Latest news with #CraftVentures
TechCrunch
6 days ago
- Business
- TechCrunch
Security startup Horizon3.ai is raising $100M in new round
a cybersecurity startup that provides tools like autonomous penetration testing, is seeking to raise $100 million in a new funding round and has locked down at least $73 million, the company revealed in an SEC filing this week. NEA led the round, according to two people familiar with the deal. One person said that the startup is believed to be valued upward of $750 million, although TechCrunch couldn't verify whether that valuation is pre- or post-money. Another person believes the company did (or will) sell the whole $100 million, and added that the company is generating about $30 million in annual recurring revenue. Neither Horizon, nor NEA responded to TechCrunch's requests for comment. With this deal, becomes NEA's second major cybersecurity startup investment in less than a month, following Veza's $108 million funding round at an $800 million valuation announced in April. In August 2023, raised $40 million in a Series C round led by Craft Ventures with participation from SignalFire. That round brought the startup's total fundraising to $78.5 million and was aimed to expand its R&D, channel presence, and team of engineers, co-founder CEO Snehal Antani told TechCrunch at the time. Founded in 2019, comprises a team of former U.S. Special Operations cyber operators, entrepreneurs, and cybersecurity experts. Before launching the startup, Antani served as CTO at Splunk and led teams within the U.S. Military's Joint Special Operations Command. With all things AI being deployed across the tech world, AI-powered automated attacks are also on the rise. The San Francisco-based startup helps protect against such attacks with its autonomous threat detection tools. Earlier this month, received FedRAMP authorization, enabling it to sell its wares to federal agencies. It also announced in February that it saw 101% year-on-year revenue growth and exceeding 150% of its Q4 pipeline targets, without sharing specific numbers.
Yahoo
16-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
U.S. crypto czar's $200 million portfolio held Bitcoin, Coinbase, and Robinhood
David Sacks and his investment firm Craft Ventures have divested more than $200 million in crypto holdings since President Donald Trump named Sacks as the White House's AI and crypto czar, according to a Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana, according to the memo. Sacks also held stock in the online brokerage Robinhood and the crypto exchange Coinbase. And he was a limited partner in the marquee crypto venture capital funds Multicoin Capital and Blockchain Capital, along with 90 other VCs. While Sacks has divested most of his crypto holdings, he and Craft Ventures still hold equity in a suite of companies. His shares of the crypto custody firm BitGo and the Bitcoin protocol developer Lightning Labs are worth about 2.5% and 1.1% of his total assets, respectively, according to the memo. The government, however, has agreed to waive any conflicts of interest regarding Sacks and Craft Ventures' ongoing stakes in crypto companies. 'I sold all my cryptocurrency (including BTC, ETH, and SOL) prior to the start of the administration,' Sacks said in a post on X earlier in March. He and his firm Craft Ventures did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Dated March 5, the memo on Sacks' interests in the crypto industry follows social media rumblings that the AI and crypto czar risked mixing his own business with the government's crypto dealings. After Trump posted in early March that certain cryptocurrencies, including Solana, would be included in a national crypto reserve, critics said that Sacks was boosting his own portfolio. And more naysayers came out against Sacks once Trump officially authorized the creation of a strategic Bitcoin reserve and a digital assets stockpile later that week. 'This is a direct transfer of wealth from the U.S. treasury to David Sacks and other crypto barons,' said Ryan Grim, who runs a popular account on X and a politics newsletter. Sacks countered that he had divested much of his cryptocurrency holdings, and crypto executives came to his defense. 'He is doing tremendous work and will not be sharing in any of the economic upside to avoid even the slightest appearance of a conflict,' Cameron Winklevoss, cofounder of the crypto exchange Gemini, posted on X. Trump named Sacks as his AI and crypto czar in December. The then incoming president said Sacks, who is a former executive at PayPal, would guide policy on the regulation of artificial intelligence and cryptocurrencies. This story was originally featured on Sign in to access your portfolio
Bloomberg
14-03-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Trump Crypto Czar Sacks Sells Over $200 Million in Investments
David Sacks, President Donald Trump's adviser for artificial intelligence and cryptocurrencies, and his venture-capital firm Craft Ventures have divested more than $200 million worth of holdings related to the digital-asset industry, according to a memo released by the White House. Sacks and Craft Ventures sold all their liquid cryptocurrency holdings, including Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana, prior to Trump's inauguration, the memo dated March 5 from White House counsel David Warrington said. Sacks divested his stock in Coinbase Global Inc. and Robinhood Markets Inc. as well as limited-partner interests in crypto funds Multicoin Capital and Blockchain Capital, according to the memo. Craft also sold its interests in Multicoin Capital and Bitwise Asset Management Inc.
