Latest news with #SarahSmith
Yahoo
11-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Sarah Smith launches $16M fund, says AI can ‘unlock' so much for solo GPs like herself
Sarah Smith, founder and managing partner of the eponymous Sarah Smith Fund, announced Thursday the final closing of a $16 million Fund I. Smith launched her eponymous fund in 2022 and is a solo GP. She said she's 'stunned' by what AI can unlock for firms like hers, solo and next-generation. 'I can't imagine doing venture any other way now,' she said. 'While I believe company building still requires a team effort, I believe early-stage investing is best done solo.' She appreciates how she can make fast decisions that don't require committee approval. She's also taken to using AI to help her throughout this journey. 'Every day I'm dreaming of more ways to support my founders, combining my experience and network with AI,' she said. 'For example, just last week, I led a values articulation project for one of my founders,' Smith continued. 'It took me 2-3 hours of time when it previously would have taken 20. When you have an AI-native firm that can deliver 10x value in 1/10 of the time, you can scale up a large portfolio with just one person.' She said she previously had a $3 million rolling fund, and spent a year raising this Fund I. Fund I hopes to invest in 50 companies and has already backed 17, with the average check size standing at $250,000. Limited partners include Pear VC, Ulu Ventures, and Verdis Investment Management. Fund I focuses mainly on startups in the Stanford ecosystem (Smith is an alumna of the university). She has research there, too, to back up her focus. 'It has produced more unicorns and exit value than any other university in the world,' she said, citing the research done by Ilya Strebulaev that shows that 11% of unicorn founders have an association with Stanford. 'While much of the legacy Sand Hill firms spend of of their time up in SF, 45 minutes north, I'm doubling down on Stanford campus.' 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
TechCrunch
11-07-2025
- Business
- TechCrunch
Sarah Smith launches $16M fund, says AI can ‘unlock' so much for solo GPs like herself
Sarah Smith, founder and managing partner of the eponymous Sarah Smith Fund, announced Thursday the final closing of a $16 million Fund I. Smith launched her eponymous fund in 2022 and is a solo GP. She said she's 'stunned' by what AI can unlock for firms like hers, solo and next-generation. 'I can't imagine doing venture any other way now,' she said. 'While I believe company building still requires a team effort, I believe early-stage investing is best done solo.' She appreciates how she can make fast decisions that don't require committee approval. She's also taken to using AI to help her throughout this journey. 'Every day I'm dreaming of more ways to support my founders, combining my experience and network with AI,' she said. 'For example, just last week, I led a values articulation project for one of my founders,' Smith continued. 'It took me 2-3 hours of time when it previously would have taken 20. When you have an AI-native firm that can deliver 10x value in 1/10 of the time, you can scale up a large portfolio with just one person.' She said she previously had a $3 million rolling fund, and spent a year raising this Fund I. Fund I hopes to invest in 50 companies and has already backed 17, with the average check size standing at $250,000. Limited partners include Pear VC, Ulu Ventures, and Verdis Investment Management. Fund I focuses mainly on startups in the Stanford ecosystem (Smith is an alumna of the university). She has research there, too, to back up her focus. 'It has produced more unicorns and exit value than any other university in the world,' she said, citing the research done by Ilya Strebulaev that shows that 11% of unicorn founders have an association with Stanford. 'While much of the legacy Sand Hill firms spend of of their time up in SF, 45 minutes north, I'm doubling down on Stanford campus.'
