Bill Gates-backed Breakthrough Energy Catalyst (BEC) is looking to pump $15B into cleantech investments. The firm has already secured $1.5B in capital commitments from philanthropies and companies. It will target direct air capture, green hydrogen, aviation fuel, and energy storage technologies. More: - Managing director Jonah Goldman plans to use innovative financial structures and partnership agreements to mobilize the remaining capital.
- The firm's goal as high-risk last-mile financing is to demonstrate which technologies will be the most effective in fighting climate change.
- It will move capital for large projects via philanthropic donations, sub-market equity investments, and product offtake agreements.
- BEC wants to eliminate the "green premium" to create markets for products like green steel and green hydrogen. Such products would otherwise be financially nonviable at the beginning.
- The fund does not expect to generate normal venture-level returns. It has stakes in Commonwealth Fusion, Stoke Space, and several other companies.
- The fund is part of the Breakthrough Energy Group, founded by Bill Gates in 2015, and has Mukesh Ambani, Jeff Bezos, Masayoshi Son, and Sir Chris Hohn on its board.
- The U.S. Department of Energy has given its support to the fund. The U.K. made a similar move, while the E.U. entered into a $1B partnership with it.
| |
Ankorstore, a French B2B marketplace connecting independent brands to independent retailers, raised $238M Series C, led by Bond and Tiger Global. They were followed by Eurazeo and Coatue, in addition to existing investors Index Ventures, Bain Capital Ventures, GFC, Alven, and Aglae Ventures. More: - The company was valued at $2B, quite the feat given that its platform launched just two years ago.
- Though Ankorstore’s retailers offer a little bit of everything, non-perishable groceries, beauty products, and household products have taken center stage.
- Brands listing their items on Ankorstore pay a 10% fee on each transaction and a 20% cut on the first order through Ankorstore.
- The wholesale marketplace does not yet face a great deal of competition on the continent and is probably most similar to U.S.-based Faire, which has raised over $1B.
- That’s a fair tick above Ankorstore’s total raised to date, which comes in at $470M following today’s round.
| |
 A message from COIN CLOUD Welcome to Easy Buckets...where bitcoin meets basketball for a slam dunk opportunity. You could win your share of $100,000 in Bitcoin while watching some of today’s top basketball talent explore digital currency. Here’s why people are excited about the opportunity to Watch & Win with Easy Buckets: - This informational video series features Atlanta Hawks star Trae Young, New Orleans Pelicans guard Josh Hart, Las Vegas Aces forward A’ja Wilson, and Stanford Cardinal guard Haley Jones as they navigate the new and often confusing world of digital currency.
- Guiding them on their journey as series host is podcaster, publisher and recognized crypto expert Joe Pompliano.
- New episodes launch every Sunday starting December 26, 2021, with additional prizes and entry opportunities available each week (no purchase necessary to win).
- You could take home between $500 and $5,000 in Bitcoin as one of our weekly giveaway winners!
Ready to score? Enter now for a chance to win your share of $100,000 in Bitcoin. I want to win!
| |
Carsome, a Malaysian marketplace for used cars and the country's most valuable tech startup, raised $290M. The Series E round valued the company at $1.7B and was led by the Qatar Investment Authority and two funds backed by Singapore sovereign wealth fund Temasek. More: - Participation came from 65 Equity Partners, Seatown Private Capital Master Fund, and companies Sunway, Gokongwei, MediaTek, and YTL Group.
- Carsome will use the funds to build out its infrastructure in Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand, with an emphasis on its B2C arm, Carsome Certified.
- It handles some 100,000 car transactions annually.
- In July, the 2015-founded company announced plans to enter U.S. public markets with a SPAC deal.
- The round comes just months after a $170M capital injection from Catcha Group, MediaTek, and Malaysian government fund Penjana Kapital.
- Carsome's unicorn status came about following a $200M share-swap deal with Australia-listed iCar Asia.
- Competition in Southeast Asia's used-car market is stiff; Singapore-based Carro indicated in August that it is planning to reach decacorn status.
| |
Best of Last Week M&A - AppLovin completed its $1.05B takeover of mobile ad platform MoPub from Twitter. The deal was announced in October.
