PIN

A newsletter for communities, investors, angels, and founders

Author

Power in Numbers
November 15, 2024

Welcome to PIN’d - our weekly newsletter where we pin (lol, bear with us) the most important tech/startup news of the week for aspiring angels, vc’s, startup investors, founders, etc. Expect a new weekly roundup from us every Friday morning!

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📰 This week’s best news

Altos Ventures, a 28-year-old VC firm, raised a new $500 million fund to add to its more than $7 billion under management. Altos focuses on enterprise and consumer software startups in the U.S. and abroad. 

SoftBank Group experienced a strong financial turnaround reporting a net profit of 1.18 trillion yen ($7.7 billion) for the quarter ending September 2023. This performance exceeds analyst expectations of 287 billion yen ($1.87 billion) and marks quite a shift from the 931 billion yen loss recorded in the same quarter of 2022.

Klarna, the Swedish “buy now, pay later” startup is about to become a public company, after confidentially filing a draft registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The news comes in a moment when very few technology companies are choosing to go public.

Andreessen Horowitz general partner VC Martin Casado is quite critical of the current regulations being made in the AI space. He argues that most attempts so far are focusing on some mythical future AI experience, instead of truly understanding the new risks AI actually introduces.

Apple and A24 are on the works for a film adaptation of Michael Lewis book “Going Infinite: The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon”, that delves into the ascension and implosion of the cryptocurrency exchange and hedge fund FTX as well as its founder, Sam Bankman-Fried. Lena Dunham will be writing the script.

Databricks is reportedly planning to raise billions in the coming months to tackle the challenge of expiring employee stock grants set for early 2026, aiming to provide liquidity options like stock buybacks or secondary sales.

💰 Funding announcement highlights

Fastino, a newly founded startup aiming to develop specialized AI models for businesses, raised a $7 million pre-seed. The round was co-led by Insight Partners and M12. NEA and Valor also showed up.

Lume AI, a startup using AI to automate the process of organizing and converting data from one format to another, raised a $4.2 million seed round. General Catalyst was the main investor, with Y Combinator, Khosla Ventures, Floodgate, and Soma Capital also joining.

Tako, a startup that streamlines processes like payroll management, employee onboarding, and benefits administration, raised a $13.2 million seed round. The investment was co-led by Ribbit Capital and Andreessen Horowitz, with ONEVC also contributing.

PointFive, a startup helping businesses identify and reduce unnecessary expenses in their cloud services, raised a $20 million Series A round. Salesforce Ventures was the main lead with Index Ventures, Entree Capital, Sheva VC, and Vesey Ventures also contributing.

Fleek, a San Francisco online marketplace connecting retailers and resellers with verified suppliers of vintage and second-hand clothing, raised a $14.8 million Series A. HV Capital led the round, with previous investors Andreessen Horowitz and Y Combinator also pitching in.

 📌 Special PIN Announcement

We felt like making a game because why not.

See how long you can keep your startup alive by collecting money and dodging distractions from VCs.

(Tag us on socials and tell us for how long you managed to keep your startup alive!)

📚 Interesting reads of the week

Will productivity gains from AI change how capital is deployed?

Y Combinator's latest "Request for Startups" piece highlights several unexpected areas ripe for innovation:

Government software. With the national deficit escalating, there's a pressing need to streamline government operations. Advancements in AI can automate routine tasks, potentially saving billions annually. Influential figures and initiatives, such as Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy, and the Department of Government Efficiency, are advocating for a leaner government that prioritizes software solutions over expanding the workforce.

After reading 3,000 startup pitch decks, Julian Shapiro shares the “secret ingredient” unifying them.

John Gannon shows how to use the power of AI to create professional VC reports with expert level insights.

😄 We’re feeling funny

💪Tech mafia of the week

Check out our interview with one of Klarna’s earliest employees - Jordan Olivas. We dive into how Klarna’s culture inspired his entrepreneurial journey and the challenges Klarna faced at the start.

A few interesting facts:

  • Klarna alumni have spun out 62 startups

  • Revolut alumni have produced 49 new startups

  • Wise and N26 tech mafias are at the forefront with around 33 alumni-founded startups each

The Fintech Founder Factory


The “Founder Factory” effect is alive and well in fintech.

Not are only are these unicorns dominating the market—they’re also producing alumni who go on to launch impactful startups of their own.

For example, Stripe alumni have founded successful startups like Pilot & Square alumni have started popular companies like Affirm and DoorDash.

📌 PIN tweet of the week

💼 Who’s hiring in VC?

Looking to get into VC? Below are this week’s curated VC job openings.

Altos Ventures is looking for a VC Investor.

Gold House is looking for a Portfolio Associate.

JP Morgan Chase is looking for a VC Associate.

Capital Factory is looking for a VC Analyst.

Forum Ventures is looking for a Senior VC Associate.

📠 Fun fact of the week

344 European and Israeli unicorns have collectively led to the creation of 1,018 tech startups by former employees since 2008 (via Dealroom data).

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