The seed investor who launched ‘VCsForKamala’

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The seed investor who launched ‘VCsForKamala’

Leslie Feinzaig, the venture capitalist behind the Female Founders Alliance, is making waves with her latest move: launching VCsForKamala.org. This spur-of-the-moment idea has exploded into a movement, rallying hundreds of venture capitalists to publicly back Vice President Kamala Harris. Feinzaig, frustrated by the right-leaning VCs dominating the conversation, decided it was time to shake things up.

The birth of a movement: Feinzaig purchased the domain last week, inspired to act after seeing Trump supporters in VC overshadowing the conversations she was having with her peers. “Those didn’t represent the conversations that I had with founders and other VCs,” she said from her father’s house in San José, Costa Rica.

From idea to reality: With no political organizing experience, Feinzaig and a group of volunteers spent the past week gathering support. Initially, many investors were hesitant, fearing backlash. But once VC giants like Reid Hoffman and Mark Cuban jumped on board, the floodgates opened. The list of supporters skyrocketed from just over 100 to 540 in a matter of days. “It upped the ante immediately,” Feinzaig said. “It felt like there was no going back.”

A diverse coalition: The list of signatories is impressive, featuring major players like Ron Conway of SV Angel, partners from Union Square Ventures, Kleiner Perkins, and even John O’Farrell of Andreessen Horowitz, who broke ranks with his pro-Trump colleagues.

What’s next?

Feinzaig, a new American citizen, is navigating her second presidential election with a clear mission: rallying support for Harris as the election approaches. While she hasn’t revealed what’s next for VCsForKamala, Feinzaig is taking a moment to reflect on the rapid success of her initiative. “We accomplished something really special really quickly,” she said. “I haven’t stopped to really think about it.”

Leslie Feinzaig’s spontaneous purchase of a URL has sparked a significant political movement within the venture capital community, proving that sometimes all it takes is a single spark to ignite change.

Why Wiz walked away from Google's $23 billion offer

Wiz, the cloud security startup you might not have heard of until now, just made a gutsy move by rejecting a $23 billion acquisition offer from Google. This would have been Google's largest acquisition ever, making it a headline-grabber in the tech world. But why would a four-year-old company turn down such a lucrative deal?

Why did Wiz say no?

Confidence over cash: Wiz CEO Assaf Rappaport broke the news to his 1,200 employees, saying that the decision to walk away from Google's offer was all about the company's future vision. Rappaport didn't spill all the details but made it clear that Wiz plans to stick to its path of growing independently, with an eye on hitting $1 billion in annual revenue and possibly going public.

“Saying no to such humbling offers is tough, but with our exceptional team, I feel confident in making that choice,” Rappaport said.

Regulatory concerns?

There’s also speculation that regulatory hurdles could have played a part. A deal this big might have faced serious scrutiny from antitrust regulators. However, insiders suggest that the decision came from Wiz, not Google.

The stakes for Google

Google can't be thrilled about losing out on Wiz, especially as they try to beef up their cloud security offerings. Analysts like Shag Meta from Constellation Research think Google needs to rethink its acquisition strategy, suggesting that their current approach doesn't match their status as a tech giant.

Why this matters: Wiz's move to turn down Google is bold and risky. It shows that the startup believes in its own growth potential, aiming to become more valuable than $23 billion down the road. Meanwhile, Google is left to reconsider its approach in a world where cloud security is king.

Stay tuned as this story unfolds. Wiz might just be setting a new trend in Silicon Valley, proving that sometimes, the real power move is saying no.

Struggling AI startups look for a bailout from big tech

The AI startup bubble is showing signs of popping, and Silicon Valley’s heavyweights are stepping in with lifelines that are acquisitions in all but name. Companies like Character.AI, Adept AI, and Inflection have found themselves in dire straits, turning to giants like Google, Amazon, and Microsoft for salvation.

The rise of “not-quite acquisitions”

• Character.AI just secured a deal with Google, where the tech titan is licensing Character’s technology for $2 billion, effectively buying out early investors without facing regulatory scrutiny. The move brings key players like co-founders Noam Shazeer and Daniel De Freitas into Google’s f

  old.

• Adept AI made a similar pact with Amazon, which will absorb most of Adept's team and pay $330 million to license its tech. This comes as Adept faces the harsh reality of its ambitions outweighing its financial resources.

• Inflection, earlier this year, found itself with a lifeline from Microsoft, which hired its team and paid $650 million for tech rights.

Why are startups struggling?

The post-ChatGPT rush had startups raising billions on big dreams but often without the substance to back it up. Building large-language models is a costly endeavor, and many startups are running out of runway. The sobering reality is that it takes deep pockets and infrastructure to succeed, which big tech has in spades.

A boon for big tech…

These deals allow tech giants to dodge regulatory hurdles while acquiring cutting-edge technology and talent. With the Biden administration scrutinizing tech mergers more aggressively, companies like Google and Amazon are finding creative ways to strengthen their AI capabilities without the red tape.

John Newman, a University of Miami law professor, notes that "tech giants know the days of acquiring small firms without challenges are over," prompting these novel "acqui-hire" strategies.

The takeaway: While some AI startups hoped to disrupt the tech status quo, they’re instead becoming part of it. As the hype settles, it’s clear that not every startup will be the next OpenAI, but those with valuable technology will find a home in the portfolios of the industry’s giants.