Startups
Longtime New York-based seed investor, Contour Venture Partners, is making progress on its latest flagship fund after lowering its target. The firm closed on $42 million, raised from 64 backers,…
Deal Dive: Sagetap looks to bring enterprise software sales into the 21st century
When the founders of Sagetap, Sahil Khanna and Kevin Hughes, started working at early-stage enterprise software startups, they were surprised to find that the companies they worked at were trying…
Startups Weekly: It’s the dawning of the age of AI — plus, Musk is raging against the machine
Welcome to Startups Weekly! We’ve been drowning in AI news this week, with Google’s I/O setting the pace. And Elon Musk rages against the machine.
IndieBio’s Bay Area incubator is about to debut its 15th cohort of biotech startups. We took special note of a few, which were making some major, bordering on ludicrous, claims…
While an increasing number of companies are investing in AI, many are struggling to get AI-powered projects into production — much less delivering meaningful ROI. The challenges are many. But…
Shipping logistics startup Harbor Lab raises $16M Series A led by Atomico
Cargo ships docking at a commercial port incur costs called “disbursements” and “port call expenses.” These might include port dues, towage, and pilotage fees. It’s a complex patchwork and all…
Startups Weekly: Trouble in EV land and Peloton is circling the drain
Welcome to Startups Weekly — Haje‘s weekly recap of everything you can’t miss from the world of startups. Sign up here to get it in your inbox every Friday. Look,…
Bye-bye bots: Altera’s game-playing AI agents get backing from Eric Schmidt
Autonomous, AI-based players are coming to a gaming experience near you, and a new startup, Altera, is joining the fray to build this new guard of AI agents. The company announced…
NBA champion Kyle Kuzma looks to bring his team mentality to Scrum Ventures
Kyle Kuzma is a lot of things. He’s a forward for the Washington Wizards NBA team and a 2020 NBA champion. He’s also a style icon — depending on who…
India’s Oyo, once valued at $10B, seeks new funding at 70% discount
Oyo, the Indian budget-hotel chain startup, is negotiating with investors to raise a new round of funding that could cut the Indian firm’s valuation to $3 billion or lower, three…
Deal Dive: Amae Health is building an in-person approach to mental healthcare in an increasingly digital space
While many recent mental health-focused startups are digital first, Amae Health focuses on the importance of in-person care.
Musk raises $6B for AI startup. Also, is TikTok dodging Apple’s commissions?
Welcome to Startups Weekly — Haje’s weekly recap of everything you can’t miss from the world of startups. Sign up here to get it in your inbox every Friday. Musk’s…
Despite recent successes, IPO market still won’t fully open until 2025
Experts say macroeconomic factors including the upcoming election and the current state of the economy will deter too many IPOs this year.
Midi is building a digital platform for an oft-overlooked area of women’s health
When Joanna Strober was around 47, she stopped sleeping. While losing sleep is a common symptom of perimenopause, she first had to go to multiple providers, including driving 45 minutes…
Deal Dive: Givebutter is turning a profit making tech for nonprofits
Givebutter recently raised $50 million for its CRM platform for nonprofits as startups building tech for that industry gain momentum.
Photo-sharing community EyeEm will license users’ photos to train AI if they don’t delete them
EyeEm, the Berlin-based photo-sharing community that exited last year to Spanish company Freepik after going bankrupt, is now licensing its users’ photos to train AI models. Earlier this month, the…
The FTC’s ban on noncompete clauses could be good for startups. But it also might be struck down.
The Federal Trade Commission voted 3-2 to ban the use of most noncompete agreements on Tuesday. This ruling means companies can’t require employees who aren’t senior executives to wait a…
Rubrik’s shares end trading up almost 16% on the company’s public debut
This share price gives Rubrik a fully diluted valuation of $6.6 billion, up 88% from its last primary valuation of $3.5 billion in 2019.
RevenueCat raises $12M Series C as it expands its subscription management to the web
With RevenueCat Billing, essentially a web SDK, developers can accept subscription payments from any website.
Petlibro’s new smart refrigerated wet food feeder is what your cat deserves
Petlibro, pet tech startup that designs automatic food dispensers for cats, launched its first refrigerated smart feeder.
Fintech gaming startup Sanlo’s webshop tool could help developers avoid costly app store fees
Sanlo, a fintech startup that helps gaming companies manage finances, announced Wednesday the closed beta launch of its webshop tool, giving select game developers and studios a plug-and-play solution that…
Diddo’s new funding will bring its shoppable TV API to streaming platforms
The company has developed an API that uses proprietary computer vision AI technology to identify products in TV shows and movies.
Two widow founders launch DayNew, a social platform for people dealing with grief and trauma
After losing their husbands in devastating and unexpected ways, Karine Nissim and Eloise Bune discovered there were no suitable places where people could go to face all the challenges that…
Bump allows creators to track income and market value, which can help them negotiate better deals and see how much money they are owed from partners.
Welcome to Startups Weekly — your weekly recap of everything you can’t miss from the world of startups. Sign up here to get it in your inbox every Friday. After…
Screen Skinz raises $1.5M seed to create custom screen protectors
There has been much evolution in the personalized phone protector market, but nothing has truly captured screens yet.
Live selling startup CommentSold uses AI to generate shoppable, social-ready clips
The “AI ClipHero” feature creates short clips from livestreamed selling events, which often last for hours.
Featured Article
Inside LemFi’s play to be fintech to the Global South diaspora
The African tech ecosystem, buffeted by huge potential but also lots of economic, political and social instabilities, is no stranger to major drama affecting even its most promising-looking startups. But recently, LemFi, the Nigeria-based fintech that provides money transfer services to African migrants, is shaping up as an example of a bounce-back — and a…
Former top SpaceX exec Tom Ochinero sets up new VC firm, filings reveal
Former senior SpaceX executive Tom Ochinero is teaming up with SpaceX alum-turned-VC Achal Upadhyaya and one of Sequoia’s top finance leaders, Spencer Hemphill, on a new venture called Interlagos Capital,…
Evolution Equity Partners raises $1.1B for new cybersecurity and AI fund
Evolution Equity Partners, a growth capital firm based in NYC, has raised $1.1 billion for a new cyber- and AI-focused fund.
