Venture Capital
It’s been 50 years since Venrock established itself to expose investors to venture capital opportunities. Today, the global venture capital industry tracks just south of $200 billion and continues to grow as new entrepreneurs, engineers, financiers, and thought leaders create the economy of tomorrow. The DailyAlts VC channel tracks the trends, opportunities, key thought leaders, and next-generation industries that will generate billions in returns.
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JMI Equity has closed JMI Equity Fund XI and JMI XI Executive Fund with total commitments of $2.4 billion. The oversubscribed fund received strong support from new and existing investors, bringing JMI’s total capital commitments to more than $8bn since its founding in 1992.
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More Stories on Venture Capital
FinTech: E-Commerce Focused, Corporate Credit Card Issuer Parker Raises $157M
Parker, a charge card built specifically for e-commerce, has raised $157 million in total funding to support the growth of online brands. The card offers differentiated features such as limits based on business performance, rolling terms, emphasis on credit duration over rewards, and software tools to help business operators invest in their best projects.
Venture Capital: Farmland CO2 Remover Andes Lands $30M
Andes, a climate tech startup, has completed a $30 million Series A funding round, bringing its total funding to $38 million. The company uses beneficial microorganisms to remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere and convert them into minerals in the ground.
Artificial Intelligence: Adept AI Raises $350M For AI That Does Your Bidding
Adept, a one-year-old startup founded by three AI experts, has raised $350 million as part of its Series B to develop an AI assistant that can turn text commands into sets of actions. This would hopefully enable a future where an engineer can ask an AI assistant draw up the construction plan of a house and stand by as it executes on the command.
Venture Capital: Indian Eyewear Startup Lenskart Lands $500M Funding From The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority
Indian eyewear retailer, Lenskart, has secured a $500 million investment from the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) to help scale its offerings and expand to international markets. This investment extends last year’s round and includes some secondary share purchases from early backers of Lenskart, which brings its total amount raised to $1.5 billion.
FinTech: Stripe Raises $6.5B At A Heavily Truncated Valuation Of $50B
Payment processor Stripe raised $6.5 billion in a non-dilutive Series I financing round, valuing the company at $50 billion, down almost 50% from the record valuation of $95 billion in garnered in a 2021 funding.
Venture Capital: Square And Social Change Fund United Launch Accelerator For Black and Latino Entrepreneurs
On March 14, Square (NYSE: SQ) and the Social Change Fund United jointly announced the launch of an accelerator program aimed at supporting Black and Latino entrepreneurs. The program, called “Forward,” offers mentorship, coaching, and funding to early-stage businesses.
FinTech: Indonesian Fintech Broom, Which Finances Auto Dealers, Nabs US$10M
Indonesian automotive SME solutions startup Broom has secured $10m in a pre-Series A funding round led by Openspace Ventures, with participation from MUFG Innovation Partners, BRI Ventures and existing investors AC Ventures and Quona Capital.
Venture Capital: Y Combinator Warns Of Catastrophic Implications From SVB Collapse, Itself Lays Off 20% Of Staff
Y Combinator, the storied startup accelerator, has petitioned the US government to intervene on behalf of 10,000 small businesses and startups with accounts at Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) who may be unable to pay employees in the next 30 days due to the bank’s insolvency.
Digital Assets: Federal Support Action For Resolving SVB And Signature Bank Crises
The US Government has taken swift action to stem the economic backlash from the failures of Silvergate Bank, Silicon Valley Bank, and Signature Bank. While Silvergate and Signature were both crypto-focused banks, Silicon Valley was the go-to bank for the venture capital industry. Silvergate, however, voluntarily chose to down shutters. A statement from the Department of Treasury detailed a concerted strategy to protect depositors at SVB and Signature.
Venture Capital: Troubles At Silicon Valley Bank Trigger Warnings From Top Drawer VC Firms
Silicon Valley Bank (NASDAQ: SIVB), a major lender to start-ups, has faced a crisis after announcing a $2.25bn share sale following a significant loss on its portfolio. The company’s shares fell by 60% and its bonds posted record declines. The shock development sent tremors through the venture capital world, with many top VC firms advising their portfolio startups to bail out from Silicon Valley Bank (SVB).
Venture Capital: Humane, Founded by An Ex-Apple Husband-Wife Duo, Raises $100M For AI-Centric Consumer Device
Humane, a software platform and consumer device builder focused on artificial intelligence (AI), has raised $100m in a Series C funding round. The round was led by Kindred Ventures and featured participation from Microsoft, SK Networks, LG Technology Ventures, Volvo Cars Tech Fund, Top Tier Capital, Hudson Bay Capital, and Socium Ventures, as well as existing investors Tiger Global, Qualcomm Ventures, Valia Ventures, Forerunner Ventures, Lachy Groom, and Sam Altman, founder of OpenAI.
