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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Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) and its venture finance arm Lockheed Martin Ventures plans to boost the latter’s investment outlay from $200 million to $400 million.
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More Stories on Venture Capital
Venture Capital: Indian Startup SolarSquare Raises $4M Including From Chris Sacca’s Lowercarbon Capital
SolarSquare, a startup based in Mumbai, India, that aims to make clean energy affordable and accessible to homes across India, has raised a $4 million funding round led by Good Capital, with participation from US-based Lowercarbon Capital, Singapore-based Symphony Asia, and Nithin Kamath’s Rainmatter.
Venture Capital: Brown Foods, Maker Of Alternative Milk From Cell Culture, Nabs $2.36M Seed Round
Alternative milk creator Brown Foods, which recently graduated from startup accelerator Y Combinator, has raised a $2.36 million seed round backed by AgFunder, SRI Capital, Amino Capital, Collaborative Fund, a group of individual angel investors, and Y Combinator itself.
Artificial Intelligence: Shield AI, The Defense Tech Company Creating AI Pilots, Lands $165M
Shield AI is a defense-tech company that is developing autonomous software to enable collaborative teams of unmanned aircraft to operate in GPS- and RF-denied environments. The startup announced Thursday its S165 million Series E fundraising that achieved a valuation of $2.3 billion.
Venture Capital: Andreessen Horowitz Is Lead Investor In SCiFi Foods Series A
SCiFi Foods, a food tech startup is creating beef using both plant-based and real cultivated beef cells, has raised a $22 million Series A round led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z). The company was founded in 2019 by Joshua March, CEO, and Kasia Gora, CTO
Venture Capital: Insurtech Branch Lands $147M, Joins Unicorn Club
Home and auto insurance provider Branch uses data and technology to make its products better and more affordable for all. The insurtech announced today its $147 million Series C funding led by Watherford Capital with participation by new and existing investors including Acrew, AmFam Ventures, Anthemis, Gaingels, Greycroft, HSCM Ventures, Narya, SignalFire, and Tower IV.
Venture Capital: Ecuadorian Payments Platform Kushki Raises $100M In Extended Round, Turns Unicorn
Kushki, the Ecuadorian platform facilitating digital payments for LatAm businesses, announced it had raised $100 million in an extended Series B round at a valuation of $1.5 billion. New and existing investors including Kaszek Ventures, Clocktower Ventures, SoftBank Latin America Fund and DILA Capital among others participated in the round.
Venture Capital: AI And Robotics Powered, “Weeding As A Service” Provider FarmWise Nabs $45M
FarmWise, a startup founded in 2016 by Sebastien Boyer and Thomas Palomares using technology they worked on while working in MIT and Stanford Computer, makes a machine that kills weeds without using chemicals. The company raised a $45m Series B funding round, led by AgTech venture firms Fall Line Capital and Middleland Capital, with participation from GV and Taylor Farms. Existing investors Calibrate Ventures, Playground Global, SVG Ventures and the venture arm of Wilbur Ellis also participated.
Venture Capital: Upskilling Platform Guild Lands $175M Series F At A Valuation Of $4.4B
Upskilling platform Guild Education observes that 63% of workers quit their jobs and seek new employment citing a lack of opportunity for advancement; further, about 76% feel they are unequipped with the skills needed for success in the future of work. Successful employers recognize these difficulties and connect with Guild to bridge the gaps. Guild announced a $175 million Series F fundraising round that will expand its role as a Career Opportunity Platform and help America’s workforce gravitate towards dynamic, in-demand sectors.
Digital Assets: Gemini, The Crypto Exchange Founded By The Winklevoss Twins, Lays Off 10% Of Staff
Gemini blamed the crypto winter as well as the macroeconomic and geopolitical turmoil for the decision. In a note to employees this morning, Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, CEO and President, Gemini, communicated their “difficult but necessary decision to part ways with approximately 10% of our workforce.” Gemini will close all of its physical offices today…
Venture Capital: Bonfire Lands Over $230M For Funding Seed-Stage B2B Software Startups
Bonfire Ventures announced this week the close of its third core seed fund at $168 million, and its second opportunity fund, at $63 million. Bonfire specializes in funding B2B software companies at seed stage, with over 99% of its investments going to that sector; notably, the failure rate in the space is high, and getting from Seed to Series A happens for less than 33% of all companies. Yet, over 85% of Bonfire companies have received follow-on capital, raising over $1.15 billion cumulatively.
Venture Capital: Fast-Growing Fintech And Mega Insurance Broker Acrisure Raises $725 Million
Acrisure, the fast-growing fintech and operator of a global top-10 insurance broker, has raised $725 million via Series B-2 Preferred Equity round led by a wholly owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA). Also participating were Guggenheim Investments on behalf of certain clients and Oak Hill Advisors.
Venture Capital: Ex-Disney CEO Bob Iger Buys Stake In Canva, Agrees To Be Advisor
Australian graphic design startup Canva is welcoming aboard Bob Iger, former CEO at Disney (NYSE: DIS), as an investor and advisor. The size of Iger’s investment has not been disclosed. “We’re incredibly excited to welcome Bob Iger as an investor and advisor,” said Canva spokesman Lachlan Andrews in a statement. “Bob brings a wealth of experience after 15 years at the helm of one of the most loved and most creative brands in the world and we’re looking forward to working with him.”
