Neo Raises $320 Million Fund Led By Bill Gates To Support AI Startup Boot Camp

Neo, founded by early Facebook investor Ali Partovi, has raised a $320 million fund to scale its vision of being the "Ivy League of startup boot camps." Known for backing breakout AI startups like Cursor (by Michael Truell and Aman Sanger) and Pika (led by Demi Guo), Neo identifies and invests in top technical talent early—often while they’re still in college. Since 2017, its Neo Scholars program and accelerator have nurtured future founders with mentorship, funding, and access to Silicon Valley’s elite, attracting backing from tech icons like Bill Gates, Sheryl Sandberg, and Reid Hoffman. INVESTORS: Bill Gates, Reid Hoffman, Eric Schmidt, Sheryl Sandberg & Alfred Lin ROUND: Bill Gates AMOUNT: $320,000,000 HQ: #SanFrancisco #California #VentureCapital #Neo #BillGates #ReidHoffman #EricSchmidt #SherylSandberg #AlfredLin #AliPartovi #TradedVC

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Puppy Sphere Secures Seed Round Of $24 Million From Strategic Investors Including The School Of Hard KnocksPuppy Sphere (@ThePuppySphere), a New York-based wellness brand centered on the human-animal bond, has raised a Seed round from a group of strategic investors including The School of Hard Knocks, Tobi Oluwole, Jake Fleshner, Torch Collective, former Massage Envy CEO David Humphrey, and other founders and operators. Founded by Francesca Albo and Lea Burbidge Izquierdo, Puppy Sphere has scaled its puppy yoga concept into a broader experiential wellness platform with 13 studios, corporate wellness programs, brand partnerships, and live activations, serving more than 450,000 customers and partnering with companies including Google, Amazon, Netflix, TikTok, and the NBA. FUN FACT: Puppy Sphere was born from two Canadian founders’ own mental health journeys and has since grown into 13 studios across North America, $14M+ in cumulative revenue, and 450,000+ customers, all without outside capital. Along the way, the brand has welcomed names like Sabrina Carpenter, Simu Liu, Trevor Noah and Alessia Cara, while building a broader wellness platform around the gentle power of puppy therapy. Now Puppy Sphere is opening its cap table for the first time through a strategic angel round, bringing together leaders across media, consumer growth and wellness, including The School of Hard Knocks, former Massage Envy CEO David Humphrey, growth entrepreneur Tobi Oluwole, and Nucleus Network co-founder Jake Fleshner, alongside a broader group of strategic founders and operators. The vision: bring the gentle power of puppy therapy across the globe. FOUNDERS: Francesca Albo (@FrancescaaAlbo), Lea Burbidge Izquierdo (@LeaburbIz) INVESTORS: The School of Hard Knocks (@TheSchoolofHardKnockz), Tobi Oluwole (@TheTobiOluwole), Jake Fleshner (@JakeFleshner) Torch Collective, Heather Stark, Will Bodewes, Craig Zingerline & more ROUND: Seed VALUATION CAP: $24,000,000 HQ: New York, New York #VentureCapital #PuppySphere #TradedPartner #FrancescaAlbo #TradedVC