Sara Bloomberg

San Francisco

Startups and Venture Capital Reporter at San Francisco Business Times

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San Francisco government software startup acquired for $1.8 billion

Feb 26, 2024 | bizjournals.com | Sara Bloomberg

More than a decade after its founding, a San Francisco startup that develops software for governments is being acquired by Cox Enterprises in a deal that's worth $1.8 billion. OpenGov announced the deal on Tuesday with Cox, which has held a minority stake in the startup since 2019 when the conglomerate participated in OpenGov's $51 million Series D round.
OpenAI CEO, Wired parent stand to make a big payday when Reddit IPOs

Feb 26, 2024 | bizjournals.com | Sara Bloomberg

CEO of OpenAI Sam Altman sits on a panel discussing AI during the APEC summit in San Francisco, Calif. on November 15, 2023. As Reddit inches towards an initial public offering nearly twenty years after its founding, we now know exactly who the social media's top shareholders are. The largest single shareholder is Advance Publications which holds just over 30% of Reddit's shares and 34% of the voting power.
Reddit CEO Steve Huffman's total compensation exceeded $193M last year

Feb 23, 2024 | bizjournals.com | Sara Bloomberg

San Francisco-based social media site Reddit confidentially filed for a public debut in 2021 but subsequently delayed. The company has raised $1.3 billion and was valued at $10 billion in 2021. Reddit CEO Steve Huffman will be among the Bay Area's highest paid chief executives when the social media giant debuts in its upcoming, highly anticipated IPO.
Reddit files for IPO

Feb 22, 2024 | bizjournals.com | Sara Bloomberg

Steve Huffman, co-founder and CEO of Reddit, puts in a new work-from-home and compensation policy. The self-proclaimed "front page of the internet" is set to go public, according to a securities filings submitted by Reddit on Thursday. Nearly two decades after it was founded, Reddit will list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol RDDT.
Regulator suspends Waymo's request to expand in California

Feb 21, 2024 | bizjournals.com | Sara Bloomberg

A Waymo self-driving car on the street in San Francisco, Aug. 7, 2023. Local officials are worried that state regulators are too eager to agree to a plan to a offer round-the-clock driverless taxi services. California regulators have suspended Waymo's request to expand its robotaxi services in the state pending "further staff review," according to a notice posted on the state Public Utilities Commission's website.
AI 'coworker' startup quintuples funding with $117 million in fresh cash

Feb 20, 2024 | bizjournals.com | Sara Bloomberg

A San Francisco startup using artificial intelligence to automate software development has quintupled its total funding with $117 million in fresh capital to develop what it describes as an AI "coworker."Magic AI closed the Series B round earlier this month, according to a securities filing. The new funding comes just about a year since Magic announced its last round, a $23 million Series A round, and brings the company's total funding to around $145 million.
Watch out, Hollywood: Now OpenAI is generating videos

Feb 16, 2024 | bizjournals.com | Sara Bloomberg

A screenshot from a video released by OpenAI, created with Sora using the following prompt: "A stylish woman walks down a Tokyo street filled with warm glowing neon and animated city signage. She wears a black leather jacket, a long red dress, and black boots, and carries a black purse. She wears sunglasses and red lipstick. She walks confidently and casually. The street is damp and reflective, creating a mirror effect of the colorful lights.
Brisbane 'portable' defibrillator startup raises $51M

Feb 15, 2024 | bizjournals.com | Sara Bloomberg

A medical device startup based in Brisbane is raising millions in new funding for an affordable, portable defibrillator that it's been developing for more than six years. Avive Solutions Inc. has raised upwards of $40 million and is targeting up to $51.7 million in the new equity round which opened on Feb. 1, according to a securities filing. The new round comes just about two years since its previous round when Avive raised $22 million in a Series A round.
Joe Montana-backed AI marketing startup raises $14 million

Feb 15, 2024 | bizjournals.com | Sara Bloomberg

How far does a marketing dollar go? A San Francisco startup using artificial intelligence to answer that question just landed millions in new funding from 49ers legend Joe Montana and DreamWorks co-founder Jeffrey Katzenberg. Alembic Technologies announced a $14 million Series A round on Thursday that was led by Katzenberg's venture capital firm, WndrCo.Joe Montana's VC firm, Liquid 2 Ventures, also participated in the round along with MXV Capital.
Y Combinator wants climate tech, AI, body-scan startups and more

Feb 13, 2024 | bizjournals.com | Sara Bloomberg

Storied Bay Area accelerator Y Combinator, which helped nurture Reddit, Dropbox and Airbnb, is looking for its next batch of companies to seed. It released an updated "request for startups" on Wednesday, outlining 20 categories that it's particularly interested in. The list leans heavily towards artificial intelligence across many sectors including robotics, health care, enterprise software and domestic manufacturing, as well as foundational AI models.