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Patrick and John Collison. Photos by Getty.
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Stripe Swings to a Profit as Business Rebounds

By Cory Weinberg · Dec 21, 2023 6:00am PST
Payments giant Stripe, a bellwether of the startup world, kept a lid on spending for engineers and salespeople this year after business slowed in 2022. Now it’s reaping the benefits: as revenue growth has re-accelerated, it’s making money again. Stripe’s net revenues—what the firm takes in from payments it processes after... Payments giant Stripe, a bellwether of the startup world, kept a lid on spending for engineers...
Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic. Photo via Getty.
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Anthropic to Raise $750 Million in Menlo Ventures-Led Deal

By Maria Heeter, Anissa Gardizy and Natasha Mascarenhas · Dec 20, 2023 3:33pm PST · 2 comments
Anthropic is in talks to raise $750 million in a venture round led by Menlo Ventures that values the two-year-old artificial intelligence startup at $15 billion not including the investment, more than three times its valuation this spring, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter. The round hasn't finalized. The final... Anthropic is in talks to raise $750 million in a venture round led by Menlo Ventures that values...
Instagram chief Adam Mosseri. Photo via AP/Art by Shane Burke.
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Behind Instagram Head Adam Mosseri’s Mixed Record on Youth Safety

By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan and Kalley Huang · Dec 20, 2023 6:00am PST · 3 comments
Instagram chief Adam Mosseri has built a public reputation as someone who is concerned about the safety of young people on Instagram. During an appearance on CBS in 2019, he said user well-being was a “No. 1 priority.” At a Senate hearing in 2021, he described youth online safety as “critically important.” And when... Instagram chief Adam Mosseri has built a public reputation as someone who is concerned about the...
Google's chief business officer, Philipp Schindler. Photo via Getty
Google Plans Ad Sales Restructuring as Automation Booms
By Jon Victor and Amir Efrati · Dec 19, 2023 4:54pm PST · 1 comment
Google's chief business officer, Philipp Schindler. Photo via Getty
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Google Plans Ad Sales Restructuring as Automation Booms

By Jon Victor and Amir Efrati · Dec 19, 2023 4:54pm PST · 1 comment
Google plans to reorganize a big part of its 30,000-person ad sales unit, an executive told some staff last week, prompting anxiety that some departments will face job cuts. The planned reorganization comes as Google is relying more on machine-learning techniques to help customers buy even more ads on its search engine, YouTube and other... Google plans to reorganize a big part of its 30,000-person ad sales unit, an executive told some...
Henrik Fisker, CEO of Fisker Inc., unveils the Fisker Ocean electric SUV in Los Angeles in Nov. 2021. Photo by Kyle Grillot/Bloomberg via Getty Images.
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EV Upstart Fisker Faces Angry Customers, Falling Stock Price

By Maria Heeter and Michael Roddan · Dec 19, 2023 10:47am PST · 6 comments
Retired technology executive Gary Stuart’s garage is full of electric cars—a Rivian truck for himself and a Lucid Motors sedan for his wife. He was so eager to own an electric SUV from another fledgling firm, Los Angeles–based Fisker, that he put down a $5,000 deposit for a vehicle last year. He even invested nearly $100,000 in... Retired technology executive Gary Stuart’s garage is full of electric cars—a Rivian...
AWS sales chief Matt Garman. Collage by Clark Miller
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AWS Overhauls 60,000-Person Sales Team to Fix ‘Fiefdoms,’ Customer Complaints

By Anissa Gardizy · Dec 19, 2023 6:00am PST · 5 comments
Matt Garman, head of sales at Amazon Web Services, plans to reorganize his more than 60,000-person team to address problems that have pierced the world’s biggest cloud provider’s aura of invincibility and created an opening for Microsoft and other rivals. Early next year, Garman will consolidate teams that developed conflicting sales... Matt Garman, head of sales at Amazon Web Services, plans to reorganize his more than...
Dylan Field, CEO of Figma. Photo by Kimberly White/Getty Images for TechCrunch.
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Figma Grew Fast Even as Executives Failed to Clinch Adobe Deal

