Upcoming Founder & VC Events Happening This Week

Upcoming Events & Total Angel Money Raised by FAANG & The Week’s 10 Biggest Funding Rounds

Author

Mariane Bekker
May 28, 2024

Table of Contents

Sports/Fitness Tech & AI: Panel and Networking (Link)

Saturday June 1, 5pm - 8pm

​Join us for an exclusive Sports/Fitness Tech event! This event will feature a dynamic panel discussion with prominent figures from the sports tech & fitness industry including athletes, investors & founders.

Networking events are a great way to meet fellow founders and investors. Here are events happening in San Francisco this week for founders.

🗓️ Tuesday, May 28

👉 🧠 GenAI Collective 🧠 Research Roundtable 👩‍🔬👨‍🔬 (6:30 PM - 9:00 PM)
📍 Mountain View
💬 After an incredible inaugural roundtable event, the GenAI Collective is returning to the South Bay to run it back! Join the community for an evening where the future of AI unfolds in real time! 🤩

🗓️ Wednesday, May 29

👉 AI DevSummit 2024 (8:30 AM - 3:00 PM)
📍 San Francisco
💬 AI DevSummit is the World’s Leading AI Developer & Engineering Conference with tracks covering chatbots, machine learning, open source AI libraries, AI for the enterprise, and deep AI / neural networks. This conference targets software engineers and data scientists who are looking for an introduction to AI as well as AI dev professionals looking for a landscape view on the newest AI technologies.

👉 GenAI Summit San Francisco 2024 (9:00 AM - 6:00 PM)
📍 San Francisco
💬 ​Dive into the heart of innovation at the GenAI Summit San Francisco 2024, set in the awe-inspiring, historic Palace of Fine Arts from May 29th to May 31st. This summit is not just an event, it’s an extraordinary convergence of the brightest minds in Generative AI, encapsulating the spirit of the future.

👉 Creators Co-Working Day in SF (Beacons & Design Buddies) (10:00 AM - 4:00 PM)
📍 San Francisco
💬 ​We're gathering creatives around the SF Bay Area for a fun co-working day at the Beacons HQ! Hosted by Grace Ling and Ben Woytowich!

👉 Women In The Workplace (4:30 PM - 8:00 PM)
📍 San Francisco
💬 ​TEKsystems NW Women’s ERG is organizing a ‘Women in the Workplace’ in-person panel and networking event around elevating and retaining women in leadership positions.

👉 AI Symposium in Healthcare Life Sciences (5:30 PM - 8:30 PM)
📍 Palo Alto
💬 Join us and NVIDIA on May 29th at The Multiverse in Palo Alto. It's an exceptional chance for networking with venture capitalists, startups, and key players in the strategic ecosystem. Don't miss out on this unique opportunity.

👉 Women Tech Meetup w/Arc, Puzzle & INSEAD (5:30 PM - 8:00 PM)
📍 San Francisco
💬 ​​Join our Women Tech Meetup co-hosted by Arc & Puzzle at INSEAD San Francisco Hub for Business Innovation!

👉 Startup Founders Meetup (6:00 PM - 8:15 PM)
📍 San Francisco
💬 ​I want to try a new format - we start with mix and mingle, but then do a IRL 'breakout room' (roundtables) for smaller groups to connect and have more meaningful discussions.

👉 Light Dao Salon - AGI: A Renaissance for Humanity (SF) IRL & Virtual (6:30 PM - 10:00 PM)
📍 San Francisco
💬 Join Light Dao and our community of conscious entrepreneurs and investors for a salon evening filled with connection, deep conversations, and a fireside chat with Jeremy Nixon and Ruby Yeh, Co-Founder of Light Dao.

🗓️ Thursday, May 30

👉 Techstars Oakland Powered by J.P. Morgan Demo Day (4:15 PM - 9:15 PM)
📍 Alameda
💬 ​Join us for Techstars Oakland Demo Day and see our newest class of founders share the innovative companies they're building - featuring special live Q&As with our Entrepreneurs in Residence!

👉 🧠 GenAI Collective 🧠 SF Demo Extravaganza 🚀 (6:00 PM - 9:00 PM)
📍 San Francisco
💬 Join us for the GenAI Collective community's inaugural SF Demo Extravaganza, where we will be uniting communities and builders across town to showcase the 10 most spectacular demos our early-stage ecosystem has to offer! 🥳

👉 An Evening with Three AI Investors (6:30 PM - 8:30 PM)
📍 San Francisco
💬 ​Please join us on Thursday, May 30th at Solaris AI for a panel discussion about investing in AI startups.

👉 AI and Web3 for Healthcare: A New Frontier (6:30 PM - 9:30 PM)
📍 San Francisco
💬 Join us for an exhilarating evening where healthcare meets the cutting edge of technology! Connect with industry leaders, visionary founders, and seasoned investors in an immersive networking experience.

