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Cloud-Seeding Startup Rainmaker Takes on Challenges
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By Yuliya Chernova, WSJ Pro
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Good day. Geoengineering startup Rainmaker is announcing funding on Tuesday to develop its cloud-seeding technology, a way to force clouds to rain over drought-stricken areas. It uses drones to fly into the clouds and disperse a small dose of chemicals, around which moisture freezes and turns into rain.
The company believes its approach to cloud seeding could make the technology more accessible and targeted, helping farmers, ski-resort operators and local governments cope with water scarcity.
“It’s going to unlock a source of water that will be a double-digit percentage of the grid’s water supply over the course of the next decade,” said Augustus Doricko, the 24-year-old chief executive and founder of Rainmaker, about areas where cloud seeding is viable.
Several venture investors are in Rainmaker’s corner. El Segundo, Calif.-based Rainmaker, founded last year, has raised $6.3 million in pre-seed and seed financing from Long Journey Ventures, Tamarack Global, Day One Ventures, 1517 Fund, Starship Ventures and others. Garry Tan, president and CEO of Y Combinator, is also among its investors. Rainmaker has eight employees.
To succeed, Rainmaker would have to expand the growing but still tiny cloud-seeding market. And it would need to persuade skeptics, whether regulators or potential customers, that doubt the safety of cloud seeding and weather modification more generally.
Read the full article.
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And now on to the news...
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Calstrs headquarters in Sacramento, Calif.
PHOTO: MAX WHITTAKER FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
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Outgoing Calstrs CIO reflects on his decades as private-equity trendsetter. After nearly a quarter-century as chief investment officer of the California State Teachers’ Retirement System, Christopher Ailman, 65, plans to retire on June 30, though he will help the pension transition to a new CIO through the end of the year. Calstrs hopes to announce Ailman’s replacement before he steps down, a pension spokeswoman said. Through his years at Calstrs, Ailman has been at the forefront of trends that have reshaped the way pension funds invest, including a turn toward private markets and emphasizing climate change and social issues, WSJ Pro reports. “Private equity has been a key part of my success,” Ailman
said.
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Self-Driving Car Startup Wayve Raises More Than $1 Billion
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Self-driving car startup Wayve Technologies has raised more than $1 billion from investors to accelerate the development of artificial-intelligence-based products for automakers, The Wall Street Journal reports. The London-based company said Tuesday that SoftBank Group led the $1.05 billion series C round, with new investor Nvidia and existing investor Microsoft also contributing to the fundraising. Wayve specializes in so-called embodied AI for autonomous driving, which allows vehicles to interact with, comprehend and learn from human behavior in real-world environments.
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Bill Gates-Backed Ambri Files for Bankruptcy With Plans to Sell Itself
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Liquid metal battery developer Ambri, which is backed by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, has filed for bankruptcy, blaming a challenging fundraising environment and disputes with a landlord and construction contractor after plans to expand into manufacturing were ditched, WSJ Pro reports. The Marlborough, Mass.-based company, which is trying to develop batteries that cost less and are more environmentally friendly, said an existing group of bondholders, including Gates, have agreed to serve as lead bidder in a sale process.
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Funds
River SaaS Capital, which provides alternative venture financing, raised a $50 million equity fund to invest in U.S.-based enterprise software-as-a-service businesses and back companies in River SaaS Capital’s venture debt portfolio.
People
Abstract Security, a San Francisco-based cybersecurity startup, said co-founder Chris Camacho has been named chief operating officer and Christopher Key is joining its board. Key is on the board of multiple cyber startups.
Exits
San Francisco-based Docusign said it reached an agreement to acquire Lexion, a provider of AI-powered agreement-management software, for $165 million in cash, subject to customary adjustments.
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Latus Bio, a Philadelphia-based startup developing novel gene therapy candidates for disorders of the central nervous system, launched with $54 million in Series A funding led by 8VC and DCVC Bio.
Neurable, a Massachusetts-based neurotechnology company seeking to expand access to brain-computer interface technology, said it has raised an additional $13 million in funding. The company has raised more than $30 million since its founding. Neurable said it would use this funding to expand the build of its platform, giving companies and original equipment manufacturers access to its noninvasive brain-computer interface technology and making it widely available to consumer audiences.
Anetac, a Los Altos, Calif.-based identity and security platform, emerged from stealth with $16 million in funding, including a $10.2 million Series A round from investors including Shield Capital.
Shinkei, an El Segundo, Calif.-based commercial fish processing technology provider, was seeded with a $6 million investment led by Cantos.
Flossy, a startup that seeks to provide access to high-quality and affordable dental care, said it has closed a new equity round. It didn’t disclose the amount of the financing. Flossy is a pay-as-you-go discount dental solution that connects patients with and without dental insurance to a highly rated dentist in their area, with discounts on all services, the company said.
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Apple CEO Tim Cook in New York City in February. PHOTO: ANGELA WEISS/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES
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