General Catalyst raises the largest US VC fund in over two years

Top News

• Another $8B for General Catalyst: General Catalyst has raised $8 billion, marking the largest US venture capital fund in over two years, as it expands globally and ventures into private equity-style investments. With plans to deploy $4.5 billion into VC funds, $1.5 billion to launch new startups, and $2 billion to deepen stakes in strategic businesses, the firm is also pushing into healthcare, energy, and defense. CEO Hemant Taneja’s vision for transforming industries and embedding technology into complex sectors comes with risks, but he believes the potential impact will be transformational.

• Bluesky raises a Series A: Almost two months after Brazil’s ban on Twitter, Bluesky has surpassed 13 million users and raised $15 million in Series A funding led by Blockchain Capital, with plans to continue expanding its decentralized social platform. The funding will support community growth, enhance Trust and Safety, and build out the AT Protocol developer ecosystem. The platform is also fostering a vibrant developer ecosystem, with new apps like Smoke Signal, Frontpage, and Bluecast showcasing the flexibility of Bluesky's open technology.

• Self-driving startup files IPO: Chinese self-driving startup WeRide has filed for a $119.4 million IPO on Nasdaq, alongside a private placement of $320.5 million. The company plans to offer 6.5 million shares at $15.5 to $18.5 each, aiming for a potential valuation of up to $5.02 billion. This move marks one of the largest U.S. IPOs by a Chinese firm since Didi's delisting, signaling a potential revival of Chinese IPOs in the U.S. after years of regulatory challenges.

News from Anthropic

Today we have news from a Series D TWiST500 company that we think has a good chance at an IPO. Anthropic just gave its Claude chatbot a big upgrade—it can now write and run JavaScript code. AI dev copilots are a huge market and one of Alex’s top TWiST500 categories (he recently added Qodo and Poolside to the list).

With the new analysis tool, Claude can handle calculations, analyze data from files like spreadsheets and PDFs, and even create interactive visualizations. Think of it as a built-in code sandbox where Claude can dive deep into your data, clean it up, analyze it, and give you more accurate, step-by-step answers. While Claude could do some of this before, the new tool ensures the results are more reliable and precise. It's now available for all Claude users to try out! With an upgraded use case in Anthropic’s back pocket, we can only imagine this will open the doors for new growth. — Erika and Maddie

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This Week in Startups

E2032: In this episode, Alex sets the stage for the "Jam with JCal" season recap, highlighting innovative startups using .TECH domains. Ramsey Shaffer introduces Uptrends AI, helping financial advisors stay on top of market news, while Ana Malhotra unveils Rome, a yard-sharing service for dogs. Other standout pitches include Tyce Herrman's Ulama, a tool for architects, Ulan Abdurazakov's AI sleep aid CorePod, and Elliot Easterling’s gamified engagement platform Bonbon.

E2031: Jason and Alex start by discussing Anthropic’s new AI model, Claude 3.5 Sonnet, and its implications for AI assistants and employment. They get into AI’s potential impact on white-collar jobs before welcoming Andrew Lissimore from Headphones.com for a deep dive into high-end audio and leveraging content for brand growth. The show wraps up with insights from Prandtl Dynamics on anti-drone tech and TollBit's Series A funding for its AI data marketplace.

E2030: Jason and Alex dive into election integrity, discussing the Heritage Foundation's stance, tech advancements for secure voting, and Hans von Spakovsky’s take on the 2020 election. Later, they shift to rumors about a potential Uber-Expedia acquisition, exploring challenges in the online travel industry and Uber's strategic moves. They also cover AI’s role in travel and media, Skift’s growth, and wrap up with Uber's expansion into airlines and the latest in AI with Anthropic's Claude 3.5 model.

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Angel University

Angel University is just around the corner. It’s a four-hour online workshop with Jason and Mike, President at LAUNCH, covering key factors to consider when angel investing. They also provide insights into our investment process at LAUNCH, including the criteria we use when evaluating startups. If you’re interested, you can find more information here. The next workshop is on November 6th.

Founder University

Founder University Cohort 9 will kick off on October 25th. It’s a 12-week remote pre-accelerator program tailored to navigating early-startup practices, building an MVP, and growing traction. There’s still time to apply—submit your application at Founder University.

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