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- VC Daily Digest - 24/11/2023
VC Daily Digest - 24/11/2023
US Chip Export Ban Hurting China's AI Sector & Adobe Acquiring AI Startups
Venture Daily Digest
November 24, 2023
📮Today’s Major News
This VC Firm launched €100M Fund To Focus on Film & TV
US chip export ban is hurting China’s AI startups
Adobe Systems reportedly acquires India Based AI Startup
Featured Tweet: Listen To Customer's Problems & Not Their Solutions
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💰 Massive Fundings Updates
DoorFeed, a UK based data platform and operations for investment funds to assemble and manage large scale portfolios of apartments and houses, It has raised funding round of €7 million Seed extension round led by Motive Ventures (backed by Private Equity firm Apollo, owners of Yahoo! and thus TechCrunch), with participation of Stride VC and Seedcamp. More Here
Vivodyne, a two-year-old Philadelphia startup that grows human tissues in the lab to test potential new therapies before they go to clinical trials, raised a $38 million seed round led by Khosla Ventures, with Bison Ventures, MBX Ventures, Kairos Ventures, and CS Ventures also stepping up. More Here
Privy, a two-year-old New York startup that works with mainstream companies like Resy to build blockchain-based services for consumers that work through Privy's wallet, raised an $18 million Series A round led by Paradigm, with previous investors Sequoia Capital, BlueYard Capital, and Archetype also contributing. More Here
Ninety, an Atlanta startup that provides a suite of company-building tools for SMBs, raised a $35 million Series B round led by Blue Cloud Ventures, with Catalyst Investors and Insight Partners also taking part. More Here
Kiwi, an indian startup founded this year whose app permits users to make payments using either a credit card or a bank account, raised a $13 million Series A round. Omidyar Network India led the transaction, with previous investors Nexus Venture Partners and Stellaris Venture Partners also pitching in. More Here
Advanced Electric Machines, a six-year-old UK startup that designs and manufactures electric motors and powertrain systems, raised a $29 million Series A round co-led by Legal & General Capital and Barclays Sustainable Impact Capital, with additional participation from Par Equity, Northstar Ventures, the Low Carbon Innovation Fund 2, and Turquoise Capital. More Here
Solar Foods, a six-year-old Finnish startup that has created a synthetic protein powder, raised an $8.7 million Series B round raised via the Springvest Oyj platform, with previous investors Happiness Capital, Lifeline Ventures, VTT Ventures, and Fazer Group also investing. More Here
Phare Health, a London startup founded this year that uses large language models to capture data from clinical notes, aiding hospitals in resource management and cost recovery, raised a $3.1 million seed round led by General Catalyst, with additional contributions from KHP Ventures and Bertelsmann Investments. More Here
Layer AI, a San Francisco startup founded this year that has developed an AI-powered productivity tool for game art production, raised a $1.8 million seed round. Investors included The Games Fund, Laton Ventures, and GFR Fund. More Here
Fence, a Spanish blockchain startup founded this year whose software automates and optimizes debt operations for asset financing, raised a $2 million pre-seed round led by Semantic.vc and including Crane Earth and Actyus. More Here
Intrigue Media, a one-year-old startup based in Washington, DC, that publishes newsletters focused on global affairs, raised a $1.75 million seed round. Autumn Road Capital was the deal lead. More Here
🚀 Venture Capital Highlights
IPR VC Launches €100M Film & TV Fund: Finland's IPR VC Management completes the first closing of its largest film and TV production financing fund, IPR VC Fund III, securing over €100 million ($109M) and appoints Andrea Scarso as Partner and Investment Director. More Here
Pritzker-backed VC firm 53 Stations launches $190 million fund: The Pritzker Organization (TPO) and headed by co-founder and managing partner Jason Pritzker, 53 Stations launched an $190 million fund this week aiming to serve less as a traditional VC firm and more as a "whatever-it-takes" service provider. More Here
Leo Ventures Sets Stage with $10M Fund for Tech Startups: Leo Ventures, A Singapore-based venture capital firm, emerges as a powerhouse in tech investments, setting the stage for a new era of innovation with a 10 Million fund. Leo Ventures actively assists tech startups in both web2 and web3 across APAC, India, and Middle East regions. More Here
EnigmaFund Venture Capital Launched Web3 Fund: EnigmaFund Ventures unveils Excelsior, allocating 70% of its funds to Web3 startups, with a strategic partnership with Presail facilitating fundraising, token distribution, and OTC trading. The platform democratizes early-stage Web3 investments, attracting interest from individual investors, as showcased by a surge in inquiries. More Here
📬 Featured: Today’s Featured Tweet
Listen To Customer's Problems & Not Their Solutions
Steve Jobs once said "Some people say give customers what they want; that's not my approach. People don't know what they want until you show it to them."
