Latest news with #SequoiaCapital
Los Angeles Times
2 hours ago
- Business
- Los Angeles Times
Santa Monica's Reflect Orbital Raises $20 Million for Sunlight on Demand
Reflect Orbital, a Santa Monica-based space tech company, raised a $20-million Series A round to accelerate development of its satellite constellation designed to deliver sunlight on demand. The round was led by Lux Capital, with participation from Sequoia Capital and Starship Ventures. 'Lux backs some of the most impressive hardware companies out there, and they share our vision. We couldn't ask for better partners to join us in creating the future of light and energy, and together, we'll get our first lux on the ground,' said Ben Nowack, chief executive of Reflect Orbital, in a statement. Sourced from Reflect Orbital.
New York Times
a day ago
- Business
- New York Times
Tech's Top Venture Firm Tried to Stay Above Politics. Then a Partner Created a Furor.
Roelof Botha arrived last week at the annual Allen & Company conference in Sun Valley, Idaho, to meet and mingle with tech and media moguls. A controversy brewing back home followed him to the exclusive retreat. Mr. Botha, the managing partner of Sequoia Capital, a storied Silicon Valley venture capital firm, was repeatedly asked at the event about a colleague, Shaun Maguire, two people with knowledge of the matter said. Mr. Maguire — perhaps Sequoia's most outspoken partner — had posted on X on July 4 that Zohran Mamdani, the progressive Democrat running for New York City mayor, came from a 'culture that lies about everything' and was lying to advance 'his Islamist agenda.' Mr. Maguire's post was immediately condemned across social media as Islamophobic. More than 1,000 technologists signed an open letter calling for him to be disciplined. Investors, founders and technologists have sent messages to the firm's partners about Mr. Maguire's behavior. His critics have continued pressuring Sequoia to deal with what they see as hate speech and other invective, while his supporters have said Mr. Maguire has the right to free speech. In Sun Valley, Mr. Botha listened, but remained neutral, the people with knowledge of the matter said. For half a century, Sequoia has tried to maintain that neutrality, even as rival venture capital firms such as Andreessen Horowitz and Founders Fund started taking political stances. But as Mr. Maguire has increasingly made inflammatory comments, including saying that diversity, equity and inclusion 'kills people,' Sequoia is now in a place that its leaders never wanted to be: smack in the middle of the culture wars. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Fast Company
3 days ago
- Business
- Fast Company
How to get funding in this economy: advice from an angel investor
The first company I built was in 2008; we closed our seed round in May, the housing crisis hit in August, and the world collapsed. I distinctly remember Sequoia Capital's ' RIP good times ' slide deck that September, which effectively killed the VC market overnight. We had only raised $500K and had overscaled our team. We tried to last as long as we could, but in March 2009 we had to raise again. I personally pitched 36 firms in person and they all said no. That experience forever changed how I thought about fundraising for future companies. In 2025, we're facing a similarly volatile environment, with global economic and political uncertainties and a significant decrease in venture funding, making these lessons more relevant than ever. Honestly, if you haven't already been proactive in preparing for tough economic times as a small business, it will be challenging to get out of the hole you might be in in the current market. But for founders who are just starting their journey, it's still a great time to start a company—there is a lot of talent available, really early-stage funding is mostly insulated from economic downturns, and you can build a product native to AI with a super lean team. As a 3x founder and investor in over 100 startups, I've learned key lessons in building resilient businesses through market challenges. Here's my advice: 1. Refine Your Value Proposition In uncertain markets, investors naturally become more risk-averse and cautious. That means it's more important than ever for your startup to present a compelling, crystal-clear value proposition. Your pitch should focus on solving real, pressing problems with a clear path to monetization and should explain why you are the best in the world at doing so. Avoid hyping growth projections and potential boom-time scenarios and instead, focus on grounding your forecasts in defensible data and unit economics, demonstrating a path to profitability and a viable business model. If your product already has some early traction, now is the time to double down on telling that story and highlighting those metrics. Make your core strengths obvious—whether that's revenue growth, customer retention, or product-market fit. 2. Explore Alternative Funding Paths Valuations typically compress, deal cycles slow down, and investors become more selective during volatile periods. You should adjust your expectations accordingly. Raising less capital at a lower valuation may be necessary to survive and continue growing through those tough times. At the same time, you should be open and exploring alternative funding sources: Whether that be revenue-based financing, angel networks, family offices, strategic partnerships, or even crowdfunding. Another way companies bridge rough