FinTech: B2B Fintech Mondu Scores $43M Series A Led By Peter Thiel’s Valar Ventures
Mondu, a Berlin-based fintech startup eyeing a BNPL product for businesses, has raised $43 million in a Series A round led by Peter Thiel’s Valar Ventures. Other participants in the funding included existing investors Cherry Ventures and FinTech Collective alongside angels from leadership at Klarna, Zalando and SumUp.
Venture Capital: Vertical Farming Company Bowery Opens Latest Farm In Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
Bowery’s new vertical farm stands on a brownfield site that was part of Bethlehem Steel’s operations. It will create 70 new jobs in the area, and is strategically located to be able to provide locally grown and pesticide free produce to millions of people in the Northeast of America. Bowery is the largest vertical farming company in the country.
Venture Capital/Digital: Andreessen Horowitz Wraps Up $4.5B For Crypto Fund IV
Silicon Valley-based, storied, venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz announced a new $4.5 billion fund to back startups in the crypto, or web3 space. Computing is now entering the golden era of web3, the firm feels, akin to the golden era of 2009-11, when companies like Uber, Venmo, Snap, and Instagram were started. “That’s why we decided to go big,” wrote Founder and Managing Partner Chris Dixon in the fund announcement.
Alternative Investments/Digital/VC/RealEstate: VC To Be Bitcoin’s Saviour, Prefer Crypto To Real Estate (JP Morgan)
JPMorgan said in a research report Wednesday that despite the fallout from the Terra/Luna collapse, the crypto market would be saved from a “winter” by venture capital, and that bitcoin could rebound to its fair value of $38,000 after a “capitulation” in recent weeks. That implies an upside of about 28% from bitcoin’s current price of $29,618.
Venture Capital/ESG: Adam Neumann Co-Founded Flowcarbon Raises $70M Via VC Funding And Token Sale
Flowcarbon, co-founded by Adam Neumann, known for WeWork, is a climate technology company seeking to formalize the market for carbon offsets on the blockchain. The startup announced Tuesday its $70 million fundraise comprising token sales and a $32 million Series A round led by a16z crypto and including General Catalyst, Samsung Next, Invesco Private Capital, 166 2nd, Sam and Ashley Levinson, Kevin Turen, RSE Ventures, and Allegory Labs. Notable names that participated in the token sale included Fifth Wall, Box Group, and the Celo Foundation.
Digital Assets: Swiss Venture Firm CV VC Launches African Blockchain Early-Stage Fund; Issues African Blockchain Report
CV VC announced Monday at Davos the launch of its African Blockchain Early-Stage Fund to bring the advantages of the blockchain and its own expertise to enable Africa to transact and interact for the well-being of its people and economies.
Venture Capital: Rapid Delivery Service Gorillas Lays Off 320 Employees, Mulls Withdrawal From A Few EU Countries
Gorillas, the delivery startup that made waves with its nearly $1 billion Series C funding round in October, has redrawn its growth plans with an eye, instead, on long term profitability. As a result, it is letting go of about 300 employees worldwide and looking at “strategic options” for its operations in Italy, Spain, Denmark and Belgium.
Venture Capital: Big-Ticket Funding Rounds In Fintechs
Fast-growing, Southeast Asia-focused payments infrastructure platform Xendit closed on a US$300 million Series D funding co-led by Coatue and Insight Partners with additional investment from Accel, Tiger Global, Kleiner Perkins, EV Growth, Amasia, Intudo, and Justin Kan’s Goat Capital. BaaS platform Unit announced a $100 million Series C led by Jeff Horing of Insight Partners, with participation from existing investors Accel, Better Tomorrow Ventures, and Flourish, as well as new investors Stepstone, Moving Capital (Uber alumni syndicate), and prominent fintech angels.
Venture Capital: Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) Launches $600M Venture Fund For The ‘Future Of Games’
Andreessen Horowitz (a.k.a. a16z) has launched a $600 million venture fund focused on the games industry and the next generation of games builders. “Long term, we believe games infrastructure and technologies will be key building blocks of the Metaverse, an opportunity that dwarfs the current $300 billion game industry itself,” the firm said.
Venture Capital: Al Gore-Led Generation Investment Launches $1.7B Sustainability Fund
ESG-focused Generation Investment, which has $36 billion of assets under management, on Wednesday launched a $1.7 billion fund titled Sustainable Solutions Fund IV. This fund, the largest so far from Generation, plans to “invest $50 million to $150 million as active minority investors in high-growth companies that are shifting industries toward sustainability.”
Venture Capital: Revolut Co-Founder Nik Storonsky Takes Aim At “Clubby” Venture Capitalism With Own VC Fund
Nikolai Storonsky, the billionaire co-founder of fintech and challenger bank Revolut, is building his own AI-powered venture fund to remove the element of “crowd mentality” in current day venture financing. It’s a clubby world driven by relationships, and a sitting target for disruption, in his view.
Venture Capital: Inflection, The AI Lab Founded Just This Year, Raises $225M
Inflection AI was founded earlier this year by DeepMind co-founder Mustafa Suleyman, LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, and Karen Simonyan, a British computer scientist and researcher also from Google DeepMind. The company’s AI intends to make it possible to communicate with computers using the same natural, conversational language that we use to converse with people. Inflection raised $225 million from unnamed investors. The valuation was not disclosed either.