Weekly #FIRGUN Newsletter
"Firgun" (Hebrew: ??????/ pronounced 'feer-goon')?is an informal modern Hebrew term and concept in Israeli culture (originally Yiddish), which describes genuine, unselfish delight or pride in the accomplishment of the other person. It's the opposite of schadenfreude. More about Firgun and why it matters on?VC Cafe :?https://lnkd.in/dg2a86p
Naturally, I had to ask ChatGPT to help me with the definition of "Firgun" and how it's used in practice. Here's the answer:
"Firgun" is a Hebrew term that is often translated as "altruistic pleasure" or "kindness" or "generosity." It refers to the act of feeling happy or satisfied when others succeed or are fortunate, and is often used to describe a person who takes pleasure in the success or happiness of others. In practice, Firgun can be expressed in many ways, such as by offering congratulations, expressing appreciation, or by taking actions that help others achieve their goals. It is an important value in many cultures, and is particularly prevalent in Israeli culture.
This was a black week for democracy in Israel. Despite over 6 months of constant protests and demonstrations, unmeasurable damage to Israel's security, economy, reputation, the government voted to approve a change to the law that largely diminishes the power of the supreme court and gives the government the power to pass discriminatory, corrupt and unlawful laws. It also showed us that there is a large group of Israelis willing to fight for democracy and that they will not rest until it prevails. My hope is that the changes to the law are cancelled by the Supreme court and brought for a referendum or wider approval by the public.
My quote of the week is:
"Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty." - John F. Kennedy
NEW INVESTMENT ROUNDS
- Congratulations? Shai Gabay ?and team? Trustmi ?on your $17M series A for end to end payments security platform!
- Mabruk? Yuval Gonczarowski ?and team? Akooda ?on your $11M seed round for your AI powered operations platform, to locate, access, and analyze critical data scattered across an organization!
- Well done Maor Bin ?and team? Adaptive Shield, a CrowdStrike Company ?on your $10M series A extension for your SaaS security posture management platform!
- Congratulations Yonatan Golan ?and team Brevel ?on your $10.1M seed extension for an algae based neutral-tasting complete protein!
- Kol hakavod Eran Zilberman ?and team Cyclops Security ?on your $6.4M seed round for a search engine powered by generative AI to answer questions about the state of an organization’s security posture!
- Kudos Ophira Melamed, Ph.D. ?and team NitroFix ?on your $3.1M seed round to produce ammonia from water and air!
- Mazal tov Yuval Kalati ?and team AcadeMe+ on coming out of stealth with $1M in funding to date to incorporate film in classroom education!
- Congratulations Gideon Drori ?and team FinCom.Co on coming out of the garage with $2M raised to date for your Phonetic Fingerprint AML solution!
EXITS
- Congratulations? Shlomo Kramer ?and team? Imperva ?on the $3.4 billion acquisition by 泰雷兹 !
- Well done? Rafi Ozick ?and team? Privatise on the acquisition by Coro for an undisclosed sum.
NEW FUNDS
- Congrats? Oded Hermoni and J-Ventures Fund ?on the new $22M impact-focused fund to invest in Israeli founded startups.
LINKS FOR YOUR BROWSER:
1) I gave an interview to The Jewish News on applications of generative AI and the Israeli landscape in the gen AI space - Israel doubles down on the robot (also features Hour One , Munch , KwaKwa ) - via Candice Krieger
2)? Lightspeed shared an interesting overview of generative AI applications in gaming
3)?This was another big week of generative AI progress
领英推荐
Interesting reads:
The list goes on, but check the 'housekeeping' section if you want to stat more frequently informed.
HOUSEKEEPING
?? I got very positive feedback on my?#GENAI ?Whatsapp group but I'm considering where to take it next. Rather than 'come as you are' I'm going to make a new group that's invite-only and more curated.?Fill this short form ?to express interest.
???Please subscribe?to my new?Youtube Channel ?and?TikTok channel ?- I post videos regularly on Generative AI, startups and venture capital
VIDEO OF THE WEEK
Chamath Palihapitiya on future startups powered by AI and needed fewer people
CHARTS OF THE WEEK
How much equity do founders give at each stage according to data by Carta
As more money shifts from late stage to early stage, median early stage round size ticks up, according to CB Insights
The growing landscape of Generative AI gaming, by Lightspeed
We're sending much more stuff to space... DCVC deep tech report
That's all for this week. Keep on creating! The world needs entrepreneurship and innovation more than ever.
Advocate for financial education, literacy, and independence. Advisory solutions and problem solving for businesses; risk management, business planning, building brand equity, capital raising and more.
1 年So glad you're using this platform in this way - and in NY/Israel ecosystem this is bigtime Firgun-worthy Guy Franklin - https://www.dhirubhai.net/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7090045595809103872/ Really amazing stuff! Have a great weekend.