Latest news with #Granola
Yahoo
13 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Betaworks' third fund closes at $66M to invest in early-stage AI startups
New York City-based Betaworks has closed its $66 million Fund III, which will focus on investing in early-stage AI companies. Betaworks has been investing in AI since at least 2016 and, through its investment program Camp, has backed companies such as Huggingface and Granola. Jordan Crook, a partner at the firm (and former TechCrunch employee), said the new fund will focus on agents, native AI interfaces, and application-layer AI. 'Around these themes, we will continue to do straight seed investing and the Betaworks Camps,' Crook said. Fund III will seek to invest in at least 25 pre-seed to seed investments, as well as make at least 50 investments into startups as part of the Betaworks Camps program. 'Thus far, we've done around 37 deals,' Crook said, adding that the average check size was around $500,000. Crook called the current fundraising environment 'frothy' for startups, and 'spiky' for funds, but she noted that Fund III saw many of the firm's previous limited partners returning to invest. 'The fundraising environment in venture was challenging in 2024, and we weren't exempt, given that we were upsizing our fund,' she said. Betaworks previously raised a $46 million Fund II in 2020, and a $48 million Fund I in 2016. It launched in 2008 as a venture studio, and has since become a staple in the New York City tech ecosystem, launching its Betaworks Camps program in 2016. The firm's other notable investments include Tumblr and Kickstarter.
Yahoo
24-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Wispr Flow raises $30M from Menlo Ventures for its AI-powered dictation app
Startups developing voice AI technology and applications are having their moment. Model builders like ElevenLabs and Cartesia have raised millions of dollars in the last few months. Applications such as AI-powered notetaker Granola, and meeting tools Read AI and Fireflies AI have also received investor attention and backing. Continuing the trend, dictation app Wispr Flow announced today that it is raising $30 million in Series A funding from Menlo Ventures with participation from NEA, 8VC, Opal CEO Kenneth Schlenker, Pinterest Founder Evan Sharp, Carta CEO Henry Ward, and Lindy CEO Flo Crivelli. Menlo's Matt Kraning, who also backed the company as an angel investor, will join its board. To date, the company has raised $56 million. The startup's founder and CEO, Tanay Kothari, started building Wispr to create a device that would allow users to type just by mouthing words silently. Its prior funding was for that business. Last year, the company instead started focusing on Wispr Flow, the software interface designed for the hardware device. The company released a Mac app in October 2024, followed by a Windows app in March 2025, and an iOS app earlier this month. Kothari mentioned that, since its early release, VCs in Silicon Valley have been using the product. 'I think every single tier one venture fund in the valley uses Wispr Flow for their emails, memos, documents, and more. They feel themselves being hooked on it, and it is one of the products they use every day. Because of this, we started getting a lot of inbound,' Kothari said about investor interest. Notably, Granola also had a similar story of receiving immense investor interest because VCs used their product a lot. Kothari also noted that the startup will soon achieve profitability at the current rate of growth, and initially, he didn't want to raise money. However, he worried that big tech players with a massive distribution advantage could be a risk to the company. He wanted to multiply the company's revenue and reach rapidly, and decided to take the investment. Kraning, who has been an avid user of the app, said that his initial thesis for Wispr Flow was that with the current set of input methods, like keyboards, we are 'waiting for our thumbs to catch up with our thoughts.' 'Wispr Flow is creating an efficient way to translate digital thoughts and intent. The app captures users' speech and what they want to convey very well. The team has thought about how people speak while developing models rather than focusing on things like word error rates,' he told TechCrunch. The startup said that the app has been growing its user base by 50% month-over-month. Kothari noted that 40% of users of the app are in the U.S., 30% in Europe, and 30% in other parts of the world. In addition, more than 30% of the app's users are from a non-technical background. 'More and more people are using AI tools, but still, there isn't a good interface for people who are not techies. ChatGPT-style interface is the most common one, and that was released three and a half years ago. We are building for all kinds of users so they don't have to write system prompts to interface with AI,' Kothari said. At the moment, Wispr Flow supports dictation in 104 languages. Kothari said that 40% of dications are in English, and 60% of them are in the rest of the languages, with Spanish, French, German, Dutch, Hindi, and Mandarin being the top languages. The company will use the funding to grow its team of 18 with roles in engineering and go-to-market. It will also release an Android app and cater to Enterprise users by setting up company-wide phrase context and support teams. The startup is working on building Flow into a product that is akin to an AI-powered assistant that knows more about your personal context and helps you do everyday tasks like send messages, take notes, and set reminders. Plus, the company said it's working with some AI hardware partners, without naming them, to power the interaction layer. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
NZ Herald
12-06-2025
- General
- NZ Herald
Sanitarium breakfast cereals Honey Puffs, Granola, Weeties roll off production line for final time
As the last of some of New Zealand's most iconic cereals rolled off the production line at Sanitarium, staff gathered for a final farewell of decades-long pantry staples. Sanitarium announced last year it was discontinuing its Honey Puffs, Muesli, Clusters, Granola, Light n Tasty, Weeties and Puffed Wheat lines due
Business Insider
06-06-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
Granola is yummy. This AI version is pretty good, too.
