Sourcery 🌳 Vinod Khosla, Elon's GFY + fall of big media
(11/27-12/1) Together AI, Candex, Second Front Systems, Pika, Stensul, Kognitos, Squint, Ursa Major, ZeroAvia, PhysicsX, Modo Energy, Retrocausal, Monterra
Mainstream media is starting to crack
What’s happening?
For starters, Elon is moving fast & breaking things, quickly exposing the reality of these legacy systems of information and the corruption within them. Then, Tucker Carlson goes on the All-in Podcast to talk about getting fired & going on his journey solo. Lastly, Forbes doxxed a popular anonymous X/Twitter techno-optimism leader.
Elon said a big GFY to advertising giants like Disney
Elon hit peak frustration at the DealBook Summit after being asked about X/Twitter’s business model uncertainty given the instability in advertising revenue & partners. This led to him bursting out a big GFY to Bob Iger, CEO of Disney, for trying to ‘blackmail’ him with advertising dollars by ‘pushing’ hit pieces on the platform.
has a decent breakdown of it all here"What I care about is the reality of goodness, not the perception of it.. and what I see all over the place is people who care about looking good while doing evil." - Elon
Side note:
Are journalists doing any research anymore?? The questions in this interview were not good. “Jonathan” sounded like a cheap therapist. Not a journalist.
i.e. “Is your storm a happy storm?” “tell us about that” “and how does that make you feel” .. are you serious?
Lately, it feels like some journalists interviewing Elon are either extremely unprepared, becoming too intimated, or are just too lazy (ehem Joe Rogan). He wants to have real conversations about hard problems. They’re falling short.
The Flipside
Lex Fridman is the opposite. Lex does his research, leans in, challenges ideas, and goes deeper leading a meaningful conversation.
Watch → Elon Musk: SpaceX, Mars, Tesla Autopilot, Self-Driving, Robotics, and AI Lex Fridman Podcast
Other news in media
Comeback Stories? In conversation with Tucker Carlson, plus OpenAI chaos explained, All-in Podcast
Musings
Vinod
Vinod Khosla Can See the Future. It Just Got Hazy for a Minute, By David Kirkpatrick @ The Information
“Outstanding profile” - Keith Rabois
He foresaw the internet, AI, and climate-tech revolutions, bet early (and big) on OpenAI, and is about to raise a record $3 billion for Khosla Ventures. But even a legendary predictor can be blindsided.
Watch → Cerebral Valley AI Summit Vinod + Eric Newcomer chat OpenAI (pre-coup), open source, biotech, TikTok, techno-optimism, AI risks, & his experience investing for ~40 years
AI
Realized we jumped into AI talk without much context so we’re sharing some resources for those of you interested in learning more. Below are some good guides, one for starters, the other on RAG vs finetuning
Hardtech
Tesla Cybertruck is here, The Verge
Electric truck will start at $60,990 and get up to 340 miles of range
Watch → Cybertruck beats Porsche 911 while towing a 911, Tesla
SpaceX Starship explosion explained, John Coogan
Scott Nolan, (prev SpaceX engineer) Partner at Founders Fund explains in under 4 minutes how the recent Starship hot staging test was successful
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Last Week (11/27-12/1):
Relevant deals include the 60+ deals across stages below.
I've categorized the deals below into five categories, FinTech, Care, Enterprise & Consumer, HardTech, and Sustainability, and ordered from later-stage rounds to early-stage rounds. Highlighted deals include Wormhole, Mozaic.io, PayGround, RepeatMD, Cradle, Clayful, BlueVoyant, Together AI, Candex, Second Front Systems, Pika, Stensul, Kognitos, Squint, Expanse, CoordinateHQ, Vimcal, Ursa Major, ZeroAvia, PhysicsX, Modo Energy, Retrocausal, Monterra; Adobe/Rephrase, Yieldstreet/Cadre, Blackstone/Rover
Final numbers on Apple TV+ & Paramount+ Catalogs at the bottom.
