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Hey, TechCrunchers, happy Friday. I hope this is your favorite time of day because Hey and I really enjoy bringing you the news of the day, written by the wonderful people we can call colleagues. If you were at businessroundups.org Early Stage in Boston, we trust you had a great time. Haje is coming back from there, so today I am alone again. Let’s dig. – Christine
Table of Contents
The businessroundups.org Top 3
Startups and VC
- Imitation of the real data: Singapore-based Betterdata secured $1.55 million to take a different approach to traditional data sharing methods by using synthetic data to keep real data safe, Catherine reports.
- Towards something new: Autotech Ventures ventures into new territory with $230 million mobility fund that will add fintech and the circular economy to its investment strategy, writes Kirsten.
- Take the plunge: Founders Pledge, a London-based charity, launched a venture capital arm called Pledge Ventures in what Mike writes is to “create a new ‘flywheel’ in philanthropy.”
- Listen to this: Brian shares all the feelings about the first foray into headphone startup Nura, which he reports has been acquired by Masimo, the parent company of electricity company Denon.
Pitch Deck Teardown: Honeycomb’s $50 Million Series D Deck
Image Credits: Honeycomb (Opens in a new window)
Startups that raise Series D rounds may have hundreds of employees, tens of millions in ARR and other evidence that shows they’ve reduced risk, but they still need pitch decks.
Honeycomb, which describes itself as a “debugger for live production systems,” shared its winning $50 million Series D pitch deck with businessroundups.org:
- Cover slide
- Snapshot data summary slide
- Problem slide
- Solution slide
- Competitive landscape slide
- Product category summary slide
- Customer landscape slide part 1 (mostly redacted)
- Customer Landscape Slide Part 2 (Mostly Redacted)
- Market positioning slide
- Value proposition slide
- History/product timeline slide
- Go-to-market intermediate slide
- GTM: Land-and-expand approach slide
- GTM: Gaming vertical slide
- Going Forward interstitial slide
- Team slide
- The Ask slide
- Closing slide
Two more from the TC+ team:
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Big Tech Inc.
- Lyft layoffs: Ride-hailing company Lyft confirmed it is cutting its workforce by 1,200 as part of a restructuring effort designed to “better meet the needs of riders and drivers,” Kirsten reports. The layoffs will affect the company’s employees, of which there are about 4,000, because Lyft does not employ its drivers.
- We learn something new every day: The Linux Foundation created a new organization to maintain TLA+, Kyle writes. If you’re into one of those “learn one new term a day,” here’s your education for the day: TLA+ is a formal “spec” language, developed by computer scientist and mathematician Leslie Lamport, for designing, modeling, documenting, and verifying software.
- Save that: Sarah reports that in an effort to find a faster resolution to its antitrust legal battle with Fortnite creator Epic Games, Match Group and Attorneys General, Google is asking the court to dismiss multiple claims, five to be exact , which would be “seemingly critical to plaintiffs’ ability to prove anti-competitive conduct.”
- Four corners of the world, literally: The Tax and Customs Administration sends four detectives around the world to fight cybercrime, Lorenzo reports. Before you go: “Only four?” I’ll throw in that the IRS only had one before.
- Refused: Meta tried to get its content moderator case dismissed in Kenya, but now has to muddle through. A court ruled that Meta could be sued for allegedly unlawfully dismissing and blacklisting moderators. Annie has more.
