Good day. Venture firm Ulu Ventures has raised $208 million for its fourth fund from a long list of institutional limited partners committed to the firm’s strategy of funding diverse tech founders despite the current corporate retreat from DEI efforts.

Palo Alto, Calif.-based Ulu Ventures was founded by Miriam Rivera, former deputy general counsel at Google, and her husband Clint Korver, a serial entrepreneur with a Ph.D. in engineering economic systems.

The firm backs seed-stage tech startups in the U.S. using a data-based approach that aims to reduce cognitive bias without excluding any demographic group. The method has resulted in a portfolio more diverse than the typical venture investments. Of the nearly 250 startups Ulu has backed since 2008, about 80% have a founder who is an immigrant, a woman or from a minority group—Ulu’s definition of diverse. At the same time, about 80% of its portfolio companies have a white co-founder, and 38% have a female co-founder.

“If you are going to be standing strong on DEI today, you have to be incredibly buttoned-up,” said Maria Salamanca, a partner at Ulu, referring to the rigor aimed for in Ulu’s data-driven process.

The environment has changed in the past year, with several legal setbacks to corporate diversity programs. “We want to be an example of how to do it thoughtfully, we don’t want to be a target,” Salamanca said of its efforts to be more inclusive.

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And now on to the news...

Added pressure on Altman. Elon Musk’s offer for the assets of OpenAI could end up costing Sam Altman, whether he takes it or not. For months, the OpenAI chief executive has been working with investors to determine how to fairly compensate the nonprofit that currently controls the company as part of a plan to spin it out and make the ChatGPT developer a for-profit venture.

• Musk’s $97.4 billion offer, with the backing of a consortium of investors, could force OpenAI’s board of directors to reassess how it is valuing the nonprofit, which the board has said will be fairly compensated in the transaction and own a stake in the for-profit, The Wall Street Journal reports.

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s new leadership has begun the process of dismantling former Chair Gary Gensler’s climate disclosure rule that would have required public companies to report their greenhouse gas emissions, WSJ reports. The rule, finalized last year, has been fiercely contested and beset by legal challenges. On Tuesday, acting Chair Mark Uyeda said he has directed staff to pause their defense of the rule. Specifically, Uyeda has asked staff to request that an appeals court currently handling the litigation delay arguments, while the SEC’s commissioners deliberate on its next steps.

People

RiPSIM Technologies, an SaaS platform for generating and delivering mobile network authentication credentials on demand, said Brenda Boehm joined the company as chief executive officer. Co-founder Chris Jahr has assumed the position of chief strategy officer.

Armis, a cyber exposure management and security provider, promoted Alex Mosher from chief revenue officer to president.

Derivative Path, a cloud-based derivatives and risk management provider, appointed Rob Showers as chief revenue officer. He was most recently CRO at Coherent.

QuEra Computing, a Boston-based quantum computing startup, scored more than $230 million from investors including Google, SoftBank Vision Fund 2, Valor Equity Partners, Safar Partners and others.

Tines, an AI-powered workflow platform based in Dublin and Boston, secured $125 million in Series C financing led by the growth equity business within Goldman Sachs Alternatives, valuing the company at more than $1.1 billion.

Sardine, a San Francisco-based AI risk platform for fraud, compliance and credit underwriting, landed $70 million in Series C funding. Activant Capital led the round, which included participation from Andreessen Horowitz, GV and others.

Voyantis, a Tel Aviv-based platform for customer acquisition and lifecycle optimization, picked up a $41 million investment. Intel Capital led the round, with Investment Director Lisa Cohen joining the company’s board.

Moderne, a Miami-based automated code refactoring and analysis startup, closed a $30 million Series B round led by Acrew Capital.

Comulate, a San Francisco-based accounting automation provider for the insurance industry, fetched $20 million in Series B funding from investors including BOND and Workday Ventures.

ConverzAI, a Seattle-based startup providing AI-powered virtual recruiters, grabbed $16 million in Series A funding led by Menlo Ventures.

ScorePlay, a New York-based sports media startup, closed a $13 million Series A round led by 20VC.

Raenest, a Nigeria-based multi-currency accounts platform for individuals and businesses across Africa, closed an $11 million Series A round led by QED Investors.

• Vance warns U.S. allies to keep AI regulation light

• The magnificent 7 are so last year. Cash cows are the new kings.

• China’s Xi is building economic fortress against U.S. pressure

• BuzzFeed designing AI-driven social-media platform as part of continuing business overhaul

• Helsing, Mistral to jointly develop AI systems for military use

• Why do AI chatbots have such a hard time admitting ‘I don't know’?

• Sonos marketing chief exits as fallout from app calamity continues

• Shopify profit doubles after revenue surges during holidays

• Super Micro computer slashes outlook, sets lofty 2026 target

   

This newsletter was compiled by Yuliya Chernova, Matthew Strozier and Zachary Cole.

WSJ Pro Venture Capital is a premium service of The Wall Street Journal. We cover venture capital and the global startup ecosystem. Share your tips, comments and questions: vcnews@wsj.com

The Team: Matthew Strozier, Yuliya Chernova, Brian Gormley, Angus Loten and Marc Vartabedian.

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