Latest news with #AndreessenHorowitz
Yahoo
19 minutes ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Cluely, a startup that helps ‘cheat on everything,' raises $15M from a16z
Cluely, a startup that claims to help users 'cheat' on job interviews, exams, and sales calls, has raised a $15 million Series A led by Andreessen Horowitz, the company announced on Friday with a video posted on X. Two investors who were not part of the deal tell TechCrunch they believe Cluely's post-money valuation is around $120 million. Andreessen Horowitz declined to comment on that figure. Lee didn't respond to a request for comment. Cluely's new funding comes roughly two months after it raised $5.3 million in seed funding co-led by Abstract Ventures and Susa Ventures. The startup was co-founded earlier this year by 21-year-old 'Roy' Lee and Neel Shanmugam, who were suspended from Columbia University for developing an undetectable AI-powered tool called 'Interview Coder' to help engineers cheat on technical interviews. Cluely is profitable, according to Lee's multiple posts on X and podcast appearances. Lee's provocative social media presence and highly produced controversial videos have helped to draw attention and create brand awareness for Cluely. In April, for example, as TechCrunch previously reported, Cluely published a slick but polarizing launch video of Lee using a hidden AI assistant to lie to a woman about his age, and even his knowledge of art, on a date at a fancy restaurant. Earlier this week, Cluely was hoping to throw a large party following Y Combinator's AI Startup School, a two-day event. But the police shut down the festivities after around 2,000 people tried to enter the venue, Lee told TechCrunch. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
TechCrunch
33 minutes ago
- Business
- TechCrunch
Mira Murati's Thinking Machines Lab closes on $2B at $10B valuation
In Brief Thinking Machines Lab, the secretive AI startup founded by OpenAI's former chief technology officer Mira Murati, has closed a $2 billion seed round, according to The Financial Times. The deal values the six-month-old startup at $10 billion. The company's work remains unclear. The startup has leveraged Murati's reputation and other high-profile AI researchers who have joined the team to attract investors in what could be the largest seed round in history. According to sources familiar with the deal cited by the FT, Andreessen Horowitz led the round, with participation from Sarah Guo's Conviction Partners. Murati left OpenAI last September after leading the development of some of the company's most prominent AI products, including ChatGPT, DALL-E, and voice mode. Several of her former OpenAI colleagues have joined the new startup, including co-founder John Schulman. Murati is one of a handful of executives who left OpenAI after raising concerns about CEO Sam Altman's leadership in 2023. When the board ousted Altman in November of that year, Murati served as interim CEO before Altman was quickly reinstated.
CNA
7 hours ago
- Business
- CNA
Travel tech firm Navan confidentially files for US IPO
Corporate travel and expense company Navan said on Friday it had confidentially filed for a U.S. initial public offering, as it looks to take advantage of growing investor optimism for new listings after a dry spell. The terms of the offering were not disclosed. The Palo Alto, California-based company, backed by Andreessen Horowitz and Lightspeed among others, raised $304 million in equity and structured debt financing in 2022 and was valued at $9.2 billion at the time, according to the company. Activity in the U.S. IPO market, which started the year on a slower footing, has shown signs of a sustained revival in recent weeks after a couple of fresh flotations received overwhelming investor support. The technology sector has been dominating the U.S. IPO headlines in the recent revival along with finance, with companies such as space and defence tech firm Voyager Technologies and adtech MNTN making stellar debuts. Chime Financial's shares also surged in one of the most hotly anticipated New York debuts of the month, paving the path for public offerings of a few big names like crypto exchange Gemini and fintech firm Klarna later in the year. "We do see the IPO pipeline building, and forecast an active fall (season)," said Matt Kennedy, senior strategist at Renaissance Capital, a provider of IPO-focused research and ETFs. "In addition to the core institutional IPO buyers, who are looking for strong growth, profitability, and reasonable valuations, it's healthy to see traders looking to get in on a hot deal," Kennedy added. Navan, founded in 2015 as TripActions, began as a corporate travel management platform aiming to streamline services offered by traditional players such as American Express and SAP Concur. It later expanded into corporate payments and expense management.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
No, Andreessen Horowitz didn't post that crypto scam tweet
For some tense minutes on Wednesday, X users were surprised to see one of those crypto 'airdrop' posts on Andreessen Horowitz's blue check-marked account. A second tweet said that $5 million had already been given away. That account has 851,000 followers. A member of a16z's crypto team saw the tweet and immediately posted a warning not to engage. X quickly took down the post. Airdrops are usually used as ways for cryptocurrencies to promote themselves. a16z tells TechCrunch, and posted on the account: 'Earlier today, our X account was briefly compromised. During that time, the account promoted a token and other fake content — none of which originated from a16z. Apologies for any confusion caused by the clowns who temporarily took over our account.' Andreessen Horowitz is well known for its crypto investments. Because this is a crypto-loving firm, jokes and warning tweets flew: The link would likely drain a crypto wallet, not add to it. So, if it sounds too good to be true — like a VC giving away valuable assets — it isn't true. Here's what the scam tweets looked like: Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
TechCrunch
2 days ago
- Business
- TechCrunch
No, Andreessen Horowitz didn't post that crypto scam tweet
In Brief For some tense minutes on Wednesday, X users were surprised to see one of those crypto 'airdrop' posts on Andreessen Horowitz's blue check-marked account. A second tweet said that $5 million had already been given away. That account has 851,000 followers. A member of a16z's crypto team saw the tweet and immediately posted a warning not to engage. X quickly took down the post. Airdrops are usually used as ways for cryptocurrencies to promote themselves. a16z tells TechCrunch, and posted on the account: 'Earlier today, our X account was briefly compromised. During that time, the account promoted a token and other fake content — none of which originated from a16z. Apologies for any confusion caused by the clowns who temporarily took over our account.' a16z is well known for its crypto investments. Because this is a crypto-loving firm, jokes and warning tweets flew: The link would likely drain a crypto wallet, not add to it. So, if it sounds too good to be true — like a VC giving away valuable assets — it isn't true. Here's what the scam tweets looked like:
