NYC-based Notation Capital raises $27 million for second fundNotation Capital, the NY-based pre-seed fund that launched in 2015, has just picked up a fresh $27 million in capital to invest in to super early stage startup sin the NYC area. [ Tech Crunch ] ‘Most Powerful Woman in Startups’ Ann Miura-Ko Thinks Lyft Can Overtake UberAnn Miura-Ko is the co-founder of Floodgate, a Palo Alto, Calif.-based venture capital firm. She’s been called “the most powerful woman in startups,” and rightly so. Floodgate partner Mike Maples says Miura-Ko has made at least one investment in each of Floodgate’s funds that could potentially return the entire fund. Her investments include Lyft, Ayasdi, Xamarin, Refinery29, JoyRun, TaskRabbit, and Modcloth. [ Fortune ] Andreessen Horowitz is backing a crypto-powered 'internet computer' that could be the future of cloud computing
Airbnb reportedly built an internal hedge fund that makes $5 million per monthA new report about executive turmoil at Airbnb includes a fascinating detail about how the company is generating its growing profits. According to a story from Bloomberg, former CFO Laurence Tosi, who had previously worked Blackstone Group as CFO, took Airbnb’s cash flow and created an internal hedge fund. [ Venture Beat ] Silicon Valley Legend Tim Draper: Bitcoin And Crypto Will Take Over The WorldThe formidable Silicon Valley venture capitalist became a Bitcoin enthusiast before it was cool. He says he started thinking about digital currencies 15 years ago when he met a guy in South Korea who had bought a virtual sword for his son with regular cash. As currencies proliferated in videogames, Draper started looking for ways to convert one game currency to another. [ Forbes ] Goldman Is Close to Buying Personal-Finance Startup ClarityGoldman Sachs Group Inc. is in discussions to acquire personal-finance startup Clarity Money, with plans to fold it into its Marcus online lender, according to people familiar with the matter. A deal hasn’t been finalized and could still fall through, the people said, asking not to be identified because the talks are ongoing. The agreement would be subject to regulatory approval, according to one of the people. Goldman Sachs is stepping up efforts to do more with consumers nearly a decade after its conversion into a bank allowed it to accept retail deposits. The firm’s Marcus unit, which began making personal loans on the internet in 2016, has originated more than $2 billion and the firm is looking for ways to expand that reach. [ Bloomberg ] Travis Kalanick says Larry Page was upset Uber was poaching self-driving talentIf former Uber CEO Travis Kalanick’s strategy was to be restrained and compliant on the first day of his testimony in Alphabet’s lawsuit against Uber, then the strategy on the second day was to play the chump. Kalanick, who took the witness stand for the second time on Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, has fielded much of the attention from Alphabet’s legal team. Alphabet is eager to convince the jury that the overly ambitious, often-competitive Kalanick worked with a former engineer, Anthony Levandowski, to bring over trade secrets from the company’s self-driving arm, Waymo. Alphabet is suing Uber for allegedly conspiring with Levandowski to bring over self-driving trade secrets from Waymo to Uber to help accelerate Uber’s slow-to-develop autonomous efforts. The company filed the lawsuit after discovering Levandowski downloaded 14,000 files before leaving Waymo to start a self-driving trucking startup, Otto, which Uber later acquired. [ Re/Code ] Silicon Valley entrepreneur camp returns to ChattanoogaWhat will it take to change Silicon Valley's bro culture?This Startup Makes End-Of-Life Planning A Piece Of CakeBy the year 2060, the number of people in the United States aged 65 and older is projected to more than double from 46 million today to over 98 million. As a result, the cost of healthcare continues rising, as providers and insurance companies try to find ways to care for this aging population. Many have been looking to find solutions to the many issues that we're facing in this space. [ Forbes ] Elon Musk Does It AgainThe six top mistakes startups make when hiring tech talentMax Lautenschläger - Iconiq Lab - ICOs: Chances and Challenges in the Token MarketsLyft hires Tesla’s president of Sales & Service as COOJack Bader Keynotes Missouri Venture Forum's Feb. 2 MeetingThe president of Walmart-owned Jet is becoming a venture capitalist with an early investor in JetEFF founder and internet activist John Perry Barlow has diedSheryl Sandberg: If you follow the Mike Pence rule, make it fair to womenElaine Stead (Blue Sky Venture Capital) at Startup Grind AdelaideIn an alternate universe Lyft may have bought OttoStartup Grind Hosts Jeff Amerine |