b, Databricks $46b lead in current valuationInvest in pre-IPO stocks with AG Dillon Funds - www.agdillon.com

Final episode of the series! Equipment, Clothing, and Shelter are pretty important! If you only have one takeaway from this, just remember, NO COTTON!!Begin the Duel, Win the Day. Support the show

A Opening Night Live em si pode não ter trazido muitas novidades, mas muita coisa boa rolou durante a Gamescom em si. A Larian e Xbox chegaram em um acordo para o lançamento de Baldur's Gate no Series X e S, a Nightdive está fazendo remasterizações de Dark Forces e Turok 3, a Sony compartilhou mais detalhes do PlayStation Portal e outras coisa mais.Participantes:Guilherme JacobsHeitor De PaolaAssuntos abordados:08:00 - Charles Martinet não será mais a voz do Mario15:00 - Larian e Xbox chegam a acordo para lançar Baldur's Gate 3 no Series S28:00 - A Supermassive Games está desenvolvendo Little Nightmares 331:00 - A Nightdive anunciou remasters de Dark Forces e Turok 338:00 - Cerca de um quinto dos desenvolvedores da Bioware foi demitido52:00 - A Microsoft deve vender direitos de streaming para a Ubisoft57:00 - Rápidas e curtas Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to the inaugural episode of Skincare Anarchy's newest masterclass series featuring CODEX Labs . Tune in for a captivating podcast that dives deep into the world of skincare and reveals the secrets behind a radiant complexion. In this groundbreaking series, we bring you exclusive conversations with industry pioneers and experts who are revolutionizing the way we understand and care for our skin. In this highly anticipated launch episode, we embark on a journey to decode the Microbiome, the complex ecosystem of microorganisms that reside on our skin's surface. Our esteemed guest is none other than Dr. Barbara Paldus, Ph.D., the brilliant mind behind CODEX Labs, a trailblazing skincare company at the forefront of microbiome research and innovation. Dr. Paldus, a visionary scientist and the founder of CODEX Labs, shares her profound insights and groundbreaking discoveries in the field of skincare. With her wealth of knowledge and expertise, she unveils the untapped potential of the microbiome and its profound impact on skin health. From the latest scientific advancements to practical tips for nurturing a thriving microbiome, this masterclass-style conversation offers invaluable guidance for anyone seeking to enhance their skincare regimen and unlock the secrets to radiant skin. Skincare Anarchy invites you to listen in as we explore the frontiers of skincare science with the brilliant Dr. Barbara Paldus, Ph.D. Get ready to embrace the skincare revolution and harness the power of CODEX Labs in this captivating and informative episode: “Decoding the Microbiome.” Note: Stay tuned for upcoming episodes where we continue to disrupt conventional beauty norms and empower you with knowledge that will transform your skincare routine. #microbiome #skincareroutine #wellness #healthylifestyle #skincare --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/skincareanarchy/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/skincareanarchy/support

Plus we have the latest on a Section 31 TV movie. How you can legally watch Strange New Worlds without a Paramount Plus subscription. And is Worf still sleeping?News stories: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/star-trek-section-31-michelle-yeoh-movie-1235390046/https://www.pcmag.com/news/a-star-trek-like-com-badge-ex-apple-employees-debut-ai-powered-wearablehttps://www.engadget.com/a-galaxy-quest-series-is-reportedly-coming-to-paramount-173542956.htmlhttps://screenrant.com/strange-new-worlds-season-1-pluto-tv/#:~:text=Pluto%20TV%20will%20soon%20feature,widespread%20critical%20and%20fan%20acclaim.Leave us a voicemail 1-816-287-0448Follow us on Twitter & Instagram - @TrekCastTNGtrekcasttng@gmail.comchadiswrong@gmail.comCheck out our merch store at Trekcast.comHelp support the show - ko-fi.com/trekcast

