Whatever you think of Sam Altman’s ouster-then-return to and from OpenAI, you can’t deny it was Shakespearean. A standoff between warring factions, entwining plot lines, and, at the center, a person who has power that’s hard to take away: “There is no fettering of authority,” the Bard writes in All’s Well That Ends Well.
Altman’s influence now is undeniable–but that doesn’t mean he’s not uncontroversial. It was the question “Should Sam Altman be running OpenAI?” That elicited some of the most visceral responses in Semaphore’s 16th annual confidence survey of private equity, venture capital, hedge fund, and other professionals. (Semaphore is a firm that takes over troubled private equity, venture capital, and hedge funds on behalf of limited partners.)
About 78% of more than 1,400 respondents (marking record-high participation) said that, yes, Altman should be running OpenAI.
The striking thing about the question, brainstormed by my colleague Jessica Mathews, is that it’s successfully about the past, present, and future. Should Altman have been initially fired? Should he have been subsequently re-hired? And should he specifically be leading the charge into our AI future?
Though most of you believe strongly in Altman, reader comments were fervent in both directions.
Here are a few other highlights from this year’s Sempahore survey, which looks to measure how dealmakers are thinking (and feeling) about the industry:
–40% of respondents had confidence in the U.S. National economy with 19% not confident
–12% of respondents had confidence in the international economy with 40% not confident
–82% of respondents have confidence in themselves with 1% not confident
–68% of respondents said that sexual misconduct, harassment, and gender bias are a problem in our industry, while 32% said it’s not
–51% of respondents said that structural racism is an inherent problem in our industry, while 49% said it’s not
PE earnings season…It’s a big week of private equity earnings. On Tuesday, KKR beat on the top and bottom lines, as the overall market and the firm’s fee-related earnings climbed. On Wednesday, Carlyle beat analysts’ expectations, sending shares climbing as much as 9%. Apollo’s reporting today before the bell.
One last thing…Coins2Day’s Leadership Next podcast just dropped a new episode with Sequoia senior steward Roelof Botha, in which he talks extensively about AI, the state of VC, and why VC “is not an asset class.” On that point, a quote for the interested: “There’s too much money in the venture capital industry. It is not an asset class. So it’s clearly affected us because there was a period in 2021 where…everybody thought it was easy to make money in venture capital, and it’s not.” You can listen here.
See you tomorrow,
Allie Garfinkle
Twitter: @agarfinks
Email: [email protected]
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Joe Abrams curated the deals section of today’s newsletter.
VENTURE DEALS
- ZEDEDA, a San Jose, Calif.-based edge AI and computing company, raised $72 million in Series C funding. Smith Point Capital led the round and was joined by Hillman Company, LDV Partners, Endeavor Catalyst Fund, and others.
- Mechanical Orchard, a San Francisco-based provider of services designed to modernize IT systems and move them onto the cloud, raised $24 million in Series A funding. Emergence Capital led the round and was joined by Industry Ventures, Spider Capital, Bloomberg Beta, Cendana Capital, and Webb Investment Network.
- Daedalus, a Karlsruhe, Germany-based company using AI to build precision parts factories, raised $21 million in Series A funding. NGP Capital led the round and was joined by Addition and Khosla Ventures.
- Overflow, a San Francisco-based giving and donation platform that allows users to give cryptocurrency, stock, and other assets, raised $20 million in Series B funding. Wesleyan Investment Foundation led the round and was joined by Uncork, R7, and TheGP.
- Polycam, a San Francisco-based 3D image creation tool for smartphones, raised $18 million in Series A funding. Left Lane Capital and Adjacent led the round and was joined by Adobe Ventures and angel investors.
- Jow, a Paris, France-based personal grocery shopping platform, raised $13 million in a Series A extension. Northzone led the round and was joined by existing investor Eurazeo.
- Greyparrot, a London, U.K.-based AI-powered analytics platform for the waste industry, raised $12.8 million in funding from Bollegraaf.
- Amperesand, a Singapore-based grid infrastructure solutions provider, raised $12.5 million in seed funding. Xora Innovation and Material Impact led the round and were joined by TDK Ventures and Foothill Ventures.
- Code, a Waterloo, Calif.-based micropayments platform, raised $6.5 million in seed funding. M13 led the round and was joined by Union Square Ventures.
- Galileo AI, a San Francisco-based generative AI tool designed to turn text prompts into user interface designs, raised $4.4 million in seed funding. Khosla Ventures led the round and was joined by angel investors.
- AI.Fashion, a Los Angeles, Calif.-based platform for virtual fashion photoshoots and image customization, raised $3.6 million in seed funding. Neo led the round and was joined by Swift and Y Combinator.
PRIVATE EQUITY
- BitGo, backed by Focus Opportunity Fund and Valor Equity Partners, acquired Brassica, a remote-based provider of alternative asset investment infrastructure. Financial terms were not disclosed.
- Duetto, a portfolio company of Warburg Pincus, acquired Micerate, a Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany-based provider of pricing and online booking tools for meetings and event spaces. Financial terms were not disclosed.
- Exponent agreed to acquire Chanelle Pharma, a Galway, Ireland-based manufacturer of generic pharmaceuticals. Financial terms were not disclosed.
- Marco Rubber & Plastics, a portfolio company of Align Capital Partners, acquired Allied Metrics O-Rings & Seals, a Naples, Fla.-based distributor of O-rings, seals, and gaskets. Financial terms were not disclosed.
- Millpond Equity Partners acquired a majority stake in Galileo Education, a Franklin, Tenn.-based K-12 education provider. Financial terms were not disclosed.
- Swell Energy, backed by Carbon to Clean, acquired Renu Energy Solutions, a Charlotte, N.C.-based installer of solar energy systems. Financial terms were not disclosed.
OTHER
- Entrust is in exclusive talks to acquire Onfido, a London, U.K.-based provider of AI-powered digital identity solutions, for more than $400 million, per TechCrunch.
IPOS
- The Fortegra Group, a Jacksonville, Fla.-based specialty insurance company, withdrew their plans for an IPO worth up to $324 million.
FUNDS + FUNDS OF FUNDS
- Coalesce Capital, a New York City-based private equity firm, raised $900 million for its first fund focused on tech-enabled services and human capital-driven companies.
- Scion Life Sciences, a New York City-based venture capital firm, raised $310 million for its first fund focused on biotechnology companies developing new medicines.
- Northleaf Capital Partners, a Toronto, Canada-based private investment firm, raised $212 million for its first growth equity fund focused on companies in the technology and health care sectors.
- Voyager Ventures, a San Francisco and New York City-based venture capital firm, raised $100 million for its second fund and first opportunity fund, focused on software, hardware, and biotech companies with decarbonization efforts.
PEOPLE
- CapitalG, a San Francisco-based growth fund, promoted Alex Nichols and Mo Jomaa to partner, hired Jane Alexander as a partner, and promoted Manmeet Gujral and Kelly Barton to vice president. Formerly, Alexander was with Carta.
- Ethos Capital, a Boston, Mass.-based private equity firm, hired Brent Stone as a managing partner. Formerly, he was with Abry Partners.
- Harmony Partners, a New York City-based venture capital firm, promoted Clemens Baumgart to partner.
- Vision Ridge Partners, a Boulder, Colo.-based investment firm, promoted Rob van Es to partner and Christina Scalzo to managing director.
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