Elon Musk's first human connection
Jan 31, 2024
Kaley Ubellacker
Market Stirrings 🚩
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.
It looks like venture capital went a little heavy on the whiskey in 2023. Carta data revealed the percent of all rounds in the U.S. that were down rounds increased across the board from 2022 to 2023, no matter which stage. With that being said, series B saw the smallest increase, followed by seed and series E or later. Interestingly, the series D down round median barely moved from 2022 to 2023, signaling a harder fundraising environment at that stage for the past two years compared to other rounds. 2024 is starting to feel like a brutal case of the “Sunday scaries.”
Good Reads 📖
For the rushed reader …
A renewed AI fear exposed itself as the National Science Foundation announced a pilot program that will take a major step towards democratizing AI.
Elon Musk’s company Neuralink officially placed a brain implant in its first human.
Co-working labs are on the rise, where startups can rent space in a lab and engage with a broader community of scientists and entrepreneurs.
For the less rushed reader …
ITS RAINING NEW BR(AI)NS: AI will always be hard because it has hardware, not a heart – or at least that’s the argument of this Wired article. As AI ramps up over the next year, it predicts companies will hire for soft skills more than ever before. The theme below the plasma screen surface is clear: the fear that AI will steal everyone’s jobs is growing. This renewed fear comes as the National Science Foundation announced a pilot program that will take a major step towards democratizing AI. The NSF will work with 10 federal agencies and 25 other companies to provide them with expensive infrastructure necessary for AI research. Microsoft and Nvidia are two companies on the list offering up their resources. If there's a time to get a bite of the AI action, it's now while there's free tech on the table.
ELON’S FIRST HUMAN CONNECTION: Imagine setting up a doctor’s appointment for a brain implant, not knowing if you’d leave the hospital as human or cyborg. That’s what Neuralink’s first patient must have been wondering. Elon Musk’s company Neuralink officially placed a brain implant in its first human. Musk announced that the patient (cyborg?) is recovering well, and initial results revealed promising neuron spike detection. Neuralink announced FDA approval last May along with its search for people ages 22 and above with quadriplegia due to a spinal cord injury or ALS. The device sits in the movement part of the brain, interpreting neural activity and triggering movements when the individual intends to move. Spooky or spectacular?
TEAMWORK MAKES THE DREAMWORK: Let’s hope scientists don’t feel the same way about sharing laboratory equipment as teenage girls feel about sharing clothes. Co-working labs are on the rise, where startups can rent space in a lab and engage with a broader community of scientists and entrepreneurs (and more likely, people who are both). Started in 2009 with BioLabs by Johannes Fruehauf, a biotech founder based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, co-working labs are fast becoming the go-to home of early-stage biotech startups due to the low cost and creative boost from a collaborative community. In fact, they’re beginning to function more like incubators than cold-hearted labs, where colleagues exchange advice and provide quasi-mentorship. If you’re an aspiring biotech founder, this could be your calling, but get ready to shake latex hands and share test tubes.
Fire Up the Pre-Seeds🔥
Highlights from this week’s pre-seed raises:
Healthtech
Aster - The motherload
The Problem: The U.S. is the most dangerous and expensive high-income country for childbirth, especially for women of color.
The Tech: An app that helps women track their pregnancy, talk to care professionals, and book appointments and remote monitoring.
Recently Raised: $2.4 million in funding led by Cake Ventures and Cornerstone VC.
Also Note: The round saw participation from a star-studded list of firms, also including Zeal Capital Partners, Octopus Ventures, Sterling Road, Blueprint, and Everywhere Ventures.
Generation Lab - A kit a day keeps the doc away
The Problem: 6 in 10 adults in the US have at least one chronic disease, and yet we have limited options to catch these conditions early.
The Tech: A simple cheek-swab test that measures molecular disbalance which indicates aging and risk of disease.
Recently Raised: Undisclosed amount with backing from Transpose Platform Management and Sequoia Capital China.
Also Note: The company launched out of stealth this week, officially launching its test kit waitlist along with the pre-seed announcement.
Outro🚪
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