Each week in Business Insider's Tech Memo newsletter, I try an AI tool. What do you think of this one? What should I do, or use, next week? Let me know. This week, I tested Granola, an AI notetaking assistant. I fired it up for an interview with Raj Sharma, a bigwig at consulting giant EY. Coincidentally, he said his wife uses Granola to transcribe her interactions with patients. Installing it on my MacBook was easy. It synced with my Google work calendar, launched a Microsoft Teams video call, and prompted me to start recording — all smooth and fast. My prepared questions were saved in the app, but I couldn't easily access them during the call. I defaulted to a Google Doc, wishing the notes had appeared more intuitively as the interview began. Granola's post-interview features impressed me. It provided a thematic summary with expandable sections and action items, based partly on my prepared questions and any notes I jotted down while Raj was speaking. I asked it to find a quote from Raj about AI being a "welcome relief," and it delivered. I made sure to go back and check the exact phrasing. For that, I needed the full transcript. This was pretty good, although Raj's comments and my questions were sometimes misattributed to the wrong speaker. What shocked me: Granola doesn't record audio of meetings. This is a dealbreaker for journalists who need to verify quotes precisely. I used Apple's Voice Memos app alongside Granola for the essential raw audio backup. Granola is sleek, smart, and promising. But for now, it's missing one essential thing for me: the truth in someone's own voice. Postscript After sending out the Tech Memo newsletter this morning, I tracked down emails from Vicky Firth, who leads customer experience at Granola. She kindly answered my annoying questions! Here's what she said on the lack of I asked why Granola doesn't provide audio recordings. "We never store the audio recordings and that's a deliberate decision for a few reasons. Firstly, we're aware that whatever platform you're on for your call already does this, and we don't feel the need to duplicate this functionality — we've optimised Granola to be able to make great summaries of meetings, so that's what we're laser-focused on, and the transcripts are enough to allow it to do that well. We want to make sure Granola can stay simple and great at what it does best." "Another set of reasons is around data security: we want to make sure we're only capturing what's necessary to make those great notes, such that we're not holding on to more sensitive information than is necessary. We hear feedback on both sides — some users would love us to store the recordings, but others email us wanting to make sure we don't! The transcripts again feel like enough here." I suggested that this is kind of a dealkiller for those who need to verify exactly what people say. I also asked why Granola doesn't just offer this as a default feature but add a clear button to switch audio recording off when users want that? Firth's reply makes good sense, and it's a real window into how startups operate and the hard product decisions they must make while building efficiently. "It's probably not the best solution if you're someone who needs very specific quotes on a regular basis, and another product is probably more suited if that's what you're after as your primary output. We do get requests for it, but at the moment (especially while we're such a small team and have to be ruthless with prioritising!) we're trying to focus on functionality that helps make great summarised notes, helps you share those notes with your team, and help you all get insights to do your work better on a higher level. It means we sadly have a long, long list of things that we have to park for now!"
Hindustan Times
24-05-2025
- Business
- Hindustan Times
Quaker Oats class action lawsuit settlement: Here's a list of products eligible for refunds
Quaker Oats has agreed to pay out $6.75 million to settle the lawsuit that claimed it misled consumers by selling some snacks and cereals as safe, although they were actually contaminated with salmonella. Notably, the lawsuit was filed after the recalls of several Quaker products in December 2023 and January 2024. Concerns led to the recall because several packages were produced at a facility that tested positive for salmonella. Quaker hasn't admitted to any wrongdoing, but it has agreed to a settlement. Now, if you purchased one or more of the recalled products, you may be eligible for a full or partial refund. ALSO READ| Obama divorce rumors ramp up after Michelle gets 'flirty' with billionaire: 'If I were single… With proof of purchase (such as receipts), you can receive a full refund of the recalled items you bought. Without proof, you can still get a refund for up to two products, based on average retail price, plus 10% for sales tax. If you have already received a reimbursement from Quaker, that amount will be deducted from your settlement. Deadline to submit a claim: June 27, 2025 Deadline to opt out or object: June 27, 2025 Final approval hearing: August 4, 2025 ALSO READ| US dad stumped by son's 5th grade math quiz, internet reacts to confusing homework Granola Bars & Dipps Quaker Big Chewy Bars (Chocolate Chip, Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip, Variety Pack) Quaker Chewy Bars (multiple flavors including Chocolate Chip, S'mores, Oatmeal Raisin, Less Sugar varieties, and holiday editions) Quaker Chewy Dipps (Chocolate Chip, Peanut Butter, Variety Pack) Quaker Chewy Mini Dipps (Birthday Blast, Summer Night S'mores) Fruity Fun Granola Bars (Amazing Apple, Splendid Strawberry, Variety Pack) Yogurt Granola Bars (Strawberry, Blueberry, Variety Packs) Cereals Quaker Puffed Granola (Apple Cinnamon, Blueberry Vanilla) Quaker Simply Granola (Oats, Honey & Almonds; Oats, Honey, Raisins & Almonds) Quaker Protein Granola (Oats, Chocolate & Almonds) Quaker Oatmeal Squares (Cinnamon, Brown Sugar, Honey Nut, Variety Pack) Quaker Chewy Granola Breakfast Cereal (Chocolate, Strawberry, Variety Pack) Snack Packs & Mixes Quaker Chocolatey Favorites Snack Mix Quaker On The Go Snack Mix Frito-Lay & Quaker variety snack packs (including Lunch Box Mix, Snack Time Favorites, Ultimate Flavor Snack Care Package) Cap'n Crunch Products Cap'n Crunch Cereals (OOPS! All Berries, Cinnamon Crunch, Sea Berry Crunch) Cap'n Crunch Instant Oatmeal (Regular, OOPS! All Berries, Variety Pack) Cap'n Crunch Treats Bars (Crunch Berries, Peanut Butter Crunch, Original Crunch, Variety Pack) ALSO READ| Australian MP pours beer into his sneakers, drinks it. All about the drinking tradition Shoey Other Gatorade Protein Bars (Peanut Butter Chocolate) Gamesa Cereal (Gamesa Marias)
