Hey Reader,

Altitude Edition 017 is hot off the press from Cirrus Capital Partners ♾, the better way to finance your company.

As usual, here's our bird's eye 🦅 view of the most exciting news and insights around...

• Successful Companies and Founding Teams
• VC, PE, M&A, and Credit Transactions
• Growth Metrics, Benchmarks, Charts & Data
• New and Emergent Technologies
• Productivity Hacks

Created for founders, bootstrappers, VCs, angel investors, marketers, technologists, executives, and operators—everywhere.

Let’s get into it:

Company Updates

The year 2050—coming to you early in 2025!

Cruise’s Robotaxis are coming to the Uber app in 2025

Uber has announced a partnership with Cruise to bring autonomous robotaxis to the Uber app starting in 2025. This collaboration allows Uber users in select U.S. cities to book rides in Cruise's self-driving vehicles. The move is part of Uber's strategy to integrate more autonomous vehicles into its platform, expanding its ride-hailing options while continuing its pursuit of innovation in transportation.

Apple & other tech giants are in talks to invest in OpenAI...

Tech giants like Apple and Nvidia are reportedly in talks to invest in OpenAI, potentially valuing the company at over $100 billion - a meaningful markup from their last valuation while still being intertwined in headlines that include phrases like "bailout" and "saving from bankruptcy" - what a wild world we live in...

This investment could lead to deeper integration of AI technologies, such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, into Apple’s ecosystem, enhancing Siri’s capabilities. OpenAI stands to benefit from Apple’s vast user base, while Microsoft, another investor, could ease regulatory concerns. The move may also accelerate AI-driven innovations in financial services, though it raises questions about data privacy and market consolidation.

Siri is about to get way more helpful...and creepy!

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Netflix Co-founder, Marc Randolph, on 'The Canada Rule' for Building Successful Startups

Early in Netflix's journey, the company resisted expanding to Canada despite a potential 10% revenue boost. Netflix co-founder Marc Randolph introduced "The Canada Rule" for startups, emphasizing focus over pursuing every opportunity. The complexities of different languages, currency, and regulations would have distracted from core growth areas. They would have been short terms moves with short term benefits.

The lesson? Focus on scaling what's most important instead of chasing short-term gains. This principle, echoed by other leaders like Paul Graham, highlights the value of prioritizing a strong foundation over spreading resources thin.

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(Don't) Get your Degree in X and Threads

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​Tweets that will change your life

Who needs Harvard when you have these tweets.

I'm kidding. But if you're looking for some Munger, Taleb, or heavy hitting inspiration over your morning coffee (or late afternoon lunch depending on when we have time to fire this email off), these tweets could change your life. The above photo, is a personal favorite of mine when all else in the world feels chaotic.

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Top 100 Colleges Ranked By Startup Founders

As students move into their dorms, they might be silently sighing in relief or kicking themselves after reading this list. That is, if they want to be venture-backed startup founders.

Pitchbook released a list of schools ranked based on data analyzing founders who have raised VC funding globally. Key categories include undergraduate, MBA, and female founder alumni, with schools like Stanford, MIT, and Harvard consistently leading. The rankings reveal which universities are most influential in shaping entrepreneurial ecosystems, and provide valuable insights for prospective students, entrepreneurs, and investors alike. The latest rankings demonstrate the enduring power of elite institutions in driving and incubating innovation.

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Bay Area Startups Collectively Secured Over $603M

This past week saw $603M in funding, pushing August’s total to over $4B. The largest deal was Fortera's $85M, with significant investments in infotech, cleantech, and medtech.

Interestingly, no AI infrastructure funding occurred, although AMD’s $4.9B acquisition of ZT Systems stood out as major news in that space. Story’s $80M Series B in Web3 and crypto marked a resurgence in those sectors. Y Combinator’s expansion signals increased early-stage activity, but concerns remain about competition for Series A dollars.

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The people want AI, but what for?

The spotlight's on AI-driven marketing, security, and productivity tools over time.

The top category is "Marketing," followed by "Collaboration & Productivity," "Security," and "HR & HCM." Other key sectors include "E-commerce," "Finance & ERP," and "Service." The interest in AI within these categories has grown significantly from early 2022 to mid-2024, with noticeable peaks in specific months.

