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This probably hasn’t been the best week to make any kind of big announcement. But when it comes to startups, there are quite a few inconsistencies, leaving us with some interesting stories to tell about, despite the US election news cycle.
The most interesting startup stories of the week
Some election news — and non-news — on our list this week, but so are mergers, acquisitions, and closings. In other words, business as usual.
Amnesty International Night: Arguably, confusion was another winner on election night. While most AI labs stopped working on this election, and Grok seemed to struggle, Aravind Srinivas’ AI startup provided reliable insights and maps through its Election Intelligence Center.
There is no significant change in weatherTrump’s return to the US presidency does not necessarily mean the end of the inflation reduction law. Startups have widely benefited from this climate-focused legislation, both directly and indirectly through its effects on investment and customer demand.
Bending out: Agtech startup Bowery Farming, once a unicorn after raising more than $700 million, has gone out of business, according to PitchBook. The New York-based vertical farm company has had multiple rounds of layoffs in 2023.
Fresh ink: Veteran Latvian print-on-demand companies Printful and Printify have merged. They will eventually adopt a new company that has not yet been revealed; Terms of the deal were also not disclosed.
Most interesting fundraiser this week
While the number of deals and dollar volume were lower than usual, some startups braved the noise of the US elections and announced new funding rounds this week.
Car racing: Chinese self-driving technology startup DeepRoute.ai has raised $100 million from Great Wall Motor. The startup hopes to quickly roll out its automated driving systems before Tesla takes advantage of the path China has opened for full-service driving (FSD).
Keys at hand: MoradaUno, a Mexico City-based startup that simplifies the apartment rental process, has raised a $5.6 million Series A funding round co-led by Cometa and Flourish Ventures.
Zero to one: Dash0, a Datadog competitor founded by former Instana CEO Mirko Novakovic and his colleagues, has raised a $9.5 million seed funding round led by Accel, with participation from Dig Ventures, the investment firm of MulesSoft founder Ross Mason.
Fresh air: Transaera has raised $8.2 million in seed funding for its dehumidification solution using a dedicated outdoor air system (DOAS). The capital will help the company manufacture more pilot DOAS units and install them in commercial buildings.
Leave the underworld: Robotics startup Ulysses has emerged from stealth and announced a $2 million pre-seed funding round led by Lowercarbon Capital. The startup uses autonomous underwater robots to grow seaweed on the ocean floor.
The most interesting venture capital and funds news this week
Cross: Coatue Management is raising $1 billion for future investments in AI-focused companies, according to Bloomberg. The hedge fund invested in more than 170 venture capital-backed companies in 2021 before slowing its pace, but it hasn’t stopped backing startups.
Faber Closes: Lisbon-based VC Faber has achieved a €31 million seed close on its third fund, for which it aims to raise €60 million (about US$64.2 million) to invest in pre-seed and seed stage startups in Portugal, Spain and Italy. Netherlands, with a focus on deep technology, artificial intelligence, robotics, and biotechnology.
Last but not least
We already knew that raising money in the post-ZIRP (zero interest rate policy) era was difficult. We’re also now finding out that there’s no magic revenue number to open a Series A round. As Greylock partner Corinne Reilly said on stage at Disrupt, there’s no specific milestone that VCs will ask for: “What we’re looking for is actually the quality of the ARR ( Annual Recurring Revenue), not the amount of ARR.”
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