The Venture Crew’s Post

🗞️ Today's Startups & VC Updates - 14/03 Chamath Palihapitiya-led firm, Social Capital fired two partners tied to Groq Inc. amid allegations of policy breaches, sparking claims of unfair dismissal and prompting an orderly transition. ------- Get the most important startup funding, venture capital & tech news. Join 10,000+ early adopters staying ahead of the curve, for free: https://lnkd.in/dQuvt5xR -------- 💰 Startup Fundraising Updates Eyris: McLean-based cybersecurity platform secures $3M in pre-seed funding led by Red Cell Partners. Perfios: Indian fintech Perfios valued at over $1B with $80M investment from Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan’ Pension Plan's venture arm. Orbio Earth (YC S23): Satellite-powered methane leak detection startup secures $4M seed round from European Space Agency - ESA Agency and Initialized Capital. Cellexcel: Norwich biomaterial technology startup raises over £250K with backing from College Green Ventures and others. FERMÀT: San Francisco startup enabling personalized retail experiences raises $17M in Series A led by Bain Capital Ventures. IO River: Multi-CDN platform secures $5.4M seed funding led by S Capital. furno: Mountain View startup dedicated to decarbonizing cement production raises $6.5M in Seed funding. Big Sur AI: AI platform for e-commerce raises $6.9M in seed funding led by Lightspeed Venture Partners. Telo: San Carlos electric mobility company advancing EV mini-trucks secures $5.4M in funding led by Al Partovi. Luminary Cloud: GPU-powered product design simulator raises $15M in equity and $100M in debt from Sutter Hill Ventures. Joyride: Toronto shared mobility platform secures $5.2M in Series A led by Yamaha Motors. Autonomo: London startup providing checkout-free shopping experiences raises £2M in funding. Zephyr AI: Healthcare technology company develops explainable AI solutions with $111M Series A led by REVOLUTION GROWTH III LP. RealSeq Biosciences: Santa Cruz biotech company extends Seed funding with new investors. Murphy's Naturals: Raleigh outdoor lifestyle company raises $8M in Series B led by Point King Capital. Get the most important startup funding, venture capital & tech news. Join 10,000+ early adopters staying ahead of the curve, for free: https://lnkd.in/dQuvt5xR . #startups #businessnews #funding #venturecapital #news #jobs #internship #funding

🗞️ Today's Startups & VC Updates - 17/04 Microsoft Invest $1.5 billion in G42, a leading UAE-based AI company. Three former senior executives (Tom Ochinero, Achal Upadhyaya, and Spencer Hemphill, ) from SpaceX and Sequoia are teaming up to launch a new venture capital firm called Interlagos Capital. ------- Get the most important startup funding, venture capital & tech news. Join 13,000+ early adopters staying ahead of the curve, for free: https://lnkd.in/dQuvt5xR -------- 💰 Startup Fundraising News BreachRx (SF, CA): Closed $6.5M seed funding led by SYN Ventures with Overline participating. Evergreen Theragnostics (Springfield, NJ): Raised $26M with Petrichor and LIFTT as backers. Rippling (HR tech startup): Raising $200M in Series F funding potentially valuing at $13.4B, with Founders Fund investing up to $310M. Take2 AI (NYC): Raised $3M seed funding led by Reach Capital & SemperVirens, with participation from Techstars and HR leaders. Loft Labs (SF, CA): Raised $24M Series A led by Khosla Ventures with Fusion Fund, Surface Ventures, and others participating. MeduLance (New Delhi, India): Raised $3M Series A led by Alkemi Growth Capital with Dexter Capital Advisors, Aman Gupta, and Namita Thapar participating. Upstage (San Jose, CA): Raised $72M Series B with SK Networks, KT, and others as backers. Somite Therapeutics (Boston, MA): Raised $5.3M Pre-Seed led by TechAviv, with Next Coast Ventures, Trust Ventures, and others participating. Cynomi (Tel Aviv, Israel): Raised $20M led by Canaan, with Flint Capital, s16vc: Portfolio News & Jobs, and Aloniq among return investors. CarNow (Atlanta, GA): Received $40M loan from Runway Growth Capital. Snappy (NYC): Raised $25M Series D led by Qumra Capital with participation from 83NORTH, Saban Ventures, and others. VitusCare (Gurgaon, India): Raised $2.7M Series A led by Tomorrow Capital with 1Crowd, 3i Partners (Impact India Investment Partners), and angel investors participating. Rivos Inc. (Santa Clara, CA): Raised over $250M Series A-3 led by Matrix Capital Management Company, L.P. Management. Two Chairs (SF, CA): Closed $72M Series C financing led by Amplo with Fifth Down Capital participating. Bridge Bank provided debt financing. 👉 Get Daily Updates on the most important startups, VC and tech news for free: https://lnkd.in/eSNcwqVk . #startups #vc #news #business #technews #startup #funding #fundraising

