Dappier is building a marketplace for publishers to sell their content to LLM builders

When Napster emerged in the late 1990s, it made it easy for people to grab music files without compensating the content owners. The iPod and the iTunes music store changed that by allowing artists or publishers to get paid for reusing their content in a digital context. Fast-forward to today, and there are companies scraping content to train large language models without permission.

Dappier, an early-stage startup, wants to ensure that publishers get paid when their content gets used, and today announced a $2 million seed round and the launch of a marketplace where publishers can set a price for using their content in model training.

Dappier co-founder and CEO Dan Goikhman, calls his company a monetization stack for the emerging AI internet, providing a new way for publishers and data owners to get compensated for reusing their content.

“Our goal is to help media companies and information providers monetize their content as it’s being leveraged by emerging AI agents and platforms all around the world.” “The idea basically is, how do you create a payment infrastructure for content as it’s distributed?”

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Directo turns a TikTok travel hack into a deal-finding Chrome extension

A travel hack that went viral on TikTok teaches users how to save money on hotels and Airbnbs by booking directly with the properties themselves. Now, a new startup, Directo, will help travelers find those same deals with the help of a Chrome extension that points you to the property’s website, where you’ll often find discounted rates as the property doesn’t have to pay commission on those sales.

Across social media, creators and influencers post variations of a money-saving hack that teaches users how to find a cheaper way to book a room or a home stay. This often involves using reverse image search on photos of the listing to find the property’s website — something that can be particularly useful when booking longer stays where the savings can really add up.

Of course, booking directly may have its risks. You may not have the same travel assurances and protections compared with bigger websites, like Booking.com, Expedia or Airbnb. But when travelers are looking at savings in the hundreds of dollars or more, they often opt to take their chances.

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Hebbia raises nearly $100M Series B for AI-powered document search led by Andreessen Horowitz

Hebbia, a startup using generative AI to search large documents and return answers, has raised a nearly $100 million Series B led by Andreessen Horowitz, according to three people with knowledge of the matter. 

The round valued the company between $700 million and $800 million, although TechCrunch couldn’t verify whether that valuation is pre- or post-money. (One possible scenario is $700 million pre/$800 million post.) Hebbia disclosed in an SEC filing in May that it had by then raised $93 million out of a hoped-for $100 million, but we understand from two of the people that the round hit a near $100 million mark and has closed.

Hebbia and Andreessen Horowitz didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Hebbia was founded in 2020 by George Sivulka, who launched the company while working on his PhD in electrical engineering at Stanford. Sivulka was inspired by his friends working in the financial industry who told him that part of their long work weeks was spent searching for information in SEC filings and other dense documents. Sivulka thought that AI could help them save hours at the office and give them more time for rest and sleep.

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Illumex is using GenAI to ease pain of getting good data into LLMs

By now we know how crucial it is to have quality data for use by large language models (LLMs), but getting data ready for the models has been an early challenge for companies, an opening that represents an opportunity for an enterprising entrepreneur.

Enter Illumex, a two-year-old Israeli startup from the former VP of AI at Sisense. The startup is using GenAI to put the data into a ready state for LLMs. Today the company announced a $13 million investment.

Inna Tokarev-Sela, founder and CEO of Illumex, says she recognized this data readiness problem years ago, and she started Illumex with the goal of making it easier for organizations to organize data in an automated way.

“We automatically associate the business logic of an organization, automatically mapping it to data, and we bring the relevant data to the questions which business users have,” Tokarev-Sela told.

The company is combining a number of technologies to achieve this, including generative AI, graph databases and relational databases, pulling all this information together into what Tokarev-Sela calls a data fabric, which companies can access to train LLMs and for other purposes.

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Synthflow picks up $7.4M for no-code voice assistance for SMEs

What is AI good for? Automating repetitive tasks for the very busy people running small businesses, reckons Berlin-based startup Synthflow, which is announcing a $7.4 million seed round for its SME-focused no-code platform for AI voice assistance.

Since being founded around spring last year, the startup has now banked a total of $9.1 million, underscoring ongoing investor enthusiasm for accelerating applications of generative AI.

The startup also claims to be approaching 1,000 customers — touting “double-digit” monthly growth rates since it stepped out of stealthy development to launch its browser-based “no code” tool in December 2023. That suggests there’s a healthy appetite among SMEs to adopt — or at least experiment with — generative AI tools that promise easy-to-reach productivity gains.

The new funding will be plowed into R&D, according to Synthflow CEO and co-founder Hakob Astabatsyan, who says the team is keen to keep stoking its early momentum by increasing product utility and broadening the scope of SMEs to which it’s appealing.

