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PlantBaby Closes Seed Round

MARIN — PlantBaby, a company dedicated to creating innovative solutions in the plant-based nutrition space, has closed its Series Seed equity financing round. The round was led by B2 Partners, a firm founded by investor Matt Behrens, at a post-money valuation of $20 million. “PlantBaby represents the kind of forward-thinking, mission-driven company we look to support at B2 […]

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Plug and Play Receives $2 Million Grant to Launch AI Center

SAN JOSE — Plug and Play, a leading innovation platform, connecting startups, corporations, venture capital firms, universities, and government agencies, has received a $2 million grant from Knight Foundation. This private-philanthropic partnership marks a significant step toward fostering innovation in San Jose by supporting entrepreneurs and building a more collaborative artificial intelligence ecosystem. Knight Foundation’s investment will help […]

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Upwork Releases Skills in Demand for 2025

PALO ALTO — Upwork Inc., a platform for finding independent contractors, has released its annual In-Demand Skills report, spotlighting the most sought-after skills across key work categories on its platform. The findings highlight a dual emphasis on advanced technical skills and human-centric roles, underscoring the evolving demands of a workforce shaped by emerging technologies, digital […]

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Lyft Teaming Up With Anthropic to Introduce AI Products

Ride-sharing company Lyft is working with Anthropic to introduce customer-first, AI-powered Lyft products. This is to enhance the rideshare experience for its community of more than 40 million annual riders and over 1 million drivers. The work includes early research testing of new models and technology, alongside initiatives to advance Lyft’s engineering capabilities. Lyft’s customer […]

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Tech CEO Charged With $60 Million Investor Fraud

SAN FRANCISCO – A 25-count indictment was unsealed this week charging Alexander Charles Beckman, the founder and former CEO of GameOn, Inc., also known as GameOn Technology or ON Platform (“GameOn”), and Valerie Lau Beckman (“Lau”), an attorney who worked on GameOn matters and is married to Beckman, with conspiracy, wire fraud, securities fraud, identity […]

News Venture Capital

TrueFoundry Grabs $19 Million Series A

TrueFoundry has raised $19 million in Series A funding, led by Intel Capital, with participation from existing investors Peak XV(formerly Sequoia India) and Eniac Ventures. The company is also adding Jump Capital as a new investor, alongside angel investors including Gokul Rajaram (Product Leader, DoorDash & ex-Google), Mohit Aron (Founder, Nutanix & Cohesity), Cyan Banister (Early-stage investor, Uber & SpaceX), Ankit Sobti (Co-founder, Postman), and Lenny Rachitsky (Author, Lenny’s […]

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State Farm Seeks 22% Immediate Rate Hike

State Farm General has asked the California Department of Insurance to immediately approve interim rate increases, including 22% average for homeowners. State Farm has served the customers of California for nearly 100 years and says it plans to continue serving them for many more.  As of February 1st, State Farm General (Fire only) has received […]

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San Jose Man Charged With Robbery of Mail Carrier

SAN JOSE – A federal grand jury has indicted Robert Cordova, also known as Robert Cordona, with one count of robbery of a U.S. Postal Service (USPS) letter carrier and one count of assaulting a federal employee. Cordova was arrested and made his initial appearance in federal district court on Monday. Cordova, 49, of San […]

News Venture Capital

Energize Capital Leads $13.9 Million Round in Tyba

SAN FRANCISCO — Tyba, an energy storage optimization platform, has announced $13.9 million in Series A funding led by Energize Capital. The round includes new investment from Pear VC, Mobilize Climate Capital, and Borusan Ventures and follow-on investment from Powerhouse, Wireframe, Virta, and Lorimer. This brings Tyba’s total funding to $18.15 million. This capital will help Tyba […]

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Oklo Board Member Confirmed as Energy Secretary

SANTA CLARA — Oklo Inc. announced that Chris Wright, a member of its Board of Directors, was confirmed as the U.S. Secretary of Energy on February 3, 2025. As a result, Wright has stepped down from Oklo’s Board to assume this critical role in advancing the nation’s energy policies. “We congratulate Chris Wright on his […]

News Venture Capital

Backline Emerges From Stealth With $9 Million Seed Funding

SAN FRANCISCO — Backline, an autonomous security remediation platform, has launched from stealth with $9 million in Seed funding led by StageOne Ventures, with participation from Evolution Equity Partners and Gradient. The company’s fleet of AI agents automatically fixes security vulnerabilities and misconfigurations at scale, helping enterprises tackle their overwhelming security backlogs. Already deployed across organizations, […]

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SF Police Arrest 8 for Shoplifting, Retail Theft

To help reduce retail thefts and to hold people who commit these crimes accountable, San Francisco Police officers assigned to Ingleside Station pre-planned shoplifting and retail theft abatement enforcement operations to address Organized Retail Crimes (ORC). These operations involved coordinated efforts of uniformed and plainclothes officers who wait to arrest criminals who shoplift from retail […]