🗞️ Today's Startups & VC Updates - 22/02 Keystone Capital: closes Fund III at $630M, targeting North American businesses in five sectors. Ibex Investors, LLC: Denver-based firm closes fourth Israel-focused fund, Ibex Israel VC II LP, with $106M, featuring diverse limited partners. ------ 🚀 Want to receive daily updates on startup fundraising, venture capital and tech direct to your inbox? Subscribed to the Venture Daily Digest Newsletter for free: https://lnkd.in/dQuvt5xR ----- Startup Fundraising 💰 Moonshot AI: A Chinese startup specializing in large language models for handling long text inputs raises over $1 billion in Series B funding, valuing the company at $2.5 billion, with major investors including Alibaba and HongShan. PermitFlow: California-based company streamlining construction permitting processes secures $31 million in Series A funding led by Kleiner Perkins. Elektra Health: NYC-based digital health platform empowering women navigating menopause journey raises $3.3 million in new financing, led by UPMC Enterprises. Faddom: Israeli startup assisting companies in mapping and visualizing infrastructure raises $12 million in Series A funding led by Viola Ventures and NFX. Medical Microinstruments, Inc.: Italy-based robotics company dedicated to improving clinical outcomes raises $110 million in Series C funding, led by Fidelity Management, LLC & Research Company. Ventiva: Fremont, CA-based company specializing in active cooling solutions for electronic devices raises $10 million in Series C funding. Insamo: Berkeley, CA-based biotech company advancing membrane-permeable cyclic peptides raises $12 million in Seed funding with participation from Playground Global and others. Orkes: Cupertino, CA-based provider of a distributed systems platform secures $20 million in funding led by Nexus Venture Partners. Empowerly: San Francisco, CA-based data-driven education technology company raises $15 million in funding led by Conductive Ventures. Novity: San Carlos, CA-based provider of predictive maintenance AI for process industries raises $7.8 million in funding led by WERU INVESTMENT. HealthSnap: Miami, FL-based remote patient monitoring solution provider raises $25 million in Series B funding, led by Sands Capital. Qloo: NYC-based cultural AI company secures $25 million in Series C funding led by AI Ventures. Citrea: Rollup enhancing Bitcoin blockspace with zero knowledge technology raises $2.7 million in seed funding led by Galaxy. Blackbird Health: Pittsburgh, PA-based youth mental health provider backed by neuroscience and technology raises $17 million in Series A funding. BRIA: Tel Aviv-based responsible visual generative AI platform raises $24 million in Series A funding. . #statups #businessnews #venturecapital #funding #businessnews #founders

After last week's quiet, the venture capital landscape roared back to life this week with several startups securing nine-figure sums. The focus was sharply on artificial intelligence applications across coding and biotech sectors. Here are the standout deals: Xaira Therapeutics - $1B, Biotech: Making a grand entrance from stealth, San Francisco-based Xaira Therapeutics announced a groundbreaking $1 billion in funding. The round, led by ARCH Venture Partners and Foresite Capital along with other prominent investors like Sequoia Capital and Lightspeed. Augment - $227M, Artificial Intelligence: Emerging from stealth, AI coding assistance startup Augment, based in Palo Alto, California, secured a $227 million Series B at a near unicorn valuation of $977 million. The investment, supported by Sutter Hill Ventures, Index Ventures, and Lightspeed. Rippling - $200M, Human Resources: HR tech leader Rippling wrapped up a substantial $200 million round, boosting its valuation to $13.5 billion. The San Francisco-based company also conducted a $590 million secondary sale. Cognition - $175M, Artificial Intelligence: San Francisco's Cognition received a $175 million investment led by Founders Fund, propelling its valuation to $2 billion. Endeavor BioMedicines - $133M, Biotech: San Diego's Endeavor BioMedicines secured a $132.5 million Series C for its work on idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis treatments, led by AyurMaya. ThreatLocker - $115M, Cybersecurity: ThreatLocker raised a $115 million Series D, led by General Atlantic. The Florida-based firm continues to grow rapidly, enhancing enterprise security through robust zero-trust solutions. Lumeris - $100M, Healthcare: With a focus on optimizing healthcare expenditures, St. Louis-based Lumeris raised $100 million from Deerfield Management and Endeavor Health. The platform is pivotal in driving efficiency and reducing costs in healthcare management. Perflexity AI - $63M, Artificial Intelligence: Amidst plans for a much larger funding round, Perplexity AI confirmed a $62.7 million investment led by Daniel Gross, with participation from NVIDIA, IVP, New Enterprise Associates (NEA), and notable individual investors. The AI search engine startup is rapidly scaling with a valuation now exceeding $1 billion. Midi Health - $60M, Healthcare: Specializing in women's health, Midi Health closed a $60 million Series B led by Emerson Collective. This funding will expand their virtual care offerings, further establishing their presence in the healthcare sector. Givebutter - $50M, CRM: Rounding out the top ten, Givebutter, an innovative platform for nonprofit fundraising and CRM, secured a $50 million investment from BVP Forge, demonstrating the growing importance of digital tools in philanthropy. Global Perspective: While the U.S. dominated the funding news, the largest international deal this week was Dublin-based SynOx Therapeutics raising a $75 million Series B for its research into giant cell tumor treatments.

