VCs pour $6B+ in China in January / Australian VC firm Lumir to raise $100M / King River Capital planning $150M for Web3

Plus: Is profitability over for Chinese delivery apps after regulation?

Inside.com Part of   Network February 21, 2022

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Venture capital firms poured more than $6.5B in China during January 2022, according to GlobalData, a data and analytics company. The figure represents a double-digit increase compared to the same time period in 2021. More: In January, 304 VC funding deals were announced in China. The average deal size during the month was $21.4M. The figure represents just over 16% of the total number of VC funding deals announced globally during the month. China stands second, only behind the U.S., in terms of investment share and size.  Top deals in China during the month were Chongqing Changan New Energy's $785.7M funding round and Jidu Auto's $400M Series A.

Lumir Ventures, a venture capital firm created by Australian investor Josh Liberman, is raising $100M. The fund will focus on Israel-based tech scene investment opportunities. More: The fund has already raised $80M so far, and Liberman is planning to raise $100M in the upcoming months. Lumir Ventures will be a partnership between Josh Liberman Investment Group and Tel Aviv-based venture capital firm 10D. The fund will be investing in a wide range of verticals.  Liberman has previously invested in startups such as Seek and Canva.

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Chinese food delivery apps are facing regulation changes that could stagnate their business models. A Chinese regulatory agency has directed food delivery apps to slash their commission fees.  More: The proposal came from China’s National Development and Reform Commission, with the goal of helping struggling service industries recover. Commissions were 60% of the entire revenue generated by delivery apps such as Meituan. Alibaba is also a player in the market, having acquired Ele.me in 2018. Meituan has tested drone deliveries to reduce delivery costs.

King River Capital has raised a $50M fund that will focus on Web3 investments. This figure is planned to be tripled as the firm seeks to raise $150M in total. More: The fund will be incorporated offshore to avoid confusion due to the lack of regulation for crypto in Australia. Former macro hedge fund manager David Adams has been brought in to help run the fund. The company is based in Sydney, Australia. Australian venture capitalists are widely using SAFT (simple agreement for future tokens) contracts to ensure they can participate in future token sales. These contracts mirror the more common SAFE (simple agreement for future equity).

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Today's Funding 💸 Biotech/Lab Synthego (Redwood City, Calif.), genome engineering company, $200M Series E from Perceptive Advisors, SoftBank Vision Fund 2, Declaration Partners, and RA Capital Management. Vanilla Vida (Israel), proprietary cultivation process developer, $11.5M Series A led by Ordway Selections, participation from FoodSparks, et al. AKHAN Semiconductor (Gurnee, Ill.), a technology company specializing in lab-grown electronics-grade diamond materials, $20M from Zahid Group Holdings, et al. E-commerce/Shipping Convictional (Dover, Del.), B2B e-commerce platform for multi-channel selling, $40M in Series B funding led by YC Continuity. Liefergrün (Munich, Germany), shipping platform, $3.4M led by Speedinvest.  Fintech  Earnipay (Lagos, Nigeria), fintech company that provides flexible and on-demand salary access to income-earners in Africa, $4M in Series A funding led by Canaan, joined by  XYZ Ventures, Village Global, Musha Ventures, Voltron Capital, and Ventures Platform. Health Uni (Los Angeles), body care company, $4M led by SOUNDWaves.  Real Estate:  Evolve (Denver),  rental management platform, $100M led by Durable Capital Partners, joined by investors including Winslow, Arrowmark, Foxhaven, and PAR Capital.  Software/B2B Classiq (Tel-Aviv, Israel), quantum computing software company, $33M in Series B funding from Hewlett Packard Pathfinder, Phoenix, Spike Ventures, Samsung NEXT, Walden International founder and chairman Lip-Bu Tan, and Square Wave Ventures managing partner Harvey Jones.  Protecht Group (Sydney, Australia), enterprise risk management software company, AUD $42M ($30.3M) from Arrowroot Capital. Exodigo (Tel-Aviv, Israel), AI image mapping platform, $29M in seed funding led by Zeev Ventures and 10D Ventures, joined by investors including SquarePeg Capital and JIBE Ventures.  Kubecost (San Francisco),  cost monitoring and managing company, $25M Series A led by Coatue Management, with participation from First Round Capital and Afore Capital.  Flow (San Francisco), private market software solutions company, $20M Series A funding led by SVB Financial Group, joined by Frontier Ventures, GFR Fund, HOF Capital, L’Attitude Ventures, WOCstar Fund, and Mantis. Talespin (Culver City, Calif.), spatial computing company focused on workforce talent development and skills mobility, $20M Series C funding co-led by SEEK Investments and Allomer Capital, with participation from Pearson Ventures, Accenture Ventures, Go1, and Sony Innovation Fund. Arcion (California), data mobility platform, $13M Series A led by Bessemer Venture Partners, joined by other investors including Databricks. Advisr (New York), sales operating system for B2B companies, $5.75M in Series A funding led by Next Frontier Capital, participation from Granite Capital.  Viva Translate (Palo Alto, Calif.), artificial intelligence software company that translates email and other written communications, $4M in funding from investors including General Catalyst, AIX Ventures, Fellows Fund, Hyphen Capital, and First Check Ventures.  Web3 Helium (San Francisco), decentralized hotspot network, $200M in Series D funding from investors including Tiger Global and FTX Ventures. Multis (Paris), crypto wallet app company, $7M in funding led by Sequoia Capital,  joined by Long Journey Ventures, Sound Ventures, MakerDAO,  White Star Capital, eFounders, and Y Combinator.

QUICK HITS This startup has upended commercial real estate investing by taking buildings public via IPO.* Lyric Capital is targeting $500M with a new music royalty fund. Atom, a U.K. app-based bank, raised more than £75M ($100M) in new equity funding. A group of crypto enthusiasts is using a decentralized autonomous organization to raise $4B+ in an effort to purchase the for-sale Denver Broncos. ElasticRun, an India-based B2B eCommerce platform, raised $330M in a new funding round. ESG transformation platform Actual raised $5M in seed funding. Loop TV provides fully licensed TV content for businesses. Ditch cable and satellite. Switch to Loop TV for free. Sign up today. * This is sponsored content.

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Arbër is an Inside writer who also has experience in entrepreneurship. He has experience covering Consumer Tech, Venture Capital, NFTs, Crypto, etc. Arbër holds a Bachelor's degree in Business from XAMK University in Finland. When he is not reading(and writing) business news, he chooses to watch sports or anime...and then read news about sports or anime. Editor Beth is an Inside Analyst and a former public policy/investigative reporter. She has covered AI, VR, technology, and e-commerce for Inside. When she's not busy writing, she's hiking in Arizona's desert, playing pickleball, or trying out new Mexican food recipes.

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