What the numbers say: VC funding for Florida-based startups declined by 81% YoY in Q1 2023, higher than the 46% YoY drop seen across the entire North American region. The slump suggests that the region is now feeling the effects of the VC financing downturn. Florida, along with North Carolina and Texas, defied the VC retrenchment trend last year. Florida witnessed a 25% uptick in VC funding last year. 
Relevance: In Q1 2023, funding for the region totaled $660M. The three biggest funding rounds in the quarter were Deepwatch's $180M equity and strategic financing round, QuickNode's $60M Series B round, and EnergyX's $50M Series B fundraiser. What happened: Falling startup valuations, lower investor interest for Web3, fintech, and consumer product startups, and a frozen IPO market are likely the causes behind the drop in funding in Florida. Per Crunchbase, there may also be political reasons that contributed to the funding dip.
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The California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation issued cease and desist letters to five entities over allegedly fraudulent investment schemes. The companies are Harvest Keeper, Visque Capital, Coinbot, QuantFund, and Maxpread Technologies. More: - The DFPI said there were instances in which companies would not process withdrawals, with their websites going offline.
- According to the regulator, two of the entities used artificial intelligence to create fake CEO avatars.
- The agency is accusing Harvest Keeper of hiring an actor to play the CEO role.
- The entities "went to great lengths to appear as if they were legitimate businesses," said the regulator.
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San Mateo, Calif.-based birth control and telehealth startup The Pill Club declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy. California officials have alleged that the company fraudulently charged the state's Medicaid program for contraception and counseling that were never provided by clients. After the allegations surfaced, several business partners terminated their contracts, causing a 60% revenue drop, per CEO Elizabeth Meyerdirk. More: - A few months earlier, the firm agreed to an $18.275M settlement with California regulators.
- The firm is expecting other states to launch investigations into the firm's billing practices.
- The Pill Club is looking to sell the organization to an undisclosed potential buyer.
- The startup was backed by TriplePoint Venture Growth BDC Corp, which also holds a second lien claim on the company's assets.
- TriplePoint is also the collateral agent to a $30M loan availed by the firm.
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Enter, a Germany-based startup that analyzes home energy use, announced a €19.4M (~$21.3M) Series A led by Tiger Global. "As the shift to energy sovereignty accelerates in Europe, consumers require tangible solutions to navigate the transition," said the general partner and head of European Private Investments at Coatue, which participated in the round. More: - "Currently, around 200,000 properties are renovated in Germany every year. But to achieve our climate goals, it must be more than one million. Today's certified energy efficiency consultants cannot achieve this goal in the traditional way," said the startup's co-founder and managing director, Justus Menten.
- The startup asks customers to complete an online survey to generate energy reduction suggestions and handles renovation subsidy applications.
- Other round participants included A/O Proptech, Foundamental, and Partech.
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Toronto-based AgTech startup, Vivid Machines, raised a $4.3M Seed round by BDC Capital Thrive Venture Fund. The company uses computer vision to provide real-time insights to crop growers and fruit marketers. More: - Vivid Machine plans to use the funds to expand its system applications, including increasing the number of crops it analyzes.
- The round included participation from Algoma Orchards, Tall Grass Ventures, StandUp Ventures, Entrepreneur First, and BoxOne Ventures, among others.
- Earlier this month, a similar company that analyzes crop lifecycles using AI, South Korea-based Green Labs, raised $38.4M in debt financing.
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Vesey Ventures, a VC firm launched by three former managing directors of Amex Ventures, held the final close of its debut fund at $78M. The fund intends to back seed to Series B stage fintech startups that are "transforming financial services," such as vertical software, embedded fintech, future of commerce, infrastructure, cybersecurity, and risk and compliance organizations. More: - Vesey will write initial checks ranging from $1.5M to $3M, with additional capital set aside from the fund for follow-on rounds.
- In addition to the fund, the firm will leverage its network to support the firm as its business development team.
- The firm has already backed five startups from the debut fund, namely Coast, Cyrus, Grain, Equi, and Proper.
- Seven prominent financial institutions contributed capital to the fund as limited partners.
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- Masimo Corporation acquired audio firm Nura for an undisclosed sum. The transaction is an acquisition-hire deal through which Masimo acquired the talent and technology of the firm.
- Board member Chris Dawson will succeed interim CEO Jesse Fittipaldi as CEO of three-wheeled EV startup Arcimoto. Fittipaldi will move into the president role.
- Language education startup Language Matters' co-founder and CEO Lucas Fonseca remarked that the company's strategic change of focus from B2C to B2B customers helped the firm avoid failure.
- Singaporean edtech startup Higgz Academia Technology is looking to raise fresh funding at a $100M valuation.
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 |  | Karan Chafekar is a Management Consultant, Business enthusiast, and Licensed Pilot.
Nicolas is a Sr. Analyst at Inside, covering startups and transportation trends. He is an avid map maker and data nerd. Nicolas has worked in the shared-scooter space, as well as advised e-bike and moped start-ups.
| | | | Editor | Vibha Chapparike is a Freelance Writer & Editor at Inside.com. With her post-graduation in Management and Finance completed, Vibha is expanding her knowledge in venture capital, business, startups, and technology. She has had a career in public relations and communications. An ardent reader and writer currently residing in Singapore, you can follow Vibha on Twitter @VChapparike. | |
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