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
Ori Living gets $20 million funding led by Alphabet’s Sidewalk Labs
Ori’s robotic furniture and interiors can be moved around to optimize a small living space
In the picture above, a bed that concealed in the ceiling is lowering itself down to the floor. At night, the living room space easily converts to a bedroom.
Optimization of living space in smaller dwellings will be crucial in increasingly overcrowded cities. According to UN estimates, by 2050, two-thirds of the world population of 10 billion people will live in cities.
Ori, a Boston-based start-up, makes furniture that is compact, portable, and concealable within a small living area. Its space optimization solutions are useful to homeowners, builders, and interior decorators.
Softbank Having Second Thoughts About the WeWork IPO
SoftBank, a significant investor in WeWork, wants the shared workspace company to postpone its IPO
What a comedown. WeWork was last valued at $47 billion earlier this year when SoftBank invested $2 billion. But investors are unlikely to give the company a valuation of more than $15 billion to $20 billion, sources said.
Alternative Investment Fund Launches and Updates – September 3, 2019
Investment fund launches for September 3, 2019. First up, venture capital firm Golden Gate Ventures has filed to launch a $200 million fund in partnership with South Korea’s Hanwha Asset Management. The Singapore-based VC fund also said it will focus on Series B startups in the Southeast Asian region. Next, Hosen Capital is seeking $750…
Indian B2B online marketplace Udaan raises $373.5 million in Series D
Altimeter Capital, GGV Capital, and Hillhouse Capital, besides existing investors DST Global and Lightspeed Venture Partners, participated in the funding.
The funding round places Udaan’s valuation at $2.3 billion.
Udaan holds the record for being the fastest Indian startup to make it to the prized ‘unicorn’ status. It achieved that mark in September 2018 when it raised $225 million.
Baton Systems Raises $12 Million in Series A Round
Trinity Ventures leads round with participation from Alsop Louie and Commerce Ventures Baton Systems has raised more than $12 million. The provider of high-speed, blockchain-inspired, bank-to-bank payments infrastructure, aims to increase processing times in the $2 trillion payments market. “This investment provides us with the strategic support and firepower to scale our bank-to-bank payment solution…
ThoughtSpot, an AI-powered, Data Analytics Startup, Raises $248 Million
The latest funding round takes Thoughtspot’s valuation to $1.95 billion and total funding to $554 million
Thoughtspot, which was founded in 2012 by Indian-origin tech entrepreneurs, is a US-based data analytics provider that uses artificial intelligence in its operations.
Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund Exits Stake in Facebook.
The Founders Fund, which backed Facebook from its earliest days, has exited its stake in the social media company. The decision was part of a broader plan from the venture capital firm’s trading partner. The announcement came in an SEC filing on Monday, Reuters reports. Thiel now owns 63,550 Class A shares both independently and…
Industrious – a WeWork rival – Raises $80 in Latest Round
The coworking rival just raised money… but the bigger threat to WeWork is profitability in 2020 Industrious, a U.S. coworking firm, announced it has raised another $80 million in a recent Series D round. Since inception, the firm has raised $222 million in capital. Even more important, the company claims it will be profitable during the…
Pre-Owned Clothing Startup ThredUp Raises $ 175 million
ThredUp, which calls itself the “world’s largest fashion resale marketplace,” has now raised a total of $ 306.1 million
The latest funding round was led by Park West Asset Management and Irving Investors. The company also revealed that it had previously received another $ 75 million investment, but had not disclosed it.
Softbank Will Loan $ 20 billion to Employees to Invest in Vision Two Fund
With investors not exactly lining up to park money in his second Vision Fund, Softbank head honcho Masayoshi Son plans to loan money to employees to invest in it
This is a highly unusual move by Son, aimed to garner subscription of as much as 20% of the $ 108 billion targeted raise for the second avatar of the mega-Vision Fund.
However, even in the original Vision Fund, which had a target of $ 100 billion, employees were given loans to subscribe to $ 8 billion of that amount.