- Cloud software giant Blackbaud bought social impact technology company Everfi for $750M cash and stock.
- Google has acquired the Israel-based cybersecurity startup Siemplify for $500M.
- E-commerce company Fanatics has acquired Topps trading cards, according to sources for CNBC, for a reported $500M.
- Digital Realty, a San Francisco-based real estate investment trust for data centers, will acquire South African data center operator Teraco Data Environments, valuing the company at $3.5B.
- Defi platform WonderFi Technologies will buy Canadian crypto exchange Bitbuy for $161.8M (C$206M) in cash and stock.
- Garmin, a marine product company, acquired AIS, VHF, and vessel monitoring solutions provider Vesper Marine for an undisclosed sum.
- German food delivery giant Delivery Hero will acquire an additional 39.4% stake in the Spanish quick-commerce company Glovo, bringing its share to 83.4%.
New Funds - Andreessen Horowitz, the VC investment firm also known as a16z, closed $9B in new capital. The new fund comprises a $1.5B biotech startup-focused fund, a $5B growth-stage fund, and a $2.5B venture fund.
- Ribbit Capital held the finance close of its seventh fund at $1.15B. The fintech-focused VC investment house has previously pulled in a total of $1.3B in capital commitments.
- Katie Haun is targeting a total of $900M in capital commitments to be distributed over two crypto-focused investment funds for her new crypto investment firm.
- China-focused INCE Capital raised $700M in two dollar-denominated funds, one of which was oversubscribed and ended with $478M in funds.
- Khosla Ventures, in its first-ever opportunities fund, raised $557M, most of which will be diverted toward its existing portfolio.
- Former Disney executive-backed late-stage VC firm Smash Ventures raised $500M toward a new venture fund.
- Israeli StageOne Ventures closed a $235M fund, $150M of which will be used for early-stage funding and the rest for follow-on investments.
- Taiwan's national development fund and the central bank will back a $200M fund to invest in Lithuania.
- Grove Ventures raised a third $185M fund to invest in early-stage Israeli startups and in the so-called Deep Future — the infrastructure for the next technological leap.
- Upfront Ventures, which has $1B in assets under management, closed a $176.5M continuation fund.
- SaaS Capital, an investor in software-as-a-service companies, raised its fourth fund worth $128M.
- Sound Bioventures Fund I raised $124.4M from LPs including Novo Holdings, Saminvest, Vækstfonden, the European Investment Fund, and others. The fund invests in clinical or late pre-clinical-stage biotech companies.
- San Francisco-based biotechnology company Ambagon Therapeutics raised $85M in Series A funding led by Nextech Invest.
- VC firm Refinery Ventures closed a $37M fund to invest in hypergrowth technology startups.
| |
 A message from SECUREFRAME Streamline your security compliance. Achieve SOC 2, ISO 27001, and HIPAA compliance quickly and easily with Secureframe. We know navigating the world of security and compliance can be confusing. But it doesn’t have to be. With our guided workflows and one-click integrations, we automate the entire compliance process, from readiness to report. With Secureframe, companies can: - Connect with 100+ cloud services and vendors including AWS, GCP, and Azure
- Automate the evidence collection process through our 1-click integrations
- Customize auditor-approved compliance policies from a library of 40+ templates
- Get step-by-step guidance from in-house experts
Secureframe offers user-friendly solutions geared for fast-growing businesses. If you’d like to learn more, schedule a personalized demo today. Schedule Your Demo
| |
Today's Funding 💸 Adtech/Martech - Pendulum (Seattle, Wash.), platform to detect harmful narratives about brands on social media: $5.9M Seed led by Madrona Venture Group, participation from Cercano Management, et al.
AI/ML - Labelbox (San Francisco, Calif.), training data platform for enterprise machine learning applications: $110M D led by SoftBank's Vision Fund 2, participation from Snowpoint Ventures, Databricks Ventures, B Capital Group, Andreessen Horowitz and Catherine Wood, et al.
- Avataar (Bangalore, India), AI/Computer Vision platform focused on spatial visual discovery: $45M B led by Tiger Global, participation from Sequoia Capital India.
