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A federal judge has rejected Elon Musk's bid to stop OpenAI from converting to a for-profit entity. The plaintiffs “failed to meet their burden of proof for the extraordinary relief requested,” the court ruled. CNBC has more here.
Speaking of OpenAI, Alec Radford, a former key researcher at the company, has been subpoenaed in a copyright case alleging that OpenAI stole the intellectual property of authors like Paul Tremblay, Sarah Silverman, and Michael Chabon. TechCrunch has more here.
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| Aspiration Co-Founder and Board Member Defrauded Investors of $145M, Prosecutors Say |
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By Tim De Chant
Just over four years ago, climate-friendly fintech startup Aspiration was on the verge of a $2 billion public listing. Now, one of the startup’s board members has pleaded guilty to wire fraud and one of the co-founders has been arrested for allegedly conspiring to defraud investors, according to a federal criminal complaint filed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Central District of California.
The fintech startup has been under federal scrutiny for years for questionable financial and carbon accounting practices. But the new complaint shines a light on a series of loans that were obtained using allegedly fraudulent tactics.
Aspiration co-founder Joseph Sanberg was arrested Monday for allegedly conspiring to defraud two different funds of $145 million. Also on the same day, Ibrahim AlHusseini, a former independent board member for the company, pleaded guilty to wire fraud for falsifying documents to help Sanberg secure the loans, according to federal prosecutors.
If convicted, Sanberg faces up to 20 years in prison. AlHusseini faces the same maximum penalty, though he is cooperating with prosecutors, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Central District of California.
The startup attracted a long list of famous investors over the years, including actors Orlando Bloom, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Robert Downey Jr., the musician Drake, and basketball coach Doc Rivers. The company was hoping to go public via SPAC in 2021, but the deal fell through in 2023.
Sanberg and AlHusseini are both accused of defrauding two different investors. In 2020, Sanberg was negotiating terms for a $55 million loan with an unnamed investor fund. He pledged 10.3 million shares of his Aspiration stock as collateral; the investor fund required Sanberg to find a third party to agree to buy the stock in a secondary sale if the fund wanted out.
More here.
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Aescape, an eight-year-old New York startup that develops AI-powered robotic massage tables for fitness centers, hotels, and wellness facilities, raised an $83 million round led by Valor Equity Partners, with previous investors Fifth Wall, Alumni Ventures, and NBA star Kevin Love also taking part. Sports Business Journal has more here.
Callio Therapeutics, a newly launched company that is developing advanced cancer treatments using multi-payload antibody-drug conjugates, raised a $187 million Series A round led by Frazier Life Sciences with additional participation from Jeito Capital. More here.
Flowdesk, a five-year-old Paris startup that specializes in providing liquidity provision, over-the-counter trading, and treasury management services to token issuers, exchanges, and institutional clients in the cryptocurrency market, raised a $52 million Series B extension, increasing the round total to $102 million. The financing is approximately 80% equity and 20% debt. HV Capital was the lead investor and joined by Eurazeo, Cathay Innovation, and ISAI VC, while BlackRock provided the debt. NFTgators has more here.
Mews, a 13-year-old Amsterdam company whose property management platform automates hotel operations, including reservations, payments, and guest services, raised a $75 million Series E round led by Tiger Global, with previous investors Kinnevik, Battery Ventures, and Goldman Sachs Alternatives also contributing. TechCrunch has more here.
Odeko, a six-year-old New York startup that provides supply chain management, inventory ordering, and mobile ordering systems for restaurants and cafés, raised a $96 million Series E round and $30 million in debt. The deal was led by B Capital. The company has raised a total of $280+ million. More here.
Peregrine Technologies, a seven-year-old startup that develops data analytics software designed to assist state and local law enforcement agencies in organizing and interpreting unstructured and disconnected data, raised a $190 million round at a $2.5 billion post-money valuation. The deal was led by Sequoia Capital, with Goldcrest Capital, Friends & Family Capital, Fifth Down Capital, OG Venture Partners, and Godfrey Capital also stepping up. Crunchbase News has more here.
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| Big-But-Not-Crazy-Big Fundings |
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Bluebird Kids Health, a Boston startup that operates a network of physical clinics offering pediatric care, raised a $31.5 million Series A round. F-Prime and .406 Ventures co-led the transaction, with AIF and Juxtapose also stepping up. More here.
Echandia, a seven-year-old Stockholm startup that designs and manufactures lithium-titanate oxide battery systems for a variety of heavy-duty maritime vessels, raised a $20.7 million co-led by Klima and Industrifonden, with SEB Greentech VC and EEI also chipping in. More here.
LlamaIndex, a three-year-old San Francisco startup that enables companies to connect various types of data such as documents, databases, and other information sources to LLMs, raised a $19 million Series A round led by Norwest Venture Partners, with Greylock also investing. The company has raised a total of $27.5 million. TechCrunch has more here.
Napo, a four-year-old London startup that offers comprehensive insurance coverage for cats and dogs, including dental care and behavioral treatment, raised a $15.2 million Series B round round led by Mercia Ventures and including DN Capital, Companion Fund, MTech Capital, and Helvetia Venture Fund. More here.
Numeral, a four-year-old Paris startup that aims to automate sales tax compliance for e-commerce and SaaS businesses, raised an $18 million Series round. Benchmark was the lead investor, with Y Combinator, Uncork Capital, and FundersClub also opting in. More here.
