Latest news with #ChrisFarmer
Bloomberg
22-05-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Tech Investor Outlook: AI's Tipping Point?
Samia Bouazza, Group CEO & Managing Director, Multiply Group; Chris Farmer, Founder & CEO, SignalFire; and Henry B. Nguyen, Chairman, Phoenix Holdings discuss investing in artificial intelligence and its transformative impact across industries and global markets with Bloomberg's Francine Lacqua at the 2025 Qatar Economic Forum, Powered by Bloomberg. (Source: Bloomberg)
Yahoo
22-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Why OpenAI wanted to buy Cursor but opted for the fast-growing Windsurf
Anysphere, maker of AI coding assistant Cursor, is growing so quickly that it's not in the market to be sold, even to OpenAI, a source close to the company tells TechCrunch. It's been a hot target. Cursor is one of the most popular AI-powered coding tools, and its revenue has been growing astronomically – doubling on average every two months, according to another source. Anysphere's current average annual recurring revenue is about $300 million, according to two people. The company previously walked away from early acquisition discussions with OpenAI, after the ChatGPT maker approached Cursor, two sources close to the company confirmed, and CNBC previously reported. Anysphere has also received other acquisition offers that the company didn't consider, according to one of these sources. Cursor turned down the offers because the startup wants to stay independent, said two people close to the company. Instead, Anysphere has been in talks to raise capital at about a $10 billion valuation, Bloomberg reported last month. Although it didn't nab Anysphere, OpenAI didn't give up on buying an established AI coding tool startup. OpenAI talked with more than 20 others, CNBC reported. And then it got serious over the next fastest-growing AI coding startup, Windsurf, with a $3 billion acquisition offer, Bloomberg reported last week. While Windsurf is a comparatively smaller company, its ARR is about $100 million, up from $40 million in ARR in February, according to a source. Windsurf has been gaining popularity with the developer community, too, and its coding product is designed to work with legacy enterprise systems. Windsurf did not respond to TechCrunch's request for comment. OpenAI declined to comment on its acquisition talks. OpenAI is likely shopping because it's looking for its next growth areas as competitors such as Google's Gemini and China's DeepSeek put pricing pressure on access to foundational models. Moreover, Anthropic and Google have recently released AI models that outperform OpenAI's models on coding benchmarks, increasingly making them a preferred choice for developers. While OpenAI could build its own AI coding assistant, buying a product that is already popular with developers means the ChatGPT-maker wouldn't have to start from scratch to build this business. VCs who invest in developer tool startups are certainly watching. Speculating about OpenAI's strategy, Chris Farmer, partner and CEO at SignalFire, told TechCrunch of the company, 'They'll be acquisitive at the app layer. It's existential for them.' This article originally appeared on TechCrunch at Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
07-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
AI-Native VC SignalFire Raises Over $1B to Fuel the Next Wave of Applied AI Startups, Pushing AUM to ~$3B
Investors double down on SignalFire's data-driven model for early-stage investing. SAN FRANCISCO, April 07, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--SignalFire, a leading early-stage venture capital firm focused on applied AI, has raised over $1 billion in new capital to fund the next generation of technology startups, bringing its total assets under management (AUM) to approximately $3 billion. This capital raise amid a turbulent fundraising environment is a testament to exceptional investor confidence in SignalFire's AI-native edge, thesis-driven investment strategy, and in-house operational expertise, which give the firm differentiated access to the next generation of high-growth AI companies. The fresh capital will be deployed across SignalFire's Seed, Early, Executive-in-Residence (XIR), and Opportunities funds. "Our investors see what we see — applied AI is the defining opportunity of our time. With this new capital, we're doubling down on the next generation of category-defining AI startups tackling the world's biggest challenges. Backed by our proprietary AI platform and deep operational expertise, we equip founders with the tools, data, and support they need to scale breakthrough companies faster."- Chris Farmer, Founder & CEO, SignalFire A decade of early-stage AI investing in a changing VC landscape SignalFire's longstanding focus on applied AI has fueled the success of companies like Grow Therapy, EvenUp, Stampli, and Grammarly**. At the heart of SignalFire's differentiated approach is Beacon AI — a proprietary machine learning platform powered by talent data spanning more than 650 million individuals and 80 million organizations worldwide — that has been refined in-house for over 12 years. Beacon AI uncovers market trends and talent intelligence that helps SignalFire investors and portfolio companies find and build exceptional teams, products, and businesses. "From customer intros and fundraising advice to hands-on support across data science, hiring, and scaling, SignalFire's impact goes far beyond capital. They've been a true force multiplier for our growth."*- Jake Cooper, CEO & Co-Founder, Grow Therapy As many established VC firms shift toward late-stage investments and diversified strategies, SignalFire remains dedicated to AI founders at the earliest stages (pre-seed through Series B), helping them grow from ideation to industry leadership. In many cases, the firm aims to be the "first check" for applied AI startups — backing founders as early as possible through initiatives like its AI Lab incubation program and Beacon AI, which can identify high-potential founders even before they start companies. Built different: SignalFire's AI-native DNA Unlike traditional VCs that are scrambling to retrofit data and AI into their processes, SignalFire has operated as an applied AI company since its inception, using the same AI techniques, workflows, and infrastructure as many of its portfolio companies. SignalFire's AI-native team helps the firm spot breakthrough startups earlier and accelerates company growth with Beacon AI-powered tools for data science, hiring, customer insights, and go-to-market strategy. "AI's next frontier isn't invention, it's implementation. With these funds, we'll continue to back founders who transform theoretical AI technology into market-changing solutions. With SignalFire's engineering DNA and proprietary data platform, we're uniquely positioned to identify and accelerate companies that aren't just building technology but reshaping industries and outcomes."- Wayne Hu, Partner, SignalFire About SignalFire SignalFire is the first VC firm built like a technology company to better serve the needs of founders as they build and scale their startups. With approximately $3B in assets under management, SignalFire invests in applied AI companies from pre-seed to Series B in key sectors, including healthcare, cybersecurity, infrastructure, consumer, and other enterprise verticals. The firm's Beacon AI platform tracks over 650M employees and 80M organizations, giving the firm an unmatched data advantage in identifying and supporting world-class startups. Its sector-focused investors and a dedicated team of seasoned operators drive SignalFire at startup speed. They provide support across a company's full lifecycle through data and resources tailored by growth stage, plus a diverse ecosystem of partners and customers. Notable investments include Grammarly, Grow Therapy, EvenUp, and Stampli.** Learn more at Disclosures SignalFire is an investment adviser registered with the SEC under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. However, such registration as a registered investment adviser does not imply a certain level of skill or training. This presentation does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any security; it is neither a prospectus nor an advertisement, and no offering is being made to the public. *Portfolio company founders listed above have not received any compensation for this feedback and may or may not have invested in a SignalFire fund. These founders may or may not serve as Affiliate Advisors, Retained Advisors, or consultants to provide their expertise on a formal or ad hoc basis. They are not employed by SignalFire and do not provide investment advisory services to clients on behalf of SignalFire. **The portfolio companies identified do not represent all of the investments made or recommended for the Funds. It should not be assumed that investments made in the future will be profitable or will equal the performance of the investments in this list. View source version on Contacts Media Contact Caroline KamerschenCaroline@ 770-712-2636
