 Crunchbase reports that startup investors deployed $62.7B across seed through growth-stage deals in the U.S. in the last three months. That represents a decline of 27% quarter-on-quarter and a drop of 25% from the year-ago quarter. More: - Round counts also contracted in tandem with overall funding.
- Late-stage rounds totaled only 374, down from 490 in Q1 and 503 in Q2’21.
- There were 1,023 early-stage deals, almost 200 fewer than in the three months prior and 250 less than in Q2’21.
- Growth funding totaled $3.7B, while late-stage and early-stage capital totaled $31.3B and $23.2B, respectively.
- The late-stage figure represents a decline of 33% from Q1 and 30% from the same quarter last year and is, in fact, the lowest quarterly funding total for this stage since 2020.
- Seed-stage rounds brought in $3.5B to the youngest startups, reversing a three-quarter increase and down from $5B last quarter.
- The 1,331 rounds extended a long decline and totaled 1,000 less than in Q2’21.
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Workvivo has raised $22M led by Tiger Global to continue building out its employee experience app. The Cork, Ireland-based company had previously raised $16M from Tiger Global, Frontline Ventures, and Enterprise Ireland. More: - Though it did not disclose its valuation, Workvivo claims that the fresh capital raised its private tag by a factor of three.
- It also reported that it has seen 150% year-on-year growth for the past three years.
- The company has 300 customer organizations with 100 to 100,000 employees in over 90 countries.
- Targeting companies with remote workforces, Workvivo’s app allows employers to engage with their workers on an emotional level.
- The app is intended to solve the problem of attrition. The company has found that 60% of employees plan to leave their jobs, and 98% of HR professionals have experienced burnout in the last six months.
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Rajeev Misra, head of SoftBank’s Vision Fund, is stepping down from his main roles. He will remain CEO of the initial Vision Fund and become vice chairman of SoftBank’s wider investment arm. SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son will take over his other roles. More: - Though his reasons for leaving were not reported, Misra has been facing a downturn in the stock market, where much of the Vision Fund’s portfolio resides.
- He reportedly clashed with senior rivals, including former chief operating officer Marcelo Claure and president Nikesh Arora, eventually outlasting both of them.
- Misra joined SoftBank in 2014 after meeting Son through his capacity as an executive at Deutsche Bank and helping the other man finance difficult deals.
- He later built the Vision Fund into the massive $100B vehicle that fundamentally changed startup investing by ushering in the era of mega-rounds and sky-high valuation.
- According to reports, Misra and Son met recently in Tokyo, where Misra informed his former boss that he would leave to start his own venture.
- Sources claim that Misra has already raised $6B for his vehicle, finding his backing from Royal Group, which is led by Sheikh Tahnoon Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and ADQ, one of the emirate’s sovereign wealth funds.
- The new fund will reportedly pursue a mix of strategies, and its final size has not yet been established.
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Hidden Road, a credit network for institutional investors based in the British Virgin Islands, has raised $50M Series A. Castle Island Ventures led the round with participation from Citadel Securities, FTX Ventures, Uncorrelated Ventures, Greycroft, XBTO Humla Ventures, Wintermute, SLN Capital, Profluent Trading, Coinbase Ventures, Corner Capital, and others. More: - The company’s quantitative platform provides real-time risk management and seamless credit.
- It targets no specific venues, products, and asset classes.
- Instead, it looks to solve the problem of credit intermediation and prime brokerage caused by legacy technology, archaic workflows, and conflicts of interest, thereby operating across global markets.
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 Today's Funding 💸 Agtech - Fyto (Petaluma, Calif.), automated specialized aquatic plants: $15M A led by GV, participation from AgFunder, Refactor Capital, First Star Ventures, Bolt.
Biotech/Health - Tebra (Newport Beach, Calif.), digital platform for independent healthcare practices: $72M Equity/Debt led by Golub Capital.
- Zhiyi Biotech (Guangzhou, China), unique bacterial strain Bacteroides Fragilis: $45M B from Qingkong SinoKing Capital, SDIC Venture Capital, KIP.
- Biosyntia (Copenhagen, Denmark), bio-based manufacturing processes: $11.7M from European Circular Bioeconomy Fund, et al.
Blockchain - Oasys (Japan), blockchain for gaming developers: $20M led by Republic Capital, participation from Jump Crypto, Crypto.com, Huobi, Kucoin, Gate.io, Bitbank, Mirana Ventures.
- Thalex (Gibraltar), platform offering stablecoin-settled crypto options and futures: $7.5M A from Bitfinex, Bitstamp, Flow Traders, IMC, QCP, Wintermute.
Enterprise - Traba (Miami, Fla.), jobs board designed to help entry-level workers find available shifts at fulfillment centers and event venues: $20M A from Founders Fund, General Catalyst, SciFi VC, Atomic.
Fintech - Deshe Analytics (Tel Aviv, Israel), AI-based financial research: $6.5M Seed led by Group 11, participation from Psagot Investment House, Avishai Abrahami, Nir Zohar.
- Adaptive (U.S.), financial management platform for construction companies: $6.5M Pre-Seed led by Andreessen Horowitz.
Foodtech - Phytolon (Yokneam, Illit, Israel), food colorant startup: $14.5M A led by DSM Venturing, participation from Cibus Fund, Ginkgo Bioworks, The Trendlines Agrifood Fund, Arkin Holdings, et al.
Industrial - Sortera Alloys (Fort Wayne, Ind.), AI-based industrial scrap metal sorting and recycling company: $10M led by Assembly Ventures, participation from Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Novelis.
Transportation - 7Gen (Vancouver, Canada), EV and charging infrastructure leasing: $8M A led by FTQ, Siemens Financial Services.
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Quick Hits - Expense management slowly killing you? Get $100 to see how painless it should be.*
- Insight Partners will reportedly raise a 12th $20B flagship fund just months after pulling in the exact same sum for its 11th vehicle.
- Silverton Partners closed its Fund VII at $248M to pursue its strategy of targeting early-stage startups.
- Venture outfit Tenacity raised $50M for its first fund. Operator Ben Narasin will deploy the capital in $1M-$3M increments into pre-Series A rounds.
- CB Insights finds that global funding for startups has fallen 23% in the second quarter compared to the three months directly before. Global funding came in at $108.5B, while total exit value was a meager $49B, according to PitchBook.
- Starbust, an analytics anywhere company, acquired Varada, an Israeli data lake analytics accelerator, for undisclosed terms.
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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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