QuantWare, a five-year-old Dutch startup that designs and manufactures superconducting quantum processors, raised a $21.1 million Series A round co-led by Invest-NL and Innovation Quarter, with EIC Fund, Forward.one, Graduate Entrepreneur Fund, and QDNL Participations also pitching in. TechCrunch has more here.
Rinse, a 12-year-old San Francisco company that operates a laundry and dry cleaning pickup-and-delivery service that operates via a mobile app and website, raised a $23 million Series D round led by LG Electronics. Inc. has more here.
Swap, a four-year-old London startup that consolidates various logistics functions such as cross-border shipping, order tracking, return management, and inventory forecasting into a single platform, raised a $40 million Series B round led by ICONIQ Growth and including previous investors Cherry Ventures, QED Investors, Portfolio Ventures, and 9900 Capital. TechCrunch has more here.
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Archipelo, a five-year-old San Francisco startup that tracks actions taken by both human developers and AI coding tools throughout the software development lifecycle, providing insights to enhance code security and compliance, raised an $8 million seed round led by Dell Technologies Capital, with Samsung NEXT, Nima Capital, Andy Bechtolsheim, Bill Tai, and others also piling on. The company has raised a total of $12 million. TechCrunch has more here.
Aryon Security, a one-year-old Tel Aviv startup whose platform is designed to prevent cloud security risks before they occur, raised a $9 million seed round co-led by Viola Ventures and Blumberg Capital. CTech has more here.
Cino, a three-year-old startup based in Tallinn, Estonia, that has developed a virtual payment card that allows groups to split bills instantly at the time of purchase, eliminating the need for one person to pay upfront and others to reimburse later, raised a $3.7 million seed round. Balderton Capital was the deal lead, with Connect Ventures and Tera Ventures also anteing up. TechCrunch has more here.
Humanitru, a nine-year-old startup based in Richmond, VA, that provides a platform to help nonprofit organizations manage their data, engage supporters, and improve their fundraising efforts, raised a $3 million round. Dogwood Ventures was the lead investor, with Meeting Street Capital, The 98, I2BF, Front Porch Venture Partners, and Team Ignite Ventures also participating. More here.
Installer, a three-year-old Oslo startup that uses AI to streamline the installation and maintenance of renewable technologies such as electric vehicle chargers, solar panels, and heat pumps across Europe, raised a $4 million seed round led by Brighteye Ventures and supported by PT1, Futurum, and Sondo. Tech Funding News has more here.
Kleio, a Paris startup whose product uses AI to interact with potential buyers, answer questions, and guide them through purchasing decisions, raised a $3.15 million seed round co-led by Serena Capital and Daphni. Tech Funding News has more here.
Lenkie, a four-year-old London startup that offers services such as credit facilities, supplier payments, and analytics dashboards to help SMBs manage cash flow and support growth, raised a $5.1 million Series A round and $57.5 million in debt in a deal led by "a large US private credit fund focussed on supporting lenders internationally." Tech Funding News has more here.
Moonwatt, a Amsterdam startup founded last year that is developing advanced energy storage systems using sodium-ion battery technology, raised an $8.4 million seed round co-led by Daphni and LEA Partners, with Founders Future, Ventech, and Kima Ventures also anteing up. TechCrunch has more here.
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Seurat is transforming global manufacturing with Area Printing®, a revolutionary Additive Manufacturing (AM) technology that outperforms traditional methods in cost, speed, and quality. Unlike conventional AM, Seurat’s scalable, high-volume production makes reshoring manufacturing economically viable, enhancing supply chain resilience and reducing geopolitical risk. Learn more at https://www.seurat.com/
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Foundation Capital, a 30-year-old Palo Alto venture firm that invests in seed-stage and Series A deals in enterprise software, AI, fintech, and crypto, raised $600 million for its eleventh fund. TechCrunch has more here.
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Although Elon Musk mused last week about being interviewed by comedian Jon Stewart on The Daily Show, he ultimately declined, tweeting that "Jon Stewart is much more propagandist than it would seem." Stewart responded last night. Mashable has more here.
Well, that was quick. Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, the billionaire owner of the The Los Angeles Times, wanted to use AI to rate the paper's opinion pieces and provide alternative points of view, but just hours after the tool made its debut, the Times quickly took it down after it tried to defend the KKK. The Daily Beast has more here.
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Colossal Biosciences, a startup whose mission is to resurrect the woolly mammoth by 2028, has genetically engineered mice with woolly mammoth fur. TechCrunch has more here.
Google is trying to convince the Trump administration that breaking up the search behemoth would be a national security risk. Bloomberg has more here.
Fast Company tracks the GitHub posts of a DOGE staffer to piece together how Elon Musk plans to use AI to remake the U.S. government. More here.
Amazon has canceled its drone delivery program in College Station, TX, and residents are relieved. "It was like your neighbor runs their leaf blower all day long," a gardener observed. “It was just incessant.” Wired has more here.
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A Nebraska dad is having a devil of a time trying to correct a computer error which led to his two-year-old daughter being assigned the legal name of "Unakite Thirteen Hotel."
Three piglets that were being starved as part of an art exhibition in Copenhagen have been stolen.
Sperm banks for the top 1%.
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