By Cory Weinberg and Maria Heeter · Dec 18, 2023 11:17am PST · 12 comments
The decision by Adobe and Figma to spike their $20 billion merger on Monday dented the imminent dream of startup riches for Figma investors and employees. But Figma’s business is still growing quicker than that of most mature startups, potentially putting it in position for an initial public offering in 2025 or later. And the... The decision by Adobe and Figma to spike their $20 billion merger on Monday dented the imminent...
Art by Mike Sullivan
TikTok Asks Advertisers to Spend 50% More Next Year
By Sahil Patel · Dec 15, 2023 11:41am PST · 3 comments
Art by Mike Sullivan
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TikTok Asks Advertisers to Spend 50% More Next Year

By Sahil Patel · Dec 15, 2023 11:41am PST · 3 comments
TikTok is doubling down on efforts to take ad dollars from TV networks and Instagram owner Meta Platforms. The hugely popular Chinese-owned video app is asking top ad-buying firms to increase their spending by between 50% and 150% next year, according to people with knowledge of the matter, in requests that ad executives say are unreasonable.... TikTok is doubling down on efforts to take ad dollars from TV networks and Instagram owner Meta...
Art by Mike Sullivan
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OpenAI, Meta, Microsoft Chase Wearable AI

By Erin Woo, Jon Victor and Anissa Gardizy · Dec 14, 2023 4:35pm PST · 2 comments
Next year’s artificial intelligence battle is coming into focus—and it’s all about glasses. As they release more powerful AI that can understand images and language, Meta Platforms, Google, Microsoft, OpenAI and others are racing to apply the technology to smart glasses and other wearable devices with forward-facing cameras.... Next year’s artificial intelligence battle is coming into focus—and it’s all...
Arvind Jain, CEO of Glean. Photo by Harry Murphy via Getty Images.
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Startup Founded by Ex-Google Search Team Nears $2 Billion Valuation

By Natasha Mascarenhas and Stephanie Palazzolo · Dec 13, 2023 5:04pm PST · 8 comments
Glean, a startup founded by former Google search engineers that uses OpenAI’s large language models to help workers search through their companies’ internal data, is in talks with investors to raise at least $200 million at a $2 billion pre-money valuation, according to two people with knowledge of the discussions. Kleiner Perkins,... Glean, a startup founded by former Google search engineers that uses OpenAI’s large...
Photo by Bloomberg via Getty.
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Etsy Cuts 11% of Headcount as Competition From Shein and Temu Mounts

By Theo Wayt and Ann Gehan · Dec 13, 2023 8:21am PST · 2 comments
Etsy is laying off roughly 11% of its workforce, a spokesperson confirmed, as the e-commerce site that helps small businesses sell handmade goods grapples with a slowdown in consumer spending and increased competition from competitors like Shein and Temu. The cuts will affect roughly 225 employees. Etsy has seen revenue growth slow sharply over... Etsy is laying off roughly 11% of its workforce, a spokesperson confirmed, as the e-commerce site...
ByteDance's Pico 4 VR headset at a store in Hangzhou, China. Photo by Getty.
ByteDance Axes Next VR Headset, in Pullback From Meta Battle
By Juro Osawa · Dec 13, 2023 5:41am PST
ByteDance's Pico 4 VR headset at a store in Hangzhou, China. Photo by Getty.
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ByteDance Axes Next VR Headset, in Pullback From Meta Battle

By Juro Osawa · Dec 13, 2023 5:41am PST
Chinese tech giant ByteDance might have set Facebook owner Meta Platforms on its heels with its hugely popular TikTok app. But ByteDance is now retreating from its effort to compete with Meta in the virtual reality headset market. ByteDance is canceling the next version of the virtual reality headset from its Pico subsidiary, the Pico 5,... Chinese tech giant ByteDance might have set Facebook owner Meta Platforms on its heels with its...
Investor Elad Gil is co-leading an investment in Harvey with Kleiner Perkins. Photo by Getty
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Legal AI Startup Harvey Valued at $700 Million in Round Co-Led By Kleiner

By Stephanie Palazzolo and Natasha Mascarenhas · Dec 12, 2023 8:06pm PST · 4 comments
Harvey, a one-year-old startup that sells artificial intelligence-powered legal software, is in talks to raise between $70 million and $80 million in a round that would value it at $700 million including the investment, two people familiar with financing said. The funding more than quadruples its valuation announced in April, indicating... Harvey, a one-year-old startup that sells artificial intelligence-powered legal software, is in...
Photo via Getty.
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The Farmer’s Dog, on Pace for $800 Million in Sales, Looks for Fresh Capital

