venture capital

Jeff Bezos’ brother’s firm has launched a debut $100M VC fund called HIPstr

Fundraising /

HighPost Capital, a private equity firm run by Mark Bezos, Jeff Bezos’ younger brother, and PE veteran David Moross, has launched a new venture capital arm called HIPstr. And with it, fresh capital to invest in startups. The new entity just announced its first VC fund of $100 million. HighPost Capital focuses on consumer companies and […]

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From Lauri Moore to Vic Singh, venture capitalists continue to play musical chairs

Venture /

When Keith Rabois announced he was leaving Founders Fund to return to Khosla Ventures in January, it came as a shock to many in the venture capital ecosystem — and not just because Rabois is a big name in the industry. It was surprising because unlike in many other fields, venture capitalists don’t traditionally move

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Parker Conrad says founders have been building software wrong for the last 20 years

Startups /

What is the right way to build a software business? Many startup advisers say that B2B software should solve one pain point, gain customers, then add features as their company grows. Serial founder Parker Conrad, currently the founder and CEO of Rippling, an HR software startup valued at $13.5 billion in April, thinks that’s the

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Winning a Gold medal is a lot like being a VC, according to Olympic champion Kristen Faulkner

Startups /

Kristen Faulkner astonishing Olympic success of two gold medals stems from lessons learned from her former career as a venture capitalist. Faulkner was an associate investor at Threshold Ventures, and at Bessemer Venture Partners before that, leaving the VC world in 2021 to pursuing cycling. She wasn’t initially scheduled to ride in the 158-kilometer (98-mile)

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How CNH’s ‘black belt’ M&A head makes deals

Transportation /

Heavy equipment manufacturer CNH Industrial has a long history of mergers and acquisitions, at times supervising legendary brands like Ferrari. But five years ago, as agtech was booming, the global giant was struggling to tap into the startup scene.  The conglomerate turned to one of its longest-tenured executives, a swashbuckling Italian businessman named Michele Lombardi.

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Maybe Friend wasn’t crazy for spending $1.8M on a domain after all

Venture /

When AI companion startup Friend revealed it had spent $1.8 million on buying the www.friend.com domain name last week, it set off a debate around what exactly branding is worth, and how startups should be spending cash. Founders of other companies like Loom and Public came forward to share stories of their own quests to

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Cohere co-founder Nick Frosst thinks everyone needs to be more realistic on what AI can, and cannot do

Enterprise /

AI companies are gobbling up investor money and securing skyhigh valuations early in their lifecycle. This dynamic has many calling the AI industry a bubble. Nick Frosst, a co-founder of Cohere, which builds custom AI models for enterprise customers, recently said on TechCrunch’s Found podcast that he doesn’t think the AI industry is in a

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Flint Capital raises a $160M through an unusual fund-raising strategy

Fundraising /

Boston-based Flint Capital just closed its third fund at $160 million, four times the amount of its initial 2013 fund. The capital will be split evenly between early and late stage investments, with the firm doubling down on IT, cybersecurity, fintech and digital health startups. Its success is in large part because of a unique

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Sequoia-backed Knowde raises Series C at a valuation cut

Biotech & Health /

Knowde, an online marketplace for chemicals and polymers, just closed on a Series C round, TechCrunch has exclusively learned. The San Jose-based startup raised $60 million in a round that values it lower than the $500 million valuation it garnered in its most recent round, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter. This round

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