Live Long And Prosper: How Anne Wojcicki’s 23andMe Will Mine Its Giant DNA Database For Health And WealthAnne Wojcicki is 45 minutes late, something so encoded in her habits as 23andMe’s CEO that employees have stopped complaining about it. They know it’s hardwired. On a Thursday morning in April, her team is waiting patiently as she swirls into the company’s headquarters wearing running shorts, a T-shirt that says “Yay DNA” and worn tennis shoes, having just pedaled the 5 miles to work while eight months pregnant. [ Forbes ] The Fintech Bubble Floats Toward a $64 Billion PinFlashy fintech startups love to cultivate their cool, customer-friendly vibe in ad campaigns and at big conferences, where slogans like “delight and deliver” get pride of place and the fine print of financial regulation is dismissed as “the unsexy stuff.” [ Bloomberg ] Report: venture capital showers region with cashPrivate equity money — despite some outsized opposite examples — has been staying away from Florida, according to a new report from the Florida Council of 100, a Tampa-based, statewide nonprofit that promotes economic development. But while private equity sits, venture capital, usually with investors more willing to take risks, has been showering Florida with cash, adds the report, entitled Project Sunrise: Florida Economic Competitiveness Strategy. [ business obser ] This Entrepreneur Built A $500 Million Business By Seeing Women As More Than A 'Niche' MarketPhilippe Von Borries and his wife Piera are two of the four co-founders behind Refinery29. A digital media and entertainment group that is providing women with the tools to empower their lives in a variety of ways. In addition to female co-founders, Refinery29 has attracted some great women in startup investing, and continues to produce powerful content and elevate women throughout the media and entrepreneurship universe. [ Forbes ] How Son Made 62% Return on SoftBank's $64 Billion in Tech DealsMasayoshi Son isn’t one to shy away from risk. The Japanese billionaire of course established the $100 billion Vision Fund to make big bets on tech startups like Uber Technologies Inc. and WeWork Cos. Less well known is that Son leveraged his stake in the fund to boost returns if things go well -- with outsized losses if things go poorly. That explains how Son has made eye-popping 62% returns so far. [ Bloomberg ] Bytedance Invests $182 Million in Sports Community PlatformOn June 6, sports community platform Hupu officially confirmed that it obtained 1.26 billion yuan ($182 million) from Bytedance in the pre-IPO round. This gives Bytedance a 30% stake in Hupu. Although Bytedance isn’t Hupu’s largest shareholder, the investment could facilitate the growth of sports-related content on Bytedance’s products such as Jinri Toutiao, Douyin, and Xigua Video. [ pandaily ] Lakestar Is Said to Be Raising Largest-Ever European VC FundVenture capital firm Lakestar is attempting to raise the largest-ever European fund for startup investments -- another sign that the region’s entrepreneurs are continuing to attract floods of potential suitors.Lakestar is targeting a close of around $800 million, according to three people with knowledge of the plans, asking not to be named because the matter was private. There was no certainty on the final amount and discussions with investors are still ongoing, one of the people said. [ Bloomberg ] From steals to deals: The startups behind Andre Iguodala's rise in VCThe world of VC loves the Golden State Warriors. Former Kleiner Perkins managing partner Joe Lacob is the team's majority owner. Another part-owner with VC ties, Mark Stevens, reportedly played an unfortunate role in Wednesday's Game 3 of the NBA Finals. At home games, the first few rows of seats are always dotted with investors and entrepreneurs wearing polo shirts and Patagonia. [ Pitchbook ] Israel Investment Partners Raises Debut Fund Cap to $500 Million
