Big scientific news: A breakthrough and breakup
Aug 15, 2023
Kaley Ubellacker
Market Stirrings đźš©
Here's what the week looked like in pre-seed:
Data aggregated from proprietary research and Crunchbase; valuation estimate based on 10-20% ownership stake.
Good Reads đź“–
For the rushed reader …
Scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) replicated nuclear fusion ignition for the first time since their breakthrough last year.
Amazon is rolling out its virtual health clinic nationwide.
Revolut is ending crypto trading for U.S. customers, citing an uncertain regulatory environment.
Microsoft proposed a partnership with layer-1 blockchain Aptos Labs, and Aptos said, “I do.”
LK-99 is not a superconductor and has no superpowers.
For the less rushed reader …
What happens when stars are made on Earth? No, I’m not talking about Lady Gaga or Bradley Cooper and yet another remake of “A Star Is Born.” This Academy Award goes to scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), who replicated nuclear fusion ignition for the first time since their initial research breakthrough in December last year. Fusion is the reaction that powers the sun and stars, and researchers hope to recreate and harness it for clean energy. However, we’ve only made baby steps so far, and it’s debatable whether fusion technology can advance fast enough to impact net-zero goals.
Amazon is making good on its promise to be the “Everything Store” and is rolling out its virtual health clinic nationwide. True to Amazon’s delivery focus, Amazon Clinic does not provide the telemedicine service itself; rather, it links telemedicine partners with patients. There are two main letdowns with the current clinic offering: message-based chat is only available in 34 states due to regulatory issues, and it doesn’t yet accept insurance.
Is it time to take the nod from SBF in his jail cell and lock up crypto for once and for all? Revolut seems to think so. The startup is ending crypto trading for U.S. customers, citing an uncertain regulatory environment. The decision will only affect 1% of its London-based customers. Given the SEC’s recent crackdown on crypto exchanges like Binance and Coinbase, it may be a wise sacrifice.
Wedding bells are ringing! Microsoft proposed a partnership with layer-1 blockchain Aptos Labs, and Aptos said, “I do.” However, the new duo hardly has time to honeymoon. Microsoft sees its partnership with Aptos as a solution to a number of its industry problems, including security within Microsoft Azure and the growing need for trust and verifiability of AI-generated content. Blockchain tech can help verify, time-stamp, and connect content to its source, which would add credibility to hazy, AI-based digital truths.
It’s the remix to ignition, hot and fresh out the … Quantum Energy Research Centre in South Korea. There’s some spicy drama in the research world surrounding the supposed discovery of the first room-temperature superconductor, LK-99. If true, LK-99 could conduct electricity with zero resistance in normal conditions (ambient temperature and pressure), which would revolutionize our energy system. However, researchers racing to replicate the South Korean research center’s findings only discovered a poor-quality material with high resistivity, coming to one shattering conclusion: LK-99 is not a superconductor and has no superpowers.
Fire Up the Pre-Seeds🔥
Highlights from this week’s pre-seed raises:
Climatetech
Persefoni - Co-pilot for counting carbon
The Problem: Climate accounting demands better enterprise data management to drive sustainability and efficiency.
The Tech: Climate management and accounting software designed for enterprises and financial institutions – the bonus Jonas? It uses AI.
Recently Raised: $50 million in Series C-1 funding led by TPG Rise.
Also Note: At the same time as the new raise, Persefoni also announced its launch of PersefoniGPT, an AI co-pilot program for carbon accounting and management.
Healthtech
Basys.ai - Doctors can stop begging for permission
The Problem: Prior authorization is a pain in your doctor’s … process for treating you with approval from your health insurance company.
The Tech: A deep learning engine that automates 90% of prior authorization requests.
Recently Raised: $2.4 million in pre-seed funding led by Nina Capital.
Also Note: The engine is trained on data from Joslin Diabetes Center and Mayo Clinic, including information from over 10 million patients.
FINTECH
Endowus - Make money, save money
The Problem: The wealth management industry lacks offerings for clients in all stages of their financial lives, especially retirement.
The Tech: The only digital wealth platform that serves both private wealth and public pension in Singapore and Hong Kong.
Recently Raised: $35 million in funding from investors like Citi Ventures and MUFG Innovation Partners, among others.
Also Note: The funding will be used to scale its operations in the region and enter new Asian markets.
TECHBITS
11xAI - Digital armies
The Problem: Smaller businesses don’t have access to the same workforce capital as larger companies and are therefore less productive.
The Tech: Automated digital workers using generative AI, which currently includes an AI sales rep named Alice and will soon include James.
Recently Raised: $2 million in pre-seed funding led by Project A Ventures.
Also Note: The goal is to enable businesses to hire autonomous workers for all parts of their business.
Anthropic - AI can teach itself
The Problem: To see wide-spread adoption of generative AI models, they need to hallucinate less (or never).
The Tech: An algorithm that could eventually be used as a virtual assistant for repetitive tasks like writing emails and performing research
Recently Raised: $100 million in post-Series C funding from one of the biggest mobile carriers in South Korea, SK Telecom.
Also Note: The company just launched Claude Instant 1.2, an updated version of its text-generating model.
Outro🚪
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