Francis Berwa

“The capital of TPG Rise Climate is perfectly aligned with what we're trying to do in the market, which is bring innovative technologies that help solve very large problems.” -Form Energy Co-Founder & CEO Mateo Jaramillo in the latest episode of Partnerships in Focus. Watch the full episode here: https://lnkd.in/gjyayV_e

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Lume (YC W23), the AI-powered data mapping startup, recently raised $4.2 million in seed funding, backed by General Catalyst, Khosla Ventures, Y Combinator, and others. Founded by Stanford alumni Nicolas Machado, Nebyou Zewde, and Robert Ross, Lume aims to solve the long-standing challenges of data integration. Their platform uses advanced AI to automate data mapping, converting complex nested data formats into a standardized, seamless flow across systems. This breakthrough allows companies to integrate data faster and with fewer manual processes, saving both time and resources. With this fresh funding, Lume plans to double its team and continue its mission to make data integration smoother for clients ranging from startups to Fortune 500 companies. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/gzJKBjUj

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In today's tough fundraising environment the landscape continues to shift, with startups seeing smaller valuation increases between rounds and longer intervals between raises. Despite these challenges, ZEDEDA raised a $72 million Series C round in February, proving that opportunity still exists. To learn more about ZEDEDA's fundraising journey, read Said Ouissal's insightful thoughts in Kevin Dowd's article in Carta 💭 https://bit.ly/47Q9hCt #fundraising #startup #edgecomputing

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For Full episode w/Justis Mendez from OneSixOne Ventures - https://lnkd.in/eYixPjf5 Founder market fit is key when evaluating startups. It's not just about the idea, but also the distance traveled and the grit shown by the founder. Starting a business is tough, and it takes a special kind of determination. Interestingly, our accelerator experience taught us that wealth doesn't always equate to success. The best fights come from those who truly believe in their vision. #FounderMarketFit #Grit #StartupJourney

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Summary: Keith Rabois, managing director of Khosla Ventures, is on a mission to turn Miami into the next Silicon Valley and has been actively promoting the city as a tech hub. Despite some challenges and opposition, Rabois remains optimistic about Miami's potential and the growth of its tech ecosystem. Key takeaways: Keith Rabois is determined to make Miami the next Silicon Valley and has seen progress with a growing number of seed investments in the city. Khosla Ventures, where Rabois works, has made multiple investments in Miami, including one into a startup aiming to "reinvent education." Rabois continues to split his time between Miami and San Francisco, but believes that Miami offers a better quality of life and potential for building a thriving tech community. Counter arguments: Some big name investors, such as Andreessen Horowitz, have pulled out of Miami, suggesting that the city does not offer the same opportunities as other established tech hubs. Miami still has a relatively small share of total U.S. seed investments (2.6%-3.5%) which may indicate a lack of resources and opportunities compared to other cities. #venturecapital

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🌱 Seed & Pre-Seed Venture Benchmarks: Navigating SAFE and Priced Rounds 👉  Startups often navigate through different types of fundraising rounds—SAFE and Priced. The mix can lead to confusion in terms of valuation, dilution, and capital raised. Recent data from Carta highlights some clear differences between these rounds, and here’s what you need to know. ✅ Key Takeaways: 👉 Gap in Valuation: SAFE rounds at Seed stage reach a median valuation of $18M, while Priced Seed rounds come in at $13.7M. Why the gap? SAFE rounds often offer faster, simpler deals but can sometimes lead to a higher cap, potentially setting higher valuation expectations for future rounds. 👉 Dilution Differences: Dilution ranges vary significantly, with SAFE Seed rounds ranging from 17%-20% compared to 20.7% for Priced Seed rounds. Lower dilution in SAFE rounds may attract founders looking to retain control, but it’s essential to balance this against potential investor expectations down the line. 👉 Post-Seed Bridge Round Gaps: At the bridge round, the SAFE vs. Priced valuation gap is even wider, with SAFE Bridge rounds at $21M vs. Priced at $17M. Actionable Insights for Founders & Investors: 📣  For Founders: Consider your long-term strategy. SAFE rounds can help you raise quickly without setting a fixed valuation, but Priced rounds might offer more predictability as you move forward. 📣  For Investors: Be mindful of these valuation gaps. Higher SAFE valuations can affect future funding dynamics, especially when transitioning into Priced rounds. 💡  Conclusion: Understanding these nuances can guide better decision-making and align growth expectations. For more startup data and insights, explore . @Carta’s resources. 📊 -------------- ✅ 👉 Fundraising? Try KAARIA 🚀 Industry-leading valuation methodologies. 🚀 Reliable market data with PitchBook 🚀 Simple & transparent startup valuation 🚀 Accessible for founders and investors 🚀 Free Trial available here: https://lnkd.in/gvwD7SrF #valuations #startups #fundraising #founders #Startup #innovation #entrepreneurship #kaaria #sustainability #kaariastartupvaluation #investing #networking #venturecapital #kaariagetfunded #exits #valuations #startups #fundraising #founders #Startup #innovation #entrepreneurship #kaaria #sustainability #kaariastartupvaluation #investing #networking #venturecapital #kaariagetfunded #exits #StartupFunding #VentureCapital #SAFEvsPricedRounds #Valuation #Dilution #Startups ---------- Thanks Credit & Kudos to Peter Walker over at Carta

