CNBC Disruptors

The Navan exit, while uniquely gargantuan, isn’t a one-off for investor Oren Zeev. It’s more of a blueprint. Zeev, who evolved from a traditional venture capitalist to an angel investor (albeit on a larger-than-usual scale) to a so-called solo GP – an investor who raises money from limited partners but acts alone – has spent years perfecting his lone wolf approach to venture capital, helping to define a new category of investor, which may end up being particularly well-suited to today’s environment. “The advantage you have as a solo GP in this fast-moving market is you can make a decision at the meeting,” said Kyle Stanford, director of U.S. venture research at financial data provider Pitchbook. Zeev’s track record as a solo GP has been written about in the past. But now, on the day of his biggest success to date, it’s worth revisiting how and why the self-proclaimed “One Man Venture Capitalist” has operated alone. Read more from CNBC Contributor Michal Lev-Ram:

Fruitist, the healthy snacking company known for its jumbo blueberries, has raised $150 million in an equity funding round led by new investor J.P. Morgan Asset Management, with billionaire Ray Dalio’s family office doubling down on its existing investment in the farming startup. The CNBC #Disruptor50 company, valued at over $1 billion, is growing distribution rapidly in a snacking market estimated to be as large as $800 billion and in which consumers are spending more dollars on premium-priced, healthier options.

Amazon-backed Anthropic’s AI training did not violate the authors’ copyrights since the large language models “have not reproduced to the public a given work’s creative elements, nor even one author’s identifiable expressive style," according to U.S. District Judge William Alsup. “The purpose and character of using copyrighted works to train LLMs to generate new text was quintessentially transformative,” Alsup wrote. “Like any reader aspiring to be a writer.” The decision is a significant win for #AI disruptors as legal battles play out over the use and application of copyrighted works in developing and training #LLMs. Alsup’s ruling begins to establish the legal limits and opportunities for the industry going forward. Read more: https://lnkd.in/esU3Hj7d

AI-powered pharmaceutical company Formation Bio is built on the premise that traditional pharma is inefficient. The firm, ranked No. 37 on this year's CNBC #Disruptor50 list, seeks to redesign key parts of the business model used to bring drugs to market — discovering drugs with viable market opportunities, R&D strategy and clinical trials — using automation and other generative AI tools. Co-founder & CEO Benjamine Liu recently joined us to discuss how he's leveraging deep learning, predictive modeling, and real-world clinical data to streamline candidate selection and protocol design of de-risked drug assets.

Congratulations Chime — the 96th CNBC #Disruptor50 company to make its public debut!

Nearly 50 million people in the U.S. are considered to be “credit invisible,” a number that disproportionately includes low-income and minority Americans, according to research from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. When a consumer is credit invisible, it means that they don’t have a credit history with any of the three major credit bureaus: Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. That is an institutional hurdle which can hold many Americans back from ever reaching financial security. Fintech startup Esusu is looking to change the way credit is scored, with a focus on housing. Co-founder & Co-CEO Wemimo Abbey joined CNBC's Frank Holland and Julia Boorstin last week to discuss his company's approach after ranking No. 49 on this year's #Disruptor50 list.

Scale AI founder Alexandr Wang told employees in a memo on Thursday that he’s leaving for Meta, confirming reports from earlier in the week about his departure and a large investment from the social networking company. ➡️ Meta is investing $14.3 billion into Scale AI, landing the startup’s CEO Alexandr Wang to help the company’s artificial intelligence efforts. ➡️ In a memo to employees that he posted on X on Thursday, Wang said he’ll be staying on as a director, “continuing to support Scale’s mission and long-term vision.” Jason Droege, Scale AI’s strategy chief, will be taking over as CEO. Read the full report here: https://cnb.cx/4jHnq97

Esusu is built on the belief that bridging the racial wealth gap requires innovation and disruption. To be recognized on the 2025 CNBC Disruptors 50 list is an honor. When we started, the mission was simple (but far from easy): help people build credit, close wealth gaps, and unlock financial opportunity, one rent payment at a time. Now, by leveraging AI, we're revolutionizing fraud detection and ensuring fair and equitable financial access by actively removing unconscious biases from outdated systems. To be named alongside some of the most innovative companies in the world? We’re proud, we’re grateful, and we’re just getting started. Here’s to making financial systems work better for everyone. Check out the full list >>> https://lnkd.in/eXRZAa8C #CNBCDisruptors #innovation #ai #fintech

We did it again – Abnormal AI has been named to the CNBC Disruptors list for the second year in a row! This year, we jumped to the No. 25 spot and are recognized for redefining cybersecurity through the power of behavioral AI and protecting 3,200+ global enterprises from today’s most advanced attacks. This back-to-back honor highlights what we’ve always believed: AI-native security isn’t the future, it’s the now. Massive kudos to our team, customers, and partners who make this momentum possible. Let’s keep disrupting. 💥 Read more: https://lnkd.in/eZeAbSQU #Disruptor50 #AI #Cybersecurity