Hi, it’s Alexandra Sternlicht filling in for Allie today. Figma’s sensational IPO last week resurrected longstanding debates about IPO pricing and first day pops—an unsurprising reaction to the newly listed stock’s 333% surge in its first days of trading. As investors dissect the offering (and as Figma’s stock settles back a bit, falling 27% on Monday), an equally important…
Fifteen years ago, Dylan Field was a freshman computer science student at Brown University. On Thursday, the company he started in college and now runs, Figma, made its blockbuster debut on the New York Stock Exchange, marking the largest U.S. venture-capital-backed tech IPO in four years. Figma’s stock surged 250% on its debut, making it…
The first time Danny Rimer laid eyes on Dylan Field, Field was just 18 years old. Then, Field was an intern at the buzzy startup Flipboard. Field gave a presentation to the startup’s board, self-assuredly outlining his research about the features users loved and which ones flopped. Rimer, a partner at Index Ventures since 2002,…
Star founders, Beijing officials and deep-pocketed financiers converge on Shanghai by the thousands this weekend to attend China’s most important AI summit. At the top of the agenda: how to propel Beijing’s ambitions to leapfrog the US in artificial intelligence — and profit off that drive. The World Artificial Intelligence Conference, which has featured Elon…
The internet trend is simple: A friend or family member looks into the camera and tells viewers, in a slightly aggressive tone, that they are about to witness a presentation and that they better be nice. That’s what Kendall, the sister of Lucious McDaniel IV, did, and after she stepped aside, her brother pitched his…
Elon Musk’s xAI has signed an important new customer: the U.S. government. The two-year old AI company—most recently in the news when its chatbot praised Hitler—said in a blog post Monday that it has launched a new division, called “Grok with Government” and signed a contract worth up to $200 million with the Department of…
Chinese AI startup Zhipu is considering shifting its planned initial public offering to Hong Kong instead of mainland China, according to people with knowledge of the matter, adding to a dealmaking boom in the city. Zhipu, whose backers include Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Tencent Holdings Ltd., is working with financial advisers on a potential…
It’s making waves! A new AI-powered app is giving expecting parents the chance to literally feel their unborn baby’s heartbeat through gentle vibrations on their phone. Trellis Health‘s “heartbeat feature” might sound spookily futuristic, but it delivers the opportunity for parents-to-be to experience their baby’s pulse in their palm anytime they like. Trellis Health’s new…
Manus is hiring more than 20 people for Singapore while shrinking its operations in Beijing and Wuhan, months after the Chinese-founded AI pioneer secured the backing of a prominent Silicon Valley investor. The startup has laid off dozens of China-based staff and is preparing to shift many of those roles to the island nation, according…
Melinda French Gates doesn’t want to raise a nepo baby. The ex-wife of Bill Gates and longtime philanthropist, with a net worth of $31 billion, said she refused to fund her daughter’s startup. “I have a daughter who just started a business this year,” said French Gates, 60, during a recent talk with tennis legend…