Sourcery ✨ Personal Update

(3/4-3/8) Turpentine, Joe Lonsdale, Trae Stephens, TikTok ~ Monzo, Axonius, Defense Unicorns, RapidSOS, IO Research, Maybell, Argyle, Overjet, Health, Limbic

Personal Update!

I’m going all-in on Sourcery. One of my goals for this year has been to dedicate time to meaningfully build out Sourcery’s brand, create valuable content, collaborate with impressive writers like

Newcomer

, share more techno-optimist founders & investors, ..and yes, launch a podcast. 

That being said, I’m thrilled to announce that Sourcery’s podcast is officially part of Erik Torenberg’s Turpentine network!

Sourcery joins the ‘investing’ group of shows at Turpentine - including

Turpentine VC

,

"The Riff"

with Byrne Hobart, &

Investing City

with Ryan Reeves. 

Sourcery has a ton of amazing interviews lined up including:  

• Delian Asparouhov, Partner at Founders Fund, & Co-Founder of Varda (releasing this week)

• Chris Power, Founder of Hadrian

• Nick Abouzeid, Founder of Rivet

• Niko Bonatsos, Managing Director at General Catalyst

• Morgan Housel, Partner at The Collaborative Fund, & New York Times Bestselling author of The Psychology of Money & Same As Ever

With already amazing episodes:

• Downfall of SaaS & Uprising of Vertically Integrated Monopolies: Xander Oltmann, Commodity Capital

• Alex Kolicich
  , 8VC: Exodus of Venture Capital, AI Predictions

• Finding Alpha in VC & LP Bias: David Weisburd, 10X Capital

If you’d like to support me on my journey..

⬆️ Upgrade to a paid subscription and join the likes of Elad Gil to Alex Paul. We even have an ‘expense it’ tier for your Brex & Centurion cards.

➡️ Share Sourcery with 5 friends, colleagues, group chats, etc.

➡️ Subscribe to our YouTube Channel!

Turpentine will exclusively handle sponsorship for Sourcery - email erik@turpentine.co for more information. 

Musings

Macro

• Joe Lonsdale: The Future of TikTok; Is it a Danger to US National Security? [20VC]

AI

• Yann Lecun: Meta AI, Open Source, Limits of LLMs, AGI & the Future of AI [Lex Fridman Podcast]

  • Yann LeCun is the Chief AI Scientist at Meta, professor at NYU, Turing Award winner, and one of the most influential researchers in the history of AI.

• Tesla FSD 12, Imitation AI Models, Open vs Closed AI Models, Delaware vs Elon, & Market Update [BG2]

• Building An Answer Engine with Perplexity’s Aravind Srinivas [Invest Like the Best]

• Anthropic’s Claude 3 Is Holding Its Own Among Competitors, + Starlink [Ark Invest]

Media

• Tok Blocked! TikTok “Ban” Is Here & Google's Culture of Fear [Pirate Wires]

• 10 Rules Every Founder Should Know: Inside Anduril’s Secret Comms Strategy [Pirate Wires]

  • Mike Solana is joined by Lulu Cheng Meservey and Trae Stephens to discuss effective comms strategy. Trae Stephens is a Partner at Founders Fund and Co-Founder of Anduril. Lulu is the former comms at Activision Blizzard and Substack and is the Co-Founder of TrailRunner

• Must read: Inside Anduril’s Comms Strategy: 10 Rules for Mission-Driven Founders [PW]

  • Lulu Cheng Meservey shares the never-before-revealed playbook that shaped Anduril’s early communication strategy and helped its founders turn the company from black sheep to household name

Health

• Study Links Tiny Bits of Plastic to Worse Heart Health [Time]

. . .

