If you plan to launch a new startup in France, Denmark or Sweden, there is a new seed fund looking for your pitch. Emblem is announcing today that it has raised nearly $54 million (€50 million) for a new European seed fund. And this is only the first close — the firm expects to raise as much as $80 million (€75 million) by the end of the year.

Emblem was founded by Bénédicte de Raphélis Soissan and Guillaume Durao. This isn’t the first time Bénédicte de Raphélis Soissan’s name appears on TechCrunch as she used to be an entrepreneur herself. [...]

If you plan to launch a new startup in France, Denmark or Sweden, there is a new seed fund looking for your pitch. Emblem is announcing today that it has raised nearly $54 million (€50 million) for a new European seed fund. And this is only the first close — the firm expects to raise as much as $80 million (€75 million) by the end of the year.

Emblem was founded by Bénédicte de Raphélis Soissan and Guillaume Durao. This isn’t the first time Bénédicte de Raphélis Soissan’s name appears on TechCrunch as she used to be an entrepreneur herself. [...]

A growing number of investors have begun suggesting that certain venture-backed startups that have yet to find so-called product-market fit throw in the towel. Their argument is that some startups simply raised too much, at valuations into which they will never grow, and that clean, well-planned exits are better for everyone than messy ones. After all, the money could be invested in something more impactful. Importantly, the founders’ time could also be focused on more productive endeavors, greatly improving their mental and emotional well-being.

It’s a reasonable proposal. Working on something that isn’t working can be soul crushing. Still, we’re [...]

A growing number of investors have begun suggesting that certain venture-backed startups that have yet to find so-called product-market fit throw in the towel. Their argument is that some startups simply raised too much, at valuations into which they will never grow, and that clean, well-planned exits are better for everyone than messy ones. After all, the money could be invested in something more impactful. Importantly, the founders’ time could also be focused on more productive endeavors, greatly improving their mental and emotional well-being.

It’s a reasonable proposal. Working on something that isn’t working can be soul crushing. Still, we’re [...]

While LinkedIn is helpful for displaying people’s educational and professional achievements, there exists a world of self-taught tech talent whose skills are not so easily reflected on the networking site. Rather, their expertise is hidden in the lines of code they write.

Aspecta is trying to fill that gap by providing an AI-powered profile builder for developers who wish to create LinkedIn-like identity pages for themselves. This is done by using large language models to review the quality of the code in projects to which they contribute. The platform also takes into consideration of social endorsement and applies network analysis to [...]