👉 Nucleate Activator Demo Day After Party - Hosted By Flagstar (8:00 PM - 10:00 PM)
📍 San Francisco
💬 ​It is time to celebrate out the great efforts of Nucleate Bay Area Activator 2024 cohorts -- Please join us at ATWater Tavern, hosted by our wonderful sponsor, Flagstar Private Bank. This gathering will not only bring together exceptional founders, but also investors, students, and more all interested at the intersection of biotechnology and business.

🗓️ Friday, May 31

👉 'Almost Summer' Social - W24 Edition (5:00 PM - 8:00 PM)
📍 San Francisco
💬 ​The days are getting longer, the weather is getting nicer, and the AI is getting smarter. What better reason to come hang with fellow W24 & alumni and kick off summer with food, drinks, and games!

👉 The Intergalactic Swarmathon (6:00 PM - 6:00 PM)
📍 Palo Alto
💬 The Swarms Corporation is throwing the biggest hackathon in Silicon Valley: An Intergalactic Swarmathon! Join us in a 48-hour non-stop event where top minds in AI gather to craft their very best AI Agents.

👉 Abhay Venkatesh: Startup Principles (6:00 PM - 7:30 PM)
📍 San Francisco
💬 Abhay Venkatesh is early at Anduril, where he worked on AI. He also wrote the viral doc "Startup Principles". We'll do a short Fireside Chat on these principles followed by Q+A.

🗓️ Saturday, June 1

👉 Gen AI Hackathon for Building RAG Applications and Fine-tuning (9:00 AM - 8:00 PM)
📍 San Francisco
💬 We are partnering up with Upstage, MindsDB, LangChain, Together AI, and MongoDB to bring together developers and hackers for the Generative AI Hackathon in San Francisco. During this one-day event, your team will have the opportunity to utilize APIs from all of our hackathon partners' products and build projects to compete for prizes. The prizes will be given to the team that uses full-stack LLM components in the following tracks:

👉 Global Prospects Summit & Startup Pitches | People Behind AI and Macroeconomic Trends (12:00 PM - 4:30 PM)
📍 Sunnyvale
💬 Welcome to the Silicon Valley Global Prospects Summit (SVGPS) co-hosted with Plug and Play CTN. We hope to have a global dialogue to unpack some of the profound impact of the recent AI advancements on individuals and the industry.

👉 Sports/Fitness Tech & AI: Panel and Networking (5:00 PM - 8:00 PM) [HOSTED BY ME]
📍 San Francisco
💬 ​Join us for an exclusive Sports/Fitness Tech event! This event will feature a dynamic panel discussion with prominent figures from the sports tech & fitness industry including athletes, investors & founders.

🗓️ Sunday, June 2

👉 Inception Cohort 11 Demo Day and Reception (4:00 PM - 7:00 PM)
📍 Sunnyvale
💬 ​​​​Inception Studio is a non-profit accelerator that organizes intense weekend retreats for AI's most exceptional entrepreneurs and builders. Since launching in November 2022, we've had 8 cohorts that have yielded 20+ companies that have raised over $50M from top investors.

Here's How Much Angel Money the Top FAANG Companies Received to Kick Off Their Growth


By Mariane bekker

Angel funding can be a crucial factor in the early stages of a company's growth. Many of the world's most successful tech giants, such as Facebook, Apple, Google, Amazon, and Netflix, owe a part of their success to the support they received from angel investors. In this article, we'll explore how much angel money these top FAANG (Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix, Google) companies received to kick off their remarkable journeys.

Facebook/Meta:

In 2004, a young Mark Zuckerberg had a groundbreaking idea for a social networking platform. To turn his vision into reality, Facebook received $500,000 in angel funding from Peter Thiel, an influential tech investor. Adjusted for inflation, that amount would be equivalent to approximately $700,000 in today's dollars. Thiel's investment played a crucial role in fueling Facebook's early growth and establishing its strong foundation.

Apple:

Back in 1977, when personal computers were still in their infancy, Apple was just starting to make waves in the technology industry. To fund their ambitious plans, Apple received $250,000 in angel funding from Mike Markkula, an investor who later became one of the company's earliest employees and played a vital role in its success. Adjusted for inflation, that investment would be approximately equivalent to $1.2 million today.

Google/Alphabet:

In 1998, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, the founders of Google, were building a search engine that would revolutionize the way information was discovered on the internet. To help them turn their idea into reality, they secured $100,000 in angel funding from Andy Bechtolsheim, co-founder of Sun Microsystems. Adjusted for inflation, this investment would be approximately equivalent to $400,000 in today's dollars. Bechtolsheim's support provided the necessary boost for Google's early growth and development.

