- Foundry Technologies is in talks to raise money at a valuation of $350 million, a significant increase from its previous valuation of $50 million.
- The increase in valuation highlights the trend of hot companies in the AI sector raising money at rapidly escalating valuations.
- Foundry is one of many AI startups that have experienced a meteoric rise in valuation this year.
- The company plans to rent servers to companies for running AI software.
- The risky pandemic-era fundraising trend of rapidly increasing valuations in short periods of time has returned.
- Coatue Management has raised $331 million for its third fund focused on early-stage startups, which is a third less than its target and its previous early-stage fund.
- This shows that firms that raised large funds during the pandemic investing boom are struggling to meet their fundraising goals or are choosing to raise smaller funds.
- Coatue Management had planned to raise $500 million for its third early-stage fund by the end of 2022 and focus on artificial intelligence startups.
- The recent filing represents an interim close, and the firm expects to raise additional capital for the fund.
- Coatue Management has previously made successful early-stage investments in companies like Figma and Ramp.
The main topic is the Indian logistics startup Shadowfax finalizing a funding round of about $60 million. Key points include:
- TPG's NewQuest is positioning to lead the funding round.
- The round may also include some secondary transactions.
- Shadowfax previously engaged with A91 Partners for funding but talks didn't materialize.
- A deal with NewQuest could close this month.
- Shadowfax has reduced its reliance on its largest customer, Meesho, and has been profitable for the past three months.
- Shadowfax's customers include Myntra, Blinkit, Decathlon, Flipkart, BigBasket, and Practo.
- The startup's logistics network covers over 9,500 zip codes in India and works with over 3 million delivery personnel.
- Shadowfax has raised about $121 million in total.
Main topic: Updates and developments in the digital asset space, including bitcoin spot ETFs and fundraising news.
Key points:
1. Bitcoin spot ETFs are gaining attention, with Europe's first bitcoin spot ETF being listed and the U.S. SEC delaying deadlines for applications.
2. Fundraising news includes BitGo raising $100 million, ZetaChain raising $27 million, ZTX raising $13 million, Dinari raising $7.5 million, and HypeLab raising $4 million.
3. Other articles of interest cover the strong tech jobs market, the potential of the creator economy, the recovery of the pre-seed market, and the need for alignment of product-market fit metrics with company values.
Hint on Elon Musk: The article does not mention Elon Musk.
In July, capital inflows from venture capitalists in the crypto sector decreased by 10.26%, with $700 million raised, as macroeconomic conditions and geopolitical events continued to impact investment decisions, although some notable outliers, such as Polychain Capital and CoinFund, launched new funds totaling millions of dollars, and the potential approval of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the U.S. could bring renewed attention and capital into the industry. Infrastructure and Web3 sectors received the most capital inflows, while overall investor activity in the blockchain industry remained low, suggesting a slow return to a steady upward trend.
The lack of funding for emerging managers in venture capital is impacting early-stage funding opportunities, as VC fundraising decreases and the number of new startups declines, but there is a slight thaw in exits via public markets with promising IPOs from companies like Cava.
Venture capital firm Vessel Capital has launched a $55 million fund to invest in Web3 infrastructure and applications, aiming to assist early-stage crypto founders in launching and growing their projects by providing guidance and advice. The fund's resources will be deployed over a five-year period, and the team's experience as startup founders will enable them to better understand entrepreneurs' needs.
Five crypto and blockchain-based companies raised a total of $24 million this week, with notable fundraises including $13 million for bitcoin mining company Nodal Power and $5 million for crypto lender Maple Finance.
Analysts predict that several cryptocurrencies, including InQubeta, Polygon, NEAR Protocol, Sei, and Hedera, have the potential to grow by 1500% in 2023, with InQubeta standing out due to its unique platform that connects AI startups with investors and its impressive growth in the presale stage.
