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| Hey Insiders, Here are the latest stories: - Anduril in talks with investors to raise as much as $500M
- Legal tech funding could drop to 65% YoY by the end of 2023
- At One Ventures raises $375M fund to back biodiversity-focused startups
If you find this newsletter useful, please share it with your friends and colleagues. Thank you. Karan
p/karan-chafekar | |
| 1 | | Defense technology startup Anduril Industries Inc. is looking to raise fresh funding worth $400M to $500M. Anduril is eyeing a $10B valuation in the upcoming round. Sources informed Bloomberg that the firm may raise funding by issuing convertible notes, which could mean raising debt that converts to equity at a later date at the $10B valuation. More: - Per Bloomberg, the firm will likely use the proceeds to make strategic acquisitions.
- Last month, Anduril acquired autonomous aircraft maker Blue Force Technologies.
- Anduril, which makes defense products that incorporate computer vision, artificial intelligence, sensor networks, and other advanced technologies, bagged a $1B contract with the U.S. Special Operations Command.
- Andruil was last valued at $8.5B when it raised a $1.5B Series E funding round led by Valor Equity Partners last December.
- The Costa Mesa, California-based startup has raised $2.2B in total funding to date.
Q: What are the potential risks of raising capital through convertible notes? Join the conversation here. |     | |
| 2 | | So far this year, 129 legal tech deals worth $0.5B have been reported, per Crunchbase. 
What the numbers say: At this rate, global legal tech funding could see a year-to-year drop of 65% by the end of 2023. In comparison, legal tech startups raised $2B each in 2021 and 2022 through 284 and 268 deals, respectively. What happened: Both deal counts and values have contracted this year. Only three legal tech startups could bag more than $30M in venture funding, compared to 12 last year. The notable funding rounds were workflow automation startup EvenUp's $50M Series B round in April, wealth information platform Masttro's $43M Series A round in March, and Darrow's $35M Series B funding from last month. Where to see the impact: AI-driven legal tech startups are still getting funded. However, investor enthusiasm for the overall sector has waned due to its slow pace in adopting new technologies. | | | |
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| 3 | | At One Ventures, a VC firm led by moonshot factory Google X founding member Tom Chi, closed its second fund at $375M. The firm will invest in startups working on improving planetary health, including air, water, soil, and biodiversity. At One Ventures expects 20% of its portfolio startups to be working on improving ecosystem health by 2025. More: - The firm has invested in 35 startups to date.
- 40% of firms in its portfolio are run by underrepresented founders.
- Notable startups in its portfolio include Ascend Elements, a battery recycling firm; Dendra Systems, an automated ecosystem restoration startup; Dalan Animal Health, a startup developing a USDA-approved vaccine for honeybees; and Colossal Biosciences, a startup attempting to resurrect the wooly mammoth and dodo bird.
- Ascend Elements recently raised a $542M Series D round.
- Fund II received backing from GenZero, the World Wildlife Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation, CalSTRS, the New Mexico State Investment Council (NMSIC), One Small Planet, Toba Capital, and the Valhalla Foundation.
- The new fund's size is double its predecessor, which closed at $150M in October 2021.
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| 4 | | Dutch bank ABN Amro's venture division inked a strategic partnership with PE firm Motive Partners' early-stage VC division Motive Ventures. With the new partnership, Motive Ventures is tasked with managing ABN Amro Ventures Fund's (AAV) portfolio of 15 early-stage companies. In return, ABN Amro will invest in Motive-managed funds. More: - Their combined venture capital portfolio will now consist of 36 investments, including Motive Ventures' 21 portfolio investments in seed and Series A stage companies.
- Motive will take over the management of AAV, which has €150M ($158M) worth of assets under management.
- AAV's managing director and head, Hugo Bongers, and ABN Amro's executive director, Tim Wanders, will join Motive Ventures as partner and principal, respectively.
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| 5 | | Chicago-based venture capital firm The Emerging Fund has received commitments worth $52M toward its new fund. The firm has set a target of $100M for the new fund. The fund aims to back startups in the restaurant tech and dining-plus-entertainment concepts, such as Puttshack. More: - The Emerging Fund is looking to back between 20 to 25 startups with its debut fund, of which it has already backed 10.
- 54 limited partners contributed capital for the new fund.
- CEO Mathew Focht said, "We're the largest food and beverage network between our supply chain company and real estate division. There's no other group that has these connections or has the client base that we have in this industry."
- In addition to providing the capital, the firm will also help portfolio companies scale their businesses and work with them as their operational partner.
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| 6 | | Today's Funding: Biotech - Kurma Partners led a $35M Series B funding round into Irish specialty pharmaceutical company Shorla Oncology.
Defense Tech - Mach Industries, a defense tech startup that is developing unmanned aerial vehicles and hydrogen generation systems for the military, bagged $79M in Series A funding led by Bedrock Capital at a post-money valuation of $335M.
Fintech - Clearco, a fintech startup that provides non-dilutive financing to e-commerce businesses, raised $60M in Series D funding led by Inovia Capital and Founders Circle Capital. Additionally, the firm secured a $100M asset-backed debt facility from Pollen Street Capital.
- Instant bank payments startup Brite Payments secured $60M in fresh funding led by Dawn Capital, with additional backing from Headline and Incore.
- AI-powered auto finance platform Lendbuzz bagged $45M in equity funding and $300M through a forward flow facility. Group 1001 led the equity funding, with 83North, O.G. Venture Partners, and MUFG Innovation Partners participating in the round.
PropTech - Flexible housing and long-term stay platform Habyt raised €40M ($42M) in Series C funding led by Korelya Capital and Deutsche Invest.
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| 7 | | Quick Hits: - LiquidPiston's engines are up to 10x smaller and 30% more fuel efficient. Invest as they disrupt the $400B combustion engine market.*
- Astera Labs, a semiconductor connectivity solutions firm backed by Intel Corp.'s venture arm, reportedly appointed Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase & Co. as lead underwriters for a potential public listing in 2024. The firm was valued at $3.15B when it raised a $150M funding round in 2022.
- Venture capitalist Brandon Brooks is launching his new company dubbed Zinsu in Pittsburgh. The startup intends to teach the fundamentals of angel investing to individuals and help them invest in startups.
- CMCC Global held the first close of its new Titan Fund at $100M. The firm will back blockchain-enabled fintech and Web3 startups across Asia.
- Three-wheeler EV maker ElectraMeccanica terminated its merger with hydrogen-electric truck startup Tevva. ElectraMeccanica cited "multiple incurable breaches of the agreement by Tevva" as the reason behind the termination.
- These are the 5 core strategies for cloud innovation that showcase how digital native businesses are harnessing cloud innovations. Read now.*
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Term of the Day High-net-worth individual: A high-net-worth individual is a financial term used to describe an individual with over $1M in liquid assets. Question of the Week Do you share details about your salary with your coworkers? Join the conversation |
INSIDE VENTURE CAPITAL LEADERBOARD (7 DAYS) |
 | Analyst | | Karan Chafekar is a Management Consultant, Business enthusiast, and Licensed Pilot. | | This newsletter was edited by Aaron Crutchfield | |
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