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Gifting on-demand startup Afloat goes nationwide

Afloat, a gift delivery app that lets you shop from local stores and have gifts delivered to a loved one on the same day, is now available across the U.S. The startup announced on Monday that it is rolling out its service nationwide after previously only being available in select cities, including Atlanta, Dallas, Charleston, Fort Worth, Kansas City, Nashville, and Wichita, among others.

The startup was founded by Sarah-Allen Preston after she experienced the stress of her newborn undergoing open heart surgery. After receiving thoughtful gifts from loved ones, Preston wanted to make immediate gift-giving possible for everyone, including those who live in another state, to support their loved ones in a time of need. 

“When I looked back on that experience, though, I weirdly didn’t remember the stress and the heartache. All I remembered was how people showed up for me and how cared and supported I felt… So, I took that feeling and went on to amplify this in the world through technology.”

Afloat aims to provide the convenience of online shopping and instant delivery while also supporting local businesses without leaving your home. Afloat takes care of the entire gift-giving process, including gift wrapping and adding a handwritten note for an extra personal touch. (Preston mentioned that this is more thoughtful than receiving a typed Amazon receipt.) As for the delivery part, DoorDash drivers take care of that. 

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Beauty tech startup BoldHue raises capital to ship its ‘Keurig for makeup’

Have you ever wanted a personalized makeup dispenser? Well, BoldHue‘s co-founder and CTO Karin Layton has built just that: A device that aims to be the “Keurig for makeup.”

BoldHue’s device essentially scans your face and dispenses a customized foundation formula that matches your skin tone. The beauty tech startup on Tuesday said it had raised a $3.37 million round led by Lucas Venture Group, with participation from Mark Cuban and others. 

Layton, a former aerospace engineer for Raytheon, thought of the idea when she was getting ready for work one day and realized her new expensive foundation bottle didn’t match her skin tone. As a painter in her free time, Layton decided to combine engineering and her knowledge of color theory to create the first of many prototypes. 

The countertop-sized device, to be priced at $295 upon release, operates using a “wand” that you place on different parts of your face to capture your skin tone. The device uses a proprietary skin typing algorithm to analyze your skin type and create the correct foundation shade using five pigments: blue, black, red, yellow and white. It will then dispense a week’s worth of foundation. 

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Indian social network Koo is shutting down as buyout talks collapse

The Indian social media platform Koo, which positioned itself as a competitor to Elon Musk’s X is ceasing operations after its last-resort acquisition talks with Dailyhunt collapsed.

Despite securing over $60 million in funding from prominent investors, including Accel and Tiger Global, Koo faced significant challenges in expanding its user base and generating revenue over the past two years.

Koo was engaging with Dailyhunt an internet media startup valued at $5 billion, for a potential sale. The talks didn’t materialize into a deal, Koo founders said Wednesday.

“We explored partnerships with multiple larger internet companies, conglomerates and media houses but these talks didn’t yield the outcome we wanted,” Koo founders Aprameya Radhakrishna and Mayank Bidawatka wrote in a LinkedIn post. “Most of them didn’t want to deal with user generated content and the wild nature of a social media company.”

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Indian edtech Unacademy cuts another 250 jobs

Indian edtech giant Unacademy is laying off about 250 employees. This is the latest in a series of job cuts at the company after schools reopened across the country following the pandemic lockdowns.

The Bengaluru-headquartered startup, valued at $3,4 billion in its last funding in 2021, is letting go of 100 people in marketing, business and product, and about 150 in sales, according to a source familiar with the situation. The layoffs bring Unacademy’s total job cuts to about 2,000 since the second half of 2022.

An Unacademy spokesperson confirmed the layoffs but didn’t elaborate on how many individuals were impacted.

The spokesperson said the restructuring exercise was “necessary” for staying on the company’s goal of reaching profitability. The startup counts General Atlantic, SoftBank and Peak XV among its backers.

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Awign bags $24.5 Mn in series C, Mynavi now holds 73% stake

Awign has raised Rs 203.5 crore or $24.5 million from Japan-based Mynavi Corporation, which will now control a 73% stake in the Bengaluru-based HR tech startup, according to the company’s filings with RoC.

In May, the board at Awign passed a special resolution to issue 11,485 Series C CCPS at an issue price of Rs 1,77,206 each to raise Rs 203.5 crore or $24.5 million, its regulatory filings show.

This coincided with Awign’s public announcement that MyNavi will control the majority stake in the former. However, the startup had not divulged more details of the transaction at the time.

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Agritech startup Arya.ag raises $29 Mn at valuation of $325 Mn

Agritech startup Arya.ag has raised Rs 242.36 crore approximately ($29.2 million) from existing investors. This is the first round of investment for the Noida-based company since January 2022.

The board Arya.ag has passed a special resolution to issue 53,695 CCPS at an issue price of Rs 45,137 each to raise the aforementioned sum ($29.2 million), its regulatory filing accessed from the RoC shows.

