Sunil and Anil Varanasi love classic films. Think: They kissed and they hit him, Citizen KaneAnd The twelve jurors.
This isn’t necessarily what you’d expect, at least not at first glance. The brothers are co-founders of Meter, an enterprise-focused internet infrastructure startup, and what they do is, on the surface, unsexy, deeply technical and unliterary.
But when I talk to the two of them, they are both implicitly and explicitly interested in where art meets technology. In the nearly hour and a half that I officially spoke to them, we talked about why they believe the internet needs to be (and can be) an electricity-like utility, the GOATs of basketball—and what it means for something to be beautiful. When the Varanasi brothers told me they kept a list of their favorite movies, I thought, “sure.” Then, less than an hour after we ended our Zoom, a log of dozens of their favorite films was in my inbox. Among them: Sidney Lumet’s Dog dayshalf of Stanley Kubrick’s filmography and great westerns of all time like The Seekers.
Only patient film buffs keep such a list. So I asked Sunil which ones he thought best applied to Meter. What he sent me via text message begins with the words: “Just as life is like a box of chocolates, so is Meter. Meter is a melting pot of experiences, talent and ideas.”
Sunil then responded in the form of a life cycle metaphor for the company. François Truffaut’s They kissed and they hit him is about “growing up and experimenting,” and that’s where it starts.
“Truffaut masterfully portrays the relentlessness and discontent of being young,” says Sunil in his analysis, with which I agree.
Then Sunil turns to classic Westerns – Sergio Leone’s masterpieces Play me the song of death And The Good, the Bad and the Uglyabout “tough opponents” and “losing our battles”. Stories of “relentless pursuit” and forward momentum were also mentioned, such as Citizen Kane And Spartacusas well as her admiration for Kubrick’s infamous 2001: A Space Odyssey. (The exterior views of the spacecraft in 2001 were so realistic that they had to be released by NASA for safety reasons.)
There were a few others, but the one that particularly stuck in my mind is one that I have loved for most of my life: Amadeusthe 1984 film directed by Miloš Forman and based on the play by Peter Shaffer. In his text, Sunil said that the film is applicable due to the realization of “brilliant moments” and “in terms of admiration and inspiration”.
But Amadeus is a lot of other things too: it’s about how the desire to be great can consume you whole, about the fear of mediocrity, about what it’s like to come across someone else’s profoundly sublime work, about being able to see into something great because you have just enough knowledge to understand how impossible it is to achieve.
It’s a film about envy and divinity and the little things that make a piece of music – or anything else – not just good but transcendent. Much like a piece of classical music performed by a large orchestra, it’s hard to know when something is truly great if you don’t know what you’re looking at. And you often have to stand up for what you’re working on. And very few have stood up for their art as doggedly as Tom Hulce’s Mozart in AmadeusIn one scene he desperately defends his opera against the Habsburg emperor:
Sire, only opera can do that. When several people speak at the same time in a play, it’s just noise; no one understands a word. But in opera, in music… in music, twenty people can speak at the same time and it’s not noise, it’s perfect harmony!
And in a way, this is a particularly important moment for this thought: Assets has exclusive rights to Meter’s new product, Command, and we took this as an opportunity to get the brothers and co-founders of the company to give a rare official interview. Amadeus is about drawing the lines between recognition, excellence and transcendence. And it’s too early to know where Meter’s story will lead, but Command is clearly a microcosm of where the company is headed: It’s a product with many underlying parts, but the goal is harmony.
You can read the whole story here.
See you in the morning,
Allie Garfinkle
Twitter: @agarfinks
E-mail: [email protected]
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Nina Ajemian curated the “Offers” section of today’s newsletter.
VENTURE OFFERS
– DEFCON AIa McLean, Virginia-based intelligence software for military operations, has raised $44 million in seed funding. Bessemer Venture Partners led the round and was accompanied by Fifth growth fund, Red Cell Partnerand other.
– AstroForgea Huntington Beach, California-based asteroid mining company, has raised $40 million in its Series A funding round. Nova Threshold led the round and was accompanied by 776, Initialized, Caladanand other.
– Eppoan experimental platform based in San Francisco, California, has raised $28 million in its second round of funding. Innovation efforts led the round and was accompanied by Symbol VC and existing investors Menlo Ventures And Amplify Partners.
– Repeata Draper, Utah-based returns management software, has raised $24 million in Series A funding. Pelion led the round and was accompanied by Matterhorn, epos, Kickstart, Aglae Venturesand angel investors.
– Reliable AIa Montreal, Canada-based provider of AI-powered data analytics software, has raised $11.3 million in seed funding. Tola Capital And Inovia Capital led the round and was supported by an angel investor Michael Volpi.
– Clariuma New York City-based healthcare supply chain management company, has raised $10.5 million in funding. General catalyst led the round and was accompanied by Kaiser Permanente Ventures, Texas Medical Center Venture Capital FundAnd Yale New Haven Health.
– All stacksa Raleign, NC-based software engineering intelligence platform, has raised $10 million in Series A funding round. Quadri Ventures led the round and was accompanied by M12, Companyon Ventures, Clutch VCand other.
– From electricity to hydrogena Columbus, Ohio-based clean energy technology company, has raised $10 million in Series A funding round. Rev1 Ventures And Worthington Companies led the round and was accompanied by Finindus, JERA, Asahi Kaseiand other.
– More than mathematicsa London, England-based AI-powered engineering simulation platform, has raised $8.5 million in seed funding. UP.Partner led the round and was accompanied by Insight Partner And InMotion Ventures.
– Sorella Labsa San Francisco, California-based on-chain market technology company, has raised $7.5 million in seed funding. paradigm led the round and was accompanied by Uniswap Ventures, In the makingAnd Robot Ventures.
– Cassidya New York City-based business automation platform, has raised $3.7 million in seed funding. The general partnership led the round and was accompanied by Neo, Comma capital letter, Space Cadet ActivitiesAngel investors and others.
Private equity
– BV Investment Partners acquired a majority stake in Kamian Aotearoa, New Zealand-based provider of classroom engagement and teacher productivity content. Financial details were not disclosed.
– RESA-Powersupported by Investcorpacquired High-voltage electricalan electrical testing company based in Albany, NY. Financial details were not disclosed.
– Partner for increasing growtha portfolio company of Charlesbank Capital Partnersacquired a minority stake in Bleakley Financial Groupa wealth advisory and financial planning firm based in Fairfield, New Jersey. Financial terms were not disclosed.
– The Vistria Group recapitalized Soliantan Atlanta, Georgia-based provider of workforce solutions for the education and healthcare sectors. Financial terms were not disclosed.
OUTPUTS
– BBB Industriessupported by Clearlake Capital Groupacquired All Star Auto Partsan Orlando, Florida-based supplier of automotive spare parts, Atlantic Street CapitalFinancial details were not disclosed.
OTHER
– Sixth Street acquired Calichea Houston, Texas-based acquisition and development company focused on underground gas storage and carbon sequestration. Financial terms were not disclosed.
PEOPLE
– Advent Internationala Boston, Massachusetts-based private equity firm, appointed Dave Hickey as an operational partner. Previously, he worked at Becton, Dickinson and Company.
– Garnett Station Partnersa New York City-based investment firm, commissioned Daniel Lee as a partner. Previously he worked at Comvest.
