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| Here's a look at today's VC briefing. - 👤 Scott Shleifer steps down as Tiger Global's head of private investments
- 🚉 Mobility tech VC funding has slumped 70% from its peak
- 💰 Twelve Below raises two new funds worth $108M
Thank you. Karan
p/karan-chafekar | |
| 1 | | Scott Shleifer has stepped down from the head of private investments role at Tiger Global Management. Shleifer will transition into a senior advisor role at the beginning of January next year. Founder Chase Coleman will manage both public and private investments, becoming the chairman of the private equity investment committee. More: - Coleman added that Shleifer's departure is largely because he and his family have "made their home in Florida and want to stay there," while Tiger Global operates an in-person team out of New York.
- Shleifer's departure comes as the firm is raising a $6B fund, of which it has raised $2.06B as of June.
Zoom out: - Shleifer was instrumental in the firm's expansion into private investments.
- By late 2021, two-thirds of the firm's total assets included VC investments, accounting for nearly $65B.
- The value of the firm's hedge fund tumbled by 56% in 2022, further increasing the VC investments role, which made up almost three-quarters of the total.
- Beginning this year, the VC and hedge firm has marked down the value of its venture funds by 33%.
- The resulting markdowns caused a $23B drop in valuations.
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| 2 | | U.S. mobility tech startups have raised $6.1B in total funding so far this year from 191 deals, per Pitchbook. 
What the numbers say: At the current rate, funding for the sector at the end of this year may still be 70% off the peak year's figures. Funding by this year's end is expected to be the lowest since 2017. What happened: VC investment in the mobility sector has dropped due to a slump in stock prices of EV and autonomous vehicle startups that went public in recent years. Share prices of Rivian and Nikola have dropped 83% and 90%, respectively, compared to their IPO debut prices. Where to see the impact: While VC funding in mobility startups has declined, investors are still investing in battery startups. EV battery recycling startups Redwood Materials and Ascend Elements raised $997M and $460M rounds in Q3. | | | |
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| 3 | | Athena Capital is looking to raise a $500M equity and debt capital fund to invest in private and public mission-driven companies. In addition, the fund will back takeovers and SPAC mergers. More: - Athena Capital will primarily invest in revenue-generating companies that have a clear path to profitability.
- The firm is keen on scooping up stakes in tech and ESG sector startups at discounted valuations.
- Athena will also offer debt and structured public equity products.
Zoom out: - The firm is led by Isabelle Freidheim, the co-founder and former CEO of AI-powered investment platform Magnifi, which Tifin Group acquired.
- Freidheim has led three SPAC acquisition deals, including solar energy firm Heliogen and electric carmaker Next.e.GO NV.
- While Heliogen was recently delisted from the NYSE, the stock price of the electric carmaker is down 95% compared to its SPAC debut price.
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| 4 | | Pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co. has acquired preclinical neurodegenerative biotech firm Caraway Therapeutics. The firm will pay $610M for the acquisition, partly as an upfront payment, with the remaining tied to potential milestones. More: - Caraway, formerly known as Rheostat Therapeutics, was incubated at SV Health Investors and the Dementia Discovery Fund.
- The firm emerged from stealth with a $23M Series A funding in 2018 co-led by Merck along with AbbVie.
- Other notable investors that backed the firm include Amgen Ventures and Eisai Innovation.
- Although the firm has four programs in the works, none of them have entered the clinical trial phases.
Zoom out: - Merck acquired Prometheus Biosciences for $11B earlier this year.
- Last month, it acquired three antibody-drug conjugates from Daiichi Sankyo for $4B.
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| 5 | | New York-based VC firm Twelve Below bagged $108M in capital commitments towards two new funds. $80M of the capital is earmarked for its second early-stage fund, with the remaining $28M set aside for the opportunity fund. Twelve Below is looking to back fintech, healthcare, energy, SMB, and consumer sector startups. More: - Twelve Below aims to lead or co-lead pre-seed and seed funding rounds.
- The firm is looking to acquire a 10% to 15% ownership stake in companies.
- Twelve Below debuted with a $50M fund, which it used to back 21 startups.
- Notable portfolio startups backed by the firm include Accrue Savings, Odyssey Energy, Croissant, Campus, and Truehold.
- With the new early-stage fund, the firm is looking to invest in around 25 startups, with an additional five to eight companies through the opportunity fund.
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| 6 | | Today's Funding: AI - Enterprise-focused generative AI and large language model startup AI21 closed its Series C round at $208M. Intel Capital and Comcast Ventures backed the funding round, which valued the firm at $1.4B.
- AI-powered event intelligence platform Vendelux raised $14M in Series A funding led by FirstMark Capital.
Biotech - InVivium Capital led an oversubscribed $45M Series C funding round into precision medicines maker Alto Neuroscience Inc. The funding round saw participation from Franklin Templeton, Point72, Eli Lilly, Lightswitch Capital, WhatIf Ventures, and others.
- Percutaneous ventricular assist device maker Supira Medical closed its Series D funding round at $40M. Cormorant Asset Management and The Capital Partnership led the funding round, joined by 415 Capital, AMED Ventures, PA MedTech VC fund, and Unorthodox Ventures.
FoodTech - RED Horticulture, a European startup that has developed dynamic lighting solutions for greenhouses, raised $17M in Series A funding from the European Circular Bioeconomy Fund, Demeter IM, and Unigrains.
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| 7 | | Quick Hits: - Raising capital? Fundingstack's DB of 200,000 investors is your secret weapon. Use code "Inside" for 30% off x 3 months. Start your trial here and get funded faster.*
- On Wednesday morning, OpenAI reinstated Sam Altman as the CEO of the AI company. The board will now consist of former Salesforce co-CEO Bret Taylor, former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, and Quora's co-founder and CEO Adam D'Angelo.
- Yosemite, the VC firm launched by Steve Jobs' son Reed, made its first investment in virtual cancer care coordination startup Maia Oncology, per Axios.
- Taiwanese VC firm Turn Capital acquired tech-enabled coffee chain Flash Coffee for an undisclosed sum.
- Vietnamese asset manager VinaCapital's venture capital arm, VinaCapital Ventures, has set a target of $100M for its second fund. The firm expects to hit the final close of the fund by Q2 next year.
- Experience exciting new stories of innovation from prominent brands like LEGO, Ben and Jerry's, Delta, and VMware on Season 2 of Adobe's The Power of Teamwork podcast.*
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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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