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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Revaia, Europe’s largest female-founded venture capital firm, has successfully raised €150 million ($160 million) for its second fund, Revaia Growth II. The funding was secured from sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and institutional investors across Europe, with support from existing partners like Bpifrance and new backers such as mutual insurer Carac and the European Investment Fund.
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More Stories on Venture Capital
Venture Capital: Five Seasons Ventures, A European Impact Venture Fund, Raises €180M For Foodtech
Five Seasons Ventures, the European venture capital firm seeking to finance foodtech startups that have a quantifiable, beneficial impact on the planet and/or human health, announced the close of a a €180 million Fund II.
Artificial Intelligence: Olea Edge Lands $35M To Expand Its AI Platform For Water Utilities
Olea Edge Analytics, an Austin-based AI startup that seeks to enhance municipal water revenues at cities and helps them combat situations such as drought, has raised a $75 million Series C round led by Insight Partners, the New York-based global private equity and venture capital firm.
Venture Capital: Nuveen Backs ‘Do Good Foods,’ A Food Waste Upcycler, With $169M
Do Good Foods has a mission to address the problem of the 48 billion pounds of food waste generated by grocery stores each year. Rather than throw food away, Do Good Foods is upcycling it. Surplus grocery food is first shared with local food pantries — what’s left over is then sent to its facility to be repurposed into feed for animals, such as chicken. The company received a $169 million investment from Nuveen.
Venture Capital: Auto Retail Platform Tekion Triples Valuation To $3.5B
Tekion’s end-to-end cloud-based automotive software platform, dubbed Automotive Retail Cloud, has raised $250 million in a Series D round led by Alkeon Capital and co-led by Durable Capital. Other investors include Hyundai Motor Company (KRX: 005380) and several reputable dealer groups across the United States. Advent International, who led Tekion’s Series C, Index Ventures who led its Series A, and FM Capital also reinvested in this round.
Venture Capital: Spudsy, Which Makes Sustainable Snacks, Nabs $3.3M Series A
Spudsy, which ‘rescues’ imperfect sweet potatoes and transforms them into puffed snacks and fries, raised $3.3 million in a Series A funding round led by KarpReilly and Stage 1 Fund, bringing its cumulative funding to $6.5 million over two years.
Venture Capital: India’s Ola Electric Nabs $200M At $3B Valuation
Ola Electric, which is building the world’s largest two-wheeler production facility, spread out over a total of 500 acres of land in Tamil Nadu, India, and run by an all-women workforce, announced the raise of $200 million to hasten the development of other vehicle platforms besides its electric scooter line.
FinTech: Construction Fintech Built Technologies Lands $125M In TCV-Led Round
Built Technologies, a fintech focused on construction finance, has raised $125 million in a round led by TCV with Brookfield Technology Partners, 9Yards Capital, HighSage Ventures and XYZ Venture Capital participating. Existing investors including Lee Fixel’s Addition, Fifth Wall and Index Ventures also chipped in.
Venture Capital: Sundrive Develops The World’s Most Efficient Solar Cell
Founded in a garage in 2015 by David Hu and Vince Allen, Sundrive, a solar energy startup, has successfully developed the world’s most efficient solar cell. Their cell generates solar-sourced power at an efficiency of 25.54%, breaking the previous world record of 25.26%. More importantly, the startup did it while replacing the silver in solar cells with copper.
Venture Capital: Starfish Space Scores $7M Raise For Its Otter Servicing Spacetug
Starfish Space, a startup that is eyeing a market for on-orbit satellite servicing, missions such as debris removal and satellite life extension, announced its $7 million raise in a round co-led by NFX and MaC Venture Capital, with participation from PSL Ventures, Boost VC, Liquid2 Ventures, and Hypothesis.
Venture Capital: New Age Meats Lands $25M Series A
New Age Meats grows real, flavorful meat from the cells of unharmed animals, and then, in a hybrid approach, adds plant-based ingredients for texture, taste, and health. The Berkeley, CA-based startup has raised a Series A $25 million round led by Hanwha Solutions of South Korea. Existing investors SOSV’s IndieBio, TechU Ventures, ff VC and Siddhi Capital also participated in the investment.
Venture Capital: Singapore Logistics Startup Ninja Van Raises $578M, Turns Unicorn
Ninja Van’s Series E funding round raised $578 million including from Alibaba Group Holding (NYSE: BABA), the funding putting it on course for an IPO about 18 months down the line. The round valued the Singapore-based logistics startup at over $1 billion and elevated it into the unicorn club.
Venture Capital: Breakthrough Energy Ventures Leads $53M Round In Robotic Agtech Iron Ox
Iron Ox, an agtech startup that advances the cause of producing food sustainably and autonomously using robotics and AI, has raised a $53 million C Series led by new investor Breakthrough Energy Ventures. Breakthrough Energy Ventures is backed by top business leaders including Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos. The round brings the startup’s aggregate funding to $98 million.
