 Micro-funds, which have $50M in AUM or less, raised a total of $5B in 2021. That figure was just below 2019’s record of slightly over $5B. However, with a record-setting 339 vehicles (which will grow as more data is collected), PitchBook sees micro-funds setting trends at the earliest stages of VC funding. More: - Big multi-stage funds with over $500M in AUM steal the show and make up the majority of funding.
- Still, the steady increase in seed-stage deals correlates highly with growth in micro-fund deals.
- All said, micro-funds now have an aggregate of around $60B in AUM.
- They have a median size of $10.7M, while they average just below $15M.
- The median size of a company’s first institutional round has grown to $2M, still below the median seed deal size of $2.9M.
- According to the analysts, micro-funds benefit the VC ecosystem at large thanks to their focus on startups located outside major tech hubs.
- This is particularly helpful given that the median distance between a company and its lead seed-stage investors round is just 94 miles.
- A total of 117 closed outside of the four major markets (New York, Bay Area, Boston, Los Angeles) for the first time in 2021, with a total of $1.9B in dry powder.
- Beyond benefits for young startups, micro-funds provide easier access for LPs who are interested in getting involved with the highly-lucrative VC strategy but lack the capital or reputational clout to contribute to larger funds.
- Micro-funds had a positive cash flow in 2021, with $4.7B in distributions well outpacing $3.3B in call downs.
- Similarly, first-time or emerging managers have better luck establishing themselves through a micro-fund.
- Each year, over 60% (often 75%) of micro-funds are raised by emerging managers.
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Grafana Labs, known for its Grafana open-source visualization tools, raised $240M Series D led by GIC. Participation came from J.P. Morgan and existing investors Sequoia Capital, Coatue, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and Lead Edge Capital. More: - The company did not disclose a new valuation, but at the time of its previous $220 Series C round, it was pegged at $3B. The company has now raised $540M to date.
- Beyond Grafana’s visualization tools and dashboards, the company also offers tools like Loki for logging, Tempo for tracing, and Mimir for metrics.
- It also contributes to other open-source projects, including the Prometheus monitoring system.
- Between its subscription plan and its free enticement tier, Grafana boasts 900,000 active Grafana installations with 10 million global users.
- Adoption grew by 25x in the last six years.
- Grafana’s more than 2,000 paying customers include big names like Bloomberg, J.P. Morgan Chase, eBay, PayPal, and Sony.
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 A message from EQUITYBEE When you leave a startup job, you only get 90 days to decide whether you’d like to exercise your options. NOT an easy decision. In fact, 55% of US startup employees give up on exercising their ESOs. Some aren’t aware of the potential. For others, the cost of exercising ($50K on average) is too steep. Exercising when the future of your workplace is uncertain can feel risky. Still, you don’t want to be that person who lost out big just because they didn’t have the foresight (or the budget). That’s why Equitybee can be great when there’s no clear exit in sight: The good part? You only need to pay Equitybee and the investors back in case of a successful exit. Yup, that’s right. Apply for funding
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Data from PitchBook and the National Venture Capital Association show that U.S. VCs raised $73.8B in fresh funds last quarter. That figure sets a new record for VC fundraising in any three-month period to date, despite a decline in their investment pace, reports Bloomberg. More: - Last quarter’s $70.7B in total funds deployed in the U.S. over 3,723 deals was higher than almost any quarter in the last two decades, with the glaring exception of most of 2021.
- For instance, it is down from the $77B funneled into startups in the first quarter just a year earlier, and well below the $95.4B over 4,098 deals in Q4’21.
- Some of the biggest hauls came from the $9B in fresh powder for Andreessen Horowitz and the $1.15B raised by Ribbit Capital.
- Still, those announcements were at the beginning of the quarter, posing the question of whether a slowdown is on the horizon now that LPs are more conscious of the effect a sluggish market for tech stocks will have on their exit prospects.
- The first quarter saw 310 exit deals with an aggregate value of $33.6B, substantially down from the $124.6B generated across 393 deals one year earlier.
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Vilnius, Lithuania-based Nord Security, the company behind NordVPN, raised $100M at a $1.6B valuation after a decade of being bootstrapped. The investment was led by Novator, with participation from Burda Principal Investments, General Catalyst, and individuals including Ilkka Paananen of Supercell, Miki Kuusi of Wolt, and Matt Mullenweg of Automattic. More: - The decision to take funding came following the realization that the open internet concept behind many VPNs is suffering due to predatory practices, which see consumers’ and businesses’ data put at risk.
- Between its array of offerings, the company can claim 15 million users.
- Beyond its flagship VPN product, it provides a password manager, a cloud sync and storage service, a network access platform for enterprise, and developer tools to build custom VPNs.
- Nord has also begun expanding as an M&A player: in February, it announced a merger with Surfshark, another Lithuanian security company.
- The company has had its share of bad press:
- It was mentioned in regard to Russia ordering VPNs to block certain sites (it subsequently left the country in order not to comply), a breach of one of its data centers, and claims that some of its browser extensions don’t act as they appear to.
- As it expands to more enterprise users, the company may face higher due diligence hurdles, which could either drive it to improve on its services or prove too much for it to handle.
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 A message from MALWAREBYTES Is your current cyberprotection catching all the threats? Remote work has changed our use of tools across cloud collaboration, cybersecurity, backup, and other solutions. We asked people who look after security* for their organizations what is changing in their environment: - 78% report an increase in the use of cloud storage platforms
- 76% saw in increase in the use of video conferencing
- 73% noted an increase in the use of identity management and cloud access tools
- 72% reported an increase in the use of instant messaging
- 71% noted an increase in the use of cybersecurity and antivirus tools
There has never been a better time to audit your current antivirus tools. Scan, clean and protect all your devices and servers in one easy-to-use console. During our Spring Sale, save 25% for a limited time. Compare Savings *Malwarebytes 2022 Still Enduring From Home report
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 Today’s Funding 💸 Adtech/Martech - Edo (San Francisco, Calif.), data, measurement, and analytics software for TV ads: $80M from Shamrock Capital.
- Postclock (San Francisco, Calif.), digital advertising conversions cloud: $20M led by Bridge Bank’s Technology Banking Group.
Biotech/Health - Eleos Health (Boston, Mass.), CareOps Automation solutions for behavioral health: $20M A led by F-Prime Capital, Eight Roads Ventures, participation from aMoon Fund, lool ventures, Arkin Holdings.
- Endovascular Engineering (Menlo Park, Calif.), mechanical thrombectomy solutions to address peripheral indications: ...
Want to read 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 - Voyager Ventures closed its inaugural fund with $100M to invest in early-stage climatetech startups.
- Avoro Ventures closed its maiden fund to invest in the life sciences and biotech sectors at $186M.
- AmerisourceBergen, a global healthcare solutions company, launched its corporate venture arm to invest $150M into possible partners.
- Noissue, aNew Zealand-based company offering custom, sustainable packaging, acquired London-based Tapkit, which makes digital experiences for brands, for an undisclosed sum.
- New reports affirm that fast-fashion company Shein was valued at $100B during its latest round. The total raise has been pegged between $1B and $2B.
- Oura, a Finnish company offering personalized health data, insights, and daily guidance, raised an undisclosed amount at a $2.55B valuation.
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- May 31 - Ethereum Merge with Anthony Donofrio (Ethereum) (Register Here)
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 |  | 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. | |
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