PIN (Power in Numbers)

Top 5 funding rounds of the week: 📌 1. Series Entertainment - aims to create a new gaming platform based on generative AI Founded by: Pany Haritatos Raised: $28 million in Series A funding. Investors included Netflix, Dell Technologies Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, BITKRAFT, and F4 Fund. 📌 2. Wispr Flow - AI-powered voice dictation tool that integrates with various applications for text dictation, editing, and voice commands Founded by: Tanay Kothari Raised: $12 million in a funding round led by Matt Kraning, with NEA, 8VC, Tim Junio, and Alumni Ventures also contributing. 📌 3. Artisan - builds AI-based employees designed for sales teams Founded by: Jaspar Carmichael-Jack Raised: $7.3 million in seed funding led by Oliver Jung, with contributions from Sequoia Scout, Y Combinator, Soma Capital, BOND Capital, Anu Hariharan, Paul Daversa, Fellow’s Fund, and Mento VC. 📌 4. Loti - develops AI-powered tools to help businesses automate and optimize customer interactions Founded by: Luke Arrigoni Raised: $6.65 million in seed funding co-led by FUSE and Bling Capital, with additional investment from Khosla Ventures, K5 Tokyo Black, Ensemble, and AlphaEdison. 📌 5. Future Trash, Inc - creates competitive party games with unique characters that are designed to be played inside Fortnite Founded by: Kevin Marciano Raised: $5 million in seed funding co-led by TIRTA and General Catalyst. Congrats to all! 👏

The University of Washington's entrepreneurial ecosystem is thriving, and this week we’re taking a look at notable founders and companies from UW’s alumni group. Key facts about UW’s startup community: ➡ Alumni have founded 2,064 companies and raised $54 billion in funding ➡ The university’s CoMotion Labs incubator is a key driver of innovation ➡ UW ranks among the top universities for venture-backed entrepreneurs We dug deeper to highlight some of the founders and companies emerging from UW’s thriving startup scene. This is Part 1—stay tuned for Part 2 next week! Here are 10 companies founded by UW alumni: 📌 1. Aimerce Founder: Zhi Sun University of Washington: Master of Science in Information Management (2013-2015) 📌 2. PrizePool Founder: Joe Woo University of Washington: Bachelor’s in Computer Science (2005-2009) 📌 3. Moz Founder: Rand Fishkin University of Washington: None, Finance (1997-2001) 📌 4. Bye Aerospace, Inc. Founder: George E. Bye University of Washington: BS in Engineering (1976-1980) 📌 5. Sensoria Health Inc. Founders: Davide Vigano' & Mario Esposito University of Washington: Marketing, Direct Marketing & Advertising (1987-1988) 📌 6. PitchBook Founder: John Gabbert University of Washington: BA in Business, Concentrations in Finance & Marketing (1992-1996) 📌 7. MyOme Founder: Akash Kumar University of Washington: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Genetics (2010-2014) 📌 8. Occupier - We ❤️ Leases! Founder: 🏔 Erik Pearson University of Washington: Bachelor’s in Economics (2008-2012) 📌 9. OpenLattice Founder: Matthew Tamayo University of Washington: Master of Science in Applied Mathematics (2011-2017) 📌 10. Shipium Founder: Jason Murray University of Washington: Bachelor of Engineering (1992-1996) If there's anyone we've missed, please tag them below! ❗Quick plug: Are you a UW alumni member interested in bringing your community together to invest in innovative ventures (and enjoy potential profits and other perks along the way)? Or perhaps you're part of another dynamic group that could be a fantastic source of startup investments? 😉 Then sign up to our waitlist & newsletter for investors. https://www.getpin.xyz/ #startups #techmafia Link to full article in the comments.

