Startup Monday Issue #29: Latest tech trends and news happening in the global startup ecosystem!
Startups / Blockchain / BioTechnology / Bitcoin / KRISP
Startups in the U.S.
Krisp, a startup that uses machine learning to remove background noise from audio in real time, has raised $9M as an extension of its $5M A round announced last summer. The extra money followed big traction in 2020 for the Armenian company, which grew its customers and revenue by more than an order of magnitude. Read more
This 28-year-old turned his college side hustle into a $1.3 billion start-up backed by Jeff Bezos. Davidson’s company, Sonder, now leases and owns properties with over 5,000 listings in 35 cities around the world. Sonder is currently valued at $1.3 billion after raising a total of more than $550 million from venture capital firms as well as investors like former baseball player Alex Rodriguez and funds backed by Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk. Read more
AEye Inc., a startup that makes lidar systems for self-driving vehicles, is going public by merging with blank-check company CF Finance Acquisition Corp. III in a deal valued at $2 billion. The merger will net $455 million in cash for AEye, which the company will use to further develop its lidar and software systems. AEye is banking on growth in systems like General Motors Co.’s Super Cruise assisted driving system and, eventually, self-driving cars. Read more
Amazon has acquired Selz, a 7-year-old startup that helps entrepreneurs sell products online. The deal signals Amazon’s continued focus on third-party sellers as it faces potential competition from Shopify. Read more
Volta Energy Technologies, the energy investment and advisory services firm backed by some of the biggest names in energy and energy storage materials, has closed on nearly $90 million of a targeted $150 million investment fund, according to people familiar with the group’s plans. The venture investment vehicle complements a $180 million existing commitment from Volta’s four corporate backers — Equinor, Albermarle, Epsilon and Hanon Systems — and comes at a time when interest in energy storage technologies couldn’t be stronger. Read more
Less Than 3% of Startups Receiving Capital in Q4 2020 Were Led by Black Founders, Report Shows. Read more
Seattle startup Pipe17 announced an $8 million seed funding round for its platform that helps online retailers tie together various e-commerce software systems related to inventory, order flow, fulfillment, and more. Read more
Biotechnology
CAGE Bio Inc., an innovative biotechnology company focused on developing innovative therapies for infection, inflammation and immunology based in San Carlos, California and Fort Worth, on Feb. 16 announced the closing of a $7.2 million over-subscribed Series A financing. The investment was led by professional and angel investor groups consisting of current and former pharmaceutical executives. Read more
Jeff Bezos-backed startup Nautilus Biotechnology set to go public via SPAC at $900M valuation. Nautilus Biotechnology, a Seattle-based biotech startup led by Isilon co-founder Sujal Patel, is the latest company to go public using a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC. The company plans to raise $150 million as part of a merger with Arya Sciences Acquisition Corp III, a publicly-traded SPAC sponsored by existing Nautilus investor Perceptive Advisors. As part of the transaction, Nautilus will also reel in $200 million from new and previous backers via private investments in public equity, also known as a common stock PIPE, which is used to fuel a SPAC as an extra financing round. Read more
The global biotechnology and pharmaceutical services outsourcing market size is expected to reach USD 91.4 billion by 2028 registering a CAGR of 5.2%, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. Read more
Blockchain
Crypto wallet and exchange company Blockchain.com raises $120 million. Blockchain.com has announced that it has raised a $120 million funding round. The company develops a popular cryptocurrency wallet as well as an exchange, an explorer and more. Read more
Bitcoin reached an unprecedented milestone for a cryptocurrency on Friday morning. The price of Bitcoin tokens surpassed $53,700 each, carrying Bitcoin’s market capitalization over $1 trillion. And stocks that are related to Bitcoin like Riot Blockchain , Canaan, and The9 Limited were all soaring last week as a result, up 21%, 33%, and 23%, respectively. Read more
Bitcoin hits $1 trillion in market value as the cryptocurrency surge continues. The digital currency was trading at just under $54,000 per coin Friday as it hit the new level, and rose above $55,000 later in the session for a daily gain of more than 6%, according to Coin Metrics.The price of bitcoin has now gained about 360% over the past six months. Before the recent surge, the digital asset has never traded above $20,000. Read more
Startups in Europe
Here are 10 promising Sweden-based startups to watch in 2021. Read more
Finch Capital launches new €150 million fund for European startups shaping finance. From this new fund, Finch will invest €2–10 million at Series A and B stages, acquiring minority stakes in scale-ups that have €2–5 million in revenue. The firm plans to back 15–20 European startups, targeting liquidity 3–5 years post-investment, over the fund’s three year initial investment lifespan. Read more
Dublin-based Frontline Ventures has released details of its new €70 million ($83.8 million) Frontline Seed Fund III, which will be aimed at European B2B startups. The new fund will bring Frontline’s total funds under management to €250 million, deployed out of its offices in London, Dublin and San Francisco. Backers of the fund include the European Investment Fund (EIF), Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF) and Irish banking giant AIB, along with 10 tech angels, largely post-exit entrepreneurs, from Europe and the U.S. Read more
Revent — a new European early-stage (pre-seed to series A) venture capital fund with an “impact” focus — is coming out of the gate today, and is poised to reach its target of a €50 million ($60 million) fund, with the first close of that already completed. Focusing on environmental and societal problems. Read more
Podimo, the Copenhagen-founded subscription service for short form audio stories and podcasts, has raised an additional €11.2 million in funding. The round is led by Chr. Augustinus investment fund, and comes just eight months after announcing its €15 million Series A. Existing investors and the Spanish VC Aldea Opportunity Fund also participated. Read more
Startups in Israel
A year into the global COVID pandemic, January 2021 turned out to be a blockbuster year for the Israeli startup scene, with Israeli startups raising a record $1.44 billion, the NGO Start-Up Nation Central reports. Read more
Israel’s Mirato, a platform that orchestrates and automates the entire TPRM lifecycle (including onboarding through monitoring), has completed a $9 million funding round to support the continued development and commercialization of its technology. Read more
Japan-Israel ties blossom as 2020 investments reach record $1.1 billion,
a 20% jump in money terms compared to 2019, according to a study by consulting firm Harel-Hertz Investment House . In 2019, Japanese firms invested $914 million in 67 investment deals; in 2015 this figure totaled just $87 million. Read more
Magical is a Tel Aviv-based startup that wants to reinvent the calendar experience from the ground up and turn it into more of a team collaboration tool than simply a personal time-management service. The company announced that it has raised a $3.3 million seed round led by Resolute Ventures, with additional backing from Ibex Investors, Aviv Growth Partners, ORR Partners, Homeward Ventures and Fusion LA, as well as several angel investors in the productivity space. Read more
Startups around the globe
India set to have 150 unicorns, $1 bn startup funding deals. Read more
Uncovered Fund, a VC firm targeting early-stage startups in Africa, announced today that it has launched its $15 million fund, which is expected to close at the end of June this year. The Tokyo-based outfit founded by Takuma Terakubo in 2019 will invest $50,000 to $500,000 in African startups in seed and Series A stages. Read more
China Trucking Startup Eyes $1 Billion U.S. IPO After Profit. Read more
The Dubai and Riyadh-based venture capital firm launched in February 2020, scooping up $75m in less than a year for its flagship Nuwa Ventures Fund I. It aims to raise its full $100m target by the end of 2021. Read more
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