| |
| Hey Insiders, Today we are taking a look at how the IRA boosted funding for climate tech firms, why VC funding for plant-based meat startups is decreasing, and Nvidia's acquisition of AI startup OmniML. We have also rounded up the top leadership changes in VC this week. Scroll down for some quick hits, and hit reply to let us know what other content you'd like to see in future issues. Karan
p/karan-chafekar | |
| 1 | | 
What the numbers say: North American startups accounted for 58% of the total global climate-tech VC deal value so far this year, per Pitchbook. The deal value share for the region increased from 43% in 2022. The introduction of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) has rekindled investors' interest in the domain, especially hydrogen energy production and biofuels. What happened: Climate-tech funding has shown signs of revival after dealmaking fell to a three-year low in Q1 2023. Deals took a further hit following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank in March. However, the sector soon recovered, with sustainable infrastructure startup Generate and carbon offset trading platform Xpansiv nabbing $880M and $525M funding rounds, respectively. Where to see the impact: Looking at the IRA's success in driving investments, other regions, including Europe and the U.K., are looking to pass similar policies. The EU announced new tax breaks for green companies in February. The region will need to introduce additional policies if it intends to reverse the drop in VC funding for the climate tech sector after its market share dropped from 29% in 2022 to 22% this year. Asia's share in climate-tech financing has also steadily declined year-on-year from 47% in 2017 to 16% in 2023. |     | |
| 2 | | Molly Alter is reportedly departing Index Ventures and is set to join Northzone, per TechCrunch. At Index, Alter focused on consumer, enterprise software, and creator economy startups. Other VC firms Norwest Venture Partners, Madrona, G2, and Stride also announced leadership changes last week. Hires: - Former Salesforce executive David Rudnitsky joined Norwest Venture Partners as its third operating executive.
- Madrona added three new venture partners: Loren Alhadeff, Mark Nelson, and Ted Kummert.
- Delphine Villuendas and Zeevi Michel joined French VC firm Elaia as its newest partners.
Promotions: - Transformative technology-focused VC firm G2 promoted Neel Mehta to the partner role.
- British VC firm Stride promoted Lina Zakarauskaite from principal to partner role. Her promotion comes a month after partner Cleo Sham left the firm.
| | | |
| A message from our sponsor, Happy Head. |  | | Grow thicker, fuller hair & prevent future hair loss with Happy Head
A few months from now, you could be celebrating your new hair! Save big on all first Rx orders from now until Friday, July 7! Here is why you should choose Happy Head: - Get clinically-proven hair growth medications formulated by a board-certified dermatologist
- Highest concentrations of clinically proven ingredients available
- Concierge service with your assigned dermatologist to make any custom formula adjustments or answer any questions
- Custom topical solutions made to order for your specific needs
- FREE shipping in discreet packaging, straight to your door
- Hair growth results in 3 to 6 months backed by our money-back guarantee
- 100% online, no office or pharmacy visits
Get 60% off with code: FIREWORKS60. Start Growing Hair Back | |
|
| 3 | | 
Plant-based meat startups raked in $75.2M in VC funding across 22 deals in Q1 2023, per Pitchbook data reviewed by the Financial Times. The funding reached the lowest level since 2018. Funding dropped to nearly a tenth of the $703M invested in plant-based meat startups at the same time last year. More: - Funding for the sector has continued to slump due to rising interest rates and low consumer demand.
- As a result, notable startups in the sector have found it difficult to sustain operations, with a few succumbing to the rising pressures.
- Tattooed Chef announced it would file for bankruptcy protection on Friday, while Plant & Bean already did so in June.
- Established companies, including Nestlé and JBS, are facing the same challenges, forcing them to stop their plant-based meat products.
- Despite the drop in funding for plant-based meat products, VCs are still keen on lab-grown and fermented protein startups, inking 30 deals worth $356.6M in Q1 2023.
- Big Idea Ventures' founder Andrew Ive said that investors are looking for startups creating "bio identical" alternative meat products virtually indistinguishable from their real meat counterparts.
- Ive added, "We can get there today using cultivated and fermentation, but we are unable to get there with plant-based."
| | | |
| 4 | | Nvidia acquired San Jose, Calif.-based AI startup OmniML for an undisclosed sum. The transaction was completed in February but was not made public until now. Nvidia spokesperson Stephanie Matthew confirmed the company aims to integrate the startup's technology into its AI software. More: - Matthew added that OmniNL's software "will enable Nvidia's stack to provide higher accuracy and lower latency for complex machine-learning models, simplifying modeling and making it easier for users to build AI models faster across multiple use cases and industries."