Venture Capital: Lithium Extraction Startup Lilac Solutions Announces $150M Series B
Lilac Solutions, a startup developing a lithium extraction technology, announced Wednesday the first close of its $150 million Series B round. Lilac’s ion exchange technology for extraction of lithium from brine is faster to deploy, more efficient, sustainable and financially superior compared to conventional technology.
Venture Capital: Mexican Used-Car Platform Kavak Scoops $700M At $8.7B
Mexican used-car platform Kavak said it had raised a $700 million Series E round at a valuation of $ 8.7 billion which more than doubled from its previous funding. The round was led by U.S. venture capital firm General Catalyst, while SoftBank Group Corp, billionaire Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund, Singapore-based gaming and e-commerce company Sea Ltd, Tiger Global, Spruce House, hedge fund D1, and Ribbit Capital also participated.
Digital Assets: Bitcoin Miner Genesis Digital Lands $431M To Expand Operations
Genesis Digital Assets, which runs 2.4% of the bitcoin mining network, has announced a $431 million raise led by Paradigm. Claimed to be the largest ever achieved by a bitcoin mining company, the round also won participation from NYDIG, Stoneridge, FTX, Ribbit, Electric Capital, Skybridge, and Kingsway Capital.
Venture Capital: Gates-Founded Breakthrough Energy Raises Over $1B From Top US Companies
Breakthrough Energy, the non-profit founded in 2015 by Bill Gates to advance the cause of net-zero emissions, has raised hundreds of millions of dollars from U.S. firms for its Breakthrough Energy Catalyst project to support innovation in the field.
Venture Capital: Indian Used Cars Platform Cars24 Nabs $450M
Indian used car platform Cars24 has raised $450 million comprising a $340M Series F equity round and $110M of debt. The capital funding valued the startup, founded in 2015, at $1.84 billion, nearly twice from the end of last year. The equity round was led by SoftBank, DST Global, and Falcon Edge Capital and included participation by existing investors as well as Tencent holdings.
Venture Capital: Commodity Trading Platform Open Mineral Scores $33M Funding
With most of the global $200 billion metal raw commodities business still conducted in archaic paper mode, Switzerland-based Open Mineral is aiming to become the eBay for physical commodity producers by digitizing metal raw material trading. The firm announced Thursday its Series C raise of $33 million led by Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Investment Company.
Venture Capital: SpaceX Launches 4-Person Civilian Crew In Historic Orbital Mission
On Wednesday night, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket hoisted into orbit a Crew Dragon spacecraft carrying a 4-person, all-civilian crew on a mission titled Inspiration4. Commanded by billionaire Isaacman, who conceived the flight ten months ago as a means to raise funds and awareness of St Jude Children’s Research Hospital, the flight also carried another male and two female civilians.
Venture Capital: Graphic Design Platform Canva Nabs $200M At Massive $40B Valuation
Canva is now the fifth-most valuable startup in the world. Australian graphic design platform Canva raised $200 million in a round led by global investment firm T.Rowe Price and included participation by Franklin Templeton, Sequoia Capital Global Equities, Bessemer Venture Partners, Greenoaks Capital, Dragoneer Investments, Blackbird, Felicis, and AirTree Ventures. The startup doubled its valuation…
Venture Capital: Immi Lands $3.8M Seed Round For Plant-based Instant Ramen
Ex-roommates, ex-co workers, San Francisco-based Kevin Lee and Kevin Chanthasiriphan co-founded immi after they saw the impact that unhealthy foods and diets had on their families as they suffered through chronic health conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure, and stomach cancer. immi’s objective: to add low-carb, high-protein, keto-friendly, and plant-based nutritional benefits to everyday instant ramen. The startup announced Tuesday its raise of $3.8 million of seed capital.
Venture Capital: Crowberry Capital’s Trio Of Women Leaders Raises $90M Nordic Fund
Female-founded, Icelandic venture fund Crowberry Capital announced its raise of a €76 million (US$ 90 million) seed and early-stage fund for investing in startups located in the Nordic region. The fund, Crowberry II, has the distinction of being the largest VC raise ever for Iceland.
Venture Capital: Massive $500M+ Rounds From Snyk And Varo Bank
Lately chartered U.S. neobank Varo Bank announced Thursday its raise of a $510 million Series E at a valuation of $2.5 billion. Today, Israeli cloud security startup Snyk said it collected $530 million comprising $300 million in new money and $230 million in secondary funding. Snyk’s valuation was a solid $8.5 billion – up sharply from $4.7 billion in March when it raised $300 million.
Digital Assets: Private Equity Firm 10T Closes On $750M For Investing In Crypto Companies
Dan Tapiero led 10T Holdings, the Greenwich, Conn.-based private equity fund which focuses on crypto-asset companies, has closed $750 million in a fundraising round that commenced at the end of last year. 10T’s three funds, the 10T Fund, LP and 10T DAE Expansion Fund mopped up $389 million between them. Co-investment and sub-advised vehicles accounted for the balance.