 PitchBook data shows a substantial decline in late-stage deal sizes and valuations, though both remain high by historical standards. The $14M median late-stage deal size from Q1’22 is one of the highest ever but down from Q4’21, while the median valuation actually increased slightly while the average valuation fell. More: - The picture is different at the early stage: There, both average and median deal size and valuation continued growing last quarter, while the median and average stake acquired in early-stage rounds has arrested its five-year decline.
- After peaking in 2021, the average and median stakes taken in angel/seed rounds have fallen for the first time since 2014.
- The dynamic shows the degree to which a company’s proximity to public markets is a determining factor in investors’ willingness to invest in them at increasing valuations.
- Still, PitchBook’s analysts think that even late-stage companies will be able to command higher valuations in the coming months.
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Klarna, a Stockholm-based fintech giant, is reportedly looking for fresh funds in a down round. The company was most recently valued at $46B, making it Europe’s largest fintech startup, during a round led by SoftBank’s Vision Fund 2 in 2021. More: - According to sources, the firm is looking at raising around $1B from new and existing investors at a low $30B-range valuation, representing a roughly 30% decline in its worth.
- The participating investors were not disclosed by the sources, though Goldman Sachs is reportedly pitching them.
- The company counts Sequoia Capital, Silver Lake, Dragoneer Investment Group, and others as stakeholders.
- That comes after it had initially tried to clinch a $50B valuation for its buy-now-pay-later platform.
- Klarna, founded in 2005, saw its net loss widen to $705.7M last year, while credit losses spiked following a consumer base and geographic expansion.
- It processed $80B in transactions in the same year, up 42% from the previous year.
The wider lens: - One of Klarna’s main competitors, Affirm, saw its Nasdaq-listed stock plummet 75% this year to a market value of just $7.2B. That is despite it boosting its 2022 revenue guidance to $1.33B-$1.34B from $1.29B-$1.31B.
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 A message from LOHIKA A Framework for Ethical Decision-Making by Software Engineers Don’t miss this opportunity to see Nicholas Thompson, CEO of The Atlantic. Nicholas is an expert on the technology landscape, previously serving as editor-in-chief of Wired and editor of Newyorker.com. In our latest Lohika <Re:think> online event, he will unveil a framework he developed for ethical decision-making for software engineers. Many believe that social media algorithms cause more harm than good. What if the software engineers building these algorithms had a framework for ethical decision-making? Could such a framework create more equitable algorithms? In addition to detailing his framework, Nicholas will share insights on how engineering teams can adapt its principles to the code they write. The event takes place on June 2, 2022 at 10am PT / 1pm ET. After Nicholas’ presentation and Q&A, you can join a video-based breakout room to directly engage with him. Hope to see you there! Register here
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Data intelligence company Near will merge with SPAC KludeIn I Acquisition Corp. at a valuation close to $1B. The firm will also benefit from a $100M equity investment from CF Principal Investments, a Cantor Fitzgerald affiliate. More: - Near began publicly discussing the possibility of a SPAC merger back in December. At the time, it talked about a valuation between $1B and $1.2B.
- Originally hailing from Singapore with a 2012 founding, Near is now based out of Pasadena and has raised around $134M in funding.
- That latter figure includes a $100M round in 2019 and bears the signatures from such investors as Sequoia India, JP Morgan, Cisco, and Telstra.
- PitchBook data indicates that it sought a subsequent round in May 2021 but canceled it in the end.
- Near’s interactive, cloud-based AI platform provides access to anonymized, location-based profiles of users.
- It currently boasts 1.6 billion profiles attached to 70 million locations in 44 countries.
- Its customers reportedly include McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Ford, the CBRE Group, and 60% of the Fortune 500.
- The firm posted revenues of $33M in 20021, with estimates of $46M for 2021, $63M for 2022, and $91M for 2023.
- It further estimates that its gross profit margin for this year will be 72% ($44M), though it concedes EBITDA will continue to be negative until 2024.
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FirstClose, a mortgage and home equity operator, closed its first funding round with a $35M injection from Lateral Investment Management. Since its founding in 2000, the company had been fully bootstrapped. More: - Focusing on the U.S. home equity market, FirstClose provides underwriting workflow automation technology, POS software, and data services.
- It claims that its platform provides users with, on average, a 35% increase in online applications, a 25% increase in pull-through, and a 77% reduction in time to close funding.
- The company counts 400 banks and credit unions as its customers.
- FirstClose is based in Austin, Texas, and was co-founded by broth Tedd Smith (CEO) and Tim Smith (CRO).
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| A message from ADOBE MARKETO Measure the metrics that make the biggest difference. Done right, metrics and analytics can strengthen trust, build budget, and increase business impact for marketing teams. But according to Forrester, 77% of global B2B decision-makers say that using data and analytics to guide decisions is one of their top weaknesses. Read our fact sheet, Metrics That Make a Big Difference, and learn helpful tips for measuring — and proving — the value of your marketing content and campaigns. Read Our Fact Sheet
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 Today’s Funding 💸 Adtech/Martech - Adgile Media Group (New York, N.Y.), out-of-home advertising: $5M Seed led by Brand Foundry Ventures, participation from Amity Supply, Finn Capital, Consumer Ventures, Nik Sharma, Hannah Bronfman, et al.
Agtech - Victory Farms (Kenya), farm for tilapia fish: $5M from Ed Brakeman, Hans den Bieman.
Biotech/Health - Laekna Therapeutics (Shanghai, China), clinical-stage biotechnology company: $61M D led by CS Capital, participation from Worldstar, Infinity Capital, Yanchuang Capital.
- SwanBio (Philadelphia, Pa.), gene therapy: $56M B led by Syncona Limited, Mass General Brigham Ventures.
- Deciphex (Dublin, Ireland), pathology software and services: $11.5M B led by ACT Venture Capital, participation from Charles River Laboratories, Novartis, IRRUS Investments, et al.
Blockchain - Parcl (New York, N.Y.), blockchain-based real estate platform allowing users to microinvest in top neighborhoods: $7.5M from Fifth Wall, JAWS, Barry Sternlicht, IA Capital & Eberg Capital, et al.
Consumer - FloorFound (Austin, Texas), resale platform for home furnishings: $10.5M led by Next Coast Ventures, LiveOak Venture Partners, participation from Flybridge Capital Partners and Schematic Ventures, Data Point Capital.
Cybersecurity - Dig (Tel Aviv, Israel), cloud data security: $11M led by Team8, participation from CrowdStrike, CyberArk, Merlin Ventures, et al.
Femtech - Cayaba Care (Philadelphia, Pa.), maternal/pediatric care: $12M Series A led by Seae Ventures and Kapor Capital. Wellington Partners, Citi Impact Fund, and Rhia 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 - Trying to deliver on big expectations with a small team or budget? Use this worksheet to learn how you can do more with less.*
- London-based PE firm Lightrock Capital raised $300M for a LatAm-focused founder-centric fund.
- Good Growth Capital raised $102M for a fund focused on data science, green tech, hard science, fintech, food tech, and energy efficiency.
- UserZoom, a digital UX platform, acquired French UX insights platform Testapic for an undisclosed sum.
- Cloud services provider Fastly acquired Glitch, a web coding platform, for an undisclosed sum.
- India’s Cars24, a marketplace for used cars, has cut 600 people, or 6% of its workforce. The move comes just five months after raising $400M at a $3.3B valuation.
*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. | |
Register to learn about the framework for ethical decision-making for software engineers | |
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