The company has received Rs 134.46 crore from previous backers: Asia Impact and Quona Capital through Quona Blue Earth and Accion Quona. 

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Oyo raises $50 Mn from InCred at $2.38 Bn valuation

Oyo has raised Rs 416.85 crore (approximately $50 million) from InCred Wealth and Investment. The funding is coming after a gap of almost three years for the Gurugram-based hospitality unicorn.

The board at Oyo has passed a special resolution to issue 14,37,41,379 Series G CCPS at an issue price of Rs 29 each to raise Rs 416.85 crore or $50 million, its regulatory filing accessed from the Registrar of Companies (RoC) shows.

Oyo will use these proceeds for growth, global expansion (including acquisitions), and enhanced business plans, according to the filings.

As per TheKredible estimates, the company has been valued at around Rs 19,756 crore or $2.38 billion post-allotment. Importantly, the new investor will command a 2.11% stake in the company (post allotment).

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Goat Brand Labs raises $21 Mn in debt and equity

E-commerce roll up company Goat Brand Labs has raised $21 million in debt and equity from investors including BlackRock, Mayfield, NB Ventures, and others. The fresh funding has come after a gap of more than two years for the Bengaluru-based company.

Goat Brand also added that the round will be closed at about $30 million. The new funding will be utilised to fuel the growth of its portfolio brands such as Chumbak, trueBrowns, The Label Life, Pepe Jeans Inner Fashion, Voylla, Petcrux, and Nutriglow.

GOAT is a marketplace roll-up platform that acquires direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands and scales them with its expertise. The company has around 19 subsidiaries under its portfolio.

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Byway is using AI to help travelers slow down and take the scenic route

Solo founder Cat Jones took the plunge on setting up a travel business right around the time the pandemic was hitting Europe in March 2020. Fast-forward to summer 2024 and her curated package tour business, Byway, is announcing the close of an oversubscribed £5.04 million Series A round (around $6.4 million at current exchange rates).

Jones’ conviction that slow and more sustainable travel — trips whose unique selling point is they’re programmed to be flight-free, going overland (and sea) by train, bus or ferry, allowing holidaymakers to take in the scenery and dodge the crowds as they unwind in more off-the-beaten-track locations — is on a roll. Growth has been 3x year-on-year, with more than 4,200 trips sold to date.

Environmental concerns are one major factor encouraging holidaymakers to find ways to reduce flying. Meanwhile, many popular European city-break destinations — from Amsterdam and Barcelona to Rome and Venice — and even well-known holiday islands are not as hospitable to tourists as local communities struggle with the effects of over-tourism.

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Deep tech startups with very technical CEOs raise larger rounds, research finds

SaaS founders trying to figure out what it takes to raise their next round can refer to Point Nine’s famous yearly SaaS Funding Napkin. (The term refers to “back of the napkin” plans or calculations.)

Now European hardware deep tech teams have a similar resource from First Momentum, a pre-seed fund investing in technical B2B and deep tech startups.

With its Deep Tech Hardware Napkin, the German VC firm hopes to democratize knowledge and benchmarks on funding, team, product ,and commercialization, broken down by stage. It focuses on Europe’s blossoming deep tech sector, which gives quite different results from what one might see in global SaaS.

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More ex-military officials are becoming VCs as defense tech investment reached $35B

The distance between Silicon Valley and the Pentagon just keeps getting smaller. As venture capitalists continue to pour money into defense tech startups, they’re turning to a new hiring pool: veterans and ex-Department of Defense officials.  

Andreessen Horowitz hired Matt Shortal, an ex-fighter jet pilot, as its chief of staff; Lux Capital brought on Tony Thomas, former head of U.S. Special Operations Command, as an adviser; and Shield Capital’s managing partner Raj Shah served in the Air Force. 

Hiring ex-military personnel can be a major advantage for firms, giving them “an understanding of what problems are actually on the battlefield,” instead of just “sitting in Silicon Valley and theorizing,” Ali Javaheri, PitchBook’s emerging tech analyst, told TechCrunch.
The boon in ex-military hiring comes alongside the continued defense tech investment craze.

Silicon Valley pumped almost $35 billion into defense tech startups in 2023, and over $9 billion so far this year, according to a report released last week by PitchBook. This trend is anchored by some blockbuster fundraises. Shield AI, which produces an AI-powered drone pilot system, raised $500 million last year, and Anduril, Palmer Luckey’s defense tech startup, reportedly secured a fresh $1.5 billion in funding last month. Although funding into the sector has slowed this year, Javaheri said it’s still shown “resilience” in the context of a brutal overall fundraising environment.

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AI-powered Regard nabs $61M to find missed illness, boost hospital revenue

People in tech often say that data is the new oil. That phrase, coined by British mathematician Clive Humby, of course implies that data is valuable.

