Hello, Alexei Oreskovic pitching in for Allie today. Well folks, this week had it all: A new OpenAI model, reports of an upcoming SpaceX IPO, and even a Waymo baby! And to top it all off, OpenAI and Disney announced a surprise partnership that will include a $1 billion investment in OpenAI and enable OpenAI users to create AI-generated videos with Mickey Mouse and hundreds of other Disney characters.
The 3-year deal is a huge win for OpenAI (all the more so given that Disney simultaneously sent a cease-and-desist letter to Google, accusing the internet giant and OpenAI arch-rival of infringing its IP via its AI systems on a “massive scale”). The question is: Why is the Mouse House rolling out the red carpet for the ChatGPT maker?
You don’t need a lot of imagination to guess the sordid scenarios that await Disney’s family-friendly cast of characters now that the tortured souls of the internet will have carte blanche to feed them into the AI nightmare machine. There will be safeguards in place to prevent Mickey and friends from doing drugs, fornicating, and engaging in other unseemly or illegal behavior, a source told the Wall Street Journal. And I’m sure absolutely no one will figure out how to bypass those guardrails.
Entertainment businesses need to stay ahead of the trends and make sure they’re relevant to the next generation of consumers, of course. So hooking up with OpenAI is an obvious way for a company to stay connected with the kids. But if there’s any company that would seem in less immediate danger of losing the kids, it’s the company with The Lion King, The Little Mermaid, Donald Duck, and Iron Man.
This will certainly be an interesting adventure to watch. And perhaps Disney’s deal with OpenAI will prove prescient and astute. I just hope Donald can hold his liquor.
See you Monday,
Alexei Oreskovic
X: @lexnfx
Email: alexei.oreskovic@fortune.com
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Venture Deals
- Harness, a San Francisco-based AI-powered platform designed to ship code faster, raised $240 million in Series E funding. Goldman Sachs led the round and was joined by IVP, Menlo Ventures, and Unusual Ventures.
- Port, a Middletown, Del.-based AI agent designed to handle some software developer tasks, raised $100 million in Series C funding. General Atlantic led the round and was joined by Accel, Bessemer Venture Partners, and Team8.
- Serval, a San Francisco-based developer of AI agents designed for IT processes, raised $75 million in Series B funding. Sequoia led the round and was joined by Redpoint, Meritech, First Round, and others.
- Medra, a San Francisco-based AI platform designed to accelerate data generation for scientists, raised $52 million in Series A funding. Hunan Capital led the round and was joined by Lux Capital, Neo, NFDG, and others.
- RelationalAI, a San Francisco-based enterprise decision intelligence platform, raised $22.5 million in funding from Snowflake Ventures and AT&T Ventures.
- Haven Energy, a Los Angeles, Calif.-based solar and home battery tech company, raised $15 million in Series B funding. Giant Ventures led the round and was joined by California Infrastructure Bank, Carnrite Ventures, Chaac Ventures, Comcast Ventures, and Lerer Hippeau.
- Neosapience, the San Francisco-based developer of the Typecast platform for creating voice and video content designed to have emotional intelligence, raised $11.5 million in Series C funding. Intervest led the round and was joined by HB Investment, K2 Investment, and Bokwang Investment.
- Skydo, a Bangalore, India-based payments platform for global exporters, raised $10 million in Series A funding. Susquehanna Asia Venture Capital and Elevation Capital.
- Subsense, a Palo Alto, Calif.-based developer of non-surgically invasive, nanoparticle-based brain-computer interfaces, raised $10 million in funding from Golden Falcon Capital.
- Kilo, a San Francisco-based open source coding agent, raised $8 million in seed funding. Cota Capital led the round and was joined by Breakers, General Catalyst, Quiet Capital, and Tokyo Black.
- On Me, a San Francisco-based digital gifting platform, raised $6 million in seed funding. NFX led the round and was joined by existing investors Lerer Hippeau and Focal.
- Cyphlens, a New York City-based enterprise security platform, raised $3.8 million in seed funding from Salesforce Ventures, Motivate Ventures, DCG, ex/ante, and Cambrian Ventures.
- Conveyd, a London, U.K.-based AI conveyancing platform, raised $3.3 million in seed funding. Eka Ventures led the round and was joined by Portfolio Ventures and existing investor Founders Factory and angel investors.
- Realm.Security, a Boston, Mass.-based security data pipeline platform, raised $2 million in funding from Presidio Ventures.
Private Equity
- Long Ridge Equity Partners acquired a majority stake in OnCorps AI, a Boston, Mass.-based agentic AI platform designed for fund operations, for $55 million.
- Aretum, a portfolio company of Renovus Capital Partners, acquired Veterans Engineering, a Rockville, M.D.-based IT modernization, cybersecurity, and cloud architecture company for mission-critical government programs. Financial terms were not disclosed.
- Rentsync, backed by Silversmith Capital Partners, acquired Spacelist, a Vancouver, Canada-based real estate listing marketplace. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Exits
- Perimeter Solutions agreed to acquire Medical Manufacturing Technologies, a Charlotte, N.C.-based provider of medical manufacturing solutions, from Arcline Investment Management for $685 million.
- ExperiGreen Lawn Care, backed by Wind Point Partners, acquired Turf Masters Brand, a Roswell, Ga.-based lawn care company, from CenterOak Partners. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Funds + Funds of Funds
- Swish Ventures, a Tel Aviv, Israel-based venture capital firm, raised $100 million for a new fund focused on companies in cybersecurity, infrastructure, and AI.
People
- Core Innovation Capital, a Los Angeles, Calif.-based venture capital firm, hired Michael J. Hsu as venture partner. He most recently served as Comptroller of the Currency.