patches is through non-dilutive capital, like grants or government programs. Flexibility is key. 3. Extend Your Runway Disruptions to the market can happen out of nowhere, sometimes for no reason. Founders should always be prepared and shift their mindset from 'growth at all costs' to 'efficient, sustainable growth.' The goal is to extend runway as long as possible—ideally 18–24 months—to weather any downturn and avoid needing to raise again during less optimal times. This means cutting the burn far earlier than you think you need to. Even during good economic times, keep your team very lean. Payroll typically dominates burn, so don't overscale your team based on your capital. Highlight to investors how you are being prudent with capital. Demonstrating financial discipline and adaptability shows maturity and resilience, which investors value even more when uncertainty looms. 4. Build Trust and Relationships In volatile climates, trust becomes even more critical. Begin investor conversations well before you plan to raise. Building long-term relationships allows you to cultivate trust, get feedback, and stay top-of-mind. Focus on strategic investors who offer more than just capital, such as operational expertise or valuable networks for customer acquisition and talent recruitment. These investors are more likely to support you during market fluctuations. Maintain transparency about your company's performance and challenges—trying to gloss over issues can backfire. Use regular updates (emails, calls, or virtual meetings) to show progress and your ability to navigate a tough market while demonstrating the added value these investors provide. While volatility raises the stakes, it also rewards founders who are resourceful, focused, and mission-driven. By tightening your fundamentals, adjusting expectations, and building strong investor relationships, you can still find the right capital to power your startup forward—even in the most unpredictable markets.
Finextra
11-07-2025
- Business
- Finextra
Two raises €13m to scale B2B payments
Two Funding has reached €13 million, led by Idékapital and Shine Capital, with participation from new investor Investinor and existing backers Antler, Sequoia Capital, Alliance Ventures, Arkwright, and Local Globe. 0 This content is provided by an external author without editing by Finextra. It expresses the views and opinions of the author. This brings Two's total funding to over €40 million to date. The fintech company based in Norway helps businesses offer flexible payment terms. The new money will help it speed up the development of its products, the onboarding of merchants, and its reach around the world. The fresh investment will fuel Two's expansion into the US and select Western European markets. Less than three months after its official launch in the US, the market already represents more than 20% of total revenue for the company. The funding will also support further development of Two's fully productised B2B payments infrastructure, which includes its proprietary risk engines, Frida and Delphi, an end-to-end business onboarding solution and embedded deferred payment capabilities tailored specifically for business transactions, already deployed by over 200 of merchants across the Nordics and Europe. Founded in 2021, Two was created with a bold mission of making B2B transactions as seamless as consumer checkouts. Its platform offers instant upfront payments to sellers, flexible net terms for buyers, and AI-powered fraud prevention. With rapid adoption across both large enterprises and SMEs, Two's infrastructure has already become the go-to standard for B2B commerce in Northern Europe. With this funding, Two wants to improve its credit decision engine, make integrations stronger, and work with more suppliers around the world. The latest round comes amid accelerating momentum for the company, with both revenue and payment volume projected to grow more than 150% year-over-year in 2025. Two has also entered into major partnerships with Visa, ABN AMRO, Qliro, Avarda, and Wikinggruppen over the past six months. The company is riding the broader wave of digitisation in B2B payments, as businesses seek modern, scalable infrastructure to replace fragmented and manual processes, much like the shift that occurred in consumer fintech over the past decade. Demand for flexible B2B payment terms is surging. According to Allianz Trade, 95% of B2B buyers now prefer to pay per invoice, yet fewer than 10% of sellers are equipped to offer it online. With the B2B e-commerce market expected to double to $48 trillion by 2030 – making it six times the size of the B2C market – the need for embedded, scalable, and credit-insured payment infrastructure has never been more urgent. Two's advanced underwriting technology and growing global presence position it to lead this transformation and meet the evolving expectations of modern business buyers. Andreas Mjelde, CEO & co-founder of Two, said: 'We are the 'Two' in B2B, and we're on a mission to make selling on net terms as easy as accepting card payments. We've proven that merchants want flexible payment solutions built for how businesses actually buy, not just consumer tools rebranded for B2B. We will leverage the capital injection to scale with large and global enterprise businesses, and we're excited to add strong institutional investors with a long-term investment horizon like Investinor and Idékapital to the team.' Kristian Øvsthus, Managing Partner at Idékapital – who will