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Startup News
Insider
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Meet Glean, the enterprise AI search company that's so powerful Sam Altman deemed it a threat to OpenAI
- Glean, the AI search company that helps corporate workers find information across their companies' tools and data, raised over $260 million at a valuation of $4.6 billion. It integrates across multiple software apps and retrieves relevant answers. Glean enables AI search by integrating apps like, Slack and Dropbox and powers search across their company's universe of data.
- Founded in 2019 by Rubrik cofounder and ex-Googler Arvind Jain, Glean hit $50 million ARR over the summer and is projected to end this year with $100 million ARR, according to a source familiar with the company's financials. It is projected to hit $250 million by the end of next year, according to a source.
- Following OpenAI's latest $6.6 billion fundraise, CEO Sam Altman insisted investors avoid investing in five AI competitors, reported Reuters. Among them are Anthropic, Elon Musk's xAI, OpenAI cofounder Ilya Sutskever's Safe Superintelligence, and AI search startup Perplexity. The last of the five rivals, and perhaps the least well-known, is Glean, an enterprise search assistant.
- Jain previously founded Rubrik, a public cybersecurity company, and was an engineer at Google. Jain was one of Google's first distinguished engineers and reported directly to Google's founding CEO Larry Page. Although engineering was accidental, the desire to become an entrepreneur was deliberate.
- Glean helps businesses use AI by tackling a core function for employees—search. With so much data, it's difficult for employees to find what they're looking for. This can add up to over two hours a day, said Jain. Altimeter and DST Global co-led the latest round, which also included Sapphire Ventures, Sequoia, Coatue, and Kleiner Perkins.
- Glean's initial focus was search. Enterprise search is a "hard lift and a hard build," said Kleiner Perkins' Mamoon Hamid. "It's seemingly easy, but actually quite hard to build all the different connectors to different SaaS products and then build search itself."
- Glean's product, prevents users from accessing information that they're not meant to see, such as confidential financials or HR reports. Large language models (LLMs) helped boost Glean's capabilities even further. With LLMs, Glean can also generate answers in response to employee queries, including entirely new documents.
- "We had the opportunity to build Google for people in their work lives," and with that, Glean was born. "I have a very firm belief that companies win or lose because of themselves, not because of competition," said Jain.
- Jain grew up in Jaipur, an Indian city, and, excelled in math and physics. He moved to the US to earn a master's in computer science at the University of Washington. He joined Google in 2003 and worked on Google Maps, YouTube, and Google Search. Jain was far from the world of technology growing up, but his father owned "a bunch of small businesses…so he was also an entrepreneur in that sense," said Jain.
- "Even when you're playing table tennis, ping pong, or tennis, he will fight for that point," said Deedy Das, who led product development at Glean and now works at Menlo Ventures. "He doesn't care who you are. You could be a new grad; he doesn't care. He's going to fight for the point."
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TechBullion
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The Startup Culture in Northern Virginia: What Makes It Unique?
- The Northern Virginia area is becoming a growing hotspot for young entrepreneurs with a strong startup culture, building a creative and exciting space for new ideas and businesses.
- The first contributing factor to Northern Virginia’s startup success is the number of skilled workers in the region due to the proximity to universities like George Mason, Virginia Tech, and UVA, and the fact that local startups offer internships and real-world experiences to build these skills.
- Northern Virginia’s location near Washington, D.C. creates many unique business opportunities for startups to connect with federal agencies and even create niche tech solutions designed specifically for government needs.
- The area has several incubators and accelerators such as MACH37 and the Center for Innovative Technology offering mentorship and resources for tech startups.
- The startup community in Northern Virginia is very diverse, with unique ideas and perspectives from people all over the world leading to the creation of creative solutions that reach a variety of audiences.
- Northern Virginia is more affordable than places like San Francisco or New York, with lower costs for office spaces and housing, as well as tax breaks and grants for small businesses provided by the state of Virginia.
- Tech-friendly hubs like Arlington’s Ballston and Tysons Corner encourage collaboration and creativity by providing co-working spaces and innovation labs where startups can rent office space and share resources.
- Access to funding is another critical factor for startups, and Northern Virginia has many options with local venture capital firms, angel investors, and private equity groups actively investing in the region’s startups.
- Northern Virginia has a strong focus on cybersecurity and government tech, with many startups in the area developing secure tech solutions specifically for federal agencies. This focus attracts talent and builds credibility for startups in the area.
- Finally, Northern Virginia’s startup culture places a strong sense of community at its core, emphasizing the importance of helping others to achieve success as a group rather than individual gain.
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Medium
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“Why Greatness Cannot be Planned”
- The book titled 'Why Greatness Cannot be Planned' by Joel Lehman and Kenneth Stanley is a self-help book disguised as a computer science research exposition.
- The book discusses the importance of luck and networking in achieving success, highlighting that hard work and intelligence are not the only factors.
- Joel Lehman and Kenneth Stanley are researchers in computational evolution and artificial intelligence respectively, and the book is published by Springer Verlag.
- The book challenges the notion that success can be planned and provides insights into the role of unpredictability in achieving greatness.
