Startup Monday: Latest tech trends & news happening in the global startup ecosystem (Issue 123- March 9)
Welcome to Startup Monday, my weekly newsletter that recaps the week in the global startup ecosystem. To have this newsletter emailed to you, you can sign up here.
Top startup news to follow this week:
1. Fluidra launches its €20 million venture capital fund, the first to specialize in pool and wellness startups
The CVC will invest in each startup with the potential to revolutionize the industry on a global scale through their solutions, with a special focus on the United States and Europe. The goal of this first three-year phase is to build a solid portfolio of startups through investing in innovative companies.
The CVC will target startup initiatives that enhance efficiency, connectivity, sustainability and safety in the swimming pool and wellness business, leveraging IoT, computer vision and robotic solutions. It is looking for startups that add value to the pool and wellness sector with innovative business models, fostering direct customer interaction through sales, subscriptions and other channels. The CVC has already invested in Coral Smart Pool , a technology company aiming to transform the pool experience through Artificial Intelligence (AI) with an initial focus on pool safety.
Fluidra Ventures will also invest in companies that innovate in engineering and science to advance materials and products that deal with swimming pool manufacturing, efficiency and maintenance.
Four segments and eight strategic guidelines
The fund is focused on four different segments — Commercial, Residential, Wellness and Mass Market-and has an investment thesis that covers eight strategic guidelines, from connected pools, resource optimization, digital platforms, innovative materials, security systems, personalized experiences, robotics and innovative consumable products.
“This initiative joins several others that we have at Fluidra to promote innovation in our industry. This is why here at Fluidra Ventures we’re excited about the transformative potential that this venture will have for the pool and wellness industry, driving forward innovation, sustainability and technological advancement”, said Eloi Planes, Fluidra’s Executive Chairman.
2. Artemis Fund has a fresh $36 million to back diverse founders solving ‘big, hairy problems’
Artemis, with offices in Houston and New York, leads seed rounds for diverse founders in fintech, commerce and care, having so far composed a portfolio of more than 20 companies that are all led by female founders, with over 60% that have Black, Latinx or immigrant leadership.
The second fund is backed by a group that includes Bank of America, Bank of Montreal, TIAA Nuveen’s Churchill Asset Management, Texas Capital Bank, Amazon, The Rockwell Fund and Ballentine Partners.
“We really wanted to make sure that our LPs aligned with our long-term goal of backing diverse founders,” Murakhovskaya told TechCrunch. “There’s a lot of pressure on that. We also want to grow with them.”
The firm’s strategy is to “help move the funding needle for female and diverse founders by leading their rounds, advocating for them, providing access to national co-investors and instituting discipline early to hit real revenue growth,” Campbell said.
“It’s good business to have diverse perspectives, and we felt that there was money being left on the table, and we’re there to be the best at it,” she said. “We’re staying the course so we align the impact that we’re making with financial returns, not only for our LPs, but also for the communities that these entrepreneurs come from.”
More capital targeting female and underrepresented founders, from Artemis and others (for example, Amplifica Capital and , which recently raised a $50 million fund) is good. VC investment itself continues to be fairly stagnant in these areas, according to my colleague Dominic-Madori Davis, who Black Tech Nation Ventures to these demographics earlier this month. crunched the numbers on venture capital funding
Funding to Black founders has declined since 2021, with Black founders in the U.S. raising 0.48% of all venture dollars allocated last year, which comes out to about $661 million out of $136 billion. Women received 2% of the total funding each year for the past two years.
3. Saudi Arabia pledges $1 billion for AI startup accelerator at LEAP24
Artificial intelligence dominates the agenda this year at the Riyadh conference that is touted as the biggest tech exhibition in the world.
Abdullah Alswaha, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Communications and Information Technology, announced the government’s massive capital injection into the program, which is less than one year old.
Also working the event is Mohammad the humanoid robot, a “male” counterpart to Sara, who stole the show at last year’s conference with her Arab dancing and speaking in different Mideastern dialects. In 2017, Saudi Arabia became the first country in the world to grant citizenship to a robot. Named Sophia and created by the Hong Kong-based company Hanson Robotics, she made her debut at the Future Investment Initiative in Riyadh that year.
More than 1,800 international and local exhibitors, including 600 startups, are populating the exhibition floor at the King Abdul Aziz International Conference Center in Riyadh, and the Saudi government is showing off 30 of its agencies to highlight its national digitalization drive.
Meta executive Greg Marra will be speaking about building the metaverse to a largely receptive crowd: the GCC is one of the fastest growing markets for digital currencies, gaming and augmented reality.
Zayad Salem will talk about the future of sports in the kingdom, from his perch as head of sports operations at Kijami Saudi Arabia.
And from the cap table: Noor Sweid, Managing Partner of Dubai VC fund Global Ventures; Reema Khan, CEO of U.S. private equity fund Green Sands Equity and Chris Rust, Partner of Silicon Valley VC fund Clear Ventures, are set to speak.
4. Alibaba Backs $2.5 Billion AI Firm in Second Big 2024 Deal
- Minimax scores funding from investors including HongShan
- Alibaba has spearheaded two major deals so far this year
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. is leading a financing round of at least $600 million for Chinese AI startup MiniMax, spearheading its second major deal in the space this year as it unleashes capital in pursuit of growth.
5. AI-focused blockchain startup IO Research raises $30 mln in Series A funding round
The funding announcement signals investor interest in AI-driven technologies as well as renewed interest in cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market has regained some of its lost lustre for investors. Its market capitalization is at its highest since late 2021 at over $2.65 trillion, lifted by gains in the largest cryptocurrency, bitcoin .