Last Week (3/4-3/8):

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 VC deals include 

Monzo, Axonius, Defense Unicorns, RapidSOS, IO Research, Maybell, Argyle, Overjet, Health, Limbic, Preemptive AI, Zama, Baseten, Remofirst, Metaplane, Brevian, Tollbit, k-ID, HData

Acquisitions & PE

Cloudflare/Nefeli Networks, Astra Space, Accenture/Udacity

Funds

Spark Capital, Commerce Ventures, The Artemis Fund

Final numbers on Saudi Aramco 25% Drop in Profits and Cybercrime Losses at the bottom.

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Deals 

Fintech:

- Monzo, London, U.K. digital bank, raised $430M in funding led by CapitalG with participation from GV (Google Ventures), HSG (HongShan Capital), and existing investors Passion Capital and Tencent.

- IO Research, developer of a Solana-based decentralized physical infrastructure network, raised $30M in Series A funding led by Hack VC with participation from Multicoin Capital, 6th Man Ventures, Solana Ventures, OKX Ventures, Aptos Labs, Delphi Digital, and The Sandbox. https://axios.link/3UZjF6q

- Argyle, New York, NY trusted network of income and employment data, raised $20M in funding led by Rockefeller Asset Management with participation from Bain Capital Ventures, SignalFire, and Checkr.

- Synctera, San Francisco, CA provider of embedded banking and finance solutions, raised $18.6M in a Series A extension led by Lightspeed and Fin Capital with participation from NAVentures, and Banco Popular. 

- Betr Holdings, Miami, FL fantasy sports betting platform, raised $15M in funding led by Harmony Partners and 10x Capital with participation from Fuel Venture Capital, Aliya Capital Partners, and others. 

- Utila, Tel Aviv, Israel crypto operations platform, raised $11.5M in seed funding from NFX, Wing VC, Framework Ventures, and angel investors. 

- Theia Insights, Cambridge, U.K. provider of AI-powered insights to the investment community, raised $6.5M in funding led by Unusual Ventures with participation from Fidelity International Strategic Ventures, Clocktower Ventures, and angel investors. 

- Lettuce, San Francisco, CA automated tax and accounting system designed for solopreneurs, raised $6M in seed funding led by Zeev Ventures. 

- Stack, an on-chain points and rewards startup, raised $3M in seed funding led by Archetype with participation from Coinbase Ventures, Scalar Capital, and A.Capital. 

. . .

Care:

- Overjet, Boston, MA developer of AI technology for dentists, raised $53.2M in Series C funding led by March Capital with participation from General Catalyst, Insight Partners, E14 Fund, Crosslink Capital, and others.

- Healthee, New York, NY AI-powered employee health benefits app, raised $32M in Series A funding led by Fin Capital, Glilot Capital Partners, and Group11 with participation from TriNet.

- MoeGo, Los Angeles, CA software platform for pet care businesses, raised $24M in Series A funding led by Base10 Partners with participation from Digitalis Ventures, Conductive Ventures, and Uphonest Capital.

- Tava Health, Salt Lake City, UT provider of electronic medical record and practice management software to therapists, raised $20 million in Series B funding led by Catalyst Investors with participation from Peterson Partners, Toba Capital, SpringTide, and Blue Heron Capital. 

- Nalu Medical, Carlsbad, CA developer of miniature neurostimulation devices, raised $20M in Series E extension funding from B Capital. 

- Limbic, London, U.K. clinical mental health AI, raised $14M led by Khosla Ventures.

- PreemptiveAI, Seattle, WA developer of AI-powered predictive health technology, raised $6.4M in funding led by Inspired Capital and Meridian Street with participation from Allen Institute and others. 

- Bone Health Technologies, Redwood City, CA developer of non-invasive bone health products, raised $5M in seed funding from Esplanade Ventures, Berkeley Catalyst Fund, and Terumo Medical.

. . . 

Enterprise & Consumer: 

- Axonius, New York, NY provider of cybersecurity asset and SaaS management, raised $200M in a Series E extension led by Accel and Lightspeed Venture Partners with participation from Stripes.

- RapidSOS, New York, NY emergency response data platform, raised $75M in Series D extension funding led by BlackRock. 

