Startups

In 2023 VCs returned the lowest level of capital to their investors since 2011

It’s no secret that the venture capital industry is facing a liquidity crisis as IPOs and other exits remain few and far between after 2020 and 2021’s record-breaking years. Now, we have numbers that show just how bad it’s gotten. In 2023, the U.S. VC industry invested $60 billion more into startups than it collected

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Consumer tech is bouncing back, and consumer founders like Brynn Putnam are bouncing back with it

When Brynn Putnam sold her last company, Mirror, to Lululemon for $500 million at the start of the pandemic, it looked to this editor like she’d sold the smart fitness company too soon.  Instead, the timing proved brilliant. The home fitness craze crashed nearly as abruptly as it peaked during that first year of lockdowns.

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‘Hawk Tuah’ girl launches Pookie Tool, an AI-powered dating advice app, and it’s fine?

Haliey Welch, the 22-year-old who went viral for her “Hawk Tuah” video, has managed to turn her brief moment of fame into a full-fledged career. In just a few months, Welch has rapidly risen to fame, amassing around 5 million followers across various social media platforms.  After recently releasing her own podcast titled “Talk Tuah,”

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General Catalyst and Khosla Ventures back data mapping startup Lume

Data integration is a necessary part of many workflows from onboarding customer data to exercising payroll, but for many data sets the process is long and manual. Data is siloed into databases and SaaS applications that each keep the information in different formats, which makes it difficult to move information from one database to another.

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Supersonic aircraft startup Exosonic is shutting down

Exosonic, a startup developing supersonic commercial air travel and UAV tech, is winding down after five years of operation. In an update posted to its website, Exosonic said it was unable to find the traction necessary to continue operations.  “Although the founders and team still believe in the need/desire for quiet supersonic flight and supersonic

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Pinstripe wants to redefine the way online sellers sell secondhand clothing

Pinstripe aims to reimagine the secondhand market by offering sellers the opportunity to have both a digital storefront and a physical retail presence. Launched in June, the platform offers an alternative approach compared with other marketplaces like Archive, Depop, Facebook Marketplace, and Poshmark. With Pinstripe, sellers take their clothes to local consignment stores, vintage shops,

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Nodal connects hopeful parents with surrogates as reproductive freedom hangs in limbo

Many people who want to have children can’t, or shouldn’t, carry a pregnancy for a variety of reasons. Gestational surrogacy can be a great option for those individuals — if they can endure the lengthy wait times and afford to pay for the costly service. New York-based Nodal looks to make the process less expensive,

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