Data about a person’s health can also provide meaningful insights and improve outcomes, but only 3% of patient data is currently used by physicians, according to the World Economic Forum.
Although doctors know they can glean useful information from patient data, they don’t have the time to review every detail in the medical record.

Regard, a digital health startup founded in 2017, wants to help physicians save time and increase the accuracy of diagnosis by analyzing patients’ health data using AI. 

Regard announced on Thursday that it raised a $61 million Series B round led by Oak HC/FT, with participation from Cedars-Sinai Health Ventures and existing investors TenOneTen, Calibrate Ventures and Techstars. The company is now valued at $350 million, according to a person familiar with the matter. 

The company’s software mines thousands of data points in a medical chart and presents data in a way that allows doctors to detect health conditions more easily.

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HerculesAI was working with large language models long before it was cool

HerculesAI (formerly Zero Systems) has been working at automating professional services since 2017, originally concentrating on the legal industry. As part of that, it has actually been building large language models for several years, long before the idea entered the public consciousness. As such, it found itself in the right place at the right time when ChatGPT popped onto the scene in late 2022, and suddenly everyone was talking about LLMs.

Today, the company announced a $26 million Series B investment to help keep building on its recent momentum.

Alex Babin, company CEO and co-founder, says that they had been working on small models since around 2020, with half a billion parameters to 2 billion parameters, and running them on edge devices for compliance purposes, but prior to the emergence of ChatGPT nobody paid much attention to that aspect of their solution.

“It was maybe eight or nine months before ChatGPT, and I remember speaking to our clients, explaining to CIOs what an LLM is — and no one cared,” Babin told. By November that year, of course that would rapidly change and suddenly everyone was interested in the concept. That shift has helped drive rapid growth in the business over the last year.

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Infra.Market raises Rs 150 Cr debt led by Yubi

Infra.Market has secured Rs 150 crore (approximately $18 million) in debt financing over the past two months. The debt infusion for the Mumbai-based firm follows the $50 million equity round from the Mars Unicorn Fund — a joint venture of Liquidity Group and MUFG.

The board at Infra.Market has approved a special resolution to issue non-convertible redeemable debentures to raise Rs 150 crore. Previously, the committee had approved a resolution to raise up to Rs 500 crore through debentures. The new infusion is the tranche of Rs 500 crore.

Yubi has invested Rs 80 crore while Raymond Limited, IKF Home Finance, and Samunnati Financial (through their NBFC treasuries) participated with Rs 25 crore, Rs 25 crore, and Rs 20 crore, respectively.

Founded by Souvik Sengupta and Aaditya Sharda in 2016, Infra.Market sells construction materials, infrastructure goods, and technical equipment. It is targeting the growing construction materials market, with a strong focus on the infrastructure sector.

The company caters to both institutional customers (B2B) and retail outlets (D2R) in the construction materials sector. As per the company, it supplies across 16 states in India and also exports to markets such as Dubai, Singapore, Jordan, and Italy, among others.

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Deepinder Goyal enters billionaire club as his holding in Zomato crosses $1 Bn worth

Deepinder Goyal, founder and CEO of Zomato, has entered the billionaire dollar club as the value of his holdings in the foodtech firm surpassed Rs 8,400 crore.
With this, Goyal joins the ranks of Sachin and Binny Bansal, Nikhil and Nitin Kamath, Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Byju’s Reveendran, and Ritesh Agarwal who hit a similar high at some point with their startups’ growth and valuation.

As of March 31, 2024, Goyal owned a 4.19% stake in Zomato and had 36,94,71,500 shares. Since the Info Edge-backed firm recently hit its all time high share price ~Rs 232, the value of his personal holding crossed $1 billion.

Zomato currently has a market capitalization of Rs 2,01,343 crore or $24.25 billion (as of 11.27 AM IST on July 15). With 36,94,71,500 equity shares, Deepinder Goyal’s holdings are valued at Rs 8,423 crore ($1.01 billion)

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Lhoopa raises $80M to spur more affordable housing in the Philippines

A lack of affordable housing is a growing problem worldwide, even in emerging markets with significant demand. That’s in part because traditional developers and real estate companies focus on serving people looking for luxury houses, and want to avoid the immense operating expenses associated with affordable housing, which eat into gross margins over time.

The Singaporean-headquartered startup uses a mix of technology and decentralized operations, partnering with local professionals, including brokers and building contractors, to solve the problem specifically for people looking to buy affordable homes. The six-year-old startup has kicked off its service in the Philippines, a market with unfilled demand of around 6.5 million units for low-income earners.

Marc-Olivier Caillot (co-founder and CEO) and Sabrina Tan (co-founder and president) founded Lhoopa in 2018, shortly after moving to the Philippines from the U.S. and experiencing firsthand the lack of platforms for searching for affordable housing.

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