But most of the founders misunderstood this statement. Recently we shared an tweet where VC shared an interesting perspective on this! Have A Look👇
💡 Startups Snap: The Latest Buzz
Startup Acquisition
Adobe Systems reportedly acquires Bengaluru-based startup Rephrase.ai, expanding its generative AI capabilities in the text-to-video space. Rephrase.ai, known for simplifying video production by transforming text into professional-looking videos, aligns with Adobe's strategic focus on generative AI, as seen in recent launches like Adobe Firefly and enhanced AI features in Photoshop. More Here
Luxor Capital Group,is reportedly finalizing a deal to purchase the commercial EV startup - volta trucks from bankruptcy, potentially saving hundreds of jobs in the UK. Volta Trucks filed for bankruptcy in October, citing challenges in capital raising and disruptions from its battery supplier Proterra's bankruptcy. If the deal is completed, Luxor Capital Group aims to breathe new life into Volta Trucks, continuing its operations and maintaining a significant portion of the UK workforce. More Here
Platforms
Elon Musk announced that X (formerly Twitter) will reintroduce headlines in preview cards with URLs after removing titles for "improved aesthetics" in October. The change follows a turbulent period for X, with major advertisers pausing spending due to Musk's endorsement of antisemitic remarks, and Musk suing Media Matters over defamation claims related to ads appearing next to hateful content on the platform. More Here
People
Defy vc, a leading early-stage venture capital firm, is announce two significant additions to its team. Medha Agarwal has joined as a General Partner, and Amy Yin has assumed the role of Venture Partner. This strategic expansion comes as Defy.vc remains steadfastly committed to backing extraordinary early-stage founders from its recently established $300M Fund III. More Here
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🤖 The Latest In Emerging Tech: AI
US chip export ban is hurting China’s AI startups: Chinese tech giants, anticipating a tech war with the U.S., hoarded Nvidia GPUs before the export ban. Baidu secured enough AI chips, including 100,000 A800 processors, to train its ChatGPT equivalent Ernie Bot for the next year or two. The heavy upfront investments by major companies may hinder smaller AI players, leading to industry consolidation amid chip scarcity and high demand for AI talent. More Here
OpenAI researchers warned board of AI breakthrough ahead of CEO ouster: Ahead of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman's initial ouster last Friday, several staff researchers wrote a letter to the board of directors warning of a powerful artificial intelligence discovery that they said could threaten humanity, two people familiar with the matter tell Reuters. More Here
OpenAI's offices were sent thousands of paper clips: Rival Anthropic pranks OpenAI by sending thousands of paper clips shaped like OpenAI's logo, referencing the "paper clip maximizer" scenario and suggesting concerns about OpenAI's approach to AI safety. Anthropic, formed by ex-OpenAI employees over AI safety disagreements, playfully hints at potential risks in OpenAI's development. More Here
🗞️ Today’s Must Read On: Startup, Technology & VC
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✍️Written By Sahil R | Venture Crew Team
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