Tel Aviv-based private equity firm Israel Investment Partners (IIP), launched in March as Israel Infrastructure Partners, announced Tuesday it has extended the cap of its debut fund from $350 million to $500 million citing oversubscription as the cause. [ calcalistech ] Who Is Mark Stevens? Here's What We Know About the VC Banned for Shoving Raptors Star Kyle LowryAt first glance, he looked like an overzealous fan who shoved Toronto Raptors guard Kyle Lowry during an intense Game 3 of the NBA Finals Wednesday. Turns out he’s not just any fan, but Golden State Warriors minority owner Mark Stevens, a Silicon Valley venture capitalist. As a result, the NBA and the Warriors said Thursday they have banned Stevens from NBA games effective immediately for one year and fined him $500,000 as a result of the incident with Lowry. The ban includes all of next season as well. [ Fortune ] Barack and Michelle Obama’s podcast company signs exclusive deal with SpotifyRemember back in 2017 when Spotify created a position of President of Playlists that had Barack Obama’s name written all over it? Well, President Obama didn’t take that job, but he is now working at Spotify. Today, Spotify announced that Barack and Michelle Obama’s production company, Higher Ground, has signed a partnership deal to produce podcasts that are exclusive to the streaming platform. The podcast deal is similar to the production deal the Obamas signed with Netflix. In the multi-year Spotify deal, the Obamas will develop, produce, and “lend their voices” (guessing that means host?) to select podcasts on a variety of topics. The podcast deal extends their storytelling and their mission to lift up new, diverse voices from film and television to the audio world. (And don’t tell Luminary, but this might mean that Spotify is actually the Netflix of podcasts.) [ FastCompany] Texas VC Report: $255M Invested In May, And The World’s Only LGBTQIA+ Startup Weekend EventReporter’s Note: Welcome to our monthly rundown of venture deals in the Lone Star State. Live from my home base of Austin in the great State of Texas where the tea is sweet, the BBQ comes smoked and the venture deals are growing. [ Crunchbase ] Democratic Candidates Woo Silicon Valley for Donations, Then Bash It.Top Democrats in Washington and on the 2020 campaign trail are taking technology giants to task, calling them too big, too powerful and too careless about privacy. “The era of self-regulation is over,” Speaker Nancy Pelosi declared on Monday. But just as Ms. Pelosi’s Democrats were preparing sweeping House hearings into the tech companies’ concentration of power, some of her party’s leading presidential candidates spent the weekend canvassing Silicon Valley to raise money from one of the nation’s wealthiest and most liberal bastions. [ NY Times ] EQT Ventures envisages a golden age for European VCThe Nordic VC ecosystem has evolved during the last few years, with household names such as Spotify and iZettle coming from the region and gaining global traction. When it comes to investors, one name in particular tends to stand out—EQT Ventures. L59 Reverse Pitch for InvestorsLatitude59 2019 Yellow Stage Reverse Pitch for Investors 8 VC pitching their moneys, know-how & connections in front of Latitude59 audience and ruthless jury of startup founders. ALEXA VON TOBEL: FINANCIALLY FORWARD
Technology has transformed the often-confusing personal finance landscape. From Bitcoin to mobile pay, digitization has fundamentally changed the rules of spending, saving and investing, and financial guru Alexa von Tobel views these changes as incredible opportunities. SentinelOne raises $120 million to automate endpoint security for enterprisesLearn about the key policy issues the National Venture Capital Association is advocating for in Washington that impact the venture industry as well as join us as we examine the national VC trends and overall impact the venture industry has on the United States economy. [ Venture Beat ] Step raises $22.5M led by Stripe to build no-fee banking services for teensThe smartphone revolution has well and truly disrupted the world of banking. A wide range of startups have cropped up that have completely removed the need to make visits to physical branches to open accounts, make deposits, pay for things, and ask for loans: you can now do all of these on the go by way of a simple tap on an app. [ Tech Crunch ] Artificial Intelligence: Interview with Kai-Fu Lee (part 1)
As the impact of artificial intelligence becomes more visible in the tech world, the global race to develop AI is intensifying. Kai-Fu Lee is a leading AI expert and author of the book, "AI Superpowers: China, Silicon Valley, and the New World Order." Artificial Intelligence: Interview with Kai-Fu Lee (part 2)
What's the future of work and AI? Venture capitalist and author of "AI Superpowers" Kai-Fu Lee says AI will likely take over the "boring, repetitive and emotionless" jobs. At the same time, creative, strategic and empathetic jobs will always require humans to fill them, like teachers, psychiatrists or CEOs. Curated by Venture Pulse Team. Find us on : [ Venturepulse.org, CrunchBase, AngelList ] |