Technology

As the first state law to regulate the results of Artificial Intelligence System (AI System) use, Colorado’s SB24-205, “Concerning Consumer Protections in Interactions with Artificial Intelligence Systems” (the Act), has generated plenty of cross-industry interest, for good reason. In some ways similar to the risk-based approach taken by the European Union (EU) in the EU AI Act, the Act aims to regulate developers and deployers of AI Systems, which are defined by the Act as “any machine-based system that, for any explicit or implicit objective, infers from the inputs the system receives how to generate outputs, including content, decisions, predictions, or recommendations, that can influence physical or virtual environments.”

Read about Radicle Science, a B-corp transforming the supplement industry’s approach to clinical trials and efficacy validation through virtual trials that greatly expand the scale and diversity of trial participants.

This issue of MintzTech Connect covers the FTC’s controversial final rule banning most post-employment non-competes, qualified small business stock issues affecting the conversion of an LLC into a corporation, clinical trial innovator Radicle Science, and an event co-sponsored by Mintz and the Sustainable Media Center, which focused on the impact of social media on today’s youth.

This issue of MintzTech Connect covers Corporate Transparency Act compliance requirements, considerations for companies undertaking Section 409A valuations, and Mintz’s year in review of laws impacting employee non-competition, non-solicitation, and non-disclosure agreements.

This edition of Mintz Venture Watch reports on the firm’s VC transaction activity in 2023. Mintz represented issuers and investors in the technology, energy, life sciences, and other sectors in more than 130 transactions valued at over $2.6 billion. 

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) was tasked with formalizing and coordinating efforts to regulate artificial intelligence (AI) in health care under the November 2023 Executive Order on the Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI EO) and has already begun its regulation of AI within certain certified health IT.  HHS and Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) recently published the Health Data, Technology, and Interoperability: Certification Program Updates, Algorithm Transparency, and Information Sharing (HTI-1) Final Rule.

As reported in Forbes, Natalie White was recognized as a “30 under 30” for Sports.  Natalie founded Moolah Kicks, the first basketball shoe brand focused solely on women. 

This issue of MintzTech Connect covers a Globe and Mail piece on Mintz’s continued expansion in Toronto, Biden’s executive order on artificial intelligence, Forbes magazine’s recognition of Moolah Kicks founder Natalie White’s inclusion on its “30 Under 30” list, and our Client Corner podcast featuring a conversation with NextGen Jane Co-founder & CEO Ridhi Tariyal.

Read about the FTC’s preauthorization of a compulsory process in investigations relating to AI and a new AI bill supported by a bipartisan group of Commerce Committee senators in the latest edition of AI: The Washington Report, a joint undertaking of Mintz and ML Strategies covering potential federal legislative, executive, and regulatory activities related to AI.

On October 30, 2023, the Biden Administration released and signed an Executive Order on the Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence (Executive Order) that articulates White House priorities and policies related to the use and development of artificial intelligence (AI) across different sectors, including health care.

This issue of MintzTech Connect covers QSBS issues related to converting an LLC into a corporation, legal decisions regarding cryptocurrencies and whether they are subject to SEC regulation, how Mintz’s partnership with Antler led to our work for oral health innovator peri, and a spotlight on mePrism, a tech company that helps customers remove their personal information from the internet.

Read about how Mintz’s partnership with startup accelerator and venture capital firm Antler led to Mintz’s work for oral health innovator peri. 

Read about mePrism, a technology company that helps customers remove their personal information from the internet.

Despite choppy market conditions for private companies, the Mintz Venture Capital & Emerging Companies team remained busy advising emerging companies of all sizes and at all stages of growth across a wide range of industries. For the first half of 2023 we completed 72 transactions, with an aggregate deal value in excess of $1.6 billion. Below are a few highlighted transactions:

Coefficient is a B2B SaaS platform that enables users to improve business insights and increase productivity for operations, analyst and finance professionals at enterprises of all sizes. Founded in 2019 and based in San Francisco, Coefficient recently raised $18 million in a Series A financing round from Battery Ventures, S28 Capital and Foundation Capital to grow its platform.

Spring is in the air but it is a challenging time to understand which way the wind is blowing on the emerging companies space. On the one hand, we saw a pause in investment activity at the end of 2022 and the first few months in 2023. On the other hand, we have seen a noticeable uptick of investment activity in the last six weeks. Again, on the one hand (a different set of hands) we recently saw a significant market correction in terms of valuations. But on the other hand, we have not seen a lot of the more punitive investment terms such as multiple participating preferences or pay to play provisions that we witnessed in the great recession in 2009 and the post bubble period in 2001.

This issue of MintzTech Connect covers the nuanced venture capital marketplace, the rising trend of extension rounds for emerging companies, matching investment funds available for New York early stage start-ups, and a spotlight on Moolah Kicks, the first and only sneaker made to biomechanically fit female athletes.

Read about Moolah Kicks, the first and only women’s basketball brand with sneakers made to biomechanically fit female athletes.