Deals
Fintech:
- Wormhole, a Cayman Islands-based platform designed to allow developers to communicate with each other from different blockchains, raised $225 million in funding from Jump Trading, Brevan Howard, Coinbase Ventures, Multicoin Capital, and others.
- Mozaic.io, a Nashville, Tenn.-based platform for splitting payments across creative teams, raised $20 million in Series A funding from Volition Capital.
- PayGround, a Gilbert, Ariz.-based app for managing and paying medical bills, raised $19.7 million in Series A funding. SixThirty led the round and was joined by Rally Ventures, IA Capital, FCA Venture Partners, and Plug and Play Ventures.
- Valid8 Financial, a Boulder, Colo. and Seattle, Wash.-based provider of technology designed to trace the flow of financial funds and verify financial data, among other services, raised $8.5 million in Series A funding. Silverton Partners led the round and was joined by Touchdown Ventures, First Trust, CPA.com, and Capital Midwest.
- Mummolin, a Cheyenne Wyo.-based decentralized bitcoin mining pool, raised $6.2m in seed funding. Jack Dorsey led, and was joined by Accomplice, Barefoot Bitcoin Fund, MoonKite, NewLayer Capital and the Bitcoin Opportunity Fund. https://axios.link/3N6NsFz
- Acctual, a New York-based accounting platform for crypto companies, raised $3.9m in seed funding. Third Prime and IDEO co-led, and were joined by Alchemy Ventures, OrangeDAO and Soma Capital. https://axios.link/3N7lbP8
- Conduiit, a New York-based fintech for film and TV productions, raised $1m in pre-seed funding co-led by Fiat Ventures and Aperture VC. www.conduiit.app
. . .
Care:
- RepeatMD, a Houston, Texas-based e-commerce and loyalty technology platform for aesthetic and wellness practices, raised $50 million in Series A funding. Centana Growth Partners and Full In Partners led the round and were joined by Mercury Fund and PROOF.
- Cradle, a startup that uses generative AI to design proteins, raised $24m in Series A funding. Index Ventures led, and was joined by Kindred Capital. www.cradle.bio
- Clayful, a Davie, Fla.-based provider of on-demand mental health support to students, raised $7m led by Reach Capital. www.clayfulhealth.com
- Maia Oncology, a New York City-based virtual care clinic for cancer patients and survivors, raised $4.3 million in seed funding. Takeda Digital Ventures and Yosemite led the round and were joined by BrightEdge, BBG Ventures, and Coalition Operators.
. . .
Enterprise & Consumer:
- BlueVoyant, a New York-based cyber threat intelligence firm, raised more than $140m in Series E funding co-led by Liberty Strategic Capital and Istari. The company also acquired Conquest Cyber, a Miramar, Fla.-based startup focused on the government and defense sectors. https://axios.link/3T0o0W1
- Together AI, a San Francisco-based developer of generative AI and AI model development infrastructure, raised $102.5 million in Series A funding. Kleiner Perkins led the round and was joined by NVIDIA, Emergence Capital, Lux Capital, and others.
- Candex, a New York City-based provider of vendor management solutions, raised $45 million in Series B funding. Goldman Sachs Asset Management led the round and was joined by WiL and existing investors Altos, NFX, Craft, JP Morgan, American Express, and Edenred.
- Second Front Systems, a Wilmington, Del.-based company designed to deliver software applications for national security missions to the government, raised $40 million in Series B funding. NEA led the round and was joined by Moore Strategic Ventures and AE Industrial Partners HorizonX.
- Pika, a Palo Alto, Calif.-based platform that uses AI to generate and edit videos, raised $35 million in Series A funding. Lightspeed Venture Partners led the round and was joined by angel investors.
