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SAFEs
Let’s talk about Safes. If you’re not familiar, a Safe is an option contract that lets investors pre-pay for the right to receive equity in the future. Safe stands for Simple Agreement for Future Equity. Typically the Safe converts into equity in a later financing round and because the investor pre-paid she’s given better terms than the new investors. Safes are easy. The standard template—created by the startup accelerator, Y Combinator—is six pages. By contrast, the NVCA…
Navigating the High-Risk AI Waters in the EU
Our last issue invited you into the world of the EU’s new AI Act, exploring its intricate scope and definitions. We now illuminate the labyrinth of compliance requirements in the Act, pointing a spotlight at high-risk AI systems—the principal focus of the Act’s regulatory purview. (Recall that the Act’s regulatory framework divides AI into non-high-risk systems, high-risk systems, and prohibited AI practices.) Let’s take a look at the Act’s cornerstone principles of risk management, data…
The EU is regulating AI. Here’s what you need to know.
The European Union is leading the world in regulating artificial intelligence, just like it did with data protection and GDPR. AI-focused laws have been proposed in the US and around the world. But the EU law is the closest major law to implementation and is likely to set the bar for AI compliance worldwide. The EU’s AI Act is a comprehensive set of rules designed to ensure that AI systems play nice with humans, respect…
Your Robo-Receptionist – Implementing a Chatbot on Your Website
Few consumer experiences are more frustrating than chatting with online customer support. You know, in one of those little chat boxes. Too often it feels like you’re talking to a wall. Is it a language thing? Chat volume? You’ve probably been airing your gripes to a bot. More and more, companies are saving on labor costs by staffing their website chat boxes with cut-rate algorithmic chatbots. And it shows. But that’s changing. Recent advances in…
Get the Money!
How much should I raise? Every founder on the funded-startup path has asked this question. The basic answer is something like, enough to hit your next set of major milestones. Or enough to achieve impressive traction. Or—enough that you can do something so impressive that investors want to buy more of your stock for lots of dollars. That’s a good start. Assuming you can figure out what that advice is aiming at—month over month growth?…
Will the Real Artist Please Stand Up
Imagine a fiery collab between Drake, Jay-Z, and Eminem, orchestrated not by record labels and agents but by artificial intelligence. We are there. AI can now mimic an artist’s sound and style, raising both amazement and eyebrows. Already a few AI-generated songs have gotten attention because of the AI’s uncanny ability to replicate the sound and style of Jay-Zand Drake (maybe not so much for Eminem). No surprise, copyright takedown notices have already been delivered. But copyright laws—which requires…
AI is Aging
It’s only been a few months since Open AI released ChatGPT and already it feels like AI is an old trend. Everyone is talking about it. We’re guilty of it too—shamelessly so—and, you know what?, we’ll continue to be! Welcome to the first issue of the Neural Network Notebook: a regular, quick hit of our insights and speculation on the interaction of artificial intelligence and the law. Why this; why now? Sure, artificial intelligence has been around for…
Important developments in privacy law may impact your website
We’re 5 months into 2023. How are you doing on your company’s new year’s resolutions? Sorry—your Q2 KPIs! I’m sure you have set some great ones, but let us suggest one more: update your website’s privacy policy! Sure, it’s not a sexy as “crush it!!” But hold on. The California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) went into effect on January 1, 2023, overturning the last four years of US privacy laws. This means that unless you…
How to Find Investors
Raising capital is hard. Nothing is more daunting to most entrepreneurs. And for good reason. It’s a time-consuming process shot through with rejection and, inevitably, self doubt. But capital is the lifeblood of business. If you can bootstrap on organic revenue, great. Do it. But most technology companies—particularly high-growth, high-technology companies—need years of outside capital to reach profitability. So let’s talk about how to get it. Sales, Not Marketing. Many of you don’t want to…
