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.
Top Story
Chinese AI company Parametrix.ai has raised $100 million in a Series B round led by Sequoia China and joined by existing investors 5Y Capital and Gaorong Capital. Though the valuation was not disclosed, Parametrix has joined the hallowed unicorn club (>$1 billion) after the funding.
Get Daily Updates
Subscribe to DailyAlts Today to get Alternative Investment news, insight, and commentary delivered straight to your inbox every day.
More Stories on Venture Capital
Venture Capital: Bioenergy Devco Raises $100M For Sustainable Organic Waste Recycling
Bioenergy Devco last week raised $100 million from funds managed by alternative investment manager Irradiant Partners, a firm which specializes in climate infrastructure, private equity and credit. Bioenergy Devco creates renewable, carbon-negative energy by recycling organic waste using its proven anaerobic digestion technology.
Venture Capital: Swedish Battery Startup Northvolt Produces Lithium-Ion Battery Using Recycled Materials
What will happen to the approximately 250,000 tons of batteries that will reach their end-of-life in Europe alone by 2030? Swedish battery startup Northvolt has the answer: recycle them. Northvolt announced today the successful production of its first battery cell made of 100% recycled nickel, manganese and cobalt.
Venture Capital: Indonesian Tech Super App GoTo Lands $1.3B In Pre-IPO Funding
Indonesian tech giant GoTo, the product of a merger between ride-hailing-to-payments firm Gojek and e-commerce leader Tokopedia, now has a range of businesses across e-commerce, ride-hailing and financial services in the world’s fourth most populous country. It announced Thursday its raise of more than US$1.3 billion in a pre-IPO round led by the ABU Dhabi Investment Authority.
Venture Capital: Crowdfunded Ecologi Plants Trees In Return For Your Subscription
Ecologi, which exhorts you to become climate-friendly for less than $2.75 a week, is a platform for climate action, helping individuals, families and businesses become carbon-positive for a subscription. Subscribers can fund carbon reduction projects to offset their footprint and also grow their own virtual forests.
Artificial Intelligence: AI Chipmaker Cerebras Scores $250M Series F Round
Cerebras Systems, which is building a new class of computers to accelerate artificial intelligence work by orders of magnitude beyond what is currently possible, announced Wednesday its close of a $250 million Series F round led by Alpha Wave Ventures along with Abu Dhabi Growth Fund (ADG). Other bulge bracket investors included Altimeter Capital, Benchmark Capital, Coatue Management, Eclipse Ventures, Moore Strategic Ventures, and VY Capital.
FinTech: MFS Africa Raises $100M To Make Payments As Easy As Calls
MFS Africa announced today its $ 100 million Series C fundraising for a massive expansion across Africa. The funding, a mix of $70 million in equity and $30 million in debt, was co-led by private equity fund and new investor AfricInvest along with existing investors Goodwell Investments and LUN Partners Group.
Venture Capital: Population-Scale Healthcare Platform Color Raises $100M
Public health technology platform Color announced Tuesday its Series E funding round of $100 million led by Kindred Ventures and funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. Existing investors General Catalyst, Viking Global Investors, and Emerson Collective also participated.
Venture Capital: Identity Verifying Platform Socure Reels In $450M Series E
Just months after raising a $100 million Series D, Socure, a provider of digital identity verification and fraud solutions announced today its close of a $450 million Series E round led by Accel alongside funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. The latest funding also includes two new investors, Bain Capital Ventures and Tiger Global, as well as participation from existing investors Commerce Ventures, Scale Venture Partners, and Sorenson Ventures.
Artificial Intelligence: Philips Snaps Up Cardiologs For Its AI-Empowered Cardiac Diagnostics
Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG) is making another advance into high technology cardiac diagnostics with its acquisition of Cardiologs, A France-based medical technology company that uses AI and cloud technology for cardiac diagnostics. Philips said the acquisition, the terms of which were not disclosed, was an excellent fit with its existing cardiac care portfolio.
Venture Capital: H2O.ai Raises $100M; Commonwealth Bank Of Australia Buys Stake
H2O, which enables businesses to build AI systems using its cloud-based platform, has raised $100 million in a series E round led by Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) with participation from Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Pivot Investment Partners, Crane Venture Partners, Celesta Capital, and others. CBA acquires an undisclosed stake in H2O and is also its customer.
Venture Capital: [COP26] Scottish Vertical Farms Startup IGS Nabs $57M
Intelligent Growth Solutions, a Scottish agritech startup focused on indoor vertical farming announced its closure of a £42.2 million (US$57 million) Series B round that was supported by new investors including COFRA, Cleveland Avenue and DC Thomson. Existing institutional investors Ospraie Ag Science, S2G Ventures, AgFunder and Scottish Enterprise, with private shareholders and IGS staff also participated in the round, which was hugely oversubscribed.
