| |
| Here's a look at today's Startups briefing. - 📜 Startups will need to adhere to the Corporate Transparency Act's new filing requirements starting next year.
- 🤝 Big Tech's are partnering with AI startups to bolster their product lineup.
- 🇪🇺 EU plans to support AI startups with new supercomputers.
Thank you. Karan
p/karan-chafekar | |
| 1 | | Startups with less than 20 full-time employees and gross annual revenue of less than $5M will need to report the names of their beneficial owners under the Corporate Transparency Act, which is set to come into effect starting Jan. 1 next year. The legislation was passed in 2021 and will impact nearly 30 million firms in the U.S. More: - The U.S. Treasury Department will store the beneficial ownership information data reported by organizations in a confidential database within the Financial Crime Enforcement Network (FinCEN).
- About 23 categories of companies, including larger organizations, nonprofits, banks, and credit unions, are exempt from reporting since their information is already available with the department.
- Companies will need to report any stakeholder with substantial control over a company or owning at least a 25% stake in the firm.
- Organizations not complying with the rules can face a penalty of $500 per day and up to two years of imprisonment.
Zoom out: - The Corporate Transparency Act was introduced to uncover anonymous shell companies that might be used for money laundering and other illegal activities.
|     | |
| 2 | | Major tech organizations like Microsoft, Salesforce, Nvidia, and Alphabet are deepening their involvement with AI startups by forming partnerships and investing significantly in the sector. 
What happened: The partnership is proving mutually beneficial for both, as AI startups gain access to costly computing infrastructure and large organizations are able to bolster their product lineup with new AI capabilities. Relevance: Microsoft led a $10B round into ChatGPT maker OpenAI in January. In addition, Microsoft has also backed Inflection AI and Adept. However, Microsoft's significant investment in OpenAI has prompted regulatory scrutiny from authorities in the U.K. and the U.S. over concerns regarding potential anti-competitive behavior, particularly regarding large cloud computing contracts. Meanwhile, Salesforce led a funding round into Hugging Face at a $4.5B valuation, while Alphabet and Amazon invested in Anthropic. Georgetown University's senior research analyst Ngor Luong said, "What regulators might be concerned about is that the story of Big Tech's strategic investment in AI startups could have the potential to become the story of Big Tech's AI monopoly." | | | |
| A message from our sponsor, RollWorks. |  | | Whether you’ve been in the same industry for decades or hop industries every year or two, chances are you’ve been inundated with a slew of new acronyms, terms, and hot topics - sometimes it feels like decoding an entirely new language. Go-to-market teams are not immune, especially with how quickly the industry changes. Spoiler? That’s why we’ve created your TL;DR pocket guide. No revenue champion should be left without a friendly guide to turn to when things get a little too overwhelming. We’ll take on some of the most common conversations we hear in the market and set the record straight -— or at least give the debate a little extra sizzle. The goal? Everyone can leave a little more aligned on what they need to be focused on, how they can educate their full team around a common GTM language, and of course, see the impact of all of this IRL, not just in a polished book-collecting dust on your shelf. (Yes, we threw even more acronyms in there to get the pocket guide party started). Get The Guide | |
|
| 3 | | The European Union is extending access to its supercomputers to AI startups in the region as part of its EU AI Start-Up Initiative. The plan, announced earlier this September, was officially launched last month. The initiative has gained support from French AI startup Mistral AI, which is participating in the early pilot phase. More: - As part of the initiative, the EU is creating centers of excellence to develop dedicated AI algorithms compatible with its supercomputers.
- In addition, the EU will establish an AI support center to help SMEs and startups maximize the potential of supercomputing resources.
- On Thursday, the firm will officially inaugurate a pre-exascale supercomputer dubbed MareNostrum-5, located at the Barcelona Supercomputing Center in Spain.
- EU is creating a federated supercomputing resource by interconnecting its cluster of eight machines via terabit networks.
- The first exascale supercomputer is being built in Germany, which will likely come online next year.
