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| Hey Insiders, Today we are taking a look at Founders Fund's new partner hire, the VC funding slump for U.S.-based real estate startups, and the slump in medtech M&A transactions. Scroll down for some quick hits, and then let us know what other content you'd like to see in future issues. Karan
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| 1 | | Flexport founder Ryan Peterson has been named as the newest partner at Peter Theil-backed VC firm Founders Fund. In the new role, he will invest as a generalist, adding, "I'm interested in innovative companies regardless of their stage or industry." More: - Peterson founded logistics startup Flexport along with his brother David in 2008.
- Flexport was last valued at $8B at its $935M Series E round in February 2022.
- Peterson stepped down from the CEO role in August 2022, handing over the reins to former Amazon executive Dave Clark.
- He has already backed over 100 startups as an angel investor, most notably Rippling, Mercury, Faire, Eight Sleep, Carta, and Pulley.
Zoom out: - Last week, Flexport's VP of North America, Kaitlyn Glancy, joined Eclipse as a partner.
- Founders Fund roped in Brex's former chief revenue officer Sam Blond as a partner last September.
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| 2 | | 
What the numbers say: U.S.-based real estate-focused startups have secured $2.1B in VC funding this year. At the current rate, funding will likely be at the lowest level in five years at this year's end. Funding has fallen primarily due to the absence of key investors in the domain, including Tiger Global Management, SoftBank, and Andreessen Horowitz (a16z). The trio has not made any investments in the sector so far this year. Relevance: Notable funding rounds in the sector include construction equipment marketplace startup EquipmentShare's $290M Series E round, indoor spaces connected sensors maker R-Zero's $105M Series C financing, and residential real estate investment platform Avenue One's $100M funding round. What happened: The rising interest rates, mortgage rates, and office vacancies caused a sharp disruption in the sector. This pushed many startups to the brink of bankruptcy. Crowdfunded real estate loans platform PeerStreet filed for bankruptcy protection last week. The firm had raised $100M from investors, including a16z. | | | |
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| 3 | | According to Evaluate Medtech, 42 medtech M&A deals worth $13B were executed in the first half of the year. If the current rate of M&A transactions persists, the overall value at the end of this year is projected to be the lowest in a decade. More: - The value of medtech M&A transactions peaked at more than $80B in 2021.
- Medtech M&A deal values in 2022 and 2020 were $65B and $28.8B, respectively.
- Transactions have averaged $312M this year, which is less than a third of the $1.2B average deal value in 2022.
- Bain Capital's $3.1B acquisition of Olympus' scientific solutions business, completed in April this year, was the biggest transaction so far.
- Only four deals have surpassed the $1B mark.
- M&A transactions continue to be the primary exit option for startups in the medtech industry, as no IPO transactions have occurred thus far this year.
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| 4 | | Singapore state investor Temasek's VC division Vertex Ventures secured $900M in capital commitments toward its latest fund. Vertex CEO Chua Kee Lock anticipates that the fund will achieve its target of $1B in the coming months. More: - Despite the tough fundraising climate for VC firms, the fund has already surpassed its predecessor, which closed at $730M in 2019.
- The firm had previously raised five-early stage funds, each with specific focuses on Southeast Asia and India, China, the U.S., Israel, and healthcare companies.
- Additionally, Vertex also has a growth stage fund.
- The firm intends to continue investing "at our steady pace" in its two core markets of Southeast Asia and India.
- The firm has 300 startups in its portfolio, including super app Grab, proptech startup PatSnap, and cross-border payment firm Nium.
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| 5 | | Construction firm Suffolk's venture capital arm, Suffolk Technologies, closed its debut fund at $110M. The fund aims to back early-stage startups in construction technology and proptech sectors working on affordable housing, reducing emissions in construction projects, and sustainable construction. More: - The investment team at Suffolk Technologies is comprised of industry experts with prior experience at firms including McKinsey, Microsoft, General Electric, Fairhaven Capital, Dell, and AMG National.
- Suffolk Technologies has backed 30 startups to date, including construction project management platform OpenSpace, sustainable procurement platform Kojo, water sustainability startup WINT, job site electrification startup Moxion, and robotics startup Canvas.
- Suffolk Technologies launched its six-week accelerator program dubbed BOOST in 2020.
- 18 startups graduated from the program and have raised $350M in capital through subsequent rounds.
Zoom out: - Per Suffolk, the construction and real estate sector is a $6.4T industry contributing 5% of the U.S. GDP.
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| 6 | | Today's Funding: Biotech - Septerna, a San Francisco-based biotech startup developing small molecule medicines, closed its Series B funding round at $150M. RA Capital Management led the round with participation from Samsara BioCapital, Invus, BVF Partners, Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Vertex Ventures, Mirae Asset Financial Group, and others.
- Ophthalmic therapeutics company SpyGlass Pharma secured $90M in funding led by RA Capital Management. New Enterprise Associates, Vensana Capital, Samsara BioCapital, and Vertex Ventures HC participated in the round.
- Cell and gene therapies startup CoJourney closed its Legend Holdings-led Series A funding round at $30M. GL Ventures, Legend Startup Investment Management, and Lake Bleu Capital supported the funding.
ClimateTech - Canadian carbon removal technologies startup CarbonCure Technologies nabbed $80M fresh funding led by Blue Earth Capital. The round saw participation from Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Amazon's Climate Pledge Fund, Microsoft Climate Innovation Fund, and 2150.
Cybersecurity - Cybersecurity startup SpecterOps raised $8.5M in Series A extension funding from Ballistic Ventures, bringing the total raised under the Series A round to $33.5M.
Fintech - German embedded finance platform Solaris raised €38M ($41.8M) in Series F funding led by existing backers.
Healthcare - AI-powered prenatal screening solution maker Sonio raised $14M capital led by Cross Border Impact Ventures and the Elaia funds.
Software - Network management software provider Verifiable secured $27M in Series B funding led by Craft Ventures.
Logistics - British freight logistics startup Raft, formerly known as Vector, raised $30M in Series B funding led by Eight Roads VC. Existing backers Bessemer Venture Partners, Episode 1, Dynamo Ventures, and Moguntia Capital participated in the round.
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- GlobalLogic acquired Irish IT firm Sidero for an undisclosed sum.
- Korean VC firm Shinhan Venture Investment earmarked 50% of its $200M flagship global fund to invest in Southeast Asian startups.
- Impact Capital has secured capital commitments worth $12M toward its second fund so far. Including the state grant, the firm now has $15M to invest in startups.
- Matthew P. Jacobson joined Apple Tree Partners as a venture partner. The serial biotech entrepreneur is tasked with identifying life science investments and guiding existing portfolio startups.
- Former SVB Capital's president John China joined JPMorgan Chase & Co. to co-lead its banking solutions for venture capitalists and startups.
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 | Analyst | | Karan Chafekar is a Management Consultant, Business enthusiast, and Licensed Pilot. | | This newsletter was edited by Aaron Crutchfield | |
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