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| Hey Insiders, Today's newsletter covers: - Remote's new Global HR Platform
- HiddenLayer's $50M Series A funding
- Levelpath's $30M Series A round
If you find this newsletter useful, please share it with your friends and colleagues. Thank you. Karan
p/karan-chafekar | |
| 1 | | Human resources management startup Remote launched a new platform called Global HR Platform. The platform is aimed at organizations that have a globally distributed workforce. Remote's platform has features like payroll, employee onboarding and offboarding, contractor management, employee data management, benefits administration, taxes, and local compliance. More: - Since its founding in 2019, Remote has raised $496M from VC investors to date.
- The firm cemented its unicorn status with its Series B round in mid-2021 and tripled the valuation to $3B when it raised a Series C round in Apr. 2022.
- Notable clients using Remote's platform include GitLab, Loom, DoorDash, Aston Martin, Burger King, and HelloFresh.
Q: What challenges did your startup face while working remotely? And how did you overcome those challenges? Join the conversation here. |     | |
| 2 | | AI application security startup HiddenLayer secured $50M in Series A funding led by M12 and Moore Strategic Ventures. Booz Allen Ventures, IBM Ventures, Capital One Ventures, and Ten Eleven Ventures participated in the round. What the numbers say: HiddenLayer is one of the latest startups offering solutions to tackle threats to AI models. CalypsoAI, Lakera AI, and Protect AI are other similar startups that are developing solutions to protect AI models. What happened: The new AI security startups are trying to capitalize on the AI boom that started after the recent developments in generative AI and large-language models. With the rise in AI applications, enterprises are concerned about malicious actors trying to modify the AI models using specific prompts, extract sensitive corporate information, and hack the AI training data. 
Relevance: So far this year, AI security startups have raised $130.7M in VC funding. The funding raised so far is higher than the $122.2M raised by such startups in 2022. Per a recent Gartner study, 34% of organizations have already implemented AI security tools, and another 54% were exploring options. | | | |
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| 3 | | Procurement company Levelpath landed a $30M Series A round. The round was led by Redpoint with participation from Menlo Ventures. More: - Levelpath aims to improve the procurement experience to enhance adoption and drive company-wide efficiency.
- Customers include Ace Hardware, Qualtrics, and Innovacare.
- The company is developing an AI model to adapt the procurement process by analyzing employees' purchasing and workflow patterns, creating cost-effective alternatives for users.
- With a current staff of 26 employees and plans for growth, the new founding Levelpath will focus on product development and research while expanding its go-to-market strategy in 2024.
- With its Series A, the company has raised $44.5M to date.
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| 4 | | Cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike announced it is acquiring application security posture management startup Bionic.ai. The deal was initially rumored to be valued between $200M and $300M. However, sources informed TechCrunch that CrowdStrike will ultimately be paying $350M for the firm. More: - Bionic had less than $10M in annual recurring revenue (ARR) and had raised about $82M in total funding from investors, including Insight Partners and Battery Ventures.
- The firm last raised a $65M Series B round in Mar. 2022.
- CrowdStrike saw a 37% growth in earnings and reported an ARR of $2.93B in its last quarterly update.
- The firm has a market capital of just below $40B.
- CrowdStrike will merge Bionic's technology with its security posture management product, Falcon.
Zoom out: - CrowdStrike last acquired Reposify in Sept. 2022.
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| 5 | | Dragos, an industrial control systems cybersecurity company, announced it had raised $74M in a Series D round extension. Investors include Hewlett Packard, Koch Disruptive Technologies, and DataTribe. More: - Dragos focuses on protecting infrastructure in industries like electricity, water, oil, gas, and chemicals from cyber threats targeting industrial control systems.
- The Maryland-based company provides cybersecurity solutions that offer visibility, threat identification, vulnerability prioritization, and response playbooks.
- The global market for industrial cybersecurity is expected to reach $10.2B by 2025.
- The capital will be used to expand Dragos' customer base, comprising around 400 organizations and governments.
- The new funding brings Dragos' total raised to $440M, maintaining a post-money valuation of $1.7B.
- The company has expressed intentions to go public in the future.
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| 6 | | AI accounting startup Truewind has raised $3M in a seed funding round. The round was led by Fin Capital and Y Combinator. More: - Founded in Nov. 2022, Truewind entered the Y Combinator program in the Winter 23 batch, securing over 20 customers and launching its initial product version.
- The startup uses artificial intelligence to automate accounting processes, offer users real-time financial insights, and be the one-stop shop for a company's financials.
- Truewind aims to simplify financial management for businesses, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
- The company plans to use the funding to expand its platform and enhance its capabilities.
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| 7 | | Quick Hits: - Big ideas demand a proven approach to product development. Revelry's process helps dev teams form and deliver 30-40% faster than industry standards.*
- Instacart co-founder Apoorva Mehta stepped down as the grocery delivery firm's executive chairman. The news comes a day after Instacart held its IPO debut. Mehta liquidated stock worth $21M in the offering and will remain Instacart's single largest individual shareholder.
- 33 startups are participating in Washington Technology Industry Association's 10th Founder Cohort Program.
- AI chip startup SambaNova launched its new chip, SN40L. The new chip is capable of running AI models that are more than twice the size of OpenAI's ChatGPT offering.
- Subscription-based language learning service provider Babbel acquired language learning browser extension Toucan's technology for an undisclosed sum. Toucan had reportedly shut down the company earlier this year after it failed to become profitable.
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INSIDE STARTUPS LEADERBOARD (7 DAYS) |
 | Analyst | | Karan Chafekar is a Management Consultant, Business enthusiast, and Licensed Pilot.
Robel is a writer for Inside.com. He was born and raised in the Bay Area but now lives in the Midwest. He is passionate about all things tech, venture, city, and state government, and in his free time enjoys outdoor activities including biking, hiking, and running. | | This newsletter was edited by Vibha Chapparike | |
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