6. AI2 Incubator secures $200M in AI compute resources for portfolio companies
Any company that partners with the AI2 Incubator “in any way, shape, or form” can get access to up to $1 million in AI compute, Colker said.
“We’ve been doing AI forever,” Colker said. “And we know what these types of folks need.”
Getting access to more computing power is important for AI-focused startups looking to differentiate and scale their models.
“We believe that there are hundreds of founders out there who are capable of building the next technology titans, but they’re forced to quell their ambitions because they just don’t have privileged access to sufficient compute power,” Colker said.
The partners providing the compute power are not receiving equity in AI2 Incubator startups, Colker said.
The compute offering could help give the AI2 Incubator a boost as it competes with other incubators and venture investors looking to attract AI startups.
Investors in the incubator’s fund include Madrona Venture Group, Sequoia Capital, and Two Sigma Ventures.
7. Remofirst raises $25M to take on Deel and Rippling in the global HR tech space
Remofirst, an HR tech startup, touts that it hires its clients’ employees and contractors in more than 180 countries on their behalf without those companies having to set up local entities. This can save those companies both time and money while also helping them be more compliant, according to CEO and co-founder Nurasyl Serik.
By serving as an employer of record, Remofirst operates that entity to hire workers on behalf of businesses and handles “everything to do with hiring a person in a company,” Serik said. That includes managing payroll, taxes, employment, and compliance; providing work equipment; and helping businesses come up with competitive compensation plans and offering health, dental and vision insurance.
That revenue growth helped attract three term sheets in four weeks, according to Serik, allowing it to secure $25 million in Series A funding. European VC firm Octopus Ventures led the latest raise, which also included participation from existing backers QED, Mouro Capital and Counterpart Ventures.
The company declined to reveal valuation, noting only that it was a “strong up round.”
8. Edinburgh-based Wobble Genomics raises €9.9 million to accelerate a new wave of biotechnology innovations
Wobble, which is currently operating in stealth mode, has found a way to detect previously invisible ‘full length’ RNA. The technology could have wide-ranging applications, from drug development and research to agriculture and ecology.
Wobble was established in 2021 by Dr Richard Kuo, who has over 15 years’ experience in biology and bioengineering including over 10 years carrying out research into long-read RNA sequencing at the university’s Roslin Institute. The company, which currently employs a team of 10, expects to double in size in the next two years. The latest funding round brings the total amount raised by the company to date to over £10.5m.
Genetic sequencing offers a way to understand the behaviour of cells. Current techniques largely focus on DNA, however it is the RNA molecules which ultimately determine their behaviour. Therefore RNA sequencing can provide a better understanding of how cells will react in different situations.
Historically it has been difficult to use RNA sequencing for many applications due to the inherent instability of RNA, its complex molecular structure and the abundance of molecules. In addition, current techniques known as ‘short-read sequencing’ can only measure small fragments of RNA which does not capture important information. Wobble’s novel approach overcomes these challenges and enables long-read sequencing, allowing for optimal detection of full length RNA.
9. London-based Fluent raises €6.9 million to make its AI-powered data analyst sweep across the workload
An AI-powered data analyst founded in 2021, Fluent enables non-technical team members to ask questions directly of their data in plain English, getting insights in seconds, and saving data teams from the pain of manually answering ad hoc data requests.
Whether it is a question about a particular client, a new feature launched or the financial performance of a division, Fluent’s AI is there to answer it and in the last two years, Fluent has landed flagship clients, including Bain & Company, to democratize data accessibility.
10. Munich-based phelas snaps €4.1 million to spread renewable energy storage around Europe
Based in Munich, Germany, phelas was established in 2020, focusing on revolutionizing the energy storage sector with the vision of ‘Making 100% renewable energy globally a no-brainer’. phelas specializes in the development of its Aurora long-duration energy storage, a proprietary Liquid Air Energy Storage technology that is modular, scalable, and tailored for integrating with renewable energy sources. Coupled with phelas’ Catalyst service — a unique, software-aided consulting tool assisting utilities and renewable energy developers in making informed, strategic decisions for technology deployment, this dual approach positions phelas as a key innovator in enabling a transition to a fully renewable energy grid, emphasizing profitability, sustainability, and scalability. With this unique approach, phelas was able to win recognition from industry leaders like Ørsted and Wien Energie, to name a few.
This round will be instrumental in scaling up the phelas Liquid Air Energy Storage to Megawatt Scale to deploy the systems in the EU and expand on its industry-leading technology. phelas will work closely with the industry and leverage expertise from Chemical Engineering Sector Engineering Procurement and Construction (EPC) companies.
E44’s investment in phelas underscores its commitment to supporting startups that are at the forefront of the energy sector’s transformation.
“Our investment in phelas reflects our strong belief in the important potential of long-term energy storage,” said Sharon Shacham, Co-founder and Managing Partner at E44 Ventures. “We are excited to partner with phelas and support their mission to develop innovative, scalable, and sustainable energy storage solutions. With their dedicated team of experts, we are confident that phelas will drive significant advancements in the field, enabling the widespread adoption of renewable energy and propelling the clean energy revolution forward. This investment aligns perfectly with our mission to invest in key technologies that can have a transformative impact on gigaton CO2 levels, furthering our commitment to combatting climate change.”
Deutsche Telekom hub:raum Fund sees phelas’ technology as a promising component for further exploration in ensuring network reliability and resilience in the telecommunications sector, aligning with their vision of a 100% renewable and secure communication network.
phelas is committed to a future where 100% renewable energy is not only the norm but also the most profitable, sustainable, and reliable energy supply method. phelas’ Aurora long-duration energy storage system and Catalyst service are at the heart of this vision, contributing significantly to the large-scale integration of renewable energy into the power grid and marking a decisive step away from fossil fuels.
