Today marks the beginning of Sam Bankman-Fried's criminal trial-and it's all happening at New York's Southern District Courthouse on Pearl Street, where my colleague Ben Weiss will be spending the day.
Opening arguments won't start until tomorrow, but today a crew of New Yorkers will consist of the jury and ultimately decide the fate of the startup industry's now-disgraced crypto founder, Bankman-Fried.
The trial is expected to be completed in the next six weeks or so, with trial dates scheduled until at least Nov. 9, according to the case calendar attached to the docket last week. Lewis A. Kaplan, a federal judge, was appointed in 1994 to the federal district court and now presided over the civil case between author E. Jean Carroll and former President Donald Trump.
Bankman-Fried is facing seven charges of fraud and money laundering related to his FTX crypto exchange empire, which was backed by Sequoia Capital, Insight Partners, and SoftBank, and was valued at a whopping $40 billion across both its U.S. and international operations. Bankman-Fried has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
As we wait for the trail to begin, my colleague Weiss has the details on the key players we can expect to see throughout the course of the trial, including Bankman-Fried's attorneys, Mark Cohen and Christian Everdell, who are both former federal prosecutors and have represented the likes of Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell. Bankman-Fried's close colleagues, who accept plea deals and are working with the government, will likely testify in coming weeks.
In other SBF news, Michael Lewis' new book on Bankman-Fried and the FTX empire hits bookshelves today. An excerpt of the book, Goig Infinite, was published yesterday in the Washington Post. I'm on my way to grab a copy and give it a review at some point in the near future.
twitter: @jessicakmathews
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Albo, a online bank based in Mexico City, Mexico, has raised $40 million in Series C funding. Morpheus Ventures led the team, along with Valar Ventures, Greyhound Capital, Mountain Nazca, Flourish Ventures, and others.
Farther, a New York City-based wealth management firm, has raised $31 million in Series B funding. Lightspeed Venture Partners led the round, along with Bessemer Venture Partners, Cota Capital, Khosla Ventures, MassMutual Ventures, and Moneta Venture Capital.
Unitary, a London, UK-based company that analyzes and interprets videos to detect harmful content, has raised $15 million in Series A funding. Creandum led the group and was joined by Paladin Capital Group and Plural.
Bonsai Robotics, a San Jose, Calif.-based company developing farming vehicles that can autonomously traverse difficult terrain, has raised $13.5 million in seed funding. The round was organized by Acre Venture Partners and was joined by E14, Congruent, Serra Ventures, Fall Line Capital, SNR Ventures, and angel investors.
With a presence in Paris, France, granular Energy, a platform that provides software to manage and trade clean energy to businesses in the utilities and energy sector, raised €7.5 million in funding. Norrsken VC led the field and was joined by All Iron Ventures, Box Group, Valo Ventures, and current investors Seedcamp, Revent, and Powerhouse Ventures.
MeetingPackage, a platform based in Espoo, Finland, that enables hotels and other venues to sell, operates, and manage their bookings on one platform, received $4.6 million in Series A funding. Scale Capital led the round and was joined by others.
The Humata AI platform, an AI platform based in Austin, Texas, has raised $3.5 million in seed funding from Gradient Ventures, ARK Invest, M13, and others.
Muir AI, a Seattle-based firm that uses AI to monitor emissions data and provide sustainability insights for businesses, has raised $3.25 million in seed funding. Madrona Venture Labs, Soma Capital, and others were involved in the round, which was led by Base10 Partners.
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O'Donnell Metal Deck, backed by Slate Capital Group, acquired Tombari Structural Products, a company that offers steel products like metal decking for roofs and floors. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Prime AE, backed by NewHold, acquired Jacobi, Toombs, and Lanz, a New Albany, Ind.-based firm that provides engineering, survey, and construction services to clients in transportation, water resources, and infrastructure surveying fields. The financial terms were not disclosed.
RedBird IMI has acquired a minority stake in Front Office Sports, a New York City-based sports news and media platform. The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Advent International and Warburg Pincus have acquired BioPharma Solutions, a Bloomington, Ind. The pharmaceutical company, Halle/Westfalen, Germany, said in a statement it acquired Baxter International from Halle/Westfalen, Germany, for $4.25 billion in cash.
Forcepoint Global Governments and Critical Infrastructure, an Austin, Texas-based platform designed to provide security for data and intellectual property on any device, was acquired by TPG. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Discount Tire has acquired Dunn Tire, a automotive maintenance company in Buffalo, N.Y., and car parts provider. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Birkenstock, a shoe company based in Linz am Rhein, Germany, will raise up to $1.6 billion in an offering of 32.3 million shares valued at $47 and $49. L Catterton backs the company.
Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners, a Houston, Texas and London investment firm, raised more than£620 million in its third fund focused on companies that are aiding the transition to renewable energy.