🕶️ Meet NYC's fresh-faced VC disruptors

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Six bullets of updates

1. 🦵 Altera uses GPT-4o to build a new area of human collaboration, creating agents capable of simulating cognitive functions.

2. 🚧 EU's tech challenge: Big ideas, but barriers to commercialization. EU venture returns are more robust than the US, yet talent gaps loom.

3. 🚘 Tesla's vehicle head, Daniel Ho, jumps to Waymo as it gears up for the Robotaxi reveal; Tesla's output hit 1.85M cars/yr.

4. ⚔️ Comcast data breach affects 237k customers via a ransomware attack on a debt collection agency.

5. ⚠️ Flying taxi startup Lilium faces insolvency if it cannot "immediately" raise more capital.

6. 🛡️ The co-founder of the Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation made a resource for startups working with the Defense Department.

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The entrepreneurs behind Trump’s crypto push

Chase Herro and Zachary Folkman, known for their controversial business ventures and a history of lawsuits, are now partnering with former President Donald Trump in a new cryptocurrency project called World Liberty Financial. Trump and his sons aim to make the U.S. the "crypto capital of the world" despite skepticism from experts questioning the partners' expertise.

Herro and Folkman, both serial entrepreneurs, have been involved in numerous projects, often facing legal troubles and unpaid debts. Their latest venture with Trump could lead to conflicts of interest, especially if Trump, who has changed his stance on cryptocurrency, wins the election and influences regulations benefiting the new venture.

Trump and his team expressed confidence in World Liberty Financial’s success despite past scandals. However, experts remain unconvinced, describing the project as a risky opportunity for investors and highlighting the lack of a transparent business model. Read more!

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Startup Events and Deadlines

1. StartX (Stanford-StartX Fund) | October 10 | USA

2. Crash Course in Financial Modeling | October 10 | Webinar

3. Financial Modeling Bootcamp | October 14 - 18 | Webinar

4. Techstars New York City Accelerator | November 20 | New York City

5. Techstars Anywhere Accelerator | November 20 | Remote

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These companies just raised money

1. 🪨 Kobold Metals, which uses AI to help find critical minerals for the energy transition, raises $491M.

2. ☁️ Eon emerges from stealth with $127M to bring a fresh approach to backing up cloud infrastructure.

3. 🦠 Triveni raises $115M in series B less than a year after raising $92M to advance preclinical antibody programs.

4. 🔼 Customer service startup Crescendo closed a $50M funding round at a $500M valuation for its AI-powered customer service platform.

5. 📎 The three-year-old startup DataPelago raises $47M to optimize hardware for analytical workloads at a massive scale.  

6. ⚕️ PSG, a firm that partners with software and tech-enabled services companies, invested $47M in Nym, an autonomous medical coding company.

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Meet NYC's next-gen Venture Capitalists

Meet New York's venture capital wunderkinds, all under 30 and already shaping the Big Apple's startup scene. From Alexander Sukin, keen on healthcare and astrology apps, to Alex Chung, eyeing women’s health innovations, these VCs showcase diverse interests and backgrounds. 

Their paths—like Emily Herrera's creative economy focus—reveal the shifting sands of venture capitalism. While youth isn't everything, these VCs bring fresh insights, challenging traditional norms. As they bet on niche solutions and the extraordinary, their moves could redefine NYC’s startup ecosystem. (FYI: TechCrunch will update  the list periodically.) Read more about these VCs.

*On a side note, you might want to check our video: The Forbes 30-under-30 curse 

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Startup Financial Modeling Explained (+ FREE Template)

This video turns a confusing Profit & Loss Statement into an easy forecasting tool. Learn to predict costs, manage spending, and build a solid financial plan. Get tips for boosting profits, plus free templates and live webinars 😎 Watch now and don’t forget to subscribe!