serve as a board observer, added: 'We invested in Two because of the exceptional ambition and talent of the founding team. With deep international experience and a diverse, world-class team, they are uniquely positioned to scale globally. B2B payments is a massive and still largely untapped market. Two stands out through their combination of a powerful and modular software, deep understanding of the network effects in their industry and their dedication to solving a big problem. We believe they have what it takes to build a global category leader.' Mo Koyfman, Founder & General Partner at Shine Capital, noted: 'The B2B payments market is approaching $100 trillion in volume, and is largely still processed with checks by Accounts Payable departments. Over the coming years, as we've increasingly seen with consumer payments, this market will also digitise. Two, and its experienced, ambitious team, is helping lead this transition with instant underwriting, seamless terms, and a global footprint, serving some of the largest companies in the world.' Egil Garberg, Investment Director at Investinor, said: 'Two is proving that B2B payments don't need to lag behind consumer solutions. They're tackling an underserved market with a world-class team and scalable technology. Together with Sequoia, Shine Capital, Idékapital, and Antler, we're proud to back Two as they build the next global standout fintech success from Norway.' Mathias Owing Maanum, Partner at Antler, said 'B2B payments remain one of the largest untapped opportunities in fintech – trillions in volume still move through manual processes, with poor UX and limited access to credit. Two's platform is at the forefront, making it as simple to offer instant net terms as it is to accept a card from consumers. What sets Two apart is their real-time underwriting engine, unique banking partnerships, and proven ability to scale rapidly – already serving more than 200 merchants across Europe. We believe they're building the foundational infrastructure for the next era of global B2B commerce, and we're proud to continue supporting this exceptional team as they realise their bold vision.' This new round of Two Funding is a big step forward for the company's global growth and will help it change the way B2B payments are made.
Business Wire
10-07-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
Harmonic Raises $100 Million Series B to Accelerate Development of Mathematical Superintelligence
PALO ALTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Harmonic, the artificial intelligence lab leading the development of Mathematical Superintelligence (MSI), announces a $100 million Series B funding round at a nearly $900 million post-money valuation. The round was led by Kleiner Perkins with significant participation from Paradigm. Additional investors included Ribbit Capital and existing backers including Sequoia Capital, Index Ventures, and Charlie Cheever. The funding will accelerate Harmonic's momentum at the frontier of mathematical reasoning and its rapid progress towards commercializing its flagship model, Aristotle. Unlike language-based AI prone to hallucinations, Aristotle's use of MSI verifies accuracy, ensures coherent logical reasoning, and transparently flags errors and inconsistencies. As a result, Aristotle replaces probabilistic guesses with provable solutions in high-stakes, real-world applications. 'Aristotle's MSI is uniquely suited for mission-critical applications where there is no margin for error, such as generating verified software and by formally verifying existing code – a breakthrough for industries including blockchain, financial services, aerospace and other safety-sensitive systems,' said Tudor Achim, CEO of Harmonic. Aristotle's MSI model is designed to solve mathematical problems at a level far exceeding human capabilities. By accelerating mathematics, the doors open to driving breakthroughs across multiple dependent fields, including theoretical physics and engineering. 'We're getting closer to AI that can truly reason – quickly, reliably, and at scale,' said Vlad Tenev, Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of Harmonic. 'Mathematical Superintelligence is moving from research to real-world applications, and we're excited for Aristotle to start putting this AI capability into the hands of users.' 'Harmonic has created a new foundation for verified, scalable reasoning that can be trusted in high-stakes environments. I'm deeply excited about the applications of Aristotle not just for software, but for accelerating progress across science, engineering and general intelligence,' said Ilya Fushman, partner at Kleiner Perkins and a former physicist who will join Harmonic's board as an observer. He joins existing board member Andrew Reed from Sequoia and existing board observer Jan Hammer from Index. Harmonic previously raised $75 million in its September 2024 Series A funding round, which was led by Sequoia Capital, included significant participation from Index Ventures, and received additional backing from DST Global partners and Nikesh Arora. About Harmonic Harmonic, an artificial intelligence company founded in 2023, is backed by Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev and led by CEO Tudor Achim. It is developing Mathematical Superintelligence (MSI), the next generation of artificial intelligence which is rooted in mathematics and which guarantees accuracy and eliminates hallucinations. The company is based in Palo Alto, California.