NBC News
14-03-2025
- Business
- NBC News
David Sacks sold $200 million in crypto-related holdings before taking White House job, ethics memo says
David Sacks, the Trump administration's AI and crypto czar, sold over $200 million worth of digital asset-related investments personally and through his firm, Craft Ventures, before starting the job, according to a memo from the White House. Of the the assets sold, the documents said that at least $85 million 'is directly attributable to Sacks.' The memo, from White House counsel David Warrington, added that Craft remains an investor in some other funds that have digital assets in their portfolios. The disclosure, dated March 5, is 11 pages long, compared to the two-page document from Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the newly installed secretary of Health and Human Services. Sacks' divestments mark a stark contrast to the behavior of others in the administration, and follow the first Trump term, during which conflicts of interest were routinely disregarded. President Trump, in addition to his many real estate assets, currently maintains a major stake in Trump Media & Technology Group, the publicly traded parent of Truth Social, and has launched multiple crypto projects that can rise or fall in value based on various government policies. And Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who also controls SpaceX, social media company X and AI startup xAI, is in position, as one of the president's top advisers, to shape regulations in a way that potentially favor his businesses. Three days before his inauguration, President Trump launched a memetoken dubbed $TRUMP through his company, CIC Digital LLC, which owns 80% of the coin's supply. The Trump family also receives 75% of proceeds from a separate crypto bank launched last year called World Liberty Financial. Musk, meanwhile, who is heading up the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, counts on government contracts, particularly at SpaceX. The company, for example, has a $1.8 billion contract with the National Reconnaissance Office to build a network of spy satellites. Beyond Trump and Musk, reports indicate that several cabinet members hold substantial investments in various cryptocurrencies. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who recently departed his role leading Cantor Fitzgerald, has reportedly made hundreds of millions of dollars from its ties to tether. Representatives for Musk, the White House and from the Commerce Department didn't immediately respond to requests for comment. Sacks' divestments Sacks, who became a well-known national figure as one of the four hosts of the popular All-In podcast, said in an episode of the show last week that he had sold roughly $200 million in crypto 'because I didn't want to even have the appearance of a conflict.' He was responding to criticism that had been levied by numerous public officials, including Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, the top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee. Warren sent a letter to Sacks ahead of last week's first-ever White House Crypto Summit, raising conflict-of-interest concerns and calling on Sacks to disclose any financial holdings in bitcoin, ether, solana, and other assets included in Trump's initial proposal for a strategic reserve. When President Trump finally signed an executive order on the matter on March 6, he said the U.S. was establishing a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve that would not include other digital currencies. Sacks said the reserve would be funded exclusively through tokens seized in criminal and civil forfeiture cases, ensuring no taxpayer burden. The order also created a U.S. Digital Asset Stockpile, managed by the Treasury Department, to hold other confiscated cryptocurrencies. According to Sacks' ethics disclosure, he and his venture firm sold off all their liquid cryptocurrency holdings, including bitcoin, ether, and solana, as well as his directly held position in the Bitwise 10 Crypto Index Fund and shares in Coinbase and Robinhood. Sacks also began liquidating his stake in private digital asset companies, including his limited partner interest in crypto-focused investment funds such as Multicoin Capital and Blockchain Capital. There are still a handful of digital asset-related holdings in his portfolio. Collectively, these holdings amount to less than 0.1% of his total investment assets, with their sale described as 'certain and imminent.'
Axios
07-03-2025
- Business
- Axios
Elizabeth Warren asks Trump's crypto czar for public disclosures
On the morning of the White House's first Digital Assets Summit Friday, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D.-Mass.) sent a critical letter to David Sacks, the administration's crypto and AI czar, which she has shared with Axios exclusively. The big picture: The deeper the federal government gets into supporting the blockchain industry, the more it's going to drive up values for existing holders, which raises conflict of interest questions for officials writing those policies, the senator contends. Driving the news: In Warren's letter to Sacks, the senator asks multiple pointed questions about potential conflicts of interest for himself and those working with him. She also details a variety of moves by President Donald Trump's administration that she says raise concerns about how ethically it is making decisions around this industry. What they're saying: "Americans deserve strong leaders who will prioritize the public interest ahead of their own bottom lines. I hope you address these obvious concerns," Warren writes. Context: Sacks is a special government employee in the administration, a status which provides him with certain exemptions under ethics rules. For example, the financial disclosure reports they file can be kept confidential. Catch up quick: Sacks has been facing questions along these lines ever since the president teased the crypto reserve last weekend. In a social media post Sunday Sacks said he had sold off all his cryptocurrency holdings prior to the start of the administration. Yes, but: There are ways to remain exposed, if somewhat more indirectly. Zoom in: Warren points out that Sacks was a partner at Craft Ventures, which backed a handful of crypto companies such as Fold, Lightning Labs and Bitwise. In particular, Bitwise creates investment indices from cryptocurrencies. The five largest holdings of its Bitwise 10 index are the same five cryptocurrencies that the President identified Sunday for a coming crypto strategic reserve: bitcoin (BTC), ether (ETH), solana (SOL), xrp (XRP) and cardano (ADA). Those are also the five largest cryptocurrencies by market cap, if you set aside stablecoins and Binance 's exchange token, BNB. That said, Sacks says that he has also closed out his position in that index. Craft Ventures told CoinDesk it had exited its position in the company. The intrigue: Trump's announcement Sunday sparked a $300 billion global crypto rally, with the assets named for the reserve posting outsized gains. Thursday the White House announced the signing of an executive order to establish both a "Strategic Bitcoin Reserve" and a separate U.S. "Digital Asset Stockpile." That announcement did not name specific assets for the stockpile, and said it would be capitalized only with assets seized from criminal operations, and that the government will not seek to add to it via purchases. Prices of all five assets plummeted Thursday night on the announcement. Warren's letter asks for the identities of anyone who helped Trump determine the assets identified Sunday, and of them, how many were subject to conflict of interest laws. She also asks Sacks whether anyone who had worked on the reserve policy had made relevant trades prior to the announcement. What we're watching: Warren has asked Sacks to publicly disclose whatever report he personally filed with the Office of Government Ethics. She's also asked for a number of other assurances, such as proof that he has exited personal investments in the named cryptocurrencies and any ethics waivers he may have sought or topics that he has recused himself from working on. What we're watching: Just what the plan is for this reserve, which we should learn about Friday. So far, Sacks has only offered hints.
