a16z

The SEC has charged an a16z and Sequoia-backed crypto startup founder with fraud 

Cypto /

The founder of once-hyped crypto startup BitClout is facing trouble. On Tuesday, the SEC charged BitClout founder Nader Al-Naji with fraud and unregistered offering of securities, claiming he used a pseudonymous identity to avoid regulatory scrutiny while he raised over $257 million in cryptocurrency.  BitClout, a decentralized social media platform, raised from a who’s-who of […]

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AI startup Hebbia rased $130M at a $700M valuation on $13 million of profitable revenue

Fundraising /

Hebbia, a startup that uses generative AI to search large documents and respond to large questions, has raised a $130 million Series B at a roughly $700 million valuation led by Andresen Horowitz with participation of Index Ventures, Google Ventures and Peter Thiel. And its funding demonstrates that 50x annual recurring revenue (ARR) is becoming

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Kleiner Perkins announces $2 billion in fresh capital, showing that established firms can still raise large sums

Venture /

Many VC firms are struggling to attract new capital from their own backers amid a tepid IPO environment. But established, brand-name firms are still able to raise large funds. On Friday, Kleiner Perkins announced that it closed on more than $2 billion in fresh capital across two funds, a slight increase from the 52-year-old firm’s

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Character.AI now allows users to talk with AI avatars over calls

Apps /

a16z-backed Character.AI said today that it is now allowing users to talk to AI characters over calls. The feature currently supports multiple languages, including English, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Korean, Japanese and Chinese. The startup tested the calling feature ahead of today’s public launch. During that time, it said that more than 3 million users had

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k-ID wins $45M to help game devs speedrun the child safety compliance puzzle

Gaming /

For an indie developer building a game on their own, compliance with regulations is likely the last thing on their list of priorities — they first have to finish writing the code, designing the mechanics, and run endless rounds of tests to make sure the game is actually fun to play. But compliance is often

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Brex’s compliance head has left the fintech startup to join Andreessen Horowitz as a partner

Venture /

Ali Rathod-Papier has stepped down from her role as global head of compliance at corporate card expense management startup Brex to join venture firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) as a partner and compliance officer, TechCrunch has exclusively learned. Rathod-Papier and a16z declined to comment on the move. According to her LinkedIn profile, Rathod-Papier now “oversees a16z’s

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a16z’s American Dynamism team launches program to introduce technical minds to VC

Venture /

Andreessen Horowitz’s American Dynamism fund has established a new fellowship program aimed at introducing top engineers and technologists to venture investing, a move that could help the firm identify less obvious sources for VC talent.  The American Dynamism fund launched in 2023 with the broad aim of supporting companies building in the nation’s interest across

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Wiz raises $1B at a $12B valuation to expand its cloud security platform through acquisitions

Fundraising /

Wiz, the buzzy startup building an all-in-one cloud security platform, is on an acquisition march to expand its business quickly en route to an IPO. Now, it has closed a major round of funding of $1 billion to help on that march. The Series E — co-led by Andreessen Horowitz, Lightspeed Venture Partners and Thrive

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