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SiliconCanals
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Meet the notable energy transition and circular economy startups in the larger Rotterdam region
- Energy transition and circular economy are global movements aimed at promoting sustainable practices.
- A significant number of startups across the globe are aligning their business models with these concepts.
- Rotterdam has positioned itself as a hydrogen hub, and it has introduced the world's first hydrogen-powered water taxis.
- The city encourages circular initiatives by creating roadmaps and improving the investment climate for sustainable green initiatives.
- Researchers, businesses, and government institutions work together on projects focused on energy transition, digitalisation, and circularity.
- Up!Rotterdam supports startups and helps them scale up their businesses by providing them access to capital, talent, and new markets.
- Notable startups in Rotterdam include Battolyser Systems, Solarduck, Gradyent, Rocsys, CarbonX, Skoon Energy, The Ocean Cleanup, Meatable, Paebbl, Pryme, Valyuu, and Loop Biotech.
- These companies are working in areas such as cleantech, offshore floating solar, hands-free charging for electric vehicles, carbon capture, circular economy, and biodegradable funeral products.
- Valyuu is a marketplace that helps people buy and sell used electronic devices in different categories, and offers a 'product passport' for each product.
- Loop Biotech is providing sustainable coffin, urn, and carrier made from upcycled hemp and mycelium, the underground root network of mushrooms.
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Medium
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The GTM Myth: Why Product-Led vs. Sales-Led is a False Dilemma
- High-growth startups are adopting a hybrid GTM approach that combines the advantages of product-led growth (PLG) and sales-led growth (SLG).
- PLG offers a low-cost, high-reach entry point into markets, but it can result in high churn rates and lower-quality leads.
- SLG prioritizes high-touch interactions with decision-makers and provides stable, high-quality revenue, but it can be costly and time-intensive.
- The best approach is to integrate both PLG and SLG, leveraging PLG for reach and SLG for retention and profitability, creating a powerful growth engine.
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Eu-Startups
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Tallinn-based Modash raises €11 million to help consumer brands scale creator partnerships
- Modash, a creator partnerships platform, has raised €11 million in Series A funding.
- The funds will be used for engineering and product improvements, including global influencer payment solution and AI-enabled creator search.
- Modash's platform allows brands to search through 250 million content creators and influencers, manage outreach and communication, and measure creator performance.
- The funding will also support the expansion of a customer-facing team in North America to better serve users in those time zones.
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Inc42
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How Ex-BharatPe CPO’s AI Startup Is Set To Change The Face Of Indian Healthcare
- Ankush Jain, former CPO of BharatPe, has launched an AI conversational platform called Jivi in India to help patients diagnose their illnesses independently based on their symptoms.
- Jivi has partnered with TATA 1mg for telemedicine and lab testing and claims to provide a basic healthcare screening for diseases like diabetes, tuberculosis and migraine.
- Jivi also allows users to check their heart rates and emotional well-being, and can also assist radiologists in making faster and more accurate decisions.
- Founder Ankush Jain has experience in AI from his previous roles with Walmart Labs and his own travel tech startup, Instalocate.
- Jivi's proprietary AI model, called Jivi MedX, was built using existing open-source LLMs and trained using an extensive, exclusive medical dataset.
- Jivi aims to monetise by earning a commission for user referrals to online marketplaces, licensing Jivi AI software to hospitals and doctors, and building an LLM for insurance companies.
- Jivi's investor and third co-founder, Andrew Ng, an AI research pioneer, provides global insights necessary for a global-scale expansion.
- Jain believes Jivi has a big ace up its sleeve in the form of Andrew Ng, which sets it apart from direct competitors in the AI-led healthcare space.
- However, as healthcare is a tightly regulated space, it remains to be seen how Jivi will walk a tightrope between regulation and innovation.
- The Jivi AI model is expected to launch fully in early 2022, after further fine-tuning.
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SiliconCanals
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Founder-VC relationship: This isn’t tango but a high-octane salsa
- Theodore Rozencwajg, Co-founder and CCO of D2X, Matthijs Huiskamp, Founder and CEO of Altura, and Mitch Voskuilen, Founder and CEO of Billy Grace share how VCs helped them in their journey and challenges faced.
- The motivation to raise funding from a VC was primarily to accelerate startup growth. The startup needs a partner who understands the vision and can add strategic value.
- It is important to choose VCs who can support recruitment and beyond the initial funding stage. VCs that help with sales and marketing have an advantage.
- A strong personal connection is a key selection criterion for startups when choosing a VC.
- The way of working with VCs depends on the stage of the startup. The later the stage, the less interaction startups have with their VCs.
- Friction happens in moments of disagreement, for example, during a fundraise. A transparent and open line of communication between the founder and VC partner is key to being a success.
- According to Investment Director Wouter Goossens, the founder-VC relationship starts with trust and transparency.
- VCs not only bring money but also expertise and network and help founders scale their businesses or steer them towards the right path.
- Monthly check-ins or specific strategy sessions to overcome challenges or explore opportunities are held to maintain a collaborative, supportive relationship.
- Avoid surrounding yourself with 'cheerleaders' and look for VCs that dare to challenge and help you to see things you may not see.