- Zama, Paris, France open source cryptography company developing blockchain and AI privacy solutions, raised $73M in Series A funding led by Multicoin Capital and Protocol Ventures with participation from Metaplanet, Blockchange Ventures, VSquared, and Stake Capital.

- DTEX Systems, Saratoga, CA insider risk management platform, raised $50M in Series E funding from CapitalG.

- Todyl, Denver, CO security and networking company, raised $50M in Series B funding led by Base10 Partners with participation from Anthos Capital, Tech Operators, and StoneMill Ventures. 

- Baseten, San Francisco, CA AI infrastructure company, raised $40M in Series B funding led by IVP and Spark Capital with participation from Greylock, South Park Commons, Lachy Groom, and Base Case.

- Sweet Security, Tel Aviv, Israel cloud security platform, raised $33M in Series A funding led by Evolution Equity Partners with participation from Munich Re Ventures and Glilot Capital Partners.

- Ema, San Francisco, CA developer of an AI employee designed to automate workflows and emulate human employees in specific roles, raised $25M in funding led by Prosus Ventures, Accel, and Section 32 with participation from Wipro Ventures, Venture Highway, AME Cloud Ventures, Frontier Ventures, Maum Group, and Firebolt Ventures.

- Remofirst, a remote-based human resources and employee management platform, raised $25M in Series A funding led by Octopus Ventures with participation from QED, Mouro Capital, and Counterpart Ventures. 

- Reach Security, Sunnyvale, CA AI-powered cybersecurity platform, raised $20M in funding led by Ballistic Ventures with participation from Artisanal Ventures. 

- Topsort, San Francisco, CA auction based advertising platform using AI/ML instead of third-party cookies, raised $20M in Series A funding from Upload Ventures, Quiet Capital, and Pear Ventures.

- Pro Shop, a golf media and commerce startup, raised $19.25M co-led by Powerhouse Capital and the PGA Tour. It also will acquire Skratch, a digital and social media brand launched by the PGA Tour to appeal to younger consumers. [Yahoo]

- Haiper, London, U.K. generative AI video products, raised $13.8M in seed funding led by Octopus Ventures.

- Metaplane, Boston, MA data observability platform, raised $13.8M in Series A funding led by Felicis with participation from Khosla Ventures, Flybridge, Y Combinator, Stage 2 Capital, B37, and SNR.

- Relish, Newbury, OH enterprise applications procurement, raised $10M in Series A funding led by Volition Capital. 

- Brevian, Sunnyvale, CA no-code enterprise platform for building AI agents, raised $9M in seed funding led by Felicis. 

- TollBit, Boston, MA marketplace designed for AI bots and data scapers to compensate websites for licensing their content, raised $7M in funding led by Sunflower Capital with participation from AIX, Lerer Hippeau, Operator Collective, and Liquid 2 Ventures.

- appCD, San Francisco, CA generative infrastructure from Code software automatically, raised $6M in seed funding from Thomvest Ventures, Westwave Capital, FireBolt, and Secure Octane.

- Sahara, Los Angeles, CA decentralized AI network, raised $6M in seed funding. Polychain Capital led the round and was joined by Samsung Next, Matrix Partners, Motherson Group, dao5, Geekcartel, Canonical Crypto, Nomad Capital, and others.

- k-ID, Singapore safety and privacy technology for children and teenager online games, raised $5.4M across pre-seed and seed rounds from A16Z GAMES SPEEDRUN, Konvoy, and TIRTA Ventures. 

- Louisa AI, New York, NY AI-powered sales enablement and deal prompt platform, raised $5M in seed funding from Palm Drive VC, Evolution VC, Nucleus VC, and Gaingels. 

- Firewall, a blockchain security infrastructure firm, raised $3.7M in pre-seed funding from North Island Ventures, Breyer Capital and Hack VC. [The Block]

- PeakMetrics, Los Angeles, CA helping governments and companies identify media manipulation and online narrative threats, raised $3 million in funding led by York IE with participation from Argon Ventures, Parameter Ventures, and CEAS Investments.

