Investors are hunting for social media startups that can spark new connections and nurture existing ones. “Social media companies started based on connection,” Shawn Carolan, a partner at Menlo Ventures, said of the previous wave of giants like Facebook and Instagram. Carolan said these companies “evolved into media companies” and abandoned that connection. That leaves
The last century was fueled by oil and gas. Turner Caldwell is betting the next century runs on metals. “We’re entering a metals-driven economy,” said Caldwell, CEO and cofounder at Mariana Minerals, a software-focused mining startup. “Lithium and copper are going to be core, but our mandate needs to be broader than that. We’re starting
Travis Kalanick’s robotics company Atoms has raised $1.7 billion in a funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz. Ben Horowitz will join the company’s board of directors following the investment. Bain Capital, Fifth Wall and others participated in the round. Perhaps most notably, Uber also joined the funding round, reconnecting Kalanick with the company he founded,
Chemistry Ventures, the venture capital firm launched two years ago by Bessemer alumni Index Ventures and Andreessen Horowitz, is raising $500 million for its second fund, according to an SEC filing. Founded by Mark Goldberg, Ethan Kurzweil, and Kristina Shen, Chemistry launched with a $350 million fund and invests in early-stage startups building development tools,