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: VCs GGV And TCV Announce Multi-Billion Dollar Fund Hauls
A lot of money from pandemic related stimulus measures appears to be sloshing around in the system. According to one opinion, some of that is headed for VC funds. TCV, the eminent Silicon Valley VC firm, raised $4 billion for its 11th fund, its biggest yet. GGV announced Thursday that its latest funds attracted investment worth $2.52 billion in its largest-ever raising.
Venture Capital: Travel and Experiences Operator Klook Notches $200M
Hong Kong-based, SoftBank-backed Klook, an online travel agency focused on experiences and attractions, has raised $200 million in a Series E round. Led by Aspex Management, the round also featured investment by existing investors, such as Sequoia Capital China, Softbank Vision Fund 1, Matrix Partners China, and Boyu Capital. The company did not disclose its valuation.
Venture Capital: Matrix Partners China Raises $1.2B For Sixth Fund
Matrix Partners China, an affiliate of Matrix Partners, the U.S. venture capital firm, has raised $1.2 billion for its sixth China fund according to an SEC filing. It is an early-stage investor in Chinese startups in tech, TMT, Internet, mobile and healthcare sectors.
FinTech: Kamath’s Rainmatter VC Incubator Mulling Alternative Investment Fund
Indian entrepreneur Nikhil Kamath, who achieved fame and fortune by bootstrapping Zerodha, India’s first discount broker, to unicorn status, is setting up a fund for investing in fintechs. Rainmatter, Kamath’s VC arm, is considering the launch of an Alternate Investment Fund that would be open to Gulf investors, and as well invest in startups in that region.
Artificial Intelligence: Aerobotics Raises $17M In Naspers-Led Round
Cape Town-based Aerobotics, a startup that uses AI for the management of orchards, yield, pest and disease, and problem tree identification, raised $17 million. The oversubscribed Series B round was led by VC giant Naspers with participation from Platform Investment Partners, FMO: Entrepreneurial Development Bank, and Cathay AfricInvest Innovation.
Digital Assets: Corporates Dip-Buy Bitcoin; Marathon Invests $150M
In one stroke, Marathon Patent Group (NASDAQ: MARA), a crypto mining company, has pivoted to become a listed, pure-play option for investors seeking a proxy investment for bitcoin. The company announced today that it had bought 4,812.66 BTC at an aggregate purchase price of $150 million through NYDIG, the bitcoin-dedicated, financial and technology services company.
Venture Capital: Finnish Retail Delivery Startup Wolt Bulks Up On Cash With $530M Raise
Finnish food-to-grocery delivery startup Wolt is going all-out to achieve a huge cash pile, double and down on growth in all its verticals. It also has an IPO, perhaps in 2022, in its sights.
Venture Capital: Travel And Spend Management Platform TripActions Scores $155M Round
TripActions, a cloud-based solution for business travel and expense management utilized by 4,000 companies across the globe, announced Thursday its Series E funding of $155 million. The round was co-led by existing investor Andreessen Horowitz; Addition, founded by Lee Fixel; and investor Elad Gil. Existing investors Zeev Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and Greenoaks Capital also participated.
Venture Capital: iSTOX Scores $50M In Series A Round To Democratize PE Investing
iSTOX, a digital securities platform announced today that it closed a Series A round of $50 million that included commitments from two new government-backed investors from Japan. The company will use the money to expand its operations across the globe and to broaden the scope of its investment offerings.
Venture Capital: EV Startup Rivian Rakes In $2.65B At A $27.6B Valuation
Electric truck maker Rivian, which is backed by Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) and Ford (NYSE: F), announced it has received funding of $2.65 billion. The company, which is starting production this summer, said funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. led the round. Fidelity Management and Research Company, Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund, Coatue, and D1 Capital Partners as well as several other existing and new investors also took part.
Venture Capital: Bill Gates-Backed, CleanTech VC Raises $1B
Breakthrough Energy Ventures (BEV) is a venture capital firm that invests in cleantech. The term describes companies (or technologies) that aim to improve environmental sustainability including the negative impact of conventional technologies such as coal-fired power. It was established in 2015 by Bill Gates and a coalition of private investors concerned about climate change. The firm has just raised $1 billion (its second raise of that amount) from unnamed investors.
Venture Capital: SoftBank And Hughes Invest $400M In Satellite Internet Operator OneWeb
A consortium of investors including India’s Bharti Global and the UK government acquired OneWeb in bankruptcy proceedings. The latest investment, comprising $350 million from SoftBank (TYO:9984) and Echostar (NASDAQ: SATS) owned Hughes Network Systems, will allow OneWeb to continue the deployment of its initial 648-satellite constellation.
