Startup Monday #20: Latest tech trends and news happening in the global startup ecosystem
Startups, Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain, Venture Capitals, Founders
Early-Stage Startups
Lidar startup goes public, makes founder a billionaire. Luminar founder Austin Russell has become one of the youngest self-made billionaires after his lidar company debuted on public markets on Thursday. Russell, 25, was just 17 when he founded Luminar in 2012. Shares of Luminar rose above $30 a share on Friday, a massive 43 percent gain for the day on top of big gains on Thursday. Read more
Female founders under fire: Are women in the startup world being unfairly targeted? To many in Silicon Valley, the toppling of so many of the industry’s most prominent female founders signals something much bigger and more disconcerting than the usual game of startup musical chairs. Read more
Zephr has raised $8 million in a new funding round led by Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments (owned by media giant Bertelsmann). The London-headquartered startup’s customers already include publishers like McClatchy, News Corp Australia, Dennis Publishing and PEI Media. Read more
Space startup Aevum debuts the world’s first fully autonomous orbital rocket launching drone. The goal is to provide end-to-end, rapid-response flights to orbit — and the tech is ready. Aevum breaks the mold in multiple ways, with an innovative launch vehicle design that combines uncrewed aircraft with horizontal take-off and landing capabilities, with a second stage that deploys at high altitude and can take small payloads the rest of the way to space. Read more
Venture Capitals
30 Under 30 In Venture Capital 2021: Meet The Young Investors Spotting Tech’s Next Breakouts. Read more
Venture capital firm Entrée Capital announced on Thursday the closing of Israel Opportunity Fund I. The Fund closed at $125m primarily from existing long term investors, as well as two new institutional investors.The new Fund will target early growth startups typically raising series B and C rounds that are led by Israeli founders in Entrée Capital’s main geographies of Israel, Europe, U.K., and the U.S. The Fund will pursue opportunities in the fields of deep technology, SaaS, fintech, digital health, and contrarian bets. Read more
OTV (formerly known as Olive Tree Ventures), an Israeli venture capital firm that focuses on digital health tech, announced it has closed a new fund totaling $170 million. The firm also launched a new office in Shanghai, China to spearhead its growth in the Asia Pacific region. Read more
Three categories in the Health and Wellness industry that Venture Capitalists are betting big on. There has been an explosion in the health and wellness space over the last few years as more consumers demonstrate a willingness to invest in sophisticated wearable devices and technology-enabled fitness equipment. Read more
Eric Schmidt, the former CEO of Google, is backing a new early-stage European venture capital fund from London firm Firstminute Capital. Firstminute was founded in 2017 by Lastminute.com co-founder Brent Hoberman and former Goldman Sachs analyst Spencer Crawley. Read more
Artificial Intelligence
The global market for Artificial Intelligence (AI) is projected to reach US$312.4 billion by the year 2027, trailing a post-COVID-19 CAGR of 32.7% over the analysis period 2020 through 2027. Globally, over 567 AI start-up companies received investments in the first five months of the year 2020. The use of AI in myriad fields has skyrocketed during the pandemic, with the unpreceded crisis driving a desperate search for new tools to manage and survive the pandemic. AI is being used for early detection, diagnosis of the infection; development of drugs, vaccines; and for reducing the workload of healthcare workers. Read more
The future of artificial intelligence adoption in India. Currently, AI adoption in India is primarily driven by the large global technology conglomerates, selected startups and the GICs/GCCs (Global Capability Centers) based out of India. Read more
Governments And Artificial Intelligence, Policy, And Investment. Over the last couple of years, it has become increasingly clear that many democratic governments have been taking a closer look at artificial intelligence (AI), both from a policy standpoint and as something to help their economies of the future. Read more
Startups in Europe
TOP 30: Europe’s biggest startup hubs in 2020. Read more
5 female leaders driving change in the European blockchain ecosystem. Read more
9 fast-growing pet food startups in Europe that claim to offer the best for your pets. The recent rise in awareness about nutrition and healthy lifestyle has transcended upon the pet-food industry as well. People have also started focusing on premium alternatives for pets. To address this, many pet food startups have come up with solutions that help consumers find the right food for their pets. Read more
Swedish micro-mobility startup Voi Technology has raised $160 million to expand its e-scooter business across Europe. Launched in 2018, Voi says 2020 has been a “landmark” year for e-scooters in Europe as consumers seek out convenient and safe modes of transport. The company says it has become Europe’s preferred operator, winning over two-thirds of city license tenders, including recent wins in Birmingham, Liverpool, Bern and Cambridge. Read more
Israeli Startups
The Secret Unit Behind Israel’s Startup Nation Success. In recent decades, the state of Israel has positioned itself as a “startup nation” that’s produced successful companies including CyberArk, Taboola and Checkmarx, among others. The special DNA of Israel’s high-tech industry is derived from the technological units of the IDF, including one in particular — the Mamram unit. Read more
Israel’s OTV, a venture capital firm dedicated specifically to digital health, closed a new fund with $170 million. Founded in 2015, over the last five years it has invested in a slew of digital health companies, including TytoCare, Lemonaid Health, Emedgene, Scopio and Donisi Health. Read more