- Stensul, a New York-based marketing creation platform, raised $34.5m in Series A funding. Sageview Capital led, and was joined by USVP, Javelin Venture Partners, Uncork Capital, Edith Harbaugh and Lowercase Capital. www.stensul.com
- DuploCloud, a San Jose, Calif.-based cloud app provisioning startup, raised $32m in Series B funding. WestBridge Capital and StepStone Group co-led, and were joined by insider Mayfield. https://axios.link/3N6xQC1
- Kognitos, a San Jose, Calif.-based provider of back-office automation software, raised $30m. Khosla Ventures led, and was joined by Clear Ventures, Engineering Capital and Wipro Ventures. https://axios.link/3uEamO2
- Kahuna Workforce Solutions, a Houston, Texas-based skills management software for operations, learning, and human resources departments, raised $21 million in Series B funding from Resolve Growth Partners.
- Hololight, a Durham, N.C. and Innsbruck, Austria-based streaming platform for virtual and augmented reality, raised $12 million in funding. Flatz Hoffman led the round and was joined by EnBW New Ventures, Bayern Kapital, and Future Energy Ventures.
- Expanso, a Seattle, Wash.-based platform designed for fast and secure data computation for enterprises, raised $7.5 million in seed funding. General Catalyst and Hetz Ventures led the round and were joined by Array Ventures.
- CoordinateHQ, a Redwood City, Calif.-based project management and collaboration platform, raised $5.5 million in seed funding. Initialized led the round and was joined by Webb Investment Network and angel investors.
- Letterhead, a Miami, Fla.-based platform for automated newsletter creation, raised $5.3 million in seed funding. Las Olas Venture Capital and Reign Ventures led the round and were joined by BDMI, Florida Opportunity Fund, and McClatchy.
- Prelude, a Brooklyn, N.Y.-based AI-powered supply chain solution for the cannabis industry, raised $5.2 million in seed funding from Rackhouse Ventures and Casa Verde.
- Vimcal, a New York City-based calendar and meetings app, raised $4.5 million in funding. Altos Ventures led the round and was joined by others.
. . .
HardTech:
- Ursa Major, a Berthoud, Colo.-based rocket engine maker, raised $138m in Series D and Series D-1 funding. Explorer 1 Fund and Eclipse co-led, and were joined by RTX Ventures, BlackRock, Exor Ventures, Mack & Co. and XN. www.ursamajor.com
- ZeroAvia, a Hollister, Calif.-based company developing zero-emission plane engines, raised $116 million in Series C funding. Airbus, Barclays Sustainable Impact Climate, and NEOM Investment Fund led the round and were joined by Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Horizons Ventures, and others.
- PhysicsX, a London, U.K.-based developer of AI technology designed to automate engineering processes, accelerate accurate physics simulations, and more, raised $32 million in Series A funding. General Catalyst led the round and was joined by Standard Investments, NGP, and others.
- Immensa, a Dubai-based additive manufacturing and inventory management startup, raised $20m in Series B funding. Global Ventures led, and was joined by Endeavor Catalyst Fund, EDGO and insiders Energy Capital Group, Shorooq Partners and Green Coast Investments. https://axios.link/47UhlRf
- Modo Energy, a London, U.K.-based data analytics platform for energy storage systems, raised $15 million in Series A funding. MMC Ventures led the round and was joined by Triple Point Ventures, Fred Olsen Limited, and Catalyst Capital.
- Squint, a San Jose, Calif.-based mobile app that uses AI and AR to automate data entry and generate custom procedures, raised $13 million in Series A funding. Sequoia Capital led the round and was joined by Menlo Ventures.
- Retrocausal, a Redmond, Wash.-based developer of an AI copilot for manufacturing processes, raised $5.3 million in funding. Glasswing Ventures, One Way Ventures, and Indicator Ventures led the round and were joined by existing investors Argon Ventures, Differential Ventures, Ascend Vietnam Ventures, and others.
. . .
Sustainability:
- Monterra, a San Francisco-based developer of software designed to automate the design and planning of EV charging installations, raised $2.5 million in pre-seed funding. Base10 Partners led the round and were joined by Future Climate Venture Studio, Very Serious Ventures, and angel investors.