. . .

HardTech:

- Defense Unicorns, Colorado Springs, CO continuous delivery for National Security systems, spanning cloud, on-prem, and edge environments in land, sea, air, and space domains, raised $35M in Series A funding from Sapphire Ventures and Ansa Capital.

- Maybell, a Denver-based quantum infrastructure developer, raised $25M from Cerberus Capital Management. 

- Neural Propulsion Systems, Pleasanton, CA software-defined radar startup, raised $17.5M in Series B funding led by Cota Capital with participation from GM Ventures and RTX Ventures. 

- HData, Birmingham, AL AI technology designed to help the U.S. energy industry file, explore, analyze, and leverage regulatory data, raised $10M in Series A funding led by Buoyant Ventures with participation from Victorum Capital, Hyde Park Venture Partners, and Firebrand Ventures.   

- Safety Radar, Tulsa, OK AI job site accident prevention startup, raised $1.5M in seed funding led by EIC Rose Rock with participation from Helmerich & Payne and others.

- Fused, San Francisco, CA code-to-map geospatial data infrastructure company, raised $1M in pre-seed funding from Fontinalis, Wes McKinney, Michael Driscoll, and other angel investors.

---

Acquisitions & PE: 

- Cloudflare (NYSE: NET) acquired Nefeli Networks, a Berkeley, CA multi-cloud networking startup. Financial terms were not disclosed. 

- Astra Space (Nasdaq: ASTR), an Alameda, CA rocket launch company, agreed to be taken private by its CEO and CTO for under $7M, or $0.50 per share. It had gone public in 2021 via SPAC at a $2.1B valuation, after having raised around $500m from VCs. https://axios.link/3IppIK2

- Accenture (NYSE: ACN) agreed to buy Udacity, a Mountain View, CA learning platform once valued by VCs at $1.1B. Udacity backers include CRV, Andreessen Horowitz, Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments, Cox Enterprises, GV, Recruit Strategic Partners, Aeon, SharesPost, MicroVentures, Drive Capital, Baillie Gifford, and Emerson Collective. https://axios.link/48J4268

- Deel, backed by BAM Elevate and Coatue Management, acquired PaySpace, a South Africa provider of payroll technology and HR services. Financial terms were not disclosed.

- L Catterton agreed to acquire AmaWaterways, a Calabasas, CA luxury river cruise line. Financial terms were not disclosed.

. . .

IPOs:

- Reddit is targeting an IPO share price between $31 and $34, giving it a valuation of up to $6.5B, per multiple outlets. [WSJ]

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Funds:

- Capitol Meridian Partners, a Washington, D.C. private equity firm, raised $900M for its first fund focused on companies in the government technology, aerospace & defense, government services.

- Spark Capital, a San Francisco, New York City, and Boston, MA venture capital firm, raised $2.3B across one early-stage and one venture-growth fund. 

- Team8, a New York, NY and Tel Aviv, Israel venture capital fund, raised $500M across three funds focused on companies in cybersecurity, data & AI, fintech, and digital health.

- Silas Capital, a New York, NY growth equity and venture capital firm, raised $150M for its second fund focused on consumer brands. 

- Commerce Ventures raised $150M for its fifth fund. www.commerce.vc

- Fathom Fund, Houston, TX deep tech VC firm, raised over $100M for its debut fund. 

- Prudence, New York, NY VC firm focused on property tech, raised $80M for its third fund.

- The Artemis Fund, a VC firm focused on underrepresented founders, raised $36M for its second fund. 

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Final Numbers

Pumping profits

Saudi Aramco reported a 25% drop in profits yesterday, as lower oil prices filtered through to a shrunken bottom line for the state-controlled oil giant, which is 95% owned by Saudi Arabia. However, after Aramco's record-breaking $161bn profit last year — the largest ever for a public company — even a 25% decline leaves an eye-watering sum of $122bn, more than triple what US oil giant ExxonMobil managed.