Venture Capital: Tiger Global Is Raising Its Thirteenth $3.75B Venture Fund
According to an exclusive report by TechCrunch, Tiger Global Management is raising its thirteenth venture fund. The $3.75 billion fund is named Tiger Private Investment Partners XIV, however. TechCrunch cited the firm’s recent investor letter, though a Tiger spokesperson did not comment.
Venture Capital: In Rich Week, Grab, Blend, MX, WeRide And Rapyd Each Score $300M Rounds
Venture capitalists were generous this week, investing $300 million amounts in as many as five startups across multiple geographies. The largesse flowed to Grab Financial, Blend, MX, WeRide, and Rapyd.
Venture Capital: The Pandemic-Triggered Shift To Cloud Boosts Growth At Cockroach Labs
Cockroach Labs, which offers CockroachDB, the leading cloud-native distributed SQL database, says it more than doubled revenues and customers over the past year after the events of 2020 forced businesses to digitize and move to the cloud. Investors poured $160 million into the company’s Series E round, valuing it at an impressive $2 billion.
FinTech: Walmart Will Partner With Ribbit Capital To Create New Fintech
Walmart (NYSE: WMT) announced Monday its launch of a new fintech startup to be created jointly with Ribbit Capital, the investment firm whose mantra is innovation in financial services. Ribbit is a backer of renowned fintechs such as Robinhood, Credit Karma, and Affirm. The new venture will deliver tech-driven financial experiences tailored to Walmart’s customers and associates.
Venture Capital: French Telecom Giant Orange Hives Off Venture Arm
Orange Ventures is among the top ten corporate venture capital funds in Europe. Orange, (EPA: ORA) the French telecom giant, has hived off Orange Ventures, its venture capital business, into a separate new entity and allocated it €350 million. It also decided to hand over the management of its Orange Digital Ventures initiative launched in…
FinTech: SaaS Banking Platform Mambu Scores €110 Million In New Capital
After reporting 100% year-on-year growth, SaaS banking platform Mambu announced a new funding round of €110 million. This round was led by TCV, while additional investment was received from Tiger Global and Arena Holdings, as well as existing investors Bessemer Venture Partners, Runa Capital, and Acton Capital Partners.
Venture Capital: Games Platform Roblox And Cloud Security Developer Lacework Score $500M+ Funding Rounds
The new year is off to a good start with two funding rounds, each over $500 million, announced in its first week. Fast-growing Lacework, which allows companies to build securely in the cloud, closed a $525 million Series D round, earning a valuation tag of more than $1 billion. Online games platform Roblox raised $520 million in a Series H round that valued it at $29.5 billion. Both companies benefited from the digital shifts triggered by the coronavirus pandemic. Altimeter Capital was a lead investor in both companies’ rounds.
Venture Capital: Indian B2B Startup udaan Raises $280M Including From Tencent
udaan, the Indian business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce platform, has scored a solid funding round of $280 million that valued it at $3 billion, post-money. It raised the funds from existing investors that included Chinese internet giant Tencent (HKG: 0700), and venture funds Lightspeed Venture Partners, DST Global, GGV Capital, and Altimeter Capital. Two new investors, Octahedron Capital and Moonstone Capital, also participated in the funding.
Venture Capital: Hinge Health, The Digital Clinic For Back And Joint Pain, Raises $310M
The Series D funding valued the startup at $3 billion post-money – a 6X increase in less than a year.
According to a report by TechCrunch, San-Francisco-based Hinge Health raised $310 million in a Series D round that valued it at $3 billion post-money. Hinge is the first digital clinic for back and joint pain and offers musculoskeletal (MSK) care at every stage from prevention to post-surgery.
FinTech: Spend Management Fintech Divvy Nabs $165M In Series D Round
Big-name, new investors such as Hanaco, PayPal Ventures, Whale Rock, and Schonfeld participated in Divvy’s latest investment round. Previous investors such as NEA, Insight Venture Partners, Acrew, and Pelion also chipped in, catapulting the leader in spend management to unicorn status.
Venture Capital: Population-Scale Healthcare Platform Color Raises $167M At $1.5B Valuation
Color, a startup that works on a population scale in distributed healthcare and clinical testing, announced Monday its raise of $167 million in a Series D round. Led by General Catalyst and funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc., with participation from Viking Global Investors and others, the round tagged Color with a valuation of $1.5 billion.
Venture Capital: Madrona Venture Group Raises Over $500M For Two New Funds
Seattle-based Madrona Venture Group has obtained more than $500 million in the largest-ever fundraising effort in its year history. Madrona has earmarked $345 million out of this capital for its eighth ‘early-stage’ fund targeting 35-to-40 Pacific Northwest tech startups. The balance amount of $160 million is for its second “acceleration fund” to be deployed for later-stage companies in North America.