This week in tech mafia news: University of Washington! Stay tuned to find out about the top companies founded by UW's alumni. Quick stats: 📌 $54B raised 📌 2,064 companies founded

Ever wanted to see what an a16z pitch deck to LPs looks like? (yes, even VCs have to pitch!) Andrew Chen, GP at a16z, shared the fundraising deck for a16z’s $660M GAMES FUND ONE. Key slides: 📌 1. Contextual overview of the industry: ↳ They framed the games industry as a powerful cultural force. Key examples included The Last of Us, Super Mario Movie, and Hogwarts Legacy. 📌 2. Technological relevance: ↳ Games as a driver for technological innovation (e.g., 3D, GPUs, virtual items) and a key player in emerging technologies like the metaverse and NFTs. 📌 3. “Why Now” slide: ↳ Emphasized the current tailwinds in the industry, like AI and its massive potential to reinvent core gameplay and tools. 📌 4. Investment focus: ↳ Initial focus on studios, Web3, and infrastructure, with a shift toward AI. This diversification showed their awareness of how to balance core areas with new opportunities. 📌 5. Operating team advantage: ↳ Highlighted the importance of their "games native" Operating Team, which helps portfolio companies with hiring, marketing, creators, and launching products. This was a significant differentiator, positioning a16z as a support-heavy fund. 📌 6. Strong hires from major companies: ↳ They showcased key hires from prominent gaming and entertainment companies like Supercell, YouTube, Riot, Twitch, and Unity to strengthen their operational team. 📌 7. Resilience in economic downturn: ↳ Emphasized how their operating team’s guidance helped portfolio companies navigate economic challenges, pointing to the resilience of the gaming market. 📌 8. Team mentality: ↳ A focus on a startup mindset within their team, with everyone acting as owners, and a willingness to innovate and adapt to challenges and opportunities. 📌 9. Call to join: ↳ They closed the deck by inviting others to join their initiative. Check it out >>>> #fundraising #limitedpartners #venturecapital #VC #founders #speedrun #gaming #web3 #funding #startups #investor #pitchdeck #LPdeck

9 startups that stood out on YC Demo Day 2: 📌 1. Entangl (YC S24) What it does: Detects errors in engineering projects, proposes solutions and can even implement them itself Founded by: Shapol M. and Antanas Žilinskas 📌 2. Exa Laboratories What it does: Energy-efficient chips for AI  Founded by: Elias Almqvist 📌 3. Kopra Bio What it does: Developing an autoimmune therapy that kills cancer Founded by: Andrew Bartynski, Alexander Haddad 📌 4. LedgerUp What it does: AI bookkeeper for startups Founded by: Joseph Johnson, Bailey Spell 📌 5. OrgOrg (YC S24) What it does: Offers a suite of productivity apps for growing organizations Founded by: Wayne Crosby 📌 6. Oway What it does: Carpooling for freight Founded by: Phillip Nadjafov 📌 7. Silurian AI What it does: Foundational model for predicting the weather Founded by: Jayesh K. Gupta Ph. D, Mark Baum, Nikhil Shankar, and Cristian Bodnar 📌 8. Theseus    What it does: Develops unjammable drones Founded by: Ian Laffey, Sacha Lévy, and Carl Schoeller 📌 9. XTraffic What it does: Reduces congestion and accidents with smart traffic lights Founded by: Everett Ivy, Luke Adams, Brian Payne Make sure to keep an eye on these up and coming startups! 🚀