Our Highlights: FTX may be history, BUT a German Blog reports there are several parties interested in buying the European Entity of FTX. FTX also triggered Bitpanda to order a special audit from KPMG. We have some more job cuts, this time the 2nd round. Gorillas may sell itself at 1 bn USD even though they have raised 1.3 bn USD in venture capital already. Air taxis are still hot, Volocopter raises more than 180 m US$ to get closer to certification and Lilium sells 100 Airtaxis to Saudi Arabia. The German VC market is stabilizing, according to KfW Research. Our former guest Creditshelf partners with Goldman Sachs and pockets 100 m Euros. Gitpod, a startup from Kiel convinces the founders of GitHub and Shopify to invest.Let's talk startups:Our Sponsor StartupravenThe best way to identify investors and cooperation partners for early-stage startups. Sign up for early access here: https://startupraven.com/Find all options to follow us and subscribe here: https://linktr.ee/startupradioTop News FTX may soon be History, BUTA German blog Finance Forward reports there are several parties interested in buying the European Entity of FTX, which is headquartered in Switzerland. Their information has been spot-on in other cases in the past.Job Cuts Keep Coming - 2nd Round NowProptechs Homeday and McMakler enter the second round of job cuts. Homeday cuts 20 jobs (60 before) and McMakler again 100 employeesGorillas May Sell Itself at a Huge DiscountSequoia-backed grocery startup Getir is close to buying its troubled rival Gorillas in a heavily discounted deal said to be worth less than $1 billion. They have been valued at their series C investment at 2.1 bn US$ and to date they raised more than 1.3 bn US$.Related: Deutsche-Startups uncovered that Gorillas (which is in the process of selling itself) paid 300 m € this year for french competitor Frichti.Lilium Sells 100 Airtaxis Saudi Arabia buys 100 air taxis from Munich -based startup Lilium. The delivery is expected 2025. Before the deal, they also hired former Airbus executive Klaus Roewe. Fingers crossed for them, they did not generate revenue yet, but 841 m Euros in losses so far. Volocopter Raises 182 M US$Volocopter raises $182M to bring air taxi closer to certification, as part of their Series E funding The company is currently testing its two-seater VoloCity air taxi for the requirements set by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). Volocopter is looking to certify its aircraft in H2 2023 and generate revenue with rides in 2024.Creditshelf Partners with Goldman SachsOur former guest Creditshelf partners with Goldman Sachs and hits profitability - Goldman Sachs is providing the German alternative lender for SMEs with up to €100m of secured funding. Learn more in our interview with Creditshelf here https://buff.ly/3NVANo1 Creditshelf is Germany's only listed pure-play fintech, offering a credit platform, where investors can grant credit to German small and medium enterprises.Mentioned in this episode:Learn more www.startupraven.comYounium and TvaritOur Enablers Younium Younium is the subscription management and billing platform for B2B SaaS. Younium brings the transformative infrastructure to manage and grow your business while you focus on the things that matter. https://www.younium.com/ Tvarit Tvarit is an industrial ai startup, that helps companies to reduce rejections by 40%-60% in metal casting, as well as saving up to 18% on energy. Learn more here: https://www.tvarit.com/This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacyChartable -...

Today I'm talking to Prashanth Chandrasekar the CEO of Stack Overflow – a highly specialized kind of social network, with a really unique business model. If you don't know Stack Overflow is a major part of the modern software development landscape: it's where developers come together, ask questions, and get answers about how to build software, including actual code they can use in their own projects. It's basically a huge question and answer forum. More than 100 million people visit Stack Overflow every single month. The company also sells Stack Overflow as an internal forum tool that big companies can use for their own teams: Microsoft, Google, Logitech—you name it, they're using Stack Overflow to coordinate conversations between their engineers. The platform has a long reputation of elitism; Prasanth himself is a developer and he told me his own first experience on Stack Overflow was a negative one. In fact, he took over as CEO about three years ago, after a pretty serious moderation controversy that saw several longtime Stack Overflow moderators quit. I wanted to talk to Prasanth about how it works, how the company makes money, and how to grow such a specialized user base while still being welcoming to new people. Links: Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) Stack Overflow Sold to Tech Giant Prosus for $1.8 Billion Stack Overflow helps millions of developers do their jobs every single day. Its new CEO says the next stage of its growth is selling to businesses. Big Tech's hiring freeze unlocks rich talent pool for U.S. startups Stack Overflow raises $85M in Series E funding to further accelerate SaaS business Chris Dixon thinks web3 is the future of the internet — is it? Stack Overflow Has a New Code of Conduct: You Must 'Be Nice' Code of Conduct - Stack Overflow Eight great sites that offer online classes The other side of Stack Overflow content moderation Everything you need to know about Section 230 Transcript:  https://www.theverge.com/e/23185361 Credits: Decoder is a production of The Verge, and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Today's episode was produced by Creighton DeSimone and Jackie McDermott and it was edited by Callie Wright. The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Our Sr Audio Director is Andrew Marino and our Executive Producer is Eleanor Donovan.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices