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| Hey Insiders, Today's newsletter covers: - ⚖️ Stabilization of LatAm VC funding slump in Q2
- 🔋 Cleantech funding disparity in U.S. & EU
- 💸 Accolade Partners' three funds worth $440.2M
If you find this newsletter useful, please share it with your friends and colleagues. Thank you. Karan
p/karan-chafekar | |
| 1 | | Latin American startups raised $800M in VC funding in Q2, per preliminary data from Latin American Venture Capital Association seen by FintechNexus. While the funding was 70% lower than at the same time last year, it matched the preceding quarter's tally, suggesting that the venture funding slump for the region has eased off. More: - Funding was primarily focused on seed and early-stage startups during the quarter.
- Series A stage startups were witnessing a 20% to 40% drop in valuations, industry sources informed FintechNexus.
- The largest equity round went to Mexican spend management software fintech Clara, which raised $60M in funding led by GGV Capital.
- The round was an extension to Clara's initial $70M Series B round from 2021.
- Community Investment Management provided the two largest venture debt financings in the quarter, namely R2's $100M credit facility and Stori's $50M credit line.
Q: Do you think the VC funding slump has actually eased off for the LatAm region, or was Q2 an anomaly? Let us know here. |     | |
| 2 | | U.S. cleantech startups nabbed two and half times more funding than European counterparts since President Joe Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law last August. What the numbers say: U.S.-based early-stage cleantech startups nabbed $21.7B in funding, more than double the $8.7B raised by their European counterparts since August last year till now. 
Where to see the impact: The difference is more pronounced for clean hydrogen startups, where U.S.-based startups have outpaced the EU every quarter since Q1 2022. Since Q1 2022 till now, U.S.-green hydrogen startups have raised more than $1.3B (€1.2B) in venture funding. What happened: The higher investment in the U.S. is down to the higher tax credits available for green hydrogen companies, with the IRA offering tax credits of up to $3 per kilogram of clean hydrogen produced. Europe responded to the IRA by announcing its Net Zero Industry Act earlier this March. Belgium pooled EU money and another €10B ($11B) to invest in science and innovation projects critical to green transition. France matched IRA tax credits for regional startups through a €20B ($22B) policy announced in May. | | | |
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| 3 | | VC firm Accolade Partners has secured $440.2M in capital commitments for three new funds, per SEC filings seen by Business Journal. $186.2M of the fund is earmarked for the third growth equity fund, with an additional $85.7M set aside for the feeder fund. The firm raised $66.8M towards its third cryptocurrency-focused fund and $101.5M for a new fund to invest in healthcare and technology startups between seed and Series A stages. More: - The growth equity fund is aimed at backing high-growth software and healthcare businesses.
- Accolade operates primarily as a fund of funds investment firm and has invested in funds raised by Andreessen Horowitz and QED Investors.
- Accolade's first and second crypto funds had closed at $124M and $175M, respectively.
Zoom out: - Accolade's crypto fundraising comes amidst a slump in VC funding for the sector after the collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX.
- VC invested $2.6B in crypto startups in the first quarter of this year, down 78% YoY.
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| 4 | | Boston, Massachusetts-based VC firm Brewer Lane has raised a second fund worth $203M, per SEC filings seen by Business Journal. The firm surpassed the initial fundraising goal of $200M, which it disclosed during the fund's first filing in June 2022. The firm intends to continue the thesis of the first fund of backing fintech and insurtech companies. More: - The firm has already backed two startups with the new fund.
- Brewer Lane, formed by Kim and Martha Notaras, debuted with a $172M fund in 2020.
- The debut fund backed insurtech and fintech startups at Series A and Series B stages.
- The first fund backed 20 startups, the most notable of which was insuretech enterprise SaaS startup Hi Marley.
Zoom out: - VC firms based in Massachusetts raised funds worth $4.4B in the year's first half.
- Last year, VC firms in the state raised funds worth $11B.
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| 5 | | Mobility investor Assembly Ventures closed its debut fund at $76M. The Assembly Ventures Fund I intends to back seed to Series B-stage startups working on cutting-edge technology solutions in the mobility sector. The firm is in the process of opening an office in Berlin, Germany, to invest in European startups. More: - The closing of the debut fund brings the firm's total assets under management to $94M.
- Arbor Bancorp, MANN+HUMMEL, Stellantis Ventures, Vontier, and several others backed Assembly's fund.
- To date, the firm has invested in Metropolis Technologies, NAVIT, Our Next Energy (ONE), and Sortera.
Zoom out: - Assembly's new fund comes amidst a challenging fundraising climate for first-time fund managers.
- Only 16 U.S.-based first-time funds could secure new capital in Q1 2023, a stark contrast to 181 in 2022 and 363 in 2021.
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| 6 | | Today's Funding: Biotech - Precision care company Octave Bioscience extended its Series B funding round with an additional $30M. Novartis, Hikma Ventures, Intermountain Ventures, Echo Health Ventures, Section 32, Northpond Ventures, Deerfield Management, Casdin Capital, and others participated in the round.
Energy - TechMet, an Irish startup securing key metals for EVs and the renewable energy sector, nabbed $200M in fresh funding from U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, Mercuria Energy, Lansdowne Partners, and S2G Ventures. The firm expects to cross $1B in valuation in the next few months.
Healthcare - British clinical trials startup Lindus Health secured $18M Series A funding from Creandum and Peter Thiel.
Software - British quantum computing algorithms company Phasecraft bagged £13M ($16.5M) in Series A funding. Playground Global led the round with participation from AlbionVC, Episode1, Parkwalk Advisors, LCIF, and UCL Technology Fund.
Transportation - Transportation analytics and connected car services startup Inrix raised $70M in capital from funds managed by Morgan Stanley Expansion Capital and Morgan Stanley Tactical Value.
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| 7 | | Quick Hits: - The AWS Cookbook — packed with practical insights and hands-on examples — is a must-have for your cloud toolkit.*
- Digital assets and web3 investment firm Arrington Capital hired Taryn Naidu as its COO. Naidu joins from quantum computing startup Rigetti Computing where he held a similar designation.
- Peak XV Partners, formerly known as Sequoia India and Southeast Asia, is set to lead or fully finance a $50M funding round into asset management and financial advisory startup Neo Group.
- Blockchain startup Nova Labs is building a decentralized wireless network. The startup is offering Miami residents a $5 monthly plan with unlimited text, talk, and data.
- Israeli fintech startup Vesttoo filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S. on Monday. The news comes weeks after White Rock accused the startup of presenting counterfeit letters of credit worth $2B.
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Term of the Day Rule of 40: Rule of 40 is a metric that analyzes the balance between the growth and profitability of a SaaS organization. Question of the Week Do you share details about your salary with your coworkers? 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 Aaron Crutchfield | |
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