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As I\u2019ve been rewatching HBO\u2019s Silicon Valley, my favorite roast of the first season is the incessant refrain that tech is \u201cmaking the world a better place.\u201d<\/p>\n
But that isn\u2019t always true, by any stretch of the imagination. I\u2019ve been thinking that I\u2019ve spent a lot of time covering the capital and companies, but not nearly enough time writing about the world this technology creates. I was especially thinking that as I read my colleague Kristin Stoller\u2019s new feature about tech addiction, published this week. It\u2019s a story that spans years and companies. Case in point:<\/p>\n
At age six, Sarah Hill was handed her first iPad by her parents, which she used to play games like Angry Birds and Minecraft whenever she was bored. By age 21, the Alabama native had fallen so deep into virtual reality experiences and playing video games that she\u2019d stopped seeing friends, showering, and brushing her teeth. \u201cIf you compare video game and tech addiction to drugs,\u201d she says, \u201cVR is the meth of drugs.\u201d<\/p>\n
At college, she spent so much time holed up in her room compulsively accessing a chatbot site, Character AI, on her phone that she failed classes. \u201cI remember the night I told my parents I\u2019d lied about everything and I flunked,\u201d she recalls. \u201cMy parents didn\u2019t have any words. They were like, \u2018Just go.\u2019 I went to my room, but the last thing I saw was my mom resting her elbows on the counter and just crying. That was the worst thing I ever saw.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hill\u2019s parents flew with her from Alabama to a town just outside of Seattle and enrolled her at reSTART, one of the nation\u2019s few residential treatment programs for digital overuse that treats tech addiction as a danger on the scale of alcohol or drug addiction.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Though some say tech addiction doesn\u2019t exist, evidence is mounting that the growing string of legal cases against startups like Character and giants like Meta, Alphabet-owned YouTube, and TikTok could create an unambiguous inflection point.<\/p>\n
Read more about who gets addicted\u2014and whether tech is approaching a \u201cBig Tobacco\u201d moment here.<\/p>\n
See you tomorrow,<\/p>\n
Allie Garfinkle
X: @agarfinks
Email: alexandra.garfinkle@fortune.com<\/p>\n
Submit a deal for the Term Sheet newsletter here.<\/p>\n
Joey Abrams curated the deals section of today\u2019s newsletter. Subscribe here.<\/p>\n
VENTURE CAPITAL<\/p>\n
– Qualified Health, a Palo Alto, Calif.-based enterprise AI platform for health systems, raised $125 million in Series B funding. New Enterprise Associates led the round and was joined by Transformation Capital, GreatPoint Ventures, and others.<\/p>\n
– Immutrin, a Cambridge, U.K.-based biotech company focused on developing antibody therapy to reverse amyloidosis, raised \u00a365 million ($87 million) in Series A funding. Frazier Life Sciences led the round and was joined by F-Prime, Qiming Venture Partners, SR Onem, and existing investors.<\/p>\n
– Highlight AI, a San Francisco-based intelligent operating system for teams and AI agents, raised $40 million in Series A funding. Khosla Ventures led the round and was joined by 359 Capital, General Catalyst, and others.<\/p>\n
– Spade, a New York City-based data and AI platform for financial institutions, raised $40 million in Series B funding. Oak HC\/FT led the round and was joined by Andreessen Horowitz, Flourish, Gradient, NAventures, and others.<\/p>\n
– Worth, an Orlando, Fla.-based onboarding and underwriting platform for small and medium-sized businesses, raised $30 million in Series A funding. Fulcrum Equity Partners led the round and was joined by Amex Ventures and TTV Capital.<\/p>\n
– EPIC Microsystems, a Santa Clara, Calif.-based semiconductor company, raised $21 million in Series A funding. Seligman Ventures led the round and was joined by Intel Capital, AICONIC Ventures, and others.<\/p>\n
– Cauldron Ferm, an Orange, Australia-based biomanufacturing company, raised $13.3 million in Series A2 funding. Main Sequence Ventures led the round and was joined by Horizons Ventures, SOSV, and NGS Super.<\/p>\n
– Eunice, a London, U.K.-based developer of AI for due diligence, raised $8 million across seed and pre-seed rounds. Moonfire Ventures and Speedinvest led the round and were joined by Openspace Ventures.<\/p>\n
– Airbase, a New York City-based developer of software for radiofrequency spectrum coordination infrastructure, raised $5 million in funding. Andreessen Horowitz led the round and was joined by Squadra Ventures and Founders You Should Know.<\/p>\n
– Galtea, a Barcelona, Spain-based AI evaluation platform, raised $3.2 million in seed funding. 42CAP led the round and was joined by Mozilla Ventures and existing investors.<\/p>\n
PRIVATE EQUITY<\/p>\n
– Advent International agreed to acquire a majority stake in Salt & Stone, a Los Angeles, Calif.-based body care brand. Financial terms were not disclosed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
– Bansk Group agreed to acquire a majority interest in So Good So You, a Minneapolis, Minn.-based wellness brand. Financial terms were not disclosed.<\/p>\n
– Innovative Systems, backed by GTCR, acquired Actifai, a Washington, D.C.-based AI platform designed for broadband service providers. Financial terms were not disclosed.<\/p>\n
– Main Post Partners acquired a minority stake in Stellar Snacks, a Carson City, Nev.-based pretzel brand and manufacturer. Financial terms were not disclosed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
– Southfield Capital acquired a majority stake in Metric Search, a New York City-based executive search and talent solutions company. Financial terms were not disclosed.<\/p>\n
IPOS<\/p>\n
– Aevex, a Solana Beach, Calif.-based defense technology company, filed to go public on the New York Stock Exchange. The company posted $433 million in revenue for the year ended Dec. 31. MDP Funds backs the company.\u00a0<\/p>\n
– HMH Holding, a Houston, Texas-based oil and gas drilling equipment and services company, filed to go public on the Nasdaq. The company posted $822 million in revenue for the year ended Dec. 31. Baker Hughes and Akastor back the company.<\/p>\n
#growing #problem #tech #addiction #spawns #detox #economy<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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