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• AI + healthcare is going to be big: Infinitus Systems, an AI-powered startup, raised $51.5 million in a funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz, bringing its total to $102.9 million. With a valuation over $600 million, the company aims to streamline healthcare communication by automating tasks like follow-up calls and insurance collection. Infinitus’ AI tools target inefficiencies, helping reduce reliance on call centers and improve transparency for patients and providers alike. With big VC players like GV and Kleiner Perkins joining in on the round, we have high expectations for this startup.

• Teen’s death raises questions about AI character chatbots: A tragic story from Florida highlights concerns around AI companionship apps. Sewell Setzer III, a 14-year-old boy, developed an emotional attachment to a chatbot on Character.AI, which he used as a confidant. Despite therapy and support, Sewell isolated himself further, and in a moment of crisis, tragically took his own life after a final conversation with the AI. This story definitely raises questions about the safety and mental health impact of AI companions on vulnerable teens.

• Chemistry is a new $350M Series A fund: Three top VCs—Mark Goldberg, Ethan Kurzweil, and Kristina Shen—have left prestigious firms to launch Chemistry, a new venture capital firm focused on Series A startups. With a $350 million debut fund, Chemistry wants to offer founders the hands-on attention of a boutique firm backed by the partners’ big-firm experience in sectors like fintech and work software. The trio, known for their track records at firms like Index Ventures, Bessemer, and a16z, hopes to compete head-to-head with larger funds while maintaining a more focused, agile approach.

Merge on the TWiST500

Continuing our work of adding a company a day to the TWiST500, today we’re inducting Merge.

Merge is a company that I covered back at TechCrunch, and have had kept tabs on since. Its pitch was simple: Integrations are difficult even in the API era, so what if a startup did all the API work for customers, abstracting away all the fiddly bits and allowing them to integrate products quickly?

It worked, with the startup eventually raising a massive $55 million Series B back in late 2022. That was a little bit in the past, so I invited CEO and co-founder Shensi Ding to come on the podcast and tell us a bit more about her company and its progress. That’s coming to you on Friday.

In the meantime, why is Merge TWiST500 material? I don’t have freshly leaked financials to point to, but given its prior growth and the rising importance of data — the substance that API pipes move — it seems that Merge’s market is only getting bigger. And healthy startups with expanding TAMs tend to do very well. Onto the list it goes! — Alex

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This Week in Startups

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.

E2029: Jason and Alex open the show discussing a new prime number discovery and GPU market trends, followed by guest John LePore from BlackBox Infinite. The conversation covers VisionPRO app development, integrating Hollywood VFX, and the influence of science fiction on real-world technology, including F1 prototype experiences and self-driving car safety. They also explore how media inspires tech and the role of stablecoins in financial systems.

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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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