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: Tennis Superstar Serena Williams Backs Fintech Esusu
Serena Williams has invested an undisclosed amount through her venture capital arm in Esusu, a fintech that automates credit building by reporting a person’s rent payments to credit bureaus, “boosting credit scores one rent payment at a time.”
FinTech: Berkshire Could Romp Home With 60% Gains In Paytm’s IPO
A Reuters report said Paytm, a leading Indian digital payments processor, has filed for a $2.23 billion IPO.
The proposed IPO would value Paytm at about $25 billion, with the pandemic having fuelled a surge in digital payments in the country. It would potentially mark a lucrative payday for Paytm’s investors, which include the Ant Group (HK: 6688), Softbank (TYO: 9984), and Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A).
Venture Capital: Cybereason, Which Offers Extended Detection and Response (XDR), Lands $275M
Cybersecurity provider Cybereason, a US-Israeli startup, raised $275 million in a Series F funding that, according to media reports valued it at $3.1 billion. The financing was led by Liberty Strategic Capital, a venture fund launched by former U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, which put in $200 million, its maiden investment. Irving Investors, certain funds advised by Neuberger Berman Investment Advisers, and Softbank Vision Fund 2 invested the balance of $75 million.
FinTech: Thiel-Backed N26 In Funding Talks, Could Value At $10B
Bloomberg reports that German fintech and digital bank N26 is in talks to raise funds, likely in the hundreds of millions of dollars, at a tentative valuation of about $10 billion. Bloomberg quoted people familiar with the matter; however, N26 declined to comment.
Venture Capital: Revolut Valued At $33B In $800M Funding Round
Revolut, the Uk-based challenger bank and fintech, raised $800 million in a funding round led by SoftBank’s Vision Fund 2 and Tiger Global Management, both new investors. The funding came in at a valuation of $33 billion, about six times Revolut’s valuation in a previous round in 2020.
FinTech: M1 Finance Raises $150M In Its Fourth Funding Round In A Year
M1 Finance, which helps its users to invest, borrow, and spend on one Super App platform, announced today its raise of $150 million in a Series E round led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2. Existing investors also participated in the funding.
Venture Capital: Mighty Buildings, Which Makes Sustainable 3D-Printed Homes, Scores $22M Raise
Mighty Buildings , which aims for sustainable buildings construction that address the housing shortage, has raised an additional $22 million in its Series B funding round. Taken with the previous raise of $40 million in February this year, Mighty now has $100 million of capital under its belt since its founding in 2017.
Venture Capital: Indian eCommerce Giant Flipkart Raises $3.6B At $37.6B Valuation
Flipkart, the Indian e-commerce platform majority-owned by Walmart (NYSE: WMT), announced today (July 12, 2021) its $3.6 billion funding round led by GIC, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments), SoftBank Vision Fund 2, and Walmart. Sovereign funds DisruptAD, Qatar Investment Authority, Khazanah Nasional also participated in the round alongside big-name investors such as Tencent, Willoughby Capital, Antara Capital, Franklin Templeton, and Tiger Global.
Venture Capital: India’s Ola To Get $500M In Pre-IPO Funding From Temasek, Warburg Pincus
Ola, the Indian ride-hailing startup, said today (July 9, 2021) that private equity firms Temasek and Plum Wood Investment Ltd, an affiliate of Warburg Pincus, are partnering with founder Bhavish Aggarwal in a $500 million investment in anticipation of Ola’s planned initial public offering (IPO).
Venture Capital: Clearco, Which Offers Equity-Free Capital To Startups, Raises $215M
That model is clearly working because Clearco has so far paid out $2.4 billion to 5,500 founders in the e-commerce, mobile app, and enterprise software segments. Today (July 8, 2021) the company said it raised $215 million in an equity funding round led by SoftBank Group Corp’s Vision Fund 2.
Venture Capital: Bootstrapped Property Management Software Provider Entrata Nabs $507M
Utah-based Entrata, the fastest-growing software company in real estate and a provider of property management software to more than 20,000 apartment communities across the United States, announced today (July 7, 2021) its first institutional fundraise of $507 million. This is the startup’s first institutional funding since its founding in 2003.
Venture Capital: DIY French Platform ManoMano Raises $355M At A Valuation Of $2.6B
ManoMano, the French startup that operates an e-commerce platform for home improvement products, has raised $355 million at a $2.6 billion valuation to further its growth ambitions in Europe and double its workforce. It also intends to develop its range of products for construction and renovation professionals.
