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In an Age of AI, This Startup Is Betting on IRL
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By Matthew Strozier, WSJ Pro
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Good day. Artificial intelligence is ushering in a world where it is becoming easier for people to disconnect from others. AI apps may start to replace your friend, doctor, therapist or romantic partner.
The startup 222 wants to use AI for the opposite outcome: more in-person connections. And the company has a new infusion of capital to pursue that vision.
Keyan Kazemian, chief executive of 222, said most new technology has been a net negative for human-to-human connections. “We’re not using the latest technology, the latest foundation models, to put people in satisfying real-life interactions, help them form relationships,” he said.
The long-term goal of 222, Kazemian said, is to “maximize the probability of an in-real-life future.”
The New York-based company has secured a Series A round, a notable step for a consumer app in today’s venture market. The $10.1 million financing was led by Upfront Ventures with Y Combinator and General Catalyst participating, among others.
The 222 team isn’t the only startup looking to build “in-real-life” tech.
In October, fitness marketplace Sweatpals disclosed its $12 million seed round led by Patron, a16z Speedrun and comedian Kevin Hart’s HartBeat Ventures. The startup says it supports the “daylife movement,” in which people connect through in-person wellness activities.
Amber Atherton, a partner at early-stage venture firm Patron, argues that there is an emerging “relationship OS” category of startups, like Sweatpals, that are rebuilding connections in a post-social-media era. “We were seeing a lot of founders thinking about how they could use AI to facilitate human connection,” she said of how her relationship OS thesis developed.
Read the full article.
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And now on to the news...
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Nelson Peltz in 2022. CALLA KESSLER/BLOOMBERG NEWS
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Take-private deal. Nelson Peltz’s Trian Fund Management and venture firm General Catalyst have agreed to buy investment firm Janus Henderson for $7.4 billion.
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London-based Janus Henderson said Monday it signed a definitive agreement to sell itself to Trian, General Catalyst and their affiliated funds at $49 a share in cash, an 18% premium to the price on Oct. 24 before the pair publicly unveiled an initial approach.
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It is a deal years in the making. In 2020, Trian built a large stake in Janus Henderson and announced plans to build a large asset manager. Since then, its stake has grown to 20.6% of Janus Henderson’s ordinary shares and Trian currently has two representatives on the company’s board of directors.
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When Trian and General Catalyst made their initial offer, they said as a private company Janus Henderson could make long-term investments in its product offerings, client services, technology and talent. Those investments, they said, would be more effective “free from the constraints of operating as a public company.”
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$7.4 Billion
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The amount Trian Fund Management and General Catalyst agreed to pay to buy investment firm Janus Henderson.
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How Charlie Javice’s Legal Fees Hit $74 Million: Gummy Bears and Star Lawyers
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Ever since JPMorgan Chase disclosed that Charlie Javice’s legal team had sent the bank $74 million in legal bills for her criminal trial, the question has been how they racked up such eye-popping expenses. The answer apparently includes $530 in gummy bears. Lawyers for JPMorgan Chase released a detailed list of Javice’s supposed legal expenses on Monday, which included everything from dozens of hotel upgrades to a tower of seafood at a restaurant. Javice was convicted of defrauding the bank when she sold her educational startup, Frank, for $175 million to JPMorgan in 2021. But in a twist, the bank has been picking up the legal bills for Javice and Olivier Amar, another executive, because of a
clause in that deal that said JPMorgan would shoulder all associated costs in the event of a dispute.
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Coinbase Goes All-In on Prediction Markets With New Acquisition
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Crypto exchange Coinbase Global is pushing deeper into the popular prediction markets space by acquiring startup The Clearing Company. The move comes after Coinbase rolled out prediction markets, powered by specialist Kalshi, to its users last week. Prediction markets allow users to bet on yes-or-no questions regarding the outcomes of everything ranging from sports to elections. San Francisco-based Clearing Co. was founded by prediction-market veteran Toni Gemayel, who worked as head of growth at Kalshi before taking a job at rival Polymarket. Kalshi and Polymarket are the dominant players in prediction markets.
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People
Woven Capital, Toyota’s growth-stage investment arm, appointed Ro Gupta as managing director. He was most recently vice president of partnerships and strategic operations at Woven by Toyota.
Flare Capital Partners promoted Margaret Malone to partner, Uma Veerappan to vice president, Amanda DiTrolio to vice president of marketing and platform, and Caroline Glen to vice president of investor relations.
Federato, an agentic AI insurance platform, appointed Lisa Khoury as chief marketing officer.
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GiveCampus, a Washington, D.C.-based educational fundraising platform, secured a $140 million growth investment from JMI Equity.
Truemed, an Austin, Texas-based health savings account and flexible spending account marketplace for preventive health products, landed $34 million in Series A funding. Andreessen Horowitz led the round, which included participation from Bessemer Venture Partners, Long Journey Ventures and others.
Tin Can, a Seattle-based startup providing a landline phone for kids, was seeded with a $12 million investment led by Greylock Partners.
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Growing trees for carbon removal has involved quickly learning what works and what doesn’t, say the founders of Mombak. Some species that die off too easily or grow too slowly have been abandoned. PHOTO: MOMBAK
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