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💵📊 Avid Ventures has launched its second early-stage fund closing $87 million. This brings the total capital raised by the company to over $165 million. The Avid Fund II will back exceptional founders building transformative software and fintech companies from Seed to Series B stages. 📈 The VC firm welcomed new institutional investors, including The Mellon Foundation, Hall Capital Partners LLC, Vintage Investment Partners, UJA-Federation of New York, Soka University of America, and CM Wealth Advisors, among others. Returning Fund I investors include Foundry, General Catalyst, and multi-billion dollar philanthropic family offices. It was also backed by leading investors and executives such as Brian Singerman (Partner, Founders Fund), Rob Hayes (Partner, First Round), and Susan Sobbott (former multi-decade American Express leader). 🤖 Read more here: https://shorturl.at/PExRv Addie Lerner Daniel Simon Nicky Goulimis #tech #funding #news #VC #technology #investment #innovation

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🌍 The Ventures Los Angeles Startup Award – Submit your application by December 6th! 👉 https://lnkd.in/dsZmTedg Be one of the 12 selected startups invited to pitch at an exclusive event for top-tier VCs and angel investors in Los Angeles. Here’s how to get started: • Apply today — it’s quick and easy! The application takes just a few minutes. • If selected, you’ll be invited to pitch at the finals.  • Present your startup to leading investors and explore exciting opportunities! Note: Final pitches will be in person, so please make sure you can attend the event in Los Angeles on December 20th. 🏆 What’s in it for you? • Pitch to 20+ investors in Los Angeles  • Connect with top-tier founders • Receive expert consulting to help grow your business  • Become part of a global network of 100+ VCs and angel investors ready to discover new startups Our investors represent top cities like San Francisco, New York, London, Singapore, and beyond, including prominent funds, investment clubs, and accelerators such as Pegasus Ventures, Plug and Play, Techstars, SkyDeck, and Scope Ventures. Don’t miss this chance to elevate your startup! Apply now for The Ventures Los Angeles Startup Award! #TheVentures #LosAngeles #Startups #VentureCapital #Innovation #GlobalNetworking #Entrepreneurship

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Big news for Startups: Introducing Vouch x Carta 🚀 Vouch and Carta are teaming up to revolutionize insurance for Carta clients. This partnership means Carta users will soon benefit from: 🎯 Faster insurance applications 💸 Exclusive discounts 💡 Real-time risk monitoring As Reed McBride, Carta’s VP of Strategic Partnerships and Ecosystem, said “Carta chose to partner with Vouch because we share the same goal: ensuring that great startups don’t fail for the wrong reasons.” You can learn more about our partnership by reading the Carta announcement in the comments. #Insurance #Insurtech #Innovation #VouchAndCarta

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🔋 #TodayinVC - All of the biggest deal announcements in venture capital - August 13th, 2024. Sourced from Litquidity's Exec Sum. 💰 Fundraising Announcements: - UptimeAI Inc., an AI-based plant monitoring software, raised a $14M Series A led by WestBridge Capital (PRN)  - Battery performance tech startup Gaussion raised a $12M Series A led by Autotech Ventures (EU)  - Indian EV charging startup Kazam raised an $8M Series A3 led by Vertex Ventures (TC)  - Cross-border payments platform Conduit raised a $6M seed extension from Helios Digital Ventures (TC)  - Ragie.ai, a fully managed RAG-as-a-Service, raised a $5.5M seed round led by Craft Ventures, Saga VC, and more (PRN) Congrats to all - what #startups do you have your eyes on? 👀 Follow Today in VC for daily #venturecapital news! 📆

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Ross Haleliuk posted the fantastic article below. This is the world where I live day-to-day. At TechOperators, we invest mostly in early-stage cyber, but we do things a little differently, and we believe there are ways to invest successfully outside of pure Power Law math. The article argues that many security problems are too small for VC. I agree. I often try to convince bootstrapped founders not to raise venture because doing so can turn a successful, slow-growing bootstrapped company into a failed venture-backed company because, despite a large infusion of capital, it couldn't double every year. VC is not monolithic--not by stage, strategy, or style. Venture is often equated with "Tier 1 Venture". Ross argues that VC is not always great for early-stage cyber--and he is right. Bootstrapping AND VC work when incentives are aligned. Does it work for an early-stage VC with a <$200M fund to invest in several early companies at reasonable valuations, setting up the conditions for reasonable exits that pay off for both investors and founders? Yes. Does it work for $800M funds investing in seed stage at $100M+ valuations? Well, that depends! Power law says it does (for VC), but the unfortunate externality is that these rounds destroy companies and founder equity more often than not. There is a role for patient capital in this ecosystem to fuel successful companies that retain exit optionality as they scale--driving exit value for both founders and investors.

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How Focus Drives Early Startup Success Listen to Alon Cinamon, VC at Ibex Investors:

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Welcoming Carta's Peter Walker to Above Board. In our conversation, we talk about Carta's data from over 45,000 startups and Peter shares thoughts on: Why founders should understand the VC model in order to have realistic expectations around their VC conversations How (and why) founders can better structure advisor agreements Why VC's should be ensuring that their data points are up-to-date with the market The half life of data and when to be revisiting employee equity grants https://lnkd.in/gSqe_ifa

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