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Economic Times
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Image Credit: Economic Times
Businesses expect resounding sales as Diwali shoppers balance budget and big expectations
- As Diwali shoppers throng shops and malls to buy that perfect gift, businesses are expecting 'resounding sales'.
- From dinner sets to electronic gadgets, and even digital gift cards, options are endless for the shoppers who have to balance budgets with expectations.
- Companies like Surya Roshni and Bikano expect '30 percent more sales' in this festive season.
- Gift cards have become quite popular among buyers in recent times, because of the convenience of use and enticing discounts.
- Alcohol brands are witnessing growing demand and bumper sales. Last year, according to figures by the excise department, 6.4 million liquor bottles worth about INR 1.21bn were bought by people in Delhi in just three days during the festival of light.
- Swizzle, a Mocktail brand, has recorded an uptick of 25% in the sales last month.
- Many people are now opting to gift exclusive staycations in five-star hotels instead of delivering a package to their loved ones.
- The Claridges is offering packages starting at Rs 20,000 inclusive of breakfast, one major meal, and an option to extend the stay.
- The festive season has always been the favourite time of the year for businesses with leading players in the online and offline retail sector expecting to see an increase in resounding sales.
- Online marketplace Snapdeal witnessed a '1.8X growth' in order volumes during the festive sale with categories like women's fashion, children's fashion, and home decor recording the highest increase.
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SiliconCanals
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Belgian 3D animation software startup Swoove Studios raises €6.9M after its US launch
- Belgian 3D animation software startup Swoove Studios has raised €6.9M in a seed funding round led by European angel investors.
- The latest funding takes Swoove's total raised to €10.1M.
- Swoove Studios is scaling across Europe and recently launched in the US.
- The company is also exploring strategic options, including a growth investment or a complete business sale.
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Medium
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How to Get Started with Data Scraping: A Guide for Developers and Startup Founders
- Data scraping is extracting data from websites and organizing it for further analysis or integration into applications.
- For developers, data scraping automates data collection, turning online information into structured, usable datasets.
- Understanding website structure helps in choosing the right tools for efficient data collection.
- Dynamic websites require headless browsers like Puppeteer or Selenium to render JavaScript and access data-loaded elements.
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Yourstory
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Microsoft posts double-digit Q1 earnings growth, but signals slowdown in cloud services
- Microsoft posted double-digit growth in both revenue and earnings for Q1 FY25.
- The company's overall cloud revenue increased by 22% YoY.
- However, Microsoft forecasted slower growth in the cloud business, which led to a decline in investor sentiment.
- Microsoft continues to focus on AI and its partnership with OpenAI.
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Startup Pedia
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How Four Ex-Colleagues Transformed Their Passion For Learning Into A ₹32 Crore Turnover Biz
- Learning Routes, a Gurgaon-based start-up, offers a range of customized recommendations for college counseling and programs.
- Four former Mumbai-based EdTech company colleagues decided to create something big with an online education marketplace designed with the student's best interests at its core.
- Learning Routes is committed to creating a different kind of company culture that prioritizes student satisfaction over sales targets.
- The platform goes beyond the traditional education marketplace, offering free courses and counseling with live webinars and expert panels, enabled by the company's use of AI to streamline the college search process.
- LR has reached over 10,000 students and aims to become India’s largest online marketplace for college search, comparison, and admissions.
- They plan to partner with offline and international colleges, collaborate with corporations to design industry-specific courses, and offer affordable marketing and tech stack services for smaller players.
- Learning Routes is open to strategic funding, seeking investors who can contribute not just financial resources but also technical expertise.
- Their commitment to providing quality online higher education accessible to all, regardless of a student’s economic background, has contributed to their success.
- Their journey demonstrates what can be achieved with a clear vision and resilience.
- Learning Routes' use of AI-driven tools to streamline the college search process simplifies the decision-making process for today's students.
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StartupDaily
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Geek Girl Academy hunts for $2 million as it looks to relaunch with a focus on AI
- Geek Girl Academy is looking to relaunch with a focus on AI and is seeking $2 million in funding.
- The organization aims to drive safe and inclusive careers in the digital workforce and provide education programs for the technology sector.
- Co-founder Lisy Kane is determined to combat the challenges faced by women in tech and is calling for greater support for tech education.
- Kane has started a Change.org petition to garner support from the Australian government, philanthropic bodies, and private sector leaders.
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StartupDaily
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Girl Geek Academy hunts for $2 million as it looks to relaunch with a focus on AI
- Girl Geek Academy, co-founded by Lisy Kane, is seeking $2 million to relaunch its AI program, AI High, and promote safe and inclusive careers in the digital workforce.
- Recent events in the tech industry have made it harder for women to pursue careers in technology, with scandals involving inappropriate behavior damaging the reputation of the sector.
- Kane is calling for greater support for tech education, specifically for programs aimed at supporting women in the tech sector.
- A Change.org petition has been launched to urge the Australian government, philanthropic bodies, and private sector leaders to invest in education that welcomes all genders and supports initiatives like Girl Geek Academy's AI High program.
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