Venture Capital: Fusion Energy Startup Helion Raises $500M Including $375M From Sam Altman
Helion Energy, which is building the world’s first fusion power plant that would enable a future with unlimited clean electricity, announced a $500 million Series E round led by Sam Altman. Existing investors, including Dustin Moskovitz, Mithril Capital and Capricorn Investment Group, also participated in the round. Altman, who has been an early supporter of Helion and chairman since 2015, invested $375 million in the latest round and will now play an expanded role as executive chairman.
Venture Capital: Brazilian Meat Substitute Startup Future Farm Raises $58M
Future Farm, a Brazilian startup that makes plant-based protein having the taste and texture of real meat, has raised $58 million in a Series C funding round co-led by BTG and Rage Capital. Existing investors also participated, including Monashees, Go4It Capital, Turim MFO and Enfini Ventures, along with new investor XP Inc.
Venture Capital: ClearFlame, Which Enables Low Carbon Fuels In Diesel Engines, Raises $17M
Geneva, Ill.,-based ClearFlame Engine Technologies announced last week its $17 million Series A funding led by Breakthrough Energy Ventures with participation from Mercuria, John Deere and Clean Energy Ventures. ClearFlame has developed engine technology to enable low-carbon and carbon-negative fuels to be integrated into existing diesel engine platforms, offering a more sustainable and cost-effective solution than diesel fuel.
Venture Capital: Low-Profile Digital Currency Group, Which Owns Grayscale, Valued At $10B
Digital Currency Group (DGC), a low-profile, cryptoasset-focused holding company that owns some prize digital businesses, has been valued at $10 billion in a secondary sale of shares. The transaction was led by SoftBank and saw participation by big name investors such as Google’s venture capital arm CapitalG, Ribbit Capital and others.
Venture Capital: Plant-Based Meats Producer Impossible Foods To Raise $500M
Impossible Foods, which makes climate-friendly meats from plants that are nutritious and as good to taste as the real thing, is in discussions for a $500 million raise at a potential valuation of $7 billion, according to Bloomberg.
Venture Capital: “Digital Musculosketal Clinic” Hinge Health Raises $400M Series E
Hinge Health, which relieves back and joint pain through its virtual “Digital Musculoskeletal Clinic,” announced today its raise of $400 million in a Series E round that valued it at $6.2 billion. That valuation is double that of the $3 billion valuation in January’s D round, and about 15 times that of the $420 million valuation in Series C in February 2020. (
Venture Capital: Clinical Trials Platform Medable Lands $304M Funding
Medable Inc, a cloud-based platform that facilitates rapid, decentralized clinical trials, announced its $304 million Series D raise at a valuation of $2.1 billion. The round was co-led by new investors Blackstone Growth and Tiger Global and existing investor GSR Ventures and included follow-on investment from existing investors Sapphire Ventures and WTI.
Venture Capital: Search Engine Ecosia Floats €350M ‘World Fund’ For Climate Tech Ventures
World Fund, a new climate tech venture capital fund intitiated by search engine Ecosia, announced the launch of a €350 million ($405 million) fund that will invest in climate tech startups targeting decarbonization in sectors such as energy, transport, food and agriculture, manufacturing and buildings. (EU-Startups)
Venture Capital: Blackrock CEO Larry Fink Expects Climate Tech To Nurture The Next 1,000 Unicorns
Speaking at the Middle East Green Initiative Summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Larry Fink, the CEO and Chairman of Blackrock (NYSE: BLK), said he expected the next 1,000 unicorns (startups valued over $1 billion) to emerge from climate tech areas such as green hydrogen, green agriculture, green steel, and green cement.
Venture Capital: Civil Rights Watchdog NAACP Buys Stake In Hello Alice To Help Build Black Wealth
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) announced last week its acquisition of a stake in Hello Alice, an online platform that helps business with resources to launch and grow, and focuses on underrepresented entrepreneurs. Two white women, Carolyn Rodz and Elizabeth Gore, founded venture-backed Hello Alice. NAACP’s investment will advance the startup’s goal to achieve economic equality for Black communities.
FinTech: BNPL For Businesses Provider Billie Scores $100M Series C Funding
Billie, a fintech targeting its BNPL offering at the B2B market, announced today its $100 million Series C raise led by Dawn Capital, and joined by Klarna and Tencent, alongside existing investors Creandum, Speedinvest, Picus and GFC. At $640 million, the startup succeeded in quadrupling its valuation over a previous Series B round that raised $35 million in 2019.
FinTech: Brex Wins ‘Decacorn’ Badge, Scores $300M Raise
Anonymous sources have confirmed to TechCrunch that fintech Brex has signed off on a term sheet for a $300 million fundraise led by Greenoaks and joined by existing investors. The sources said San Francisco-based Brex was valued at $12.3 billion after investors were impressed with its business momentum given that the fintech is expected to double its turnover this year.
Digital Assets: Crypto Exchange FTX Rakes In $420M At $25B Valuation
29-year old billionaire founder and CEO Sam Bankman-Fried is a majority owner of FTX. Just three months after closing a record $900 million Series B round, FTX, the Bahamas-headquartered crypto exchange announced its $420 million Series B-1 raise at a valuation of $25 billion. That valuation is up from $18 billion in July. In Thursday’s…