- The EU has also commissioned a second machine in France, which is expected to come online in 2025.
| | | |
| 4 | | Social media startup ShareChat is in advanced talks with existing investors to secure a downround of $50M. Existing investors Temasek and Tencent are set to participate in the round. Sources informed TechCrunch that the firm has been offered the new funding at roughly $1.5B valuation, about 70% lower than its $4.9B valuation from last year. More: - Reportedly, some new investors have declined the opportunity to invest in the firm due to differences in the firm's valuation.
- Investors lowered ShareChat's valuation after it failed to make its mark in the short-video space in India, despite doubling down on the category by launching its short-video platform Moj and acquiring video app Mx TakaTak for over $600M in mid-2020.
- The firm has raised $1.4B to date from X (formerly called Twitter), Snap, Tiger Global, and others.
- In early 2021, X was reportedly looking to acquire ShareChat for $2B.
- ShareChat reported $65M in revenue in the 12 months ending this March.
- The firm reportedly plans to announce a third round of layoffs in the coming weeks, impacting about 15% to 20% of the workforce, or about 200 to 300 people.
- ShareChat's two co-founders left the firm earlier this year to launch their own startup.
| | | |
| A message from our sponsor, DoiT. |  | | Questions about your cloud spend? DoiT is here to help. You’ve got questions about your cloud costs, and DoiT’s technology makes it easy to get the answers. Ensure you’re spending on what you should be – and stop overspend in its tracks. From cost optimization to cloud migration, machine learning and CloudOps, DoiT is here to make the public cloud easy – without the costs. Learn why DoiT is trusted by thousands of digital natives at DoiT.com. Learn More | |
|
| 5 | | Dutch neobank Bunq is returning to the U.K. after failing to do so for the first time in 2020 due to regulatory changes related to Brexit. Additionally, the firm is launching a consumer-facing generative AI chatbot dubbed Finn to guide users, which Bunq claims makes it "the first AI-powered bank in Europe." More: - The firm claims to have over 9 million users across Europe, who have deposited €4.5B ($4.94B) in the neobank.
- Bunq raised €44.5M ($48.8M) in growth capital earlier this June to help the company launch in the U.K.
- The firm has raised €100M ($109.7M) to date from investors.
- Bunq's customers can ask Finn questions about their spending habits, bank accounts, and savings.
| | | |
| 6 | | Swedish solar cell technology cleantech startup Exeger secured a €35M ($38.4M) loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB). The fresh funding will help Exeger scale up its production capacity. More: - Earlier this March, the firm raised a €16.1M ($17.6M) Series B round, bringing its total funding raised to date to €169M ($185.4M).
- The firm has developed ultra-thin solar cell technology called Powerfoyle, a dye-sensitized solar cell that converts indoor and outdoor light into electricity.
- Exeger is currently building its second urban factory outside Stockholm, which uses 100% renewable energy and will be able to produce 2.5 million m2 of its patented solar cells per year.
Zoom out: - Exeger is backed by InvestEU, which has earmarked €372M ($408M) for EU policy priorities between 2021 and 2027.
| | | |
| 7 | | Quick Hits: - Smart investors are generating passive income by selling their shareholder voting rights. Register on Shareholder Vote Exchange to start earning.*
- ByteDance, the world's most valuable startup behind short-form video platform TikTok, raked in $110B in revenue in 2023, higher than peer Tencent Holdings. The firm's revenue surged 30% compared to the $80B revenue reported in 2022.
- French crypto wallet startup Ledger will cover $600,000 worth of assets lost by victims of its phishing attack from last week. Earlier this March, the firm raised €100M ($110M) in fresh funding at a €1.3B ($1.43B) valuation.
- Electric scooter company Bird filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
- Anti-ransomware platform Halcyon raised a $40M Series B round led by Bain Capital Ventures.
- 100k companies automate scheduling with Calendly. Teams are seeing 2x conversion rates, 30% increased customer retention, and 323% ROI. Sign up free.*
*This is sponsored content. | | | |
 | Analyst | | Karan Chafekar is a Management Consultant, Business enthusiast, and Licensed Pilot. | | This newsletter was edited by Vibha Chapparike | |
| |
 | Whether you’re starting out or scaling up, RollWorks helps you confidently grow revenue by focusing on the right accounts at the right time. | |
|
 | DoiT delivers the true promise of the cloud with ease, not cost. | |
|
| |
