Founders Fund hires former OpenAI exec Ryan Beiermeister (and not because of her ‘Mafia’ skills)

Ryan Beiermeister, who demonstrated cool analysis in the Founders Fund YouTube series “Mafia,” has joined the firm as a partner.

AI-powered travel agency Fora hits unicorn status, raises $60M

Travel agency Fora announced a $60 million Series D round led by Forerunner and Tactile Ventures, valuing the company at $1 billion. 

Why Greylock capped its new fund at $1.5B when it says it could have raised more

By keeping the number of investments to about 25 per fund, Greylock aims to remain what it calls “the most important partner” to its founders.

David Beckham’s health drink startup IM8 takes $1B from General Catalyst’s unusual CVF fund

General Catalyst’s Customer Value Fund doesn’t make equity investments. It’s providing $1 billion for IM8, known for its longevity vitamin drink.

Hermes agent maker Nous Research in talks for new funding at $1.5B valuation

The company is raising at least $75 million, led by Robot, with significant participation from USV and other prominent investors.

Reed Jobs would rather talk about curing cancer than his last name

When we last sat down with Jobs at TechCrunch Disrupt nearly three years ago, his firm Yosemite was brand new and biotech was still reeling from its post-pandemic crash. Now, the venture outfit has a team of 17; a cluster of blockbuster drugs are all l…

Filing: College app Fizz accuses VC of sharing confidential startup information with rival Sidechat

Fizz has expanded its lawsuit against rival Sidechat, alleging that a Maveron VC shared its confidential information obtained during a fundraising meeting with the competing startup.

Charles Hudson shares the common mistakes he’s seen after investing in 500+ startups

In this week’s episode of Build Mode, Isabelle Johannessen talks with Precursor Ventures’ Charles Hudson about the headwinds facing early-stage founders today and the most common mistakes founders should avoid in order to get funded. 

Mercor is in talks for a $20B valuation

A new $20 billion valuation would be a giant step up from the $10 billion valuation it reached in October.