Amazon:

Amazon, founded by Jeff Bezos in 1994, started as an online bookstore but rapidly expanded into a global e-commerce behemoth. During its early days, Bezos secured $1 million in angel funding from his parents to kick-start the company's operations. While not a traditional angel investor, this early support provided crucial financial backing to fuel Amazon's growth.

Netflix:

In 1997, Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph founded Netflix with the vision of disrupting the home video rental industry. To fund their venture, they received approximately $2.5 million in angel funding from a group of investors, including the likes of John Doerr and Andy Rendich. This early capital injection allowed Netflix to develop its subscription-based model and evolve into the streaming giant we know today.

Angel funding has played a significant role in the success of top FAANG companies. From Facebook to Netflix, these tech giants received substantial investments from visionary individuals who believed in their potential. The angel money provided crucial resources, mentorship, and financial backing during the early stages, enabling these companies to grow and thrive.

The Week’s 10 Biggest Funding Rounds

This week's fundraising highlights a continued strong interest in diverse sectors, with significant investments in AI, biotech, and healthcare, alongside notable entries from blockchain, climate tech, and edtech.

  1. Scale AI

    • Sector: Artificial Intelligence

    • Funding: $1B

    • Details: Scale AI raised $1 billion in a round led by Accel, valuing the data labeling and evaluation startup at $13.8 billion. This valuation is nearly double the $7.3 billion it reached after a $325 million raise in April 2021. Major tech players like Nvidia, Meta, and Amazon also invested. Scale AI plays a crucial role in creating large language models and accurately labeling text, images, video, and voice data.

  2. AltruBio

    • Sector: Biotech

    • Funding: $225M

    • Details: AltruBio secured a $225 million Series B led by BVF Partners. The San Francisco-based startup develops therapeutics for treating ulcerative colitis and other immunological diseases. The funds will support ongoing and planned Phase 2 clinical trials in ulcerative colitis. Founded in 2000, AltruBio has raised nearly $328 million.

  3. Farcaster

    • Sector: Blockchain

    • Funding: $150M

    • Details: Farcaster, a Web3 social media platform, raised $150 million in a round led by Paradigm. The startup will use the new funds to grow its user base and add developer tools. In March, it was reported that Farcaster's parent company, Merkle Manufactory, was in talks for a new funding round valuing it at over $1 billion.

  4. Suno

    • Sector: Artificial Intelligence

    • Funding: $125M

    • Details: Suno, a music startup that uses generative AI, raised $125 million in a round led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, Nat Friedman, Daniel Gross, Matrix, and Founder Collective. The Cambridge-based company allows users to create songs from text prompts, generating voice, lyrics, and music. Suno reported that 10 million people have used its service since its first product launch eight months ago.

  5. Progentos Therapeutics

    • Sector: Biotech

    • Funding: $65M

    • Details: Progentos Therapeutics, based in Watertown, Massachusetts, raised $65 million in a Series A led by Forbion Capital Partners. The company focuses on regenerating myelin to restore function for multiple sclerosis patients. This is Progentos' first announced funding round.

  6. (tied) Allez Health

    • Sector: Healthcare

    • Funding: $60M

    • Details: Allez Health, formerly Zense-Life, raised $60 million in a Series A+ led by Osang Healthcare. The Carlsbad-based startup develops smart biosensors for connected digital health platforms. Founded in 2018, Allez Health has raised over $62 million.

  7. (tied) Tuesday Health

    • Sector: Healthcare

    • Funding: $60M

    • Details: Tuesday Health, based in Nashville, raised $60 million in a strategic investment from Valtruis, The Blue Venture Fund, Mass General Brigham Ventures, and CareSource. The company provides supportive care for seriously ill patients and caregivers. Founded last year, this is its first announced funding round.

  8. 280 Earth

    • Sector: Climate Tech

    • Funding: $50M

    • Details: 280 Earth, a direct air capture startup based in Mountain View, California, raised $50 million in a Series B from investors including Alphabet. Founded in 2022, this is the company's first announced funding round.

  9. Wayspring

    • Sector: Healthcare

    • Funding: $45M

    • Details: Wayspring, a Nashville-based substance use disorder care startup, raised $45 million in a round led by CVS Health Ventures. Founded in 2012, Wayspring has raised $161 million.

  10. Pratika

    • Sector: Edtech

    • Funding: $35.5M

    • Details: Pratika, a Palo Alto-based language learning app, raised $35.5 million in a Series A led by Blossom Capital. Founded in 2022, Pratika has raised $36.5 million.

Source: Crunchbase 

CEO, Founders Bay

Hi! I'm Mariane Bekker, a tech executive with over a decade of experience building high-performing engineering teams at leading startups such as New Relic and Mindbody. I've led engineering through 5 acquisitions and 1 IPO. 

I recently founded Founders Bay, a venture studio for early-stage founders with a mission of empowering women founders to grow their startups. Learn more: www.foundersbay.com