- Former Facebook engineer Di Wu, MIT electrical engineering and computer science professor Song Han, and deep compression technology co-inventor Huizi Mao co-founded OmniNL in 2021.
- Nvidia roped in Wu as the director of deep learning algorithms and software.
- The firm's software compresses ML and AI models in order to run them on edge devices, such as cars, robots, mobile devices, and smart cameras.
- In Mar. 2022, it raised $10M in seed funding led by GGV Capital with participation from Qualcomm Ventures and Foothill Ventures.
| | | |
| 5 | | British early-stage media technology-focused GMG Ventures secured £50M ($81.35M) in capital commitments towards its second fund. The firm rebranded itself to Mercuri. Founding general partner Alan Hudson said the fund will back media technology startups working on content creation, gaming, personalization, music, privacy, education, and communication. More: - British Business Bank joined as a lead investor in the fund through its Enterprise Capital Funds program.
- The fund also received backing from Guardian Media Group owner The Scott Trust, joined by several other institutional and angel investors.
- GMG Ventures' debut fund, which closed at £42M ($53.4M), was anchored by The Scott Trust.
- The firm backed 21 startups with the first fund.
- The new fund will focus its investments on seed-stage startups and pay greater attention to AI startups in the domain.
| | | |
| 6 | | Today's Funding: Biotech - Synthetic biology startup Camena Biosciences closed its Series A funding round at $10M. Mercia led the current round.
Cybersecurity - San Francisco, Calif.-based risk and compliance startup Unit21 raked in $45M in capital through a Tiger Global-led Series C funding round. South Park Commons participated in the round.
E-commerce - South Korean e-commerce startup Levit – the company behind the shopping app Alwayz – raised $46M in Series B funding. DST Global Partners led the funding round with participation from BOND, KB Investment, Mirae Asset Capital, Korea Investment Partners, and others.
- Boxhub, a New York-based startup that provides an online marketplace for shipping containers, secured $12.4M in fresh funding. AlleyCorp led the Series A round with participation from Solasta Ventures, Interplay VC, FJ Labs, and Hum Capital.
Fintech - Nigerian invoicing startup Zuvy nabbed a $4.5M funding round led by TLG Capital, with participation from Next Chymia Consulting HK, Dunbar Capital, Vicus Ventures, and others.
Healthcare - Kenyan e-health startup MyDawa raked in $20M in fresh funding from Alta Semper Capital.
Manufacturing - British sustainable paper bottle maker Pulpex nabbed between £20M ($25.4M) and £25M ($31.8M) in funding from a Series C funding round from CMPC, Diageo, and Pilot Lite.
Nanotechnology - Dutch nanoparticle startup VSParticle secured €14.5M ($15.8M) in fresh funding led by Plural Platform and BlueYard Capital.
| | | |
| 7 | | Quick Hits: - The powerful probiotic Halle Berry swears by to improve her sugar & carb metabolism. Inside readers get 20% off the first month of any Pendulum membership with code INSIDE20.*
- Boston, Mass.-based J2 Ventures held the first close of its fund at $69M against a target of $120M. The fund intends to back startups developing technology for civilian and government uses.
- German defense startup Renk GmbH is considering raising capital through an IPO or a private share sale. Owner Triton Investment Advisers expects the firm to secure a $3.3B (€3B) valuation in the upcoming transaction.
- Canadian firm Tiny acquired New York-based software engineering startup HappyFunCorp for $30M, through a mix of equity and cash transaction.
- Malaysian fintech Fave's founder and former CEO Joel Neoh established First Move, an early-stage fund for consumer-focused startups across Southeast Asia. Neoh is joined by FavePay Later's head Audra Pakalnyte.
- A few months from now, you could be celebrating your new hair. Get 60% off with code FIREWORKS60 from now until July 7th!*
*This is sponsored content. | | | |
| Upcoming Events | | JUL
12 | | Monthly Meditation guided by Nicholas Whitaker | | | | | | | JUL
13 | | #ThankfulThursdays Wellness Community Challenge | | | | | | | OCT
16 | | Meet Our Fund 5, Building and Investing in AI | | | | | | * This is a sponsored event | | | |
Term of the Day Bear market: A bear market is when securities markets experience a price decline of 20% or more. Question of the Week What's your stance on employees discussing their salaries with each other? Join the conversation |
INSIDE VENTURE CAPITAL LEADERBOARD (30 DAYS) |
 | Analyst | | Karan Chafekar is a Management Consultant, Business enthusiast, and Licensed Pilot. | | This newsletter was edited by Eduardo Garcia | |
| |
 | Grow thicker, fuller hair & prevent future hair loss with Happy Head. | |
|
| |
Comments
Post a Comment