Consumer - Parler (Nashville, Tenn.), right-wing-oriented social media platform: $20M from undisclosed sources.
- Draftea (Mexico), platform for Spanish-language fantasy soccer in LatAm: $13.2M led by Kaszek, participation from Sequoia, Bullpen, Nigel Eccles.
Fintech - Bfree (Nigeria), credit management: $1.7M Pre-A from 4Di Capital, Octerra Capital, VestedWorld, Voltron Capital, Logos Ventures, et al.
Foodtech - Remilk (Tel Aviv, Israel), dairy-identical milk protein for commercial uses: $120M B led by Hanaco Ventures, participation from Precision Capital, Rage Capital, CPT Capital, Intercap, OurCrowd, Aliya Capital, et al.
Greentech - RoadRunner (Pittsburgh, Pa.), data-driven waste management platform that helps businesses divert their junk away from landfill sites: $70M D from General Atlantic's BeyondNetZero.
Did you enjoy reading about all of today's funding in one place? The funding roundup is only available to free users on Mondays and Fridays. Upgrade to Inside VC Premium for either $10/month, or $100 billed annually, to receive the full list in every issue! For a limited time, we are offering a 14-day free trial. Click here to sign up! | | | |
Quick Hits - Coin Cloud is giving away $100,000 in Bitcoin! You could pocket up to $5,000 while watching "Easy Buckets." Enter now for your chance to win!*
- Launch House, the organizer of month-long programs for entrepreneurs, raised $10M to invest in companies that complete its program. The idea took off during the pandemic as a way to fight off social isolation and work on projects.
- Tech stocks briefly rallied following a disappointing job report undermining confidence in Main Street. However, full-employment and resulting rising interest rates seem to have had the final say and quickly erased the gains.
- Reddit has tapped Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs for its IPO, which could see the forum platform valued at up to $15B.
- Pine Labs, an Indian digital payments platform, is reportedly preparing to raise $500M in an IPO. The Sequoia- and Mastercard-backed filed confidentially to enter the NYSE at a $5.5B-$7B valuation.
*This is a sponsored post.
| |
Upcoming events at Inside: - January 11 - The Business of Interactive Gambling with Jon Kaplowitz (Penn) (Register Here)
- January 11 - Venturing in VC Episode #2 - featuring guest Marshall Sandman (Animal Capital) (Register Here)
- January 13 - Education within the Metaverse with Steve Grubbs (VictoryXR) (Register Here)
- January 18 - Venturing in VC - Episode #3 (Register Here)
- January 19 - Music in the Metaverse with Jonathan Gray (Clap for Encore) (Register Here)
- January 25 - Need To Know NoCoder - Leon Young (Cogniss) (Register Here)
- January 27 - Understanding the Metaverse (Register Here)
- February 03 - Blockchain Gaming & Play-to-Earn Economies (Register Here)
- February 10 - The Business of Wellness (Register Here)
- February 17 - Customer Acquisition in a post iOS 14 world (Register Here)
- February 23 - Need to Know NoCoder: Derya Sousa (Kianda Technologies) (Register Here)
- February 24 - Alternative Investments (Register Here)
- March 03 - The $12B Appetite for Amazon Aggregators (Register Here)
- March 10 - NoCode's impact on the Gig Economy (Register Here)
- March 23 - Need to Know NoCoder: Nichole Bestman (Bubble) (Register Here)
| |
 |  | Inside VC's writer/curator Stephen currently lives in Berlin and is pursuing a Master's degree in philosophy. He otherwise spends his time trying his hand at recipes from India and Southeast Asia, escaping it all at the kickboxing gym, and offending aural sensibilities with his band. |  | | Editor | Aaron Crutchfield is based in the high desert of California. Over the last two decades, he has spent time writing and editing at various local newspapers and defense contractors in California. When he's not working, he can often be found looking at the latest memes with his kids or working on his 1962 Ford. | |
Enter now for a chance to win your share of $100,000 in Bitcoin with “Easy Buckets” from Coin Cloud. | |
Achieve SOC 2, ISO 27001, and HIPAA compliance quickly and easily with Secureframe. | |
Comments
Post a Comment