ARK Invest CEO Cathie Wood predicts that the market capitalization of cryptocurrencies will increase by over 2,100% in less than seven years, driven by institutional investment and the potential approval of a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), with the total crypto market cap potentially reaching $25 trillion by 2030.
Crypto funding in August appeared promising with a $819 million investment, but without two large funding rounds, it would have actually shown a decline from July and a significant decline from the same time last year, reflecting a continuing slowdown in the industry.
Global venture funding in August 2023 reached $22 billion, a 19% increase from the previous month but a 16% decrease from July 2022, with late-stage funding experiencing a year-over-year increase for the first time in 18 months, according to Crunchbase data. However, early-stage funding nearly halved and seed funding was down by around one-third compared to the previous year, while deal counts in August 2023 were almost half of the previous year. The largest fundings were in transportation, sustainability, and biotechnology, and the hope for the startup funding landscape lies in upcoming IPOs of well-funded venture-backed companies.
Web3 venture capitalists have established a $20 million fund to invest in blockchain gaming and collectibles projects, as well as other Web3 initiatives.
Mirae Asset Securities, South Korea's largest financial group, is partnering with Ethereum scaling platform Polygon Labs to promote tokenization in finance and drive the adoption of Web3 technologies. Through the collaboration, Mirae aims to establish itself as a global leader in tokenized securities, bringing real-world assets onto the blockchain. Tokenization projects have already been initiated by other financial giants, and the industry is projected to grow significantly, reaching $16.1 trillion by 2030. The partnership is expected to accelerate the adoption of Web3 technologies in the financial sector and enhance interoperability with foreign financial systems.
Crypto projects are actively seeking funds from private investors, according to Chris Burniske, the founder of Placeholder Capital, who believes that private investors will enter the space once the crypto markets show signs of strength.
Venture capital funding has significantly declined, with global funding nearly half of what it was last year, leading to a shift towards AI funds; however, the overall VC market is still far from its peak in 2021-2022, as higher interest rates and supply chain shortages create an unfavorable environment for investors.
Artificial intelligence and analytics firm Databricks has raised over $500 million in a Series I funding round, including strategic investor Nvidia, as it prepares for an anticipated IPO and expands its partnership with Nvidia to focus on generative AI. The fundraising round values Databricks at $43 billion and positions it as the eighth-most valuable private company globally. The company is closely monitoring the IPO market but will not be quick to go public, waiting for the macro environment to stabilize.
The crypto industry experienced significant capital outflows of $55 billion in August, leading to a liquidity crunch that allows isolated events to have a greater impact on prices and market movements, according to an analysis from Bitfinex.
Germany's blockchain sector received $355 million in venture capital funding, marking a 3% yearly increase and achieving an all-time high share of global funding in 2023, despite a decline in the global blockchain market, according to a report by Crypto Valley Venture Capital (CVVC).
Saudi Aramco's venture capital subsidiary, Wa'ed Venture, co-led a $52 million funding round for Mighty Buildings, a US-based construction technology startup known for its 3D printing technology in creating environmentally friendly and climate-resilient homes, with the funds dedicated to expanding its factory footprint in North America and entering new markets, including Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Additionally, Saudi Arabia's online marketplace Barakah raised $1.5 million in seed funding to expand its surplus food management operations, while Saudi Venture Capital invested $5 million in a fintech fund managed by UAE-based VentureSouq, focusing on early-stage fintech startups. Furthermore, logistics startup Equiptal secured $1 million in pre-seed funding to expand its team and market presence in Saudi Arabia.
Blockchain Capital has raised $580 million for two new funds, with $380 million allocated for early-stage companies and protocols, and $200 million for late-stage investments, indicating continued investor interest despite the subdued state of the digital asset market.
Israeli cybersecurity startup Legit Security has raised $40 million in a Series B funding round led by US venture capital firm CRV to help businesses protect their AI-based applications from cyberthreats and security breaches. The funds will be used to boost sales, R&D, and address the emerging threat posed by AI and large language models in application development.
