VC Daily Digest - 09/09/2023

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📢 Top Venture Capital News

New California law would force firms to report diversity metrics: California is on the verge of making history with SB 54, a bill aimed at increasing diversity in venture capital. This legislation, which has passed the state Senate and now awaits Governor Newsom's approval, requires VC firms to disclose the diversity breakdown of the founders they fund. This includes gender, ethnic, and racial backgrounds, as well as the funding amount. More Here

Cendana Capital closes on $470M more to back seed-stage fund managers: Cendana Capital, led by Michael Kim, has recently closed on $470 million across several new funds, bringing the firm's total assets under management to roughly $2 billion. The firm, known for investing in successful VC teams like Forerunner Ventures, K9 Ventures, and IA Ventures, will allocate the majority of its new funds to U.S.-based investors. Kim also shared insights on the current market, the changing landscape of seed-stage venture, and the firm's consistent approach that has resulted in a net return of 4.2x to their investors from their first fund. More Here

Microsoft launch a $95 million venture capital firm: TitletownTech now has almost $100 million to invest in and attract early-stage startup companies and entrepreneurs to the Green Bay region. Its impact in its first five years of existence left even its founders and most ardent advocates in a bit of disbelief. “If when we were starting this we’d said in the first four years we’d raise $95 million, I’m not sure many would have believed that,” said Craig Dickman, TitletownTech’s managing director. More Here

Pitango pulls in $175 million to invest in Israeli health tech startups: Israeli venture capital firm Pitango has successfully raised $175 million for its second healthcare-focused fund, aiming to invest in startups that are at the forefront of the digital transition in the global healthcare market. Over the next three years, the fund plans to support approximately 15 seed to commercial stage startups, with initial investments ranging between $2 million and $7 million. More Here

TrueBridge Capital Partners Raises $170 Million for Seed & Micro-VC Fund I: TrueBridge Capital Partners has successfully closed its first venture capital fund-of-funds, the TrueBridge Capital Partners Seed & Micro-VC Fund I, L.P., with $170 million in commitments. This fund, focused on seed and micro-VC firms, will invest in high-performing fund managers raising funds of $200 million or less and/or investing in the earliest stages of companies. This move is a logical extension of TrueBridge's long-standing commitment to early-stage company development. More Here

Berlin’s climate-tech VC World Fund raises over €50M to help decarbonise global economy: Berlin-based climate tech VC firm, World Fund, has successfully secured €50+M in funding from institutional Limited Partners, including KfW Capital, Ignitis Group, and a leading German reinsurance company. This development comes as a strong signal for climate tech in Europe, especially amidst a venture capital slowdown. Ignitis Group's investment aligns with their enhanced net-zero strategy, aiming to establish a 100% green and secure energy ecosystem in the Baltic region. More Here

📢 Top Startups News

Musk refused Kyiv request for Starlink use in attack on Russia: Elon Musk, Tesla CEO, has revealed that he declined a request from Ukraine to activate his Starlink satellite network in Crimea's Sevastopol to aid an attack on Russia's fleet, citing fears of complicity in a "major" act of war. Musk's decision, as detailed in a new biography, was driven by concerns that Russia would retaliate with nuclear weapons. Despite this, SpaceX continues to provide Ukrainians with Starlink internet service, a network of over 4,000 satellites, since the onset of the war in 2022. More Here

Signs of life in the technology M&A market: In a time when venture capital totals are down and the IPO market is just starting to re-emerge, the startup M&A landscape is seeing some interesting shifts. According to a report by CB Insights, while overall M&A deal volume is lower, there are positive data points that offer hope for startup founders. Interestingly, Europe outpaced the U.S. in tech acquisitions in Q2, marking the sixth consecutive quarter of this trend. However, when it comes to larger deals worth over $100 million, the U.S. still leads with 41% of all such deals in Q2. Despite the absence of Big Tech in Q2's M&A activity, with Apple being the only exception, the future looks promising as certain M&A data points improved without the influence of tech's biggest players. More Here

NFT startup Rario founders to leave a year after $120 million funding: In a surprising turn of events, the founders of Rario, a cricket NFT startup, are reportedly leaving the firm. This comes amidst changes driven by investors, including Dream11, who led a $120 million funding round last year. The shakeup coincides with cost-cutting measures at Dream Sports, the parent company of Dream11. Despite Rario's previous success in securing rights to sell cricket NFTs and partnerships with cricket legends and leagues, the platform's popularity has waned as the NFT market faces global challenges. More Here

📢 Featured: Today’s Featured Article

Hidden Clauses In The Term Sheet that Every Founder Should Know

Recently we write about the hidden clauses in the term sheet in our friday’s the venture crew newsletter. It's no secret that term sheets in the startup world can be fraught with hidden clauses and legal jargon that often go overlooked.

