 Global venture funding continued to dip in April, falling to $47B, the lowest monthly figure seen since Feb. 2021. The latest figure represents a 12% dip YoY, making it the second consecutive month with a decline compared with the year before. More: - Seed-stage companies raised $3B last month, falling month over month but still growing year over year by 14%.
- Early-stage funding was the lowest in 12 months, with only $14.3B in total volume. It was flat year over year compared to April 2021.
- Late-stage funding was flat month over month but down by 19% year over year. That makes it responsible for the majority of the decline both in raw figures and in relative terms.
- While funding was down overall, certain industries did manage to continue raising more funding in 2022 to date compared to 2021.
- These include blockchain, supply chain management, renewable energy, marketing tech, and gaming.
- There were 34 new unicorns minted last month, down from 51 created in April 2021. The figure is also two points lower than the 36 new unicorns that joined the herd in March 2021.
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South Korean startup Bucketplace raised $182M for its home improvement app OHouse. The Series D round was backed by SoftBank Ventures Asia, Vertex Growth, Bond Capital, BRV Capital Management, Korea Development Bank, IMM Investment, and Mirae Asset Capital More: - While the company declined to disclose a valuation, reports peg Bucketplace’s post-money valuation at around $1.4B.
- The company last raised $70M in Nov. 2020 at a valuation of approximately $890M.
- The latest funding almost doubled the company’s funds raised to date to $261M.
- According to CEO Jay Lee, the funds will be used not only to continue expansion in South Korea but also to enter into new markets such as Japan, Southeast Asia, and the U.S.
- The company also recently acquired Singapore-based online furniture platform HipVan for an undisclosed sum.
- Founded eight years ago, Bucketplace has grown OHouse out from being a place to share interior design content to having a next-day furniture delivery service, as well as home improvement, home repairs, and maintenance services.
- It plans to launch an AR-based functionality that will allow users to see how a piece of furniture would fit into their space, though the date of the rollout and its specifications are unclear at this time.
The wider lens: - The DIY home improvement market has grown so fast that it’s expected to reach a global cap of $514.9B by the end of 2028, up from $333.7B in 2021.
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SimpliSafe, provider of a set of home security solutions, raised $200M from Capital One, N.A., HPS Investment Partners, Owl Rock, and Eastern Bank. The funds come in the form of an incremental credit facility and will partially be used to refinance existing facilities. More: - The company’s offerings are geared toward wireless cameras and alarm systems that can be built into existing structures.
- Founded 15 years ago, SimpliSafe has a subscriber base of over 1.5 million and expects to grow that figure above 2 million over the next three years.
- Last year, the company surpassed its projection of $400M in ARR.
- It was recently named the "Best Overall Home Security System of 2022" by U.S. News & World Report.
- The award corresponded with the company’s ongoing plans to custom-build a new Boston headquarters.
- Prior to being acquired by Hellman & Friedman in 2018, SimpliSafe had raised a $56M venture round led by Sequoia.
The wider lens: - The global home security market was valued at over $25B in 2021 and is expected to exhibit a CAGR of 18.0% over the forecast period up until 2028.
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Best of Last Week M&A New Funds - TPG Inc. is soliciting commitments for its second healthcare-focused fund with an initial target set at $3.5B.
- Breakthrough Properties, based in Los Angeles, closed a $3B Life Science Property Fund for life science companies.
- Illinois-based RoundTable Healthcare Partners raised $800M for its sixth private equity fund with a focus on the healthcare sector.
- Union Square Ventures closed two new funds: a $275M Core Fund and a $350M Opportunity Fund. They will be deployed in accordance with the firm’s Thesis 3.0.
- Unusual Ventures closed on $485M in new funds for its hands-on investment approach.
- NYC-based life sciences investment firm Catalio Capital Management LP closed its third fund at $381M.
- New York- and London-based investment firm Aquiline Capital closed its Technology Growth Fund II with over $365M in capital commitments.
- Flare Capital has closed its third fund at $350M to bet on early-stage healthcare startups.
- HOF Capital announced its second institutional fund with $300M in commitments to invest in Series A stage rounds.
- rali_cap, an early-stage investor in fintech companies operating in emerging markets, hit the $20M first close of its latest fund and boosted the fund size based on LP appetite.