Venture Capital: Salesforce Ventures’ Launches $250M Generative AI Fund, Invests In Cohere AI
Salesforce Ventures has announced a $250 million generative AI fund, with Toronto-based start-up Cohere among the first four companies to receive investment. Cohere, which provides access to large language models and natural language processing tools through one API, has previously raised $170m, including a $125m Series B round in 2021. It is understood to be seeking further investment in a current funding round. Cohere will partner with Salesforce to bring its technology to Salesforce’s enterprise customers.
Venture Capital: UK Fintech Abound Lands $601M
Abound, a UK-based consumer lending service, has raised £500m ($601m) in equity and debt funding to expand its open banking business. The start-up, which uses open banking data and machine learning algorithms to offer lower interest loans and develop “better credit scores”, will use the funds to finance loans, bring in more customers and invest in its technology.
Venture Capital: Australian Agtech SwarmFarm Robotics Raises A$12M
Australian company SwarmFarm Robotics has secured $12m AUD ($8.3m USD) in a series A funding round, which it will use to launch its technology in North America and expand its SwarmBot platform with new applications. The investment was led by Conexus Venture Capital’s agtech fund Emmertech, based in Canada, with participation from Tribe Global Ventures and Access Capital. Existing investors including Tenacious Ventures, GrainInnovate, and the Grains Research and Development Corporation also joined the round.
Venture Capital: Fertility Facilitator Kindbody Lands $100M
Kindbody has raised $100 million in capital from Perceptive Advisors, a leading life sciences investment firm, to support future company growth. This latest financing brings Kindbody’s total equity and debt funding to more than $290 million and its valuation to $1.8 billion, making it the largest women-owned fertility company serving employers and consumers.
FinTech: Payments Giant Stripe May Accept A Lower, $50B Valuation In Funding Round
As negotiations progress, investors are reportedly seeking to lower the Stripe valuation. Payments processing company Stripe has reduced the valuation of its $55 billion fundraise by around 10%, according to sources cited by The Information. The valuation has been reduced from $23 per share to around $20 per share, bringing the company’s overall valuation down…
Venture Capital: 8VC Raises $880M For Its Fund V
8VC has launched its fifth fund with $880 million in new capital to support and partner with entrepreneurs at all stages of their journey, and to build companies. Despite the evolution of the venture world over the last decade, big problems remain, and innovative people from all over the planet are inspired to address them through technology. 8VC’s mission to “fix a broken world” remains the same, and it works with founders to chase dreams and explore the vast uncharted wilderness yet to be explored.
Venture Capital: Bain Capital Ventures Raises $1.9B Across Two Funds
Bain Capital Ventures (BCV) has raised $1.9 billion in two oversubscribed funds, furthering its support for technology startups from seed to growth. The funds will be used to discover and grow the most innovative and promising companies within fintech, infrastructure, apps, and commerce.
Venture Capital: Cloud Security Startup Wiz Nabs $300M Series D Financing
Wiz, a cloud security provider, has raised $300 million in a recent funding round, led by Lightspeed Venture Partners and supported by Greenoaks Capital Partners and Index Ventures. Wiz’s latest valuation is now $10 billion, making it the largest cybersecurity unicorn globally and the fastest SaaS company to reach such a valuation.
Artificial Intelligence: Robin AI Raises $10.5M For Legal Services Powered By Generative AI
Robin AI, a legal tech startup, has announced that it has secured $10.5 million in Series A funding led by Plural with participation by Episode 1 and a cohort of angel investors. Robin AI will use the funding to scale its mission of changing the way the legal industry operates by using AI and generative models with “lawyers-in-the-loop” to cut legal costs and make simple legal tasks even easier. The company offers access to legal services, including a first-in-class AI-driven contract editor, to individuals, startups, and beyond, to process legal contracts at little to no cost.
Venture Capital: Skydio, Maker Of Autonomous Drones, Lands $230M Series E
Drone manufacturer Skydio has raised $230m in a Series E funding round, led by Linse Capital, which values the company at $2.2 billion, more than double its valuation two years ago. Andreessen Horowitz, Next47, IVP, DoCoMo, Nvidia, the Walton Family Foundation, UP Partners, Hercules Capital, and Axon also participated in the round.
Venture Capital: Dutch AI Agtech Source.ag Raises $23M Series A
Dutch company Source.ag has raised $23 million in a Series A funding round led by Astanor Ventures, with further investment from Acre Ventures Partners and several of the Netherlands’ leading greenhouse operators. Source.ag develops artificial intelligence (AI) tools to provide growers with guidance on optimal crop cultivation techniques.
Venture Capital: Senior-, And Value-Based Care Focused Vytalize Health Raises $100M Series C
Vytalize Health, a provider enablement platform, has secured $100 million in funding led by Enhanced Healthcare Partners and Monroe Capital, with North Coast Ventures also participating. The investment will enable Vytalize Health to strengthen primary care practices and accelerate responsible value-based care for seniors.
Venture Capital: South African, Cars-On-Subscription Startup Planet42 Raises $100M
Planet42, a South African startup that offers car subscriptions to those who cannot access traditional bank credit, has raised US$100 million in combined equity and debt funding to support its expansion.