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
FinTech: Banking Challenger Penta Raises €18.5M
Penta is a Berlin-based business banking startup bank focusing on small and medium-sized enterprises. Also operating in Italy, Penta was acquired in 2019 by Finleap, the co-founder of solarisBank. In the same year, Penta acquired Beesy, an Italian micro-business banking startup, and started operating an office in Milan. It raised €18.5 million in a funding round.
Venture Capital: (Coronavirus) How Gig Economy Companies Do NOT Flatten the Curve
According to Edward Ongweso Jr and Jason Koebler, writing in Vice/Motherboard, gig economy companies are a public health risk. The business models of companies such as Uber (NYSE: UBER) and Lyft (NASDAQ: LYFT) depend upon workers characterized as independent contractors (not employees). This practice flies under the regulatory radar, and as a result, these hapless workers are generally uninsured, or at best underinsured. They work long hours, regardless of the risk from the coronavirus pandemic – to themselves, or their ride-hailers.
FinTech: Lifetise, A Financial Planning Platform, is Crowdfunding on Seedrs
Caroline Hughes was recently crowned a “Standout 35 Star” by Innovate Finance and included in its annual Women in Fintech Powerlist. Her Lifeties startup is raising £250,001 on crowdfunding platform Seedrs through issue of 5.88% equity at a pre-money valuation of £3,999,888. The startup has already raised a sum of £179,889.
Venture Capital: Reddit Co-founder Ohanian “@Initializes” Billboards in Times Square
On Saturday, passersby in New York’s Times Square may have been bemused to see a billboard saying “Staying home means saving lives,” with the hashtag “#FlattenTheCurve” at the bottom. Said billboard was purchased by Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian to slow down the spread of the virus.
Venture Capital: A Robotics Startup That Lived To Tell The Tale
Denmark-based Blue Ocean Robotics, led by Claus Risager, is selling hundreds of hospital robots to China to aid in the country’s battle against the coronavirus. At €60,000 each (US$67,000), the UVD robots glide around hospitals and healthcare facilities beaming UV light to destroy bacteria and viruses.
Venture Capital: Nissan Motors to Bails Out of Venture Fund With Auto Partners
Nissan Motor Company is reportedly exiting a venture capital fund it operates with several auto alliance partners. Reports indicate that the Japanese auto maker is looking to cut costs and preserve cash. The fund’s other partners are Mitsubishi Motors and Renault.
Venture Capital: New Enterprise Associates (NEA) Raises $3.6 Billion For Its Latest, And Biggest Fund
New Enterprise Associates Inc (NEA) closed on $3.6 billion in its largest fund so far. As in the past, the fund will invest most of the money in early-stage companies at various levels of growth. The 42-year old VC firm said the funding had brought its committed capital to nearly $24 billion.
Venture Capital: Life Sciences Partners Raises $600M in Record European VC Haul
Venture capital group Life Science Partners (LSP) just closed its sixth investment fund targeting European life science companies. The $600 million (€529 million) raising is said to be the largest of its kind in Europe. Certainly, it is large enough to be 80% of the combined size of LSP’s five previous funds.
Venture Capital: African Startups’ Identity Crisis
More and more African founders are choosing to incorporate their startups outside Africa. Which raises the question: Can a startup founded and operating in Africa but domiciled abroad be called an African startup? Tom Jackson explores this issue in an article published in DISRUPT-Africa.
FinTech: Payments Startup Finix Gains $21M as Investor Sequoia Walks Away
In a somewhat dramatic turn of events Sequoia has bailed from its Finix investment, on grounds of conflict of interest with its investment in payment processor Stripe. Sequoia’s action is especially significant given that it has never backed out of a committed investment in its 48-year history.
Venture Capital: Tech Startups – 2020 Will Separate the Men From the Boys
As this is being written, markets are in a blue funk from the global coronavirus epidemic. US markets are not yet open, but a black and bloody Monday is already on the cards. Bitcoin is down nearly 9% to $8,000, crude oil at one point was down over 30% to $28, and S&P500 futures are down nearly 5% to 2,817. Global markets are in crisis mode.
Tech startups will now have to confront a new reality stemming from the coronavirus and its black swan impact. A venture environment without the tailwinds from ebullient financial markets.
FinTech: Challenger Bank Chime’s Latest Raising Stands at $700 Million
Neo, or ‘app-only’ bank Chime is a new breed of ‘zero-fees’ fintechs that are giving traditional banks a run for their money.
Branchless, fintech startup Chime is enjoying startling growth in the number of customer accounts. It’s no surprise that it’s also well-funded. Its latest funding round that commenced in November 2019 has secured $700 million from 25 investors.