🗞️ Today's Startups & VC Updates - 11/03 AI Startup Layoff 40% Staff .... Inscribe, San Francisco-based platform works to detect fraud in areas like business underwriting, tenant screening and onboarding, has cut just under 40% of its staff, ------- Get the most important startup funding, venture capital & tech news. Join 10,000+ early adopters staying ahead of the curve, for free: https://lnkd.in/dQuvt5xR -------- Startup Funding Updates 💰 Utila (Tel Aviv): Raised $11.5M in seed funding for its crypto asset handling platform, with backing from NFX, Wing VC, and others. Niko (Mexico City): Secured $3.3M in seed funding at a $16M post-money valuation for its solar installation services, led by Picus Capital and 468 Capital. Baanx Group Ltd (London): Raised $20M in Series A funding for its payment services, featuring support from Ledger, Tezos, Chiron, and British Business Bank. Pro Shop Group (New York): A media and commerce startup focused on golf, raised $19.25M in funding led by Powerhouse Capital. Neural Propulsion Systems, Inc. Systems (Pleasanton, CA): Secured $17.5M in Series B funding for its software-defined radar technology, with Cota Capital leading the round. Biobot Surgical (Singapore): Raised $24M in Series B funding for its robotic prostate biopsy and treatment solutions, led by Tony Tan. LAVA (Hong Kong): Secured $1M in funding for its blockchain technology addressing impermanent loss in liquidity pools. DocNow EHR (Bellevue, WA): Raised undisclosed seed funding for its electronic health record and wound care management solutions, led by Waterline Ventures. Theia Insights (Cambridge, England): AI-driven analyses provider raised $6.5M in a round led by Unusual Ventures. Velosio (Dublin, OH): Received an undisclosed investment from Court Square Capital Partners for its digital transformation services in the Microsoft Dynamics ecosystem. CARiD (Cranbury, NJ): Raised $35M in funding as Fifth Star, Inc. acquired a majority stake in the e-commerce platform specializing in car parts and accessories. IO Research: Solana-based decentralized physical infrastructure network raised $30M in Series A funding, led by Hack VC. Vescent (Golden, CO): Quantum 2.0 technologies specialist raised $5M in Seed funding led by Corporate Fuel Advisors. VC Funding Updates Inspired Capital: Closed $330M for its third fund, reaching almost $900M AUM, emphasizing early-stage investments from "napkin to Series A." The Artemis Fund Fund: NY VC fund closed its $36M second fund, leading seed rounds for diverse founders in fintech, commerce, and care, with a portfolio of 20+ companies led by female founders, over 60% having Black, Latinx, or immigrant leadership. Get the most important startup funding, venture capital & tech news. Join 10,000+ early adopters staying ahead of the curve, for free: https://lnkd.in/dQuvt5xR . #startups #businessnews #funding #venturecapital

🗞️ Today's Startups & VC Updates - 18/03 Westbound Equity Partners secures $100M for its VC fund, prioritizing underrepresented founders, consumer-focused ventures, and diversity in startups. ------- Get the most important startup funding, venture capital & tech news. Join 10,000+ early adopters staying ahead of the curve, for free: https://lnkd.in/dQuvt5xR -------- Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund ADIA backs Indian audio-storytelling platform Pocket FM in a significant funding round. IO River secures $5.4M funding for its Tel Aviv-based multi-CDN-as-a-Service platform. Sealed raises $30M in funding for its New York-based residential energy efficiency solutions. PPRO completes an €85M dual tranche funding round for its London-based local payments platform. ThinkSono raises £2.1M in funding for its London-based ultrasound AI guidance solutions in medical technology. DraftWise secures $20M in Series A funding for its NYC-based AI-powered contract and negotiation platform for lawyers. Bone Health Technologies raises $5M in funding for its Redwood City-based health technology solutions. Luminary Cloud secures $115M in funding for its San Mateo-based cloud-native, CAE software. Lily AI raises $20M in Series B-1 funding for its Mountain View-based retail AI technology platform. Clique secures $8M in Series A funding for its San Francisco-based blockchain data computing infrastructure. Omni raises an additional $20M in funding for its San Francisco-based business intelligence platform. Berachain raises $69M in funding for its Cayman Island-based high-performance blockchain designed for financial applications. Relation Therapeutics secures $35M in Seed funding for its London-based biotechnology leveraging computational drug discovery. Paylode raises $5.5M in Seed funding for its Miami-based perks programs management company. Pure Lithium Corporation secures $15M in Series A funding for its Charlestown-based lithium metal battery technology. X-Therma raises $22.4M in Series B funding for its San Francisco-based biotechnology platform for organ preservation. Fluent Metal secures $3.2M in funding for its Cambridge-based liquid metal printing technology. . Get the most important startup funding, venture capital & tech news. Join 10,000+ early adopters staying ahead of the curve, for free: https://lnkd.in/dQuvt5xR #startups #businessnews #funding #venturecapital #news #jobs #internship #funding