Calgary Herald
07-07-2025
- Science
- Calgary Herald
Wildfire smoke brings forgotten danger to the Arctic: black carbon
In 2023, the Canada wildfires that incinerated more than 17 million hectares (42 million acres) of boreal forest were so hot they melted the paint on approaching fire trucks and smoldered underground all winter. That heat created vast columns of rising air, carrying dust, volatile organic compounds, and huge quantities of a simple particle with the potential to exacerbate climate change: black carbon. Article content Article content Commonly known as soot, black carbon is a type of pollution formed by the incomplete combustion of fossil fuels or biomass such as trees. It's a risk to human health, having been linked to respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. It's also a potent short-term warming agent. Black carbon absorbs copious heat from the sun and, when it coats a layer of ice or snow, reduces its ability to reflect solar energy back into space. Article content Article content Article content The choking wildfire smoke that enveloped New York and other cities far to the south two years ago was notable for where else it traveled. Propelled by intense heat high into the atmosphere and carried by fierce winds, it made it to Greenland and beyond. Article content How much of the black carbon in that smoke reached the Arctic is a pressing question for climate scientists, who fear the aerosol could become a major contributor of further heating to what's already the fastest-warming place on Earth. Article content Article content Halfway into Canada's 2025 fire season, this year's blazes are likely to end up the second worst in three decades, after the all-time record set in 2023 — and finding answers has gained urgency. Article content 'The hotter the fire is, the higher it can be lifted,' said Sarah Smith, an atmospheric physicist and Ph.D. candidate at Columbia University who's studying the 2023 wildfires to determine how they, and future fires, may affect the Greenland ice sheet. 'We are still learning just how high these black carbon air masses can be injected into the atmosphere and what their effects are.' Article content For a while, levels of black carbon in Greenland seemed to be dropping, not rising. Ice core samples dating back to the 1700s show semi-regular deposits associated with forest fires upwind in North America. In the early 20th century, levels began to rise steadily as demand for heating oil and coal surged in Canada, the US and Western Europe.
CTV News
29-05-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Sarah Smith to headline concert for Ark Aid Street Mission
Beloved London songstress Sarah Smith is putting her music where her heart is this weekend, helping some of the city's most vulnerable. Smith, along with her friend and event co-organizer Kimmer Marsh, staged an informal concert Wednesday afternoon at Ark Aid Street Mission on Dundas Street for the agency's clients. It was the preview to a major fundraiser Saturday night at Eastside Bar and Grill on Hamilton Road. Smith and Marsh are hosting the second annual 'Kimmer and Sarah's Walk in My Shoes 2025.' The event raises funds for the Ark Aid Street Mission's '365 Days of Rest' campaign, which provides shelter and meals for more than 2,500 Londoners in need. Organizers are hoping to raise $10,000 for the Ark. 'Yes, we're funded in part by the city, but we actually have a fundraising goal of two million dollars for the year, and we can't do it alone,' explained Ark Aid executive director Sarah Campbell. 'And so, these third-party fundraiser events really do help us to achieve our goals of supporting people on the streets, making sure we fill gaps that government funding just doesn't touch,' she added. 'I want to make change for the homeless. There's too many on the street. We need to get them off the street. And we can only do that with all our friends,' said Marsh. 'I love playing music, it's a real passion,' added Smith. 'And to also be able to make a change in the community is a huge, huge blessing to be able to do,' said the performer. Saturday's concert at Eastside gets underway at 7:00 pm. Details and registration can be found at:
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Endangered Indian rhino calf born at safari park
Keepers at a safari park have welcomed the birth of a rare Indian rhinoceros calf. The baby rhino arrived at West Midlands Safari Park (WMSP) in Bewdley, Worcestershire, on 6 May. The female calf is the second successful Indian rhino birth at the Park in its 52-year history - the first was the calf's half-brother in 2020. The safari park said both mum and baby were doing well, after keepers had to step in to assist with the birth. Veterinary nurse Sarah Smith said: "After a long, restless night monitoring the CCTV, the team continued their normal morning checks and found her behavioural changes that confirmed her labour was progressing. "When we hadn't seen the usual progression we expected, closer inspection showed us there were back feet visible, telling us we had an abnormal delivery." The Indian rhino, also known as greater one-horned rhino, is classed as vulnerable to extinction by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. They are found in India and Nepal, but face threats such as poaching, habitat destruction and conflict with humans. In the 19th Century they were hunted almost to extinction. "A breech birth brings many difficulties, and research shows a large number require intervention and usually end in calf mortality. "This can also lead to the mother's life being in danger, so we knew we had a short window of time to act. We were able to apply calving ropes to the calf's hind legs and assist Sunny with her contractions and help birth the calf. "We're so proud of her and the team," Ms Smith added. Follow BBC Hereford & Worcester on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram. Endangered tiger cub triplets born at safari park Safari park welcomes baby giraffe West Midlands Safari Park
