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| 1 | | Sam Altman is reportedly near the closing of a $100M round for Worldcoin. The company, founded in 2019, uses eye scanning to create an ID that enables access to the cryptocurrency. More: - Worldcoin is seeking to launch its blockchain protocol and begin transactions within "the next six weeks," as it is currently in beta testing.
- Earlier this month, the company launched a gas-free crypto wallet.
- Worldcoin raised $100M through private token sales in Mar. 2022 to Andreessen Horowitz and Khosla Ventures.
- In Oct. 2021, the company raised $25M at a pre-money valuation of $975M from participants, including Reid Hoffman, Coinbase Ventures, and Hypersphere Ventures, among others.
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What happened: Digital media publishing startup Vice Media filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the U.S. The move comes after the firm failed to find a buyer. Vice entered into an asset purchase agreement with a consortium of lenders led by Fortress Investment Group with additional backing from Soros Fund Management and Monroe Capital. The consortium invested $20M in Vice to help it with bankruptcy dealings and find a buyer. The group has agreed to purchase Vice's assets for $225M unless the firm can find another bidder willing to pay a higher price. The price represents a significant markdown from its peak valuation of $5.7B in 2017. What the numbers say: Earlier this year, CNBC reported that Vice had restarted its sale process at a lower price after it failed to find bidders willing to buy the firm between $1B and $1.5B. Vice lowered the asking price to below $1B. The asking price was a third of its targeted valuation of $3B when it attempted to go public via a SPAC merger with 7GC & Co Holdings in 2021 before the market cooldown disrupted its plans. Per WSJ, the firm missed its revenue target by over $100M in 2022. Relevance: Vice raised nearly $1.6B from VCs to date. It expects to complete its Chapter 11 process within the next two to three months. | | | |
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| 3 | | Neurological disease startup Nido emerged from stealth with $109M funding through a combined Seed, Series A, and Series B fundraiser. The firm intends to use the proceeds to develop new precision medicines for neurological diseases and further develop its lead asset to treat Kennedy's disease. More: - 5AM Ventures, Abingworth, and Bessemer Venture Partners co-led the Series A tranche with participation from Eli Lilly and Osage University Partners.
- The Series B round was led by Bioluminescence Ventures.
- The startup emerged from 5AM Ventures' internal incubator 4:59 Initiative.
- Nido's clinical stage candidate, dubbed NIDO-361, is in phase 1 development to treat patients with spinal and bulbar muscular atrophy, a rare neuromuscular disease also known as Kennedy's disease.
- Phase 1 trials of NIDO-361 commenced in 2022.
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| 4 | | Eyetelligence, an Australian startup that uses retinal imaging to diagnose diseases, raised $12M from Ascertain. The company currently offers service via Bupa Optical and optometry chain George & Matilda. More: - "The three most common eye diseases — diabetic retinopathy, age-related macular degeneration, and glaucoma — can be detected far earlier with algorithmic retinal image analysis. These three diseases, however, are just the tip of the iceberg," said University of Melbourne Professor Mingguang He, who co-founded the startup with Jason Sun.
- Eyeintelligence also has its algorithms in utilization in New Zealand, Europe, and Japan.
- The company is the first international investment by Ascertain, which is a partnership between venture studio Aegis Ventures and New York-based Northwell Health system.
- The startup previously raised ~$2.24M through a Seed round in 2021.
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| 5 | | Indian fintech startup ZestMoney's three founders, Lizzie Chapman, Priya Sharma, and Ashish Anatharaman, resigned from their posts. The founders took the decision after its deal to be acquired by PhonePe fell through. Chapman addressed the news through an internal email seen by TechCrunch, adding, "We will also ensure to provide full support to the incoming management team and do everything we can to support them for the next four months to ensure a smooth transition." More: - Reportedly, the firm had nearly exhausted its cash reserves and was banking on the PhonePe acquisition deal to ensure sustainability.
- The firm was unable to raise additional funding as investors reduced their investments in late-stage startups.
- ZestMoney had raised $130M from investors, including Goldman Sachs, Ribbit Capital, Quona, PayU, Xiaomi, and Alteria Capital.
- It was last valued at $445M in its previous equity round.
- Last month, the firm laid off 100 employees to curb expenses.
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| 6 | | EWOR accelerator raised €3.2M (~$3.4M) to attempt to build a European alternative to Y Combinator. "There is no YC in Europe. Many European counterparts have a reputation for tough terms and low valuations for founders, lack authenticity as they're not run by founders with a track record in building relevant tech companies, and are bureaucratic," said the accelerator's CEO, Daniel Dippold. More: - EWOR's program accepts startups for six to 10-month fellowships and invests up to €150,000.
- The accelerator focuses on Deeptech, Greentech, artificial intelligence, health-tech, EdTech, and robotics.
- Thus far, EWOR has accepted Thaleron, focused on energy; Finval, which works on AI for finance; and Nest Egg, which seeks to develop a way for older persons to monetize their property without the need to move.
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| 7 | | Last week, we asked our startups community, "What has being an entrepreneur taught you the most?" Here are some highlighted responses we received: - Stephen Barr (p/stephen-barr), Founder & Group Publisher at SGB Media Group, answered, "Keep your word, owe nobody, give 125% to all you do but don't try 200%, master self effacing humor as it steals detractor's ammo. Don't "sleep where you eat." Keep business and pleasure separate. Better to be 15 mins early than 15 mins late. Walk into any room like you own it and you will. Don't try to learn everything, specialize in what you like and are good at then surround yourself with other specialists in the other areas. Embrace failures as they will happen more than the successes but don't wallow in failure, shake it off and move on!"
- Teneha Brown (p/teneha), CEO at The VagiPlug Co, answered, "What being an entrepreneur has taught me is that "it's a marathon, not a sprint"... essentially, it takes time to build a great company. Nothing good happens overnight just like that. If you put in the time and effort, your company can and will be great."
- George Stamatis (p/georgestamatis), Founder & CEO at The Stamatis Group, answered, "Being an entrepreneur has taught me countless lessons, but perhaps the most valuable one is the importance of resilience. Starting and running a business is never easy, and setbacks and challenges are bound to happen. However, the ability to bounce back from those setbacks and keep pushing forward is what sets successful entrepreneurs apart. I've also learned the importance of being adaptable and willing to pivot when necessary." You can read George's full insightful comment here.
Join the conversations at Inside.com, and we may shout out your name and business or contact you for more! ⭐️ | | | |
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Term of the Day Demand elasticity: Demand elasticity is calculated by measuring the percentage change in quantity demand for a good or service