FinTech: ClearScore, UK, Scores $200M Investment From Invus Opportunities
ClearScore, the UK-based fintech that provides free credit scores to everybody (forever) announced it had received an investment of $200 million, at a valuation of $700 million, from Invus Opportunities, the global equity investor. Existing investors QED, Blenheim Chalcot and LeadEdge, together with management, retained the majority of their positions in ClearScore, but allowed Invus Opportunities to take a significant minority position in the company.
Venture Capital: RV Rental Platform Outdoorsy Raises $120M In Equity And Debt
Online marketplace for outdoor travel and recreational vehicles (RVs) Outdoorsy announced Thursday an equity and debt financing aggregating $120 million. The company said it was continuing to experience strong growth in its core business as well as its Roamly insurtech business.
Venture Capital: Andreessen Horowitz Floats Third Crypto Fund For $2.2B
Andreessen Horowitz, the Silicon Valley venture giant that took a trail-blazing bet on Coinbase (NASDAQ: COIN) and had already raised $815 million in two earlier funds, is scaling up its commitment to crypto and blockchain. It announced today a new $2.2 billion “Crypto Fund III” in the face of the dramatic volatility in bitcoin’s price, its increasingly sullied climatic image, and the role of crypto in criminal activities such ransom attacks.
FinTech: Dutch Fintech Mollie Scores $800M Raise In Round Led By Blackstone
Fast-growing Dutch payment service provider Mollie announced Tuesday its closing of a US$800 million in a Series C funding round led by Blackstone Growth. TCV who led the Series B investment in September 2020 also participated in the funding round along with EQT Growth, General Atlantic, HMI Capital and Alkeon Capital.
Venture Capital: NATO To Launch Investment Fund And Accelerator For Startups With War Technologies
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), a defence alliance comprising 30 European and North American countries, announced its intention to back startups for developing technologies that could give it an edge in defense and warfare. NATO will launch a a startup accelerator programme and a €1 billion investment fund targeted at high-technology startups.
Venture Capital: A Cybersecurity Solution Without Passwords Earns Transmit A $543M Round
Israeli cybersecurity startup Transmit Security, which promises to rid the world of clunky, usually-forgotten passwords, announced today its raise of $543 million in a Series A round led by Insight Partners and General Atlantic, with additional investment from Cyberstarts, Geodesic, SYN Ventures, Vintage, and Artisanal Ventures.
Venture Capital: Crypto Financial Services Amber Scores $100M, Turns Unicorn
Amber Group, the Hong Kong-based cryptocurrency financial services startup, announced Sunday its Series B round of $100 million at a valuation of $1 billion. Led by private equity player China Renaissance, the round saw participation from new investors Tiger Brokers, Tiger Global Management, Arena Holdings, Tru Arrow Partners, Sky9 Capital, DCM Ventures, and Gobi Partners.
Venture Capital: Graph Database Platform Neo4j Scores $325M At Over $2B Valuation
Neo4J, claimed Thursday it raised the largest investment in a private database company after its Series F $325 million round. Eurazeo led the funding, which saw new investors GV, DTCP, and Lightrock also participating. Existing investors Greenbridge Partners, One Peak, and Creandum also chipped in.
Venture Capital: U.K.-Based Tractable Scores $60 Million For AI Processing of Motor Claims
Tractable, an AI company that works with insurers to accelerate claims processing, announced today its Series D round of $60 million led by Insight Partners and Georgian. The round tagged Tractable with a value of $1 billion, making the startup the world’s first computer vision ‘unicorn’ for financial services.
Venture Capital: Home Management Platform Thumbtack Raises $275M
Home management platform Thumbtack enables its millions of customers to find and hire small businesses and local professionals for virtually any home-related task. It announced Tuesday that, “on the heels of incredible growth,” it had raised a $275 million investment led by Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) and joined by Blackstone Alternative Asset Management (BAAM) as well as G Squared. Existing investors Baillie Gifford, CapitalG, Founders Circle Capital, Sequoia Capital and Tiger Global also participated.
FinTech: 10X, The Fintech Founded By Ex-Barclays Chief Antony Jenkins, Rakes In $187M To Scale Massively
Founded in 2016 by Antony Jenkins, former CEO of Barclays (LON: BARC), fintech 10X Future Technologies has raised $187 million from a clutch of bulge bracket investors. The firm’s oversubscribed Series C was co-led by BlackRock (NYSE: BLK) and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments). Existing investors JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM), Nationwide (LON: NBS), Ping An (SHA: 601318), and Westpac (ASX: WBC).
Venture Capital: Online Car Marketplace Carro Banks $360M Series C
Carro, a Singapore-based online car marketplace, announced today its raise of $360 million in a Series C round led by SoftBank’s Vision Fund 2 and said it had achieved unicorn status. The portal’s users can buy, sell or lease both used or new cars. It also sells financing options, insurance, and maintenance services for those vehicles.