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| Hey Insiders, Today we are taking a look at VC investment into the space sector, why CVCs have reduced participation in European VC deals, and CoinFund's $158M crypto fund. Scroll down for some quick hits, and then let us know what other content you'd like to see in future issues. Karan
p/karan-chafekar | |
| 1 | | The space sector nabbed $6B in private investment in Q2 2023, down 41% YoY, per a report released by Space Capital. While funding has dropped steadily since the peak values of 2021, the slump looks to be stabilizing, judging by the results of the first two quarters this year. More: - Space Capital managing partner Chad Anderson notes, "The reset in the financial markets has brought about healthier market dynamics, enabling disciplined investors to identify opportunities and invest in high-quality companies at lower valuations."
- $4.9B of the private investment was invested in space infrastructure companies.
- The majority of the funding went to Maxar, which raked in $4.1B in equity funding at its go-private sale.
- Growth-stage startups in the space sector nabbed 73% of the total equity funding deployed.
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What the numbers say: Corporate venture capitalists have participated in 977 European startups' VC deals worth $12.5B so far this year. Deal count and value are down to nearly a third of 2,741 deals and $49.5B seen in the same time last year. What happened: The drop in CVC participation in European VC deals mimics the global trend. CVCs have participated in 4,335 international deals so far this year and are on track to witness a deal value drop of 30% by this year's end. In 2021 and 2022, CVCs participated in 13,570 and 12,597 deals, respectively. Where to see the impact: TempoCap founder Olav Ostin reckons the dip worldwide is due to budget concerns with parent corporations. Ostin adds, "The first reason is that the corporate needs some cash. If we have a recession, they'll look at selling." As a result, Ostin says there has been an uptick in the number of CVCs liquidating their portfolio stakes in the secondary market. French energy firm TotalEnergies sold off its entire CVC portfolio last month. | | | |
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| 3 | | VC firm CoinFund secured $158M in capital commitments toward its fourth seed fund to back early-stage crypto startups. The firm exceeded the initial target of $125M. The heightened interest in the crypto fund is surprising, given that funding for the sector has fallen for the fifth consecutive quarter. More: - The New York-based firm has previously backed NFT startup Dapper Labs and blockchain infrastructure startup Blockdaemon.
- With the current fund, CoinFund has already backed AI-powered smart contracts startup Giza and mutual funds-based decentralized finance platform Superstate.
- The firm will concentrate its bets on startups working on crypto and AI from the new fund.
- CoinFund managed to raise $550M worth of funds in the last one and a half year, which was marked by several bankruptcies and implosions in the crypto sector, most notably the collapse of hedge fund Three Arrows Capital, crypto exchange FTX, and crypto lender BlockFi.
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| 4 | | Intel Capital made a $9M equity investment into robotics startup Figure. The funding could possibly pave the way for a strategic partnership between the two, per TechCrunch. Intel Capital's managing director Mark Lydon said, "Figure's focus on enhancing the labor economy is an essential part of our future, and we look forward to being at the forefront to support humanoid development." More: - Figure is working on a general-purpose humanoid robot.
- However, its first bot, Figure 01, is primarily aimed at industrial warehouse applications.
- CEO Brett Adcock bootstrapped the firm with $100M of his own funding.
- Earlier this May, the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based startup raised a $70M Series A round led by Parkway Venture Capital.
Zoom out: - Figure is competing with other humanoid robots from the likes of Tesla, Apptronik, and 1X, which are currently under development.
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| 5 | | Vertex Ventures healthcare investment arm Vertex Ventures HC (VVHC) announced a $200M fund. The Fund III will invest in early-stage life sciences and medical technology startups. More: - VVHC's managing director Lori Hu said, "As technology continues to reshape industries and science continues to advance, VVHC recognizes the tremendous potential of companies that hold promise for transforming health care and driving societal impact."
- The VVHC division itself has nearly $550M worth of assets under management.
- VVHC's portfolio includes 25 startups, 20 of which have clinical-stage assets and three with FDA-cleared products.
- Vertex is backed by Singaporean state investor Temasek.
- The parent group Vertex Venture Holdings recently held the first close of its Master Fund III at $900M, closing in on its $1B target.
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| 6 | | Today's Funding: AI - Tractable, an AI startup for cars and property damage appraisals, raised $65M in Series E funding led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2, with participation from Insight Partners and Georgian.
Biotech - Southlake, Texas-based cardio-renal disease treatment maker Renibus Therapeutics held the initial close of its Series B funding round at $47M.
- Clinical-stage biotech startup Verismo Therapeutics secured $17M in pre-Series A funding co-led by DongKoo Bio, HLB Innovation, and HLB.
ClimateTech - British carbon credit ratings and analytics startup Sylvera secured $57M in Series B funding led by Balderton. Index Ventures, Insight Partners, Bain & Company, Salesforce Ventures, Speedinvest, and others participated in the round.
- British carbon removal registry and science platform Isometric nabbed $25M in seed funding from Lowercarbon Capital and Plural.
Data - Unstructured data orchestration platform Hammerspace raised $56.7M through its first institutional investment round. Prosperity7 Ventures led the round with additional support from Pier 88 Ventures, ARK Invest, and others.
Healthcare - Personalized clinician-led skincare services startup GetHarley raised $52M in fresh funding led by Index Ventures.
Software - Wing Cloud, the maker of open-source programming language Winglang, emerged from stealth with a $20M seed funding led by Battery Ventures, Grove Ventures, and StageOne Ventures.
Sustainable energy - Lithuania-based solar energy company PVcase nabbed $100M in fresh funding from Highland Europe, Energize, and Elephant.
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| 7 | | Quick Hits: - It's true: there really is a once-in-a-lifetime IRS kickback available to 80% of businesses. Apply Now.*
- Coca-Cola announced a $137.7M venture fund established in partnership with eight bottling partners. The fund is aimed at backing early-stage startups that will be able to help Coca-Cola reduce its carbon footprint.
- Global talent management product and services maker True hired Shawn Thorne to lead its venture capital division as managing director.
- Sleepwell mattress maker Sheela Foam is set to acquire a 35% stake in Indian furniture startup Furlenco for $36.5M, effectively giving the latter a valuation of $104.3M.
- E-bike startup VanMoof officially declared bankruptcy in The Netherlands. The Dutch court appointed two trustees to explore the sale of its assets to a third party.
- German eVTOL aircraft maker Lilium avoided delisting with a $192M capital injection, consisting of a $42M share placement and $75M equity funding from VC backers.
- Level up your AWS knowledge. Packed with tips and tricks, the Amazon Web Services Cookbook is a must-have resource for both novices and experts.*
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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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