These overlooked clauses can lead to confusion, disputes, and even chaos down the road. To avoid this, we made this simple through our article, So Have a Look! 👇

📢 Top AI News

GenAI drove the chip industry’s first quarterly revenue increase since 2021: After five consecutive quarters of declining revenue, the semiconductor industry has bounced back with a 3.8% growth in Q2, according to Omdia's report. This resurgence was led by Nvidia, contributing over half of the industry-wide revenue increase. However, the industry still faces challenges, with current revenue at 79% of what it was a year ago. The turnaround was not limited to one sector, with eight out of the top ten firms also reporting increased revenue. More Here

5 steps for assembling AI-driven business teams: In the face of shrinking budgets, startups are increasingly leveraging AI to streamline operations, often overlooking its potential beyond specific functions. Our experiment with OpenAI’s ChatGPT demonstrated the power of AI in delivering projects faster, saving weeks of time and over $10,000 in expenses. By clearly defining AI's role and tasks, we gained valuable insights into our target market, significantly reducing research and development time. However, striking a balance between automation and the human touch is crucial, as AI still struggles with abstract tasks and lacks logic. More Here

India’s Reliance partners with Nvidia to build large language model: Reliance Industries' Jio Platforms and Nvidia are joining forces to create a large language model trained on India's diverse languages, marking a significant expansion into the AI sector for the Indian corporate giant. This partnership will also establish an AI infrastructure that surpasses the power of India's fastest supercomputer. Nvidia will provide Jio with comprehensive AI supercomputer solutions, while Jio will manage the AI cloud infrastructure and customer interactions. This collaboration aims to leverage India's scale, data, and talent to create advanced AI applications made in India, for the people of India. More Here

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📢 Top Startup’s Fundraising News

Brine Fi challenges Coinbase, Binance with decentralized exchange as it nets Pantera-led $16.5M round: In the wake of FTX's collapse, decentralized crypto exchange Brine Fi has secured a $16.5 million Series A funding round, reaching a post-money valuation of $100 million. Brine Fi, which has already accumulated $500 million in trading volume since its launch, aims to provide the benefits of both decentralized and centralized exchanges. Leveraging zero-knowledge proof technology, Brine Fi offers complete privacy on orders, preventing front-running attacks and providing a safer trading environment. With plans to cater to both retail and institutional traders, Brine Fi is poised to redefine the crypto trading landscape. More Here

Glass Health is building an AI for suggesting medical diagnoses raised $6.5M: Driven by a vision to equip doctors with cutting-edge technology, medical student Dereck Paul and engineer Graham Ramsey launched Glass Health in 2021. This innovative platform offers a "personal knowledge management system" for medical professionals, enabling them to store, organize, and share their diagnostic and treatment approaches. Recently, the company pivoted to generative AI, offering an AI tool that generates diagnoses and treatment options based on patient descriptions. Despite the scrutiny surrounding AI in healthcare, Glass Health has gained traction, securing $6.5 million in funding and registering over 59,000 users. More Here

Base Ecosystem Fund, Hashed Emergent invest $1.9M in Nestcoin to scale its Onboard product: Nestcoin, the development company behind the modern finance project Onboard, has secured $1.9 million in strategic funding led by Hashed Emergent. The company, which faced significant losses after the cryptocurrency exchange FTX's implosion, is now focusing on developing Onboard, a noncustodial wallet aiming to provide equitable economic access to individuals in frontier markets. More Here

🗞️ Interesting Weekend Reading On: Startups, Technology & VC

• 📮How Much Should You Raise For Your Startup? Read More

• 📰 Why Your Startup Idea Isn’t Big Enough for Some VCs? Read More

• 🗃️ How Do Investors Protect Themselves from Down rounds ? Read Here

• 📑 How Do LPs Evaluate VC Fund Performance? Read Here

• 📜 Decoding Startup Valuations with the Venture Capital (VC) Valuation Method Read More

• 📪Hidden Trap Of Convertible Note and Liquidation Preference Multiples Read More

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✍️Written By The Venture Crew Team

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