Acquisitions & PE:
- Adobe (Nasdaq: ADBE) acquired Rephrase, a text-to-video company, per the Economic Times. Rephrase had raised around $12m from firms like Red Ventures, Silver Lake, 8VC and Lightspeed India Partners. https://axios.link/47vmiA6
- Yieldstreet, a VC-backed multi-asset alternative investment platform, agreed to buy Cadre, a New York-based real estate tech firm. Cadre had raised around $130m in VC funding from backers like Andreessen Horowitz, Thrive Capital, General Catalyst, Founders Fund, Spur Capital Partners, Khosla Ventures, Lakestar and Jaws Ventures. https://axios.link/47Ed8Bp
- Blackstone agreed to acquire Rover Group (Nasdaq: ROVR), a Seattle-based pet walking and sitting marketplace, for $2.3b. The $11 per share price represents a 29.4% premium to Tuesday's closing price. Rover went public via SPAC in mid-2021. https://axios.link/3uH64pm
- SpaceX acquired Pioneer Aerospace, a maker of space capsule parachutes whose parent company went bankrupt, for $2.2m. https://axios.link/49Xd5Cp
- Rocket Software, backed by Bain Capital, agreed to acquire the application modernization and connectivity business of OpenText, for $2.3 billion.
- Arcfield, a Chantilly, Va-based portfolio company of Veritas Capital, acquired Orion Space Solutions, a Louisville, Colo.-based developer of space mission capabilities. www.arcfield.com
- Webull, a New York-based stock trading app, acquired Mexican investment platform Flink, a Mexico City-based trading platform that had raised nearly $60m from Lightspeed Venture Partners, Accel, ALLVP, Clocktower Technology Ventures, Mantis VC and Kalonia Venture Partners. Webull has raised around $240m from firms like Lightspeed, Coatue and General Atlantic. https://axios.link/3GiGHfW
Funds:
- Twelve Below, a New York City-based venture capital fund, raised $108 million across two new funds focused on fintech, health care, energy, and SMB companies.
- Tola Capital, a Seattle, Wash.-based venture capital firm, raised $230 million for its third fund focused on startups developing enterprise software
Paramount+ and Apple TV+ could soon be tied together, as the parent companies of the 2 streamers explore the possibility of bundling the services, per reporting from the Wall Street Journal on Friday.
Currently, an Apple TV+ subscription sets US viewers back $9.99 per month, while a Paramount+ Essential subscription (without Showtime) is $5.99/mo. The rumored tie-up would supposedly be cheaper than subscribing to both individually, and comes amidst a wave of industry change, as streamers explore everything from price increases, content culls, and bundling to keep their audiences' attention.
Quality, quantity, both… or neither?
The idea of a bundle makes a lot of sense for Paramount and Apple, which have significantly smaller libraries than their competitors. Apple’s offering is particularly lean, with data from Reelgood showing just over 200 titles on Apple TV+, less than 2% of the ~14,000 available on Amazon Prime Video.
Indeed, despite leaning into quality rather than quantity — with shows like Ted Lasso and Severance getting good marks from critics — Apple TV+ still sees an increasing number of customers canceling, with the churn rate on the platform rising every month between May and September, per Variety.
I’ve seen this one before
Industry experts have been predicting content combinations for some time now, and polling suggests that consumers might also be onboard: 64% reportedly wish there was a service to bundle all of their streaming subscriptions.
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The material presented on Molly O’Shea’s website are my opinions only and are provided for informational purposes and should not be construed as investment advice. It is not a recommendation of, or an offer to sell or solicitation of an offer to buy, any particular security, strategy, or investment product. Any analysis or discussion of investments, sectors or the market generally are based on current information, including from public sources, that I consider reliable, but I do not represent that any research or the information provided is accurate or complete, and it should not be relied on as such. My views and opinions expressed in any website content are current at the time of publication and are subject to change. Past performance is not indicative of future results.