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| Here's a look at today's VC briefing. - 📉 VC investments for supply chain tech drops 51% YoY
- 🇪🇺 Foreign investors retreat from Europe, causing VC funding to slump by 38%
- 💹 Fast fashion startup Shein confidentially files for an IPO in the U.S.
Thank you. Karan
p/karan-chafekar | |
| 1 | | The amount of venture capital invested in supply chain technology startups has slumped 51% YoY and 27% QoQ, per Pitchbook and Supply Chain Digital. The number of deals dropped 36% YoY and 16% QoQ. Investors are curbing their supply chain tech sector investments due to the current market conditions. More: - The VC dip has impacted last-mile delivery startups the most within the supply chain tech sector, which has witnessed a 72% QoQ drop in VC funding in the latest quarter.
- On the other hand, the warehousing technology domain saw the smallest decline of 14% QoQ.
- The freight tech domain defied the VC funding pullback trend with a 29% QoQ increase in the number of deals.
- Notable deals that closed in the quarter include Kodiak Robotics' $75M round, Silo's $32M late-stage funding, and drone tech firm Verity's $44.1M fundraising.
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| 2 | | Foreign investors, such as Tiger Global, Coatue Management, and SoftBank Group's Vision Fund, have drastically reduced their investments in European startups. 
What the numbers say: Per a new report released by VC firm Atomico, foreign crossover funds have made just four investments so far this year. The number starkly contrasts with the 82 new investments made by foreign investors in 2021. Foreign investment in European later-stage technology startups has fallen to a four-year low. Relevance: Atomico estimates European tech startup investment will total $45B by year-end, representing a 38% drop compared to 2022's total of $82B. Investments have fallen more than 55% compared to the record-high of $100B from 2021. North American investors contributed a quarter of the total investments so far in 2023. In 2021, North American investors had contributed 39% of the total capital. So far this year, European startups have availed venture debt funding worth $1.5B, representing 3.4% of the total equity investment capital. In 2021, European startups raised venture debt funding worth $4.4B. | | | |
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| 3 | | Singapore-headquartered fast fashion startup Shein confidentially filed for an IPO listing in the U.S. The firm has roped in Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, and Morgan Stanley as lead underwriters for the offering. Per an earlier report, the firm is reportedly aiming for a valuation of between $80B and $90B at the IPO debut. More: - Shein's valuation plunged from the peak of $100B in 2022 to $66B at the latest $2B fundraising round earlier this May.
- The firm reported $800M in net profit on revenue of $23B in 2022.
- In the first three quarters of this year, it has reported record revenue and income, per the WSJ.
- The firm faces an uphill task of growing into the targeted valuation range, as it has faced allegations of copyright infringement and potential use of forced labor.
Zoom out: - Shein's public listing could be the biggest stock offering for a Chinese-origin company since ride-hailing giant Didi Global's IPO in 2021, which was valued at $68.4B.
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| 4 | | Newlands, an investment firm led by former Sequoia Capital partner Michael Abramson and WhatsApp billionaire Jan Koum, is eyeing early-stage startup deals. The firm primarily invests in public equities, deploying more than 80% of its capital in public companies so far. However, the firm now intends to reserve 30% of its capital for startups, 20% for cryptocurrencies, and 50% for public equities. More: - Newlands has kept a relatively low profile despite notable investments in startups, such as beauty retailer Glossier and Latin American on-demand delivery app Rappi.
- Glossier and Rappi were previously valued at $1.8B and $5B, respectively.
- Abramson participated in Rappi's Series B funding round in 2016.
- Regulatory filings seen by Forbes show that the firm has $9.4B in assets under its public equity portfolio at the end of Q3 2023.
- The firm has $3B worth of shares in Meta, a nearly $1B stake in Tesla, a $800M stake in Alphabet, and a $500M position in DoorDash.
Zoom out: - Abramson joined Sequoia's crossover fund Sequoia Capital Growth Equities (SCGE) before ending up with the growth team in its VC division.
- Abramson and Koum launched Newlands in 2021 and hired SCGE alumni Andy Shah and Dominik Pasalic.
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| 5 | | Climate tech-focused VC firm Peak Venture Advisors is looking to raise a $250M fund to invest in new energy, food systems, and water and climate startups. The firm has already backed a few companies, including Indra Water and Avant Wood. More: - KKR & Co. veteran Sanjay Nayar joined the firm as a general partner.
- Nayar joined KKR in 2008 to lead its alternative asset business in India, ultimately becoming the private equity fund's India chief executive officer, a role which he stepped down from in December 2020.
- Nayar also has his own VC firm, Sorin Investment Management, which raised a $165M fund last year.
- His family owns a $3B stake in beauty e-retailer Nykaa.
- Multi-strategy hedge fund veteran Samir Shah founded Peak Venture Advisors and serves as its managing partner.
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| 6 | | Today's Funding: Agtech - Indonesian aqua technology startup JALA Tech raked in $16.13M in Series A funding from Intudo Ventures, SMDV, Mirova's Sustainable Ocean Fund, and The Meloy Fund.
Biotech - Cradle, a Dutch biotech startup that leverages AI to design proteins, bagged $24M in Series A funding led by Index Ventures, with participation from Kindred Capital.
Healthcare - RepeatMD, a healthcare startup that automates revenue generation for aesthetic and wellness practices, raised a $50M Series A funding round co-led by Centana Growth Partners and Full In Partners. The round also includes a $10M debt facility provided by Silicon Valley Bank.
- Pet health app and insurance provider Lassie secured a Series B funding round worth €23M ($25.2M). Balderton Capital led the round, joined by existing investors Felix Capital, Inventure, Passion Capital, and Philian.
Insurtech - South African insurtech startup Pineapple closed its Series B funding round at $21.3M. Futuregrowth, Talent10, and MIC led the round.
Quantum computing - Quantum compute-as-a-service startup Oxford Quantum Computing raised $100M in Series B funding led by Japanese VC fund SBI Investment. Oxford Science Enterprises, University of Tokyo Edge Capital, Lansdowne Partners, and OTIF participated in the round.
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| 7 | | Quick Hits: - Competitors are killing your efficiency. Read how Greenhouse gained $85mil in revenue from reps who used Klue over non-Klue users.*
- VCs invested $6.3B in Indian startups, 67.1% lower than the $19.2B invested in the same period last year.
- French nuclear startup Naarea is in talks with VCs, industrial, and institutional investors to raise a €150M ($164M) Series A funding round. The firm has already raised €50M ($54.7M) from a group of investors, including the family office of Eren Group SA. Additionally, the firm has secured €10M ($10.9M) from the French government.
- Early-stage VC firm SignalFire added nine new team members to its team. Additionally, it promoted three existing members. Notable additions include Sooah Chu as partner, Lisa Liu and Bradford Jones as principal, and Veronica Mercado as principal and chief of staff.
- Scandinavian pension funds invested $88M (£70M) in U.K.- and Ireland-based VC funds. In comparison, local investors have invested just $49M.
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Term of the Day Derivative: A derivative is a financial instrument whose value is derived from the performance of an underlying asset or group of assets Question of the Week What perks would convince you to return to the office? Join the conversation |
 | Analyst | | Karan Chafekar is a Management Consultant, Business enthusiast, and Licensed Pilot. | | This newsletter was edited by Aaron Crutchfield | |
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