Our Visit To The Market

The brass tacks:

• Initial Unemployment Claims: The seasonally adjusted number of initial claims was 227,000, down by 5,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 232,000. The four-week moving average was 230,000, a slight decrease.
• Insured Unemployment Rate: The insured unemployment rate was 1.2%, unchanged from the previous week. The number of insured unemployed individuals was 1.838 million, down by 22,000 from the prior week.
• State Highlights: Some states experienced significant changes in unemployment claims. For example, New York saw the largest increase (+2,604), while Texas saw the largest decrease (-1,515). Layoffs were concentrated in sectors such as manufacturing, transportation, and warehousing.
• Federal Employees and Veterans: Initial claims by former federal employees and newly discharged veterans slightly increased, while continued claims for both categories decreased.

It looks like the U.S. economy is showing signs of weakness as these key indicators include rising unemployment rates, a slowdown in hiring, and increasing delinquencies in credit card and auto loans crop up. The Federal Reserve's next move, possibly a 25 basis point interest rate cut, is expected soon. Other sectors, like housing and consumer spending, also show signs of strain. In Q2, U.S. nonfarm productivity was revised up to 2.5%, higher than the initial estimate of 2.3%, supported by a 3.5% increase in output and a 1% rise in hours worked. Unit labor costs were revised down to 0.4%, with hourly compensation growing by 3%. Over the last four quarters, labor costs increased by only 0.3%, the lowest since 2013. This productivity growth, despite low wage inflation, suggests a strong labor efficiency improvement in the economy.

On the global stage, Japan's stock market is thriving amid U.S. economic uncertainty. Investors are increasingly drawn to Japan's stable economy, low inflation, and corporate reforms, which are seen as more favorable compared to the U.S. Federal Reserve's rate hikes and inflation concerns. The surge in Japanese stocks is also supported by the weaker yen, which boosts exports. Société Générale warned that turmoil from the recent yen-carry trade unwind could resume, as Japan's central bank is expected to continue raising interest rates. The yen-carry trade allows investors to borrow at low Japanese rates to invest in higher-yielding assets like U.S. stocks. The unwinding of this trade could negatively affect U.S. tech stocks and the broader market. Additionally, Japan’s wage growth surpassing the U.S. for the first time in decades signals further potential rate hikes. Keep an eye on future market volatility.

In times of market unpredictability, the greatest challenge may lie within ourselves. As investors, lenders, or entrepreneurs, we’re wired with biases that shape our reactions to volatility. Many surrender to market behavior, but true mastery lies in staying grounded through fundamentals.

Fresh Fundings 🥧

Notable Equity Rounds from big to small

​Grafana Labs, a New York-based analytics company, raised $270 million in a mix of growth equity and a secondary offering, extending its $240 million Series D from 2022. Led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, the round values the company at $6 billion. Grafana's open-source platform specializes in monitoring and visualizing data. The funding includes investments directly into the company and payments to existing shareholders.

​Fortera, a San Jose-based startup, secured $85 million in Series C funding from investors including Khosla Ventures and Temasek. The company has developed technology to produce low-carbon cement within existing manufacturing infrastructure. This "green cement" aims to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 70% compared to traditional cement. The new funding will be used to integrate Fortera's technology into current cement plants to scale production.

​Story Protocol, a San Francisco-based startup, raised $80 million in Series B funding led by Andreessen Horowitz. The company, valued at $2.25 billion, is addressing intellectual property (IP) theft, especially with the rise of AI, by using blockchain technology. Story Protocol allows IP owners to securely store and manage their IP, embedding usage terms and licensing fees through smart contracts. This ensures that creators are compensated when their IP is used, aiming to solve the growing issue of AI models ingesting copyrighted material without permission.

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Notable Credit Transactions from big to small

​Bank of America and Fifth Third Bank arranged a $390 million senior credit facility for Alaska Communications. The funding will go towards repaying existing debt and to further invest in expanding the company's fiber infrastructure across the state.

​Trinity Capital has provided $35 million in financing to ApiJect, a company focused on injection technologies and medical devices. The funding will be used to accelerate the development and production of ApiJect's prefilled, single-use syringes and other delivery systems. These innovations aim to address challenges in the medical field by enhancing the safety, scalability, and efficiency of injectable treatments. The financing is part of Trinity Capital's broader strategy to support high-growth companies in sectors like healthcare and medical technology.

​Great Rock Capital provides $30 million revolving credit facility to Crossplane Capital, a specialty rental platform. The new capital will be used to fund a strategic add-on acquisition and will provide additional liquidity to support the company's future growth expenditures.

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Until our next flight,

Ryan, Sutheshna & your friends at Cirrus​

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