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| Hey Insiders, Today we are taking a look at NATO's $1B Innovation Fund, the most active cleantech investors in H1, and Greenoaks' $1.2B fifth fund. I hope you enjoy today's edition! Karan
p/karan-chafekar | |
| 1 | | 23 members of the NATO alliance committed capital to the NATO Innovation Fund (NIF), which closed at €1B ($1B). The fund will back defense and security startups that align with NATO's goals. In addition to making direct startup investments, the fund will also invest in other funds. More: - The NIF will back early-stage startups working on AI, autonomy, biotech, quantum computing, space technology, hypersonic systems, energy, new manufacturing and materials, and next-generation communications.
- NIF intends to back emerging and disruptive technologies that are "responsible and led by fundamental principles: safety, freedom, and human empowerment."
- NIF will write initial checks of up to €15M ($16.4M) in pre-seed to Series B stage startups.
- The nations that have contributed capital are Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Turkey, and the United Kingdom.
- Sweden will join the group and contribute €40M ($43.8M) once it receives its NATO membership.
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What the numbers say: Lowercarbon Capital backed 15 new cleantech startups in Q2 2023, taking the crown for the most active investor in the sector in the recent quarter, per Crunchbase. Three VC firms –Temasek, Fifth Wall, and Khosla Ventures– were tied for second place. Relevance: Despite topping the ranks as the most active investor, Lowercarbon came only fourth when considering the deal value of cleantech rounds led or co-led. The honors for the highest funding rounds led or co-led went to Fifth Wall. The firm led or co-led five rounds worth a total of $668M, chief among which was battery technology developer Our Next Energy's $300M Series B round. TPG Rise Climate Fund took the second spot, with green hydrogen maker Ohmium's $250M Series C round being its most notable funding round so far this year. What happened: Crunchbase data from 2013 to 2023 show Breakthrough Energy Ventures as the most active investor over the past 10 years with 107 reported rounds, followed by Temasek with 64. | | | |
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| 3 | | Greenoaks secured $1.2B in capital commitments towards its fifth fund, per Axios. The new fund's size is slightly larger than the previous one in 2021. The funding comes amid a tough fundraising climate for VC firms, especially the ones focused on multi-stage and growth-stage startups. More: - The San Francisco, Calif.-based VC firm distributed returns to investors last year after exiting its holdings into Toast, Coupany, and Robinhood.
- Being a registered investment advisor allowed the firm to reap returns on publicly listed companies.
- The firm has amassed a 6% stake in used car marketplace Carvana, which has seen its stock surge 850% year-to-date.
- However, not all bets paid off, as Greenoaks suffered a significant loss on its investment into the bankrupt crypto firm FTX.
- Greenoaks recently joined Kim Kardashian's apparel brand Skims' $270M funding round at a $4B valuation.
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| 4 | | Coatue Management held an interim close of its third early-stage fund at $331M, 34% below the initial target of $500M, per The Information. The New York-based hedge fund and venture firm had earlier planned to reach its target by the end of 2022 but faced challenges to meet that timeline. More: - Coatue's fund is currently at its interim close, with the firm expecting to raise additional capital from investors.
- Coatue is also facing difficulties reaching the $2B target for its structured debt and equity investment fund.
- Filings between December and May show that the firm had raised $942M so far.
Zoom out: - The fundraising climate has deteriorated since last year, causing VCs to lower their capital deployment significantly.
- Due to unfavorable macroeconomic conditions, peers Tiger Global Management and Insight Partners have lowered their fundraising goals.
- Last week, Sequoia Capital downsized its crypto and ecosystem funds.
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| 5 | | Vanguard marked down the value of its stake in Indian ride-hailing startup Ola by 51.6% to $25M. The U.S. asset manager had originally invested $51.7M in Ola's holding firm Ani Technologies. The share value gives Ola an implied valuation of $3.5B, nearly half its peak valuation of $7.3B in 2021. More: - This is the second time Vanguard has marked down its stake in Ola this year, dropping it to $33.8M at the end of February.
- Ola has secured more than $3.9B in funding from investors, per Crunchbase.
Zoom out: - The ride-hailing startup joins a growing list of Indian startups that have seen their valuations plunge in recent months.
- Prosus slashed Indian edtech Byju's valuation to $5.1B, down from its peak valuation of $22B.
- On Monday, Fidelity marked down its stake in business messaging startup Gupshup by 20%.
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| 6 | | Today's Funding: AI - Topline Pro, a generative AI platform for home service professionals, nabbed $12M in Series A funding led by Forerunner Ventures, joined by Bonfire Ventures, TMV, and BBG Ventures.
B2B - B2B payments, supply chain procurement, and marketplace startup Tradeshift secured $70M capital led by HSBC, with participation from existing backers AYTK Limited, Fuel Venture Capital, Doha Venture Capital, Notion Capital, IDC Ventures, and The Private Shares Fund.
Biotech - Precision medicine company Solu Therapeutics closed its seed round at $31M. Longwood and Santé Ventures co-led the fundraising with additional backing from DCVC Bio, Astellas Venture Management, and Alexandria Venture Investments.
- Cancer-care-focused immuno-oncology startup Aulos Bioscience extended its Series A round with $20M additional funding from Apple Tree Partners.
Database - Relational database startup Neon nabbed $45M in fresh funding, nearly $30M of which came from Menlo VC.
Healthcare - Healthmap Solutions, a national population health management startup, raised $100M in fresh funding led by funds managed by WindRose Health Investors.
Hospitality - GoTab, a digital ordering and payment solutions provider for the hospitality industry, closed its Series A round with $18M funding led by Truist Ventures.
Network security - Nile, which provides networking solutions for secure wired and wireless products, raised $175M in fresh funding co-led by March Capital and Sanabil Investments. The firm claims to have doubled its valuation from the previous round.
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- Reed Jobs, the 31-year-old son of Steve Jobs and Laurene Powell, is establishing his own venture capital firm to back startups working on new cancer treatments. The new firm Yosemite, which spun off from Emerson Collective, has already raised a $200M fund.
- Ocean 14 Capital surpassed its €150M ($164M) funding milestone with €30M ($32.8M) in capital commitments from Convex Group Limited and other undisclosed family offices and high net-worth individuals. The firm is targeting a final close of €200M ($219M) by the end of this year.
- British payments fintech startup Rapyd acquired PayU's Global Payments Organization for $610M. The acquisition will help the company expand its market presence in Central and Eastern Europe and Latin America.
- Hunter Hillenmeyer joined VC firm Company Ventures as a general partner. He will be based in Nashville, leading the company's expansion into the new market.
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