Softbank Vision Fund Makes its Maiden Investment in an Energy Firm
Softbank’s Vision Fund, known for its massive bets on tech companies such as Uber, WeWork and Slack, has invested $110 million in Swiss energy startup Energy Vault.
Energy Vault pioneered the storage of renewable energy using recycled concrete blocks built into a tower.
Why Investors are Flocking to Private Markets Despite the Risk
There is a gush of inflows into venture capital and other alternative investments as investors crave better returns and lower correlation to a toppy Wall Street
Institutional investors have been upping their allocations to alternative investments in the face of diminishing returns and recessionary fears from traditional markets.
“The incentives for early exposure to rapidly growing, mature companies are still intact,” PitchBook senior manager Garrett James Black said in the firm’s 2019 Unicorn Report. “Unicorns aren’t going away anytime soon.”
Tiger Global: Pedal to the metal on investing in Indian startups
Tiger Global Management, the hedge fund that made a multi-bagger call on Indian startup Flipkart, is again stalking the Indian startup scene.
According to reports, Tiger Global has closed investments in at least half of the dozen startups that it recently evaluated.
Venture capital funding in healthcare AI pops in Q2
Venture capital funding continues to rise in the healthcare artificial intelligence space A new report from CB Insight shows that venture capital investment surged in startups for healthcare artificial and mental health and wellness. Funding for both sectors hit new records in the second quarter. During the first half of the year, investment in healthcare companies…
“Venture Capital” Investor Tanmaya Kabra Busted for Alleged Ponzi Scheme
Prosecutors say a 25-year-old he used investors’ money to buy a boat and pay off credit cards. Tanmaya Kabra told clients he was a Venture Capital investor and serial entrepreneur. He ran a company called Launchbyte.IO that – on the surface – invested in tech startups as venture capital funds do. Kabra allegedly told investors…
eFront: VC return multiples touch record high in Q4 2018
According to eFront’s latest Quarterly Private Equity Performance Returns report, 2018 was a landmark year for VC performance. A favourable exit environment enabled VC funds to cash out in shorter time frames with high returns and low risk.
Former professional cyclist Lance Armstrong in new avatar as venture capitalist
Lance Armstrong, along with California-resident Canadian Lionel Conacher, has embarked on a career as a venture capitalist through their firm Next Ventures LP.
Next Ventures is headquartered in Austin, Texas, where Armstrong, presently a resident of Aspen, Colorado, still has business ties.
Next raises $24.5 million
Ontario Teachers’ goes high-tech with investment in Elon Musk’s SpaceX
Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan eyes growth in satellite-based broadband
The Teachers’ Innovation Platform, a part of the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, will invest an undisclosed amount in SpaceX, the rocket company founded by Elon Musk.
The Chinese Venture Capital market hits a roadblock
After a five-year run of growth, VC investments have tumbled
During the second quarter of 2019, venture capital deals in China fell 77% to US$9.4 billion.
This is the first time in five years that venture capital investment has trended lower in China.
Sony breaks with tradition, ties up with Daiwa Securities to launch VC fund
In the tech world, sectors such as robotics, AI, and fintech are growing at a blistering pace.
How does a manufacturer, such as Sony, keep tabs on these emerging technologies? At stake is the risk of disruption and survival of its own current businesses, as well as the prospect of huge gains from backing the ‘next thing’ at the right time.
Sony found a way – find a deep-pocketed financial partner such as Daiwa Securities and create a venture capital (VC) fund.
Panacea and Atlantic-Pacific Close Oversubscribed Healthcare Fund
The Panacea Venture Healthcare Fund I, which targeted $150 million, succeeded in mobilizing $180.5 million from a host of global institutional investors, including endowments, foundations, sovereign wealth funds, pension programs, consultants, fund-of-funds, asset managers and family offices.
Venture Capital: Dexai Robotics Raises $5.5M To Develop Alfred, an Aspiring Robotic Chef
Dexai Robotics addresses the labor shortage in the restaurant industry by developing AI-powered robotics for commercial kitchens. It raised $5.5 million in a seed round led by Hyperplane Venture Capital.
New investors in the startup included Rho Capital, Harlem Capital, Contour Venture Partners, and NextView Ventures.