Multi-stage venture capital firm Lightspeed Venture Partners received $7.1B worth of capital commitments toward four new funds. Of the total amount accumulated, $1.98B is earmarked for its fourteenth flagship fund, $2.26B for its fifth Select Fund, and $2.36B for its second opportunity fund. The funds also include a $500M tranche to back early-stage startups through its Southeast Asian VC arm, Lightspeed India Partners. More: - The firm is known to back disruptive technology startups across the enterprise, consumer, health, and fintech domains.
- The stages and sectors for the newly launched funds are summarized as follows:
- Fund XIV — For seed to Series B stage investments across the enterprise, consumer, health, and fintech sectors.
- Select V Fund — To back companies in growth stages that are looking to scale their startups.
- Opportunity Fund II — To invest in companies across the globe, with a special focus on China, India, Israel, Europe, and Southeast Asia.
- India IV Fund — To back early- and growth-stage startups in India and Southeast Asia.
- Since its founding in 2000, Lightspeed has invested in over 500 startups with current committed capital totaling $18B.
- Notable portfolio companies include Affirm, Epic Games, FTX, Nutanix, Snap, TripActions, and Ultima Genomics, amongst others.
- Lightspeed has had 33 successful exits through acquisitions or IPOs.
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Crypto-focused investment firm Multicoin Capital launched its third venture fund. The $430M fund will be used to invest in crypto startups that are “poised to reshape massive consumer-facing markets,” per the company’s statement to Decrypt. Last year, the firm closed a $100M fund that focused on Web3 projects being built on the Solana blockchain. More: - For early-stage projects, individual check sizes will range from $500,000 to $25M.
- For later-stage companies, the firm may invest up to $100M.
- Existing portfolio companies include Ethereum, Solana, and FTX.
- Earlier this year, Multicoin led an $18M Series A funding round into the decentralized digital mapping network Hivemapper.
- Multicoin co-founder and managing partner Tushar Jain is bullish about the crypto industry’s prospects despite the current bear market.
- He intends to invest in the current market as “Valuations are more reasonable; founders are more focused, long-term, and motivated; and real users explore projects they are genuinely passionate about.”
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Areteia Therapeutics, a biotech firm developing oral drug therapies for asthma patients, received a $350M Series A capital infusion. Bain Capital led the financing with participation from GV, ARCH Venture Partners, Sanofi, Maverick Capital, and Population Health Partners. Biotech company Knopp Biosciences established Areteia as its subsidiary, formed along with private equity company Population Health Partners. More: - Knopp led the early-stage development of the dexpramipexole oral small molecule drug, which has shown potential to treat eosinophilic asthma.
- Areteia will use the incoming funds to advance dexpramipexole through Phase 3 clinical trial stages and develop next-generation medicines.
- Jorge Bartolome, formerly Canadian region president for Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, was named as the CEO of newly formed entity Areteia.
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Mysten Labs, a blockchain infrastructure startup founded by former Meta Platforms executives, is looking to raise $200M from its Series B funding round. Per The Information, the company is reportedly seeking a $2B valuation for its latest fundraise, which is significantly higher than the valuation received during the Series A round. The funding round is said to be led by FTX Ventures, with investors already committing $140M so far. More: - According to the report, the $2B valuation is contingent on the outcome of the additional warrant options discussions with investors, which would give them the rights to purchase tokens at a predetermined price.
- Andreessen Horowitz led the firm’s $36M Series A funding round in Dec. 2021 with additional backing from Redpoint Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Coinbase Ventures, and Electric Capital.
- Mysten’s valuation at the funding round was not disclosed.
Zoom out: - Other Web3 firms founded by former Meta Platform executives have also been able to rake in significant funding.
- Aptos Labs raised $200M in March led by Andreessen Horowitz, while Lightspark raised undisclosed financing led by Andreessen Horowitz and Paradigm.
- Crypto-focused venture firms are flush with dry powder.
- Andreessen Horowitz raised a $4.5B crypto fund in May, while Electric Capital and Haun Ventures raised over $1B funds each.
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IDG Capital led a $100M Series A financing into XPeng Robotics, the bionic robotics subsidiary of Chinese automaker XPeng Inc. The robotics startup intends to use the proceeds of the financing to boost its product development, hire employees, and invest in R&D for its robotic software and hardware. XPeng Robotics intends to build a four-legged robot equipped with autonomous navigation and a household-use robotic arm. The company intends to deliver it to households within the next two years. More: - XPeng participated in the funding along with several investors, the names of which were not disclosed.
- The parent company has expanded from its core EV market into adjacent mobility sectors.
- Another XPeng subsidiary, HT Aero, building an eVTOL flying vehicle for low-altitude travel, raised $500M from investors last year.
- IDG and 5Y Capital led the funding, which included backing from Sequoia China, GGV Capital, and GL Ventures, amongst others.
- XPeng Robotics has over 300 employees across Guangzhou, Beijing, and Silicon Valley.
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Impress, a Spanish medical firm specializing in orthodontics treatments and teeth alignment solutions, held an initial close of its Series B funding round with $100M in capital. The firm is expecting the final close of the round to occur at $125M. More: - Impress leverages AI technology to manage and monitor treatment provided by its network of hybrid clinics.
- As a result, the company reported industry-leading sales conversion rates and better medical outcomes compared to other DTC clinic models.
- The company’s network spans 130 European cities across eight nations, including Spain, Italy, Germany, France, and the U.K.
- Impress reports that over 80% of the clinics in its network are profitable.
- Existing investors TA Ventures, Uniqa Ventures, and Nickleby Capital have reportedly participated in the round, joined by new investors including LBO France, Norgine Ventures, and Claret Capital Partners.
- The Barcelona-based firm raised $50M from its CareCapital-led Series A funding round in May 2021.
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Quick Hits: - Elon Musk gave a shout-out to Boxabl, calling it a "cool product." Invest in Boxabl today with over 15,000+ investors!*
- Quantonation Ventures closed its first fund with $91.5M (€91M) in capital, higher than its target of $50.2M (€50M). The firm has already backed 19 quantum tech startups and successfully exited two investments.
- Clearhaven Partners acquired a majority stake in video creation and personalization SaaS platform SundaySky, after investing $100M into the firm.
- Ant Group competitor LianLian DigiTech is looking to raise $223M (1.5B yuan) at a $3B (20B yuan) valuation before its planned debut on the Hong Kong stock exchange next year. The firm has enlisted the assistance of China International Corp for the financing round.
- FTV Capital, along with funding round participant Five Elms Capital, led a $74M growth equity financing into green industry-focused business management platform SingleOps.
- Israeli AI-as-a-service platform AI21 Labs closed its Series B funding round with $64M of financing. Ahren Innovation Capital Fund led the fundraiser, which values the firm at $664M.
- Cement production's low carbon alternative solution provider Terra CO2 Technology raised $46M in Series A funding co-led by Breakthrough Energy Ventures and LENx. Creative Ventures and Rio Tinto participated in the funding.
- Eton Solutions, a North Carolina-based firm developing ERP systems catering to family offices, received $38M in Series C funding led by Navis Capital Partners.
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 |  | Karan Chafekar is a Management Consultant, Business enthusiast, and Licensed Pilot. | | | | 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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