Top 5 funding rounds of the week: 📌 1. Distyl AI - Develops AI-powered tools to automate complex workflows for large enterprises across industries like retail, healthcare, and manufacturing. Founded by: Arjun Prakash and Derek Ho Raised: $20 million in Series A funding. Previous investor Coatue participated in the round. 📌2. Jump - Provides freelancers access to benefits such as health insurance, sick leave, and retirement plans, typically reserved for full-time employees. Founded by: Nicolas Fayon Raised: $12.2 million in Series A funding. Investors included Breega, Index Ventures, and Raise Ventures. 📌 3. Letta - Helps AI models remember users and conversations, emerging from UC Berkeley’s startup factory. Founded by: Sarah Wooders and Charles Packer Raised: $10 million in seed funding led by Felicis’ Astasia Myers, with participation from Google’s Jeff Dean, Hugging Face’s Clem Delangue, Runway’s Cristóbal Valenzuela, and Anyscale’s Robert Nishihara. 📌 4. Ephos - Designs and manufactures glass-based photonic chips for applications like quantum computing, telecommunications, and high-speed data transfer. Founded by: Andrea Rocchetto Raised: $8.5 million in seed funding. Investors included Starlight Ventures, Collaborative Fund, Exor Ventures, 2100 Ventures, and Unruly Capital. 📌 5. Scribenote - AI-powered software designed for veterinarians to assist with note-taking and administrative tasks. Founded by: Ryan Gallagher Raised: $8.2 million in seed funding led by Andreessen Horowitz, with participation from Inovia Capital and the Velocity Fund. Congrats to everyone on the fresh funding! 👏

Part 2 of our Columbia University Mafia series is here! You prob know it as one of the most prestigious academic institutions in the U.S. It has also produced some of the most successful founders and startups in recent years. Some key facts about Colombia's entrepreneurial community: ➡️ Alumni have founded 3,232 companies & raised $93B  ➡️ Columbia Startup Lab is one of the oldest incubators in the U.S. ➡️ The university ranks among the top for producing venture-backed entrepreneurs We dug deeper to highlight some of the founders and companies emerging from Columbia’s Mafia. Here are 10 companies founded by Columbia alumni: 📌1. Odyssey Therapeutics Founder: Gary D. Glick Columbia University: PhD, Organic Chemistry (1983-1988) 📌2. SiliconBox Founder: BJ Han Columbia University: PhD 📌3. Human Longevity, Inc. Founder: Robert Hariri, MD, PhD Columbia University: A.B., Biological Anthropology (1976-1980) 📌4. Scorpion Therapeutics Founder: Gary D. Glick Columbia University: PhD, Organic Chemistry (1983-1988) 📌5. Tempo Founder: Joshua Augustin Columbia University: B.S., Computer Science (2013-2015) 📌 6. LifeMine Therapeutics Founder: Greg Verdine Columbia University: PhD, Chemistry (1981-1986) 📌 7. Odeko Founder: Dane Atkinson Columbia University: (1991-1993) 📌 8. BrightFarms Founder: Ted Caplow Columbia University: PhD, Environmental Engineering (2001-2004) 📌 9. Alloy Founder: Laura Spiekerman Columbia University: B.A., Political Science (2004-2008) 📌 10. Refinery29 Founder: Philippe von Borries Columbia University: — If there's anyone we've missed, please tag them below! ❗Quick plug: Are you a Columbia alumni member interested in bringing your community together to invest in innovative ventures (and enjoy potential profits and other perks along the way)? Or perhaps you're part of another dynamic group that could be a fantastic source of startup investments? 😉 Then sign up to our waitlist & newsletter for investors. https://www.getpin.xyz/ #columbiaalumni #startups #techmafia Link to full article in the comments.

Last week we covered Part 1 of our Columbia University Mafia series. Stay tuned for Part 2 this week. Quick sneak peek in case you missed the stats: 📌 3,232 companies founded 📌 $93 billion raised

Adam Nash, CEO of Daffy, is an influential leader in the fintech industry. ➡ Previously, he was the CEO of Wealthfront, where he helped revolutionize automated investment. ➡ He served as VP of Product and Growth at Dropbox. Adam Nash is also an active startup investor, here are some of his top investments: 🚀 Gusto (valued at $10B) 🚀 Figma (valued at $10B) 🚀 Varda Space Industries (valued at $500M) 🚀 Pinwheel (valued at $500M) 🚀 Titan (valued at $450M) 🚀 Column Tax (raised at $26.8M) 🚀 Atoms (raised at $18.7M) Those are some 🔥 investments right there!

What do the most successful venture capital firms have in common? Swipe to see 8 key lessons from top VCs >>> Subscribe to our weekly newsletter for investors for more! Link in the comments 👇