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| 1 | | Microsoft is reportedly set to sign an agreement to purchase power from nuclear fusion energy startup Helion Energy. The tech giant will buy some of the power from Helion's first 50-megawatt fusion plant, which is expected to be completed by 2028. More: - Getting nuclear fusion energy will enable Microsoft to take steps toward its goal of becoming carbon negative by 2030.
- Energy purchased from Helion "will make up less than 1% of Microsoft's total portfolio of power purchase agreements for carbon-free energy, which currently stands at 13.5 gigawatts," per Bloomberg.
- Helion is currently developing its seventh prototype and plans to demonstrate fusion-powered electricity production in 2024.
Zoom out: - The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory achieved a fusion reaction that produced energy last December.
- However, the lab has failed to successfully replicate the experiment in five subsequent efforts.
- As of date, no company has achieved commercially-viable fusion energy.
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| 2 | | What happened: New programs launched in 2023 to help laid-off workers start their own startups amidst the tough fundraising environment, per Crunchbase. Seed-stage startups initially showed resilience to the venture funding pullback that started last year. However, this year even seed-stage startups are witnessing a funding decline, with quarterly totals for Q1 2023 reaching $3.1B, a 45% YoY decline from $5.6B from Q1 2022, per Crunchbase data. 
Relevance: While "Ideas are not fundable as they used to be," startups with unique value propositions and tangible products are getting funded, says CoFoundersLab chair Steve Lehman. However, with the rising investor appetite for the generative AI sector, some newly launched startups in the industry are able to fetch funding without a business plan. Former Google AI researchers Niki Parmar and Ashish Vaswani raised funds for their new firm, Essential AI, at a $50M valuation. Why it matters: Early-stage investment firm Day One Ventures' "Funded Not Fired" program, which aims to invest $100,000 in startups founded by executives laid off from tech companies, secured over 1,200 applications from individuals. CoFoundersLab is helping laid-off workers tap into a network of professionals that can help them find co-founders and provide business training and mentorship through their networking platform. 
What the numbers say: Per Crunchbase, U.S.-based tech firms have laid off nearly 140,000 workers so far this year. While the primary reasons for the layoffs are the volatile economic conditions, rising interest rates, and difficulty in sourcing capital, organizations have also been impacted due to changing customer preferences post-pandemic. Several organizations acknowledged being "bloated" due to years of frenzied hiring. A reversal in VC funding trends and layoffs is expected this year. | | | |
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| 3 | | Health tracking wearable ring maker Oura acquired digital identification startup Proxy in an all-equity deal. The transaction values Proxy at $165M, per Bloomberg. "We are thrilled to collaborate with the innovative Proxy team to expand our addressable market, paving the way for new opportunities in areas such as payments, access, security, identity, and beyond, fueling future growth," per CEO Tom Hale. More: - The team and founders of Proxy will join Oura's team.
- Per Pitchbook, the startup was last valued at $292M in 2020.
- To date, the firm has raised $58.8M in funding from investors, including Kleiner Perkins and Blackbird Ventures.
- The acquisition will also enable Oura to bolster its health data privacy.
- Finnish startup Oura was last valued at $2.55B when it raised fresh funding a year ago.
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| 4 | | E-commerce delivery startup Pandion Pro said that 15% of its 65 new employees hired in the past year were executives laid off from Meta, Tesla, Amazon, Google, and other large tech firms. In recent weeks, the firm hired three executives that Meta laid off. More: - Startups are offering bigger paychecks, permanent remote working options, and higher equity stakes to potential joiners.
- Pandion Pro's founder and CEO, Scott Ruffin, said, "We've been able to attract some pretty high-quality talent because what we're doing is different."
- Employees are opting for early-stage startups where they can take on higher responsibilities and play a more significant role in the company's direction.
Zoom out: - BCG's partner Ruth Ebeling estimates that roughly 40% of tech workers laid off in the past nine months are working at startups now.
- The jobless rate dropped to 3.4% in April as U.S. employers added 253,000 jobs, of which tech firms, including startups, added more than 18,000.
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| 5 | | Creator startup Jellysmack is on the lookout for an M&A leader that will be able to help the firm acquire new target companies and oversee the post-acquisition integration. The move comes as the firm plans to diversify its business and grow its content portfolio through acquisitions in the near future. More: - Per Jellysmack's job posting, the firm is looking for someone who could identify synergies between the two entities, serve as a project manager, set up M&A integration processes, lead cross-functional teams, and offer clear direction to subordinates.
- The startup's core business includes optimizing advertising and increasing the efficiency of the content creation process for influencers on social media platforms.
- In the past, Jellysmack acquired AI-powered video editing platform Kamua, data analytics tool Authentic Media Ascension, and video-editing startup OKA Media.
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| 6 | | A12 Incubator secured $30M in capital commitments from limited partners towards its second fund. The firm intends to back early-stage AI startups, primarily in seed rounds. LPs Madrona, Sequoia Capital, Vinod Khosla, Evergreen Ventures, and others backed the new fund. More: - The firm expects to invest in five startups per year.
- A12's second fund is three times bigger than its debut fund of $10M.
- Since 2017, 21 firms have passed through the incubator and later nabbed $160M in cumulative funding.
- Apple acquired AI acceleration and efficiency startup XNOR, which emerged from A12's incubator, for $200M in 2020.
- Notable portfolio companies include the synthetic voice platform WellSaid and ML-powered accent tutor Blue Canoe.
- "We look particularly for technical founders, because they might need to build their own version of a model, or run a million custom models instead of one large one," said A12's technical director Oren Etzioni.
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- Accel unveiled Atoms 3.0, a training and mentorship program for AI and Industry 5.0 early-stage startups. Accel will offer up to $500,000 in seed funding for startups selected for the cohort.
- Triumph, a startup that provides SDK to power esports tournaments and online fantasy leagues, raised $14.1M in fresh funding. The funding includes a $3.9M seed funding led by Flux and a $10.2M Series A round led by General Catalyst.
- Prism Data spun out as an independent data analytics firm from consumer credit card startup Petal. The move was announced as Petal raised $35M in equity funding from Valar Ventures, a part of which will be diverted to the new entity.
- All Raise's interim CEO Paige Hendrix Bucker is now its full-time CEO. Hendrix Bucker stepped in as interim CEO after former CEO Mandela Dixon stepped down from the role in Jan. 2023.
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Term of the Day Shareholder voting rights: Shareholder voting rights are rules that give shareholders the power to participate in corporate decisions. Question of the Week What's the most bizarre work-related dream you've ever had? Join the conversation Today's Knowledge Hub Is Brought To You By Get the latest Axios Pro report on what the current economic downturn means for your bottom line, and how to plan for the future. Download for free. Backed by Mark Cuban on Shark Tank, Collars & Co. makes polos and long-sleeve shirts that are lightweight, comfy, and have just the right amount of stretch. Use code INSIDE for 15% off.
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INSIDE STARTUPS LEADERBOARD (7 DAYS) |
 | Analyst | | Karan Chafekar is a Management Consultant, Business enthusiast, and Licensed Pilot. | | This newsletter was edited by Vibha Chapparike | |
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