By Cory Weinberg and Ann Gehan · Dec 12, 2023 2:46pm PST · 2 comments
High-end pet food startup The Farmer’s Dog is working with JPMorgan and other investment banks to raise hundreds of millions of dollars by early next year, in a deal that could value it significantly higher than its last $2.5 billion valuation, people familiar with the matter said. The fundraising could help the company buck the trend of... High-end pet food startup The Farmer’s Dog is working with JPMorgan and other investment...
Ben Horowitz and Marc Andreessen. Photo by Getty.
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Andreessen Horowitz Plots Infrastructure, American Dynamism Funds

By Kate Clark and Becky Peterson · Dec 12, 2023 2:04pm PST · 2 comments
Andreessen Horowitz, one of the most prolific investors during the pandemic-era funding boom,  recently held an event for limited partners in Las Vegas, where it presented its ideas on investing in various industry sectors, according to a person familiar with the talks. The investment firm could soon ask its backers to commit to those... Andreessen Horowitz, one of the most prolific investors during the pandemic-era funding...
Art by Clark Miller
Some AI Startups Find the Money’s No Longer So Easy
By Stephanie Palazzolo and Natasha Mascarenhas · Dec 12, 2023 6:00am PST · 3 comments
Art by Clark Miller
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Some AI Startups Find the Money’s No Longer So Easy

By Stephanie Palazzolo and Natasha Mascarenhas · Dec 12, 2023 6:00am PST · 3 comments
The venture capital gravy train for artificial intelligence startups may be slowing down. Some young startups have struggled to close rounds investors would have jumped to win a year ago. Take Liquid AI, which is developing a new kind of AI model that can learn while in use, not just during its training, a method that differs from the way... The venture capital gravy train for artificial intelligence startups may be slowing down. Some...
OpenView's office building in the South Boston waterfront. Photo by 123RF.
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OpenView, After Deep Layoffs, Mulls Returning Capital or Raising New Funds

By Natasha Mascarenhas · Dec 11, 2023 5:22pm PST · 2 comments
OpenView Ventures’ sudden decision last week to lay off most of its staff and halt investments in new startups left one major question unanswered: what to do with the $570 million that endowments and other institutions recently committed to its latest fund. Earlier Monday, the firm’s senior partners held all-day meetings to review... OpenView Ventures’ sudden decision last week to lay off most of its staff and halt...
D2iQ CEO Tobi Knaup. Photo via D2iQ.
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Software Startup That Rejected Buyout From Microsoft Shuts Down, Sells Assets to Nutanix

By Cory Weinberg · Dec 8, 2023 2:36pm PST · 8 comments
Andreessen Horowitz-backed D2iQ, a cloud infrastructure startup formerly known as Mesosphere and which was once popular with software developers, is shutting down. It is the latest in a string of firms to evaporate this year after raising significant venture capital. D2iQ, which raised $250 million in venture funding, on Thursday sent... Andreessen Horowitz-backed D2iQ, a cloud infrastructure startup formerly known as Mesosphere and...
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew
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TikTok Plans Anti-Hate Speech Campaign After Complaints Over Israel-Hamas Videos

By Kaya Yurieff · Dec 7, 2023 12:41pm PST · 1 comment
TikTok is preparing a slew of initiatives to defuse growing complaints that antisemitism and other hate speech has proliferated in videos about the Hamas-Israel war. The ByteDance-owned app is planning a social media campaign this month called “Swipe Out Hate” that will involve creators to spread its message, according to a person... TikTok is preparing a slew of initiatives to defuse growing complaints that antisemitism and...
Photo by MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty Images
VC Firm OpenView Abruptly Winds Down After Key Partners Leave, Returns Sour
By Natasha Mascarenhas, Kate Clark and Amir Efrati · Dec 5, 2023 2:10pm PST · 8 comments
Photo by MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty Images
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VC Firm OpenView Abruptly Winds Down After Key Partners Leave, Returns Sour

By Natasha Mascarenhas, Kate Clark and Amir Efrati · Dec 5, 2023 2:10pm PST · 8 comments
OpenView Venture Partners, a Boston-based venture capital firm that has backed enterprise software firms such as Calendly and Expensify, laid off most of its staff and will no longer make new investments, leaders told staff Tuesday, according to a person with knowledge of the situation. The sudden fall of the firm, which employed at least 74... OpenView Venture Partners, a Boston-based venture capital firm that has backed enterprise...