Venture Capital: Sequoia Capital Sounds Alarms About “Black Swan” Coronavirus
Sequoia Capital issued a huge alarm this week in a memo to founders and the CEOs of its portfolio companies. “Coronavirus: The Black Swan of 2020” discusses the impact of falling business activity, supply chain disruptions, and travel challenges. “With lives at risk, we hope that conditions improve as quickly as possible,” the memo reads. “In the interim, we should brace ourselves for turbulence and have a prepared mindset for the scenarios that may play out. Below is the full version of the letter, which is very relevant to almost any small business or startup in the country.
FinTech: Ant Financial Beefs Up Ties With Klarna; Buys Minority Stake
Ant Financial, which owns the Chinese Alipay payments platform and is an affiliate of e-commerce giant Alibaba (NYSE: BABA), has acquired a small stake in Swedish fintech Klarna.
Klarna, along with app-based challenger bank Revolut, commands a valuation of $5.5 billion. Except for its recent loss in 2019, Klarna has been profitable, which is rare among unicorns. It offers a “buy now, pay later” scheme that offers shoppers interest-free financing over monthly installments.
Venture Capital: Lockheed Ventures Makes Strategic Investment in Ayar Labs
Lockheed Ventures, the venture investment unit of defense conglomerate Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT), invested an undisclosed amount into Ayar Labs. Silicon Valley-based Ayar Labs develops broadband conductors.
Venture Capital: AI-Chipmaker Graphcore Soars To Nearly $2B Valuation
The bristol-based startup, Graphcore, which makes chips for AI, raised $150 million in a D2 round at a valuation of $1.95 billion.
Graphcore’s current valuation improves on the $1.7 billion value the chipmaker garnered in December 2018 when it raised $200 million in a D round.
Venture Capital: About Corporate Venture Capitalism
More and more companies are using their cash piles to take a punt on venture capitalism. It’s par for the course for seasoned tech giants like Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) and Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL), but now non-techs too are taking the plunge. The motives for corporate VC – both profits and excitement.
Venture Capital: The Virus Deals A Body Blow To Chinese Startups
Chinese startups are facing a massive cash crunch following the coronavirus outbreak. With personal meetings placed on hold due to fears of contagion, it has become difficult for venture capitalists to assess the progress of projects and their funding requirements. It’s got so bad that VCs have shelved even signed deals with committed capital, preferring to wait until the situation becomes clearer.
FinTech: South African Fintech Jumo Secures US$55M in Goldman Sachs-Led Round
Jumo secures US$55M in Goldman Sachs-led round. It will use the funds to expand into new markets and launch in Africa and Asia. Odey Asset Management and Leapfrog Investments participated alongside Goldman Sachs as existing investors.
There were new, unnamed investors, but Jumo did not reveal details of their identities, what stake they had taken in the fintech and whether they invested in debt or equity.
Venture Capital: VCs, Wake Up And Smell The ClimateTech Coffee
Andrew Chung, of 1955 Capital, says climate change is the perfect storm.
A huge market is shaping up around ClimateTech, a category of solutions that enable governments, companies, and individuals to combat climate change. There is a sudden shift in investors’ preference for sustainable and climate-friendly companies and products. The once uncared for and given-up-for-dead moniker, “CleanTech,” could become a $4.3 trillion market by 2030 in its new avatar as “ClimateTech.”
Venture Capital: SambaNova Systems Raises $250M for Its AI Systems Platform
SambaNova Systems, whose founders are the crème-de-la-crème of Silicon Valley, raised $250 million in a Series C funding. The startup is at the cutting edge of AI and large-scale computing. It is dedicated to developing “the industry’s most advanced systems platform to run artificial intelligence (AI) and data-intensive applications.”
Venture Capital: Salesforce Snaps Up CRM Startup Vlocity For $1.33B
Salesforce snaps up CRM startup Vlocity for $1.33B. Vlocity builds CRM systems that are industry-specific, cloud and mobile-based. Vlocity’s industry solutions are communications, media and entertainment, insurance and financial services, health, energy and utilities, and government and nonprofits.
FinTech: Revolut’s Valuation Surges to $5.5B in Latest $500M ‘D’ Round
Mobile-based neobank and a digital provider of financial services, Revolut just raised $500 million in its ‘D’ round led by TCV. Though it is yet to report a profit, Revolut now ranks as one of the most highly valued startups worldwide.
Private Equity: PE Shops are Going on a Startup Spending Spree, Says Pitchbook
A new Pitchbook report shows that private equity shops are snapping up an interesting alternative investment. Flush with dry powder, PE shops have been snapping up VC-backed startups, according to a report from Pitchbook.