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Should startup interns be paid?
The answer appears to be yes, and the law requires it in many cases. That became clear to Max Greenwald, co-founder and CEO of the AI startup Warmly, after he posted on LinkedIn looking for an intern "who wants to experience the chaos of a scaling early stage VC-backed startup."
The catch? The internship, based in the Bay Area, would be unpaid. The criticism on social media arrived swiftly. But the online kerfuffle resurfaces broader questions about what labor Silicon Valley values, and why.
Greenwald wrote that his intern would do real work and not grab coffee (which he doesn't drink). The intern would work with Warmly's marketing team, creating "documentary-style videos using AI on what we're doing and why."
It should also be noted they'd be working for a startup that raised a $17 million Series A in February, according to PitchBook data, and $22 million in overall VC funding. Greenwald did not return requests for comment.
Greenwald soon made LinkedIn amends, and now the internship will be paid—or else AI would take the job. He noted he learned about California's internship laws after “multiple people contacted the California Department of Labor."
I'm Michael Bodley, and this is The Weekend Pitch. You can reach me at michael.bodley@pitchbook.com or on X @michael_bodley.
California internships on the lower end pay $15 to $25 an hour, according to Jody Thelander, founder and CEO of private markets compensation specialist Thelander Consulting. Internships requiring technical skills pay more, she added.
"In a really hot area right now, [interns and junior hires] are getting a premium," Thelander said. "It matters less about whether you've had experience versus whether you've had the talent." |
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Modern data platforms empower private market firms
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Manual processes, siloed data, and outdated technology all have the potential to hold back private market firms. In this Ebook from the financial data platform experts at Arcesium, discover the key challenges of fragmented systems, the features and capabilities that modern data platforms need to support private market firms, and how intuitive self-service tools can increase agility across firms.
Read Ebook |
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VC funding for the biotech industry has fallen to its lowest level in over a decade, PitchBook data shows. From its peak in 2018, how much has fundraising for biotech declined?
A) 56%
B) 77%
C) 33%
D) 92%
Find your answer at the bottom of The Weekend Pitch! |
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Survey: AI moves from hype
to application
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Most investors are bracing for tariff-related disruptions, but the tech sector is recalibrating, not folding, according to our analyst note A survey of VC investors showed that over half are still actively sourcing deals and that there is a shift toward domestic innovation.
AI is moving from hype to application, especially in fintech, while deep-tech bets like robotics remain strong. But with funding optimism slipping and exits harder to come by, investors are shifting from bold bets to sharpened execution. |
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AI-powered mental health
care scales up
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AI is emerging as a tool in reshaping the mental health landscape, amid growing demand for care and challenges accessing it. VC funding for AI in the sector has reached $2.5 billion since 2020, according to our Emerging Tech Research.
As consumer demand, clinical needs and enterprise interest converge, AI-driven tools like personalized therapy matching are becoming key for patients and providers. Such solutions complement the previous generation of healthtech startups focused on connecting patients to affordable behavioral health care in person and virtually. |
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"For about 10 years, any idiot with a checkbook in our job looked like a genius. It turns out that zero interest rates do really have a pretty dramatic impact on the market and now we're going through a process of working through that pain, but we're still hungover."
—Zach Coelius, founder and GP at Coelius Capital, speaking on-stage at Web Summit in Vancouver. You can read more about the identity crisis that was on full display at the conference here. |
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