Microsoft reportedly wants to invest $10B in OpenAI, the company known for creating ChatGPT. The funds would be deployed over the course of several years. More: - If the deal were to be completed, it would be Microsoft's largest startup investment in history.
- ChatGPT, the viral Artificial Intelligence conversational tool, has made waves around the internet for its ability to reply to relatively complex questions. The technology is being seen as a future competitor for Google's search engine.
- Microsoft would likely be interested in applying this technology in its search engine, Bing.
- The tech giant is already an investor in OpenAI, having written a $1B check back in 2019.
- Microsoft has reportedly asked for a 75% equity stake until it recoups its $10B investment, which would then be reversed to a permanent 49% stake in OpenAI.
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VC firm Khosla Ventures is raising $3B that will be deployed through three different funds. $1.5B out of this amount will be raised for the firm's flagship fund. More: - The firm aims to raise $1B for its second opportunities fund and $400M for its seed fund.
- Khosla Ventures is known for investing in startups such as:
- DoorDash,
- Instacart,
- Impossible Foods,
- OpenAI,
- Okta,
- Affirm, etc.
- Khosla Ventures, founded in 2004, manages $15B in assets.
- The firm is based in Menlo Park, California.
Zoom Out: - Although startup funding in 2022 fell significantly, venture capital firms raised $162.2B, an all-time high.
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Germany-based BioNTech, known for creating the COVID-19 vaccine with Pfizer, has acquired AI company InstaDeep for $682M. The acquisition includes a cash and equity structure. More: - BioNTech will pay $439M up front, while the rest of the acquisition amount will be paid based on certain contingencies.
- BioNTech is a biotech company that develops mRNA-based therapies for cancer immunotherapies and vaccines.
- The corporation hires over 3,000 people, has nearly $20B in revenue, and is based in Mainz.
- Founded in 2014, InstaDeep had raised nearly $110M in funding before the acquisition.
- The company is based in London, United Kingdom.
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Startup funding in North America dropped 63% YoY in Q4 2022. VCs invested $36.1B in North American startups during the quarter. More: - Late-stage investments totaled $18.7B, a decline of 67% compared to the same period in 2021.
- Startups raised $14.4B in Series A and B funding, a 59%YoY decline.
- Startups raised a total of $3B in Pre-Seed and Angel rounds. The figure is a 37% YoY drop.
- In terms of acquisitions, the largest acquisition was the $1.46B deal between PTC and cloud company Service Max.
- Overall, startups in North America in Q4 2022 raised 10% less than in Q3 2022.
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Crypto funding in late 2022 fell to the lowest level in nearly two years. Investments in Q4 2022 dropped 75% YoY, reaching $2.3B. More: - The drop in funding is attributed to overall difficult macroeconomic conditions that have affected the entire tech industry.
- The crypto industry has been in the spotlight these last few months due to several scandals that have taken the attention of everyone, from mainstream media to government officials, resulting in less trust from investors toward crypto startups.
- While 2022 started with large funding rounds, led by FTXs $400M round, it was precisely the bankruptcy of this company that started an entire chain of events that led to numerous other companies going bankrupt or having difficulties fulfilling their obligations toward their investors.
- Other events that shocked the industry include the collapse of TerraUSD and the crypto hedge fund ThreeArrowsCapital.
- Crypto funding in 2022 overall fell by 40% compared to 2021.
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Genomics company Ensoma has raised an $85M Series B funding round and has acquired CRISPR-focused company Twelve Bio. Twelve Bio is based in Copenhagen. More: - Ensoma aims to help treat millions of patients worldwide and develop therapies for cancer, autoimmune diseases, and inherited diseases.
- Ensoma is based in Boston and has raised over $155M since its inception.
- Twelve Bio is a CRISPR-engineering company that can detect and change DNA sequences.
- The round was co-led by Arix Bioscience and 5AM Ventures with participation from F-Prime Capital, Cormorant Asset Management, Viking Global Investors, Takeda Ventures, Inc., SymBiosis, Alexandria Venture Investments, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Qatar Investment Authority, Catalio Capital Management, Solasta Ventures, and Mirae Asset.
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- Lobby Capital led a $14.2M Seed funding round for The Easy Company, a California-based company that combines social networking with Web3 features. Relay Ventures, 6th Man Ventures, Tapestry VC, Upside Partnership, and Scribble Ventures also participated in the funding round.
- Massachusets-based Vaxess, a company that is developing an innovative vaccine patch, raised a $10M Growth funding round led by RA Capital, The Engine, and Mission BioCapital.
- Canada-based Nanoprecise Sci Corp, a company that aims to help monitor the efficiency of medical device equipment, has raised $10M in a Series B funding round led by Export Development Canada, with participation from Honeywell Ventures, NSK Ltd., and EC Mergers & Acquisitions.
- Amsterdam-based healthcare startup Lapsi Health has raised a $3.5M funding round. The company aims to redefine screening, diagnosing, treating, and monitoring in medicine through its auscultation tech.
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 |  | Arbër is an Inside writer who also has experience in entrepreneurship. He has experience covering Consumer Tech, Venture Capital, NFTs, Crypto, etc. Arbër holds a Bachelor's degree in Business from XAMK University in Finland. When he is not reading(and writing) business news, he chooses to watch sports or anime...and then read news about sports or anime. |   | | Editor | Aaron Crutchfield is based in the high desert of California. Over the last two decades, he has spent time writing and editing at various local newspapers and defense contractors in California. When he's not working, he can often be found looking at the latest memes with his kids or working on his 1962 and 1972 Fords. | |
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