A look at this week's largest venture deals highlights a notable trend: the return of nine-figure funding rounds across a range of sectors, from cybersecurity and blockchain to biotech and hospitality. Here’s a rundown of the significant investments making waves: Cyera - $300M, Cybersecurity: Cyera, a New York-based data security startup, leads this week with a $300 million Series C round led by Coatue, catapulting its valuation to $1.4 billion. The round is a significant uptick from its previous $500 million valuation. Monad Labs - $225M, Blockchain: Grabbing the largest Web3 funding of the year, Monad Labs, a New York-based startup, secured $225 million in a round led by Paradigm. Monad is developing a layer-1 blockchain that enhances transaction speeds while remaining compatible with Ethereum. TORL BioTherapeutics, LLC - $158M, Biotech: Following last year’s successful funding, Los Angeles-based Torl BioTherapeutics matched its previous raise with another $158 million in Series B-2 financing led by Deep Track Capital. The funds will advance its work on antibody-based cancer therapies. Guesty - $130M, Hospitality: As travel demand soars, Guesty, a property management software for short-term rentals, raised $130 million in Series F funding led by KKR India Asset Finance. Platform Science - $125M, Transportation: Platform Science, based in San Diego, raised $125 million to expand its edge application platform for transportation fleets. (Tied) Collaborative Robotics - $100M, Robotics & FloQast - $100M, Accounting & Seaport Therapeutics - $100M, Biotech: Tied for sixth, these three companies each secured $100 million. Collaborative Robotics focuses on enhancing robotics integration, FloQast aims to streamline accounting operations with a $1.6 billion valuation post-funding, and Seaport Therapeutics launched with a focus on developing treatments for neuropsychiatric disorders. Nectero Medical, Inc. Medical - $96M, Biotech: Nectero Medical, a biotech firm developing treatments for aneurysmal diseases, raised $96 million in Series D funding led by Norwest Venture Partners, marking significant progress in its clinical programs. Grow Therapy - $88M, Healthcare: Closing the list, Grow Therapy secured $88 million in Series C funding led by Sequoia Capital. The New York-based startup develops software solutions for the mental health industry, emphasizing the increasing need for accessible mental health services. Global Outlook: The second-largest funding of the week was not in the U.S. but in Europe. Spain’s Aquisgrán, a financial services firm specializing in loans and investments, drew nearly $277 million, showcasing the vibrant global appetite for innovative financial solutions.

Outside of #AI and healthcare, venture capital investment continues to be in the doldrums, with global Q1 2024 startup investments having its second-worst quarter since 2018 - and Q4 2023 was the worst quarter since 2018.

Join us next week for an amazing panel on university ecosystems and accelerators! Not just for students and alumni - all founders can work with these giant research engines. Our all star panel will tell you how and answer your questions. #Startups

𝗚𝗹𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗹 𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝗨𝗽𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲 - Q1 2024 🔹 Global startups raised $82.1B in venture capital in Q1 2024.  Startups raised more investment in Q1 than in the three previous quarters, and just shy of Q1 2023 at $86.2B, which included a $10B round for OpenAI, and $6.5B round for Stripe. 🔹Global venture capital investment is tracking a similar path to 2019 and 2020, behind only the outlier years of 2021/22. 🔹Over 3.2K venture rounds have been raised by global startups in Q1 2024. In terms of number of rounds, the venture industry is more active than any time pre 2021. 🔹Energy is closing in on the top three startup sectors by VC raised.  Energy has gone from the eighth ranked sector by VC in 2014-2021, to fourth in 2023 and 2024.  🔹GenAI, Semiconductors and drug discovery are the most funded frontier tech segments in Q1 2024. 🔹The US, China and the UK remain the top three countries by venture capital in 2024. 🔹Seven of the top 10 tech hubs by venture capital in Q1 2024 are in the US. Source: Dealroom Interested in startups and venture capital? Check my free newsletter for more insights: https://lnkd.in/da_7Pbkv