- Flybridge Capital has two new funds with a total of $150M to bet on pre-seed and seed-stage companies.
- The Home Depot launched its venture capital arm with a $150M inaugural fund to place early-stage bets.
- Hetz Ventures, a seed/pre-seed-stage investment outfit hailing from Israel, closed its third fund at $123M. The fresh funds bring the firm’s AUM to $300M.
- German growth capital investor Cipio Partners closed its Cipio VIII fund at $213M (€202M).
- Venture capital firm Afore Capital secured $150M toward its third fund to invest in pre-seed rounds.
- EVP has begun fundraising for its $100M fourth fund.
- Magnify Ventures, an early-stage investing outfit from Los Angeles, closed its maiden fund at $52M for bets on the care economy.
- Bull City Ventures, a Durham-based VC outfit, raised a $50M fourth fund to pursue its highly exclusive investment strategy.
- Omri Casspi, a former NBA star hailing from Israel, has launched a $50M venture fund together with David Citron, a veteran early-stage venture capital investor.
- Boston-based Cybernetix Ventures launched its maiden fund at $50M to invest in pre-seed, seed, and Series A investments into robotics, automation, and AI.
- Early-stage venture capital firm Valia Ventures secured $50M in commitments toward its oversubscribed second fund.
- Interstate Fusion Ventures closed its second fund at $40M to pursue an investment strategy targeting Northeast Ohio.
- January Ventures closed its second fund at $21M to invest in formation-stage B2B software startups.
- Washington-based VC firm Quona Capital is looking to close its third fund between $325M-$350M for growth-stage investments across Sub-Saharan Africa.
- Madrid, Spain-based venture capital firm Seaya Ventures is looking to raise $315.5M (€300M) for its new fund named Seaya Andromeda, with a focus on sustainability tech.
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 Today’s Funding 💸 AI/ML - Ava (San Francisco, Calif.), instant captions for any audio track: $10M A led by Khosla Ventures, participation from Initialized Capital, Lerer Hippeau Ventures, LeFonds VC, Ring Capital.
Biotech/Health - Redcliffe Lifetech (Noida, India), genetics diagnostics platform: $61M led by LeapFrog Investments, participation from Healthquad, Schroders, LC Nueva, Growth Spark Ventures, et al.
- Element5 (San Jose, Calif.), Automation-as-a-Service solution for post-acute care: $30M B led by Insight Partners.
Enterprise - Rise Up (Paris, France), employee learning software solution: $33M led by Connected Capital, participation from MAIF Avenir, Impact Partners.
- Outerspace (New York, N.Y.), operational and technology partner for omnichannel consumer brands: $30M B led by Prysm Capital.
- Showrunner (Chicago, Ill.), film production technology software: $4.4M from Lightbank, Craft Ventures, Gaingels, Allen Gannett, et al.
Gaming - Axiomatic Gaming (Los Angeles, Calif.), parent company of esports organization Team Liquid: $35M from Ares Management. The company was valued at $415M.
Insurtech - FutureProof (San Diego, Calif.), climate-smart P&C insurtech: $6.5M led by AXIS Digital Ventures, participation from Innovation Endeavors, MS&AD Ventures.
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 - From 5x to 10x, VC growth stage revenue multiples have doubled in the past year, according to the 2022 Pepperdine Private Capital Markets Report.*
- The U.K. has upped the ante for its new big tech regulation program, allowing it to levy fines of up to 10% of global annual turnover. The government was unable to give a specific date for when the unit will start its operations.
- VC investment in fintech fell QoQ by 7.3% to $29.3B in Q1. Nevertheless, thanks to a string of massive funding rounds for companies like Brex, the median late-stage fintech round grew to $257.5M during the quarter, a 44.5% increase from 2021’s full-year figure.
- Datadog, a monitoring and security platform for cloud applications, acquired Spanish security software testing platform provider Gipuzkoa for an undisclosed sum.
- Chingona Ventures, a Chicago-based venture outfit investing in pre-seed startups from the Midwest, raised a second fund at $52M, a massive step up from its $6M maiden vehicle.
- Same old marketing automation not cutting it these days? Get our eBook and power up your customer experiences*
*This is a sponsored post.
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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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