The brains behind the operation đź§
Oct 10, 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 …
The rich are turning to solar-powered yachts, with some 5,555 of them navigating the seas and 14% growth expected in the market by 2031.
Precision Neuroscience started trials on human patients for its brain implant.
Scientists at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia successfully 3D-printed mini-brains using rat brain cells.
Bitcoin, considered a barometer for crypto market sentiment, has bounced back 37% since November last year.
Visa launched a $100 million venture fund for generative AI startups.
For the less rushed reader …
There’s no better joy [or statement of wealth] like buying a boat, but the boating industry emits a ship ton of carbon, taking a huge toll on the environment. The rich are turning to solar-powered yachts as a potential solution, with some 5,555 of them currently navigating the seas and 14% growth expected in the market by 2031. The main challenge for solar electric boats is the tradeoff between size and power, which is an issue for large commercial vessels. As tech continues to advance for electric batteries, solar panels, and electric motors, boat tech innovators see electric yachting becoming bigger and bigger. Yacht too shabby!
There’s a hot, new way to get your community service hours in: volunteer to test brain implants! Just kidding (kind of). Precision Neuroscience started trials on human patients for its brain implant and believes it could help people with paralysis operate digital devices through brain signals. Last week, the company acquired a factory in Dallas to speed up development, aiming for regulatory approval by 2024. Precision competes directly with Elon Musk’s Neuralink and is a top player in the fast-growing brain-computer interface (BCI) industry. The tech is coming along – picture a chip thinner than a human hair that sits on your brain and generates high-res renderings of neural activity. Don’t let this one out to the conspiracy theorists.
Not to toot my own horn, but the newsletter is brainy today. Scientists at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia successfully 3D-printed mini-brains using rat brain cells. The research team led by materials science and engineering professor John Forsythe printed a neural network by squeezing “bioink” (gelled up rat cells) into a scaffold, building and stacking multiple layers like cross-hatched Lincoln Logs. Mini-brains offer a viable alternative to animal testing in drug trials, which the US Congress has made significant efforts to curb by passing an annual spending bill at the start of 2023. Sounds like the cast of Ratatouille may soon rest assured their friends and family are safe from drug-making.
If pondering OpenAI’s next move makes you ill and you were hoping the generative AI buzz is finally settling, I have some bad news: it’s not going anywhere. Visa launched a $100 million venture fund for generative AI startups, going head-to-head with the big dogs such as Microsoft and Alphabet. As much hype as there has been for gen AI’s role in automating tasks and creating content, Visa is placing a bet that gen AI will also have a major impact on commerce. I can’t believe no one warned me that ChatGPT was a FinBro.
In case you missed the drama, everyone is being sued. Here’s the recap:PayPal is facing a class action lawsuit alleging that the company’s anti-steering rules stifle cheaper platforms, like Stripe and Shopify.Microsoft’s CEO Satya Nadella testified against Google in its antitrust case, providing a hard-hitting quote now spreading across the Google web Internet, “Everybody talks about the open web, but there is really the Google web.”The Federal Trade Commission and 17 states filed an antitrust lawsuit against Amazon. Amazon released a statement that their pricing practices are simply customer-focused.
Fire Up the Pre-Seeds🔥
Highlights from this week’s pre-seed raises:
Healthtech
Savoy Life - Better care for the middle-of-nowhere
The Problem: Rural markets lack long-term and post-acute care resources.
The Tech: A virtual care coordination and delivery platform designed for seniors and adults with disabilities living in residential community care facilities.
Recently Raised: $3 million led by Red Cell Partners.
Also Note: The company emerged from stealth with three service lines, including a move-in platform, virtual back-office nursing team, and virtual care platform.
Fintech
Pivot - Flow management that flows
The Problem: Managing financial flows as a young company is time-consuming, and current software solutions are overcomplicated.
The Tech: A procurement tool that integrates directly with a startup’s tech stack.
Recently Raised: $5.3 million from several venture capital firms (Visionaries, Emblem, Cocoa, Anamcara and Financière Saint James) and additional entrepreneurs.
Also Note: The company was founded by three experienced entrepreneurs, two of which were C-level executives at French unicorns, Qonto and Swile.
EDTECH
Morphoses - Play games to get a job
The Problem: The modern job landscape has a noticeable gap in soft skills (another thing to blame on social media).
The Tech: A gameified learning experience to enhance soft skills.
Recently Raised: €2.1 million led by Uni.Fund II VC.
Also Note: Morphoses is female-founded and will use the new funding to expand its reach in the UK and Europe.
TECHBITS
Orquesta - Turbo boost for slow AI adopters
The Problem: As AI advances, organizations will struggle to keep up.
The Tech: A single gateway, no-code platform where companies can centralize prompt management, streamline experimentation, and generate feedback and insights.
Recently Raised: €800k co-led by Curiosity VC and Spacetime.
Also Note: The World Economic Forum predicts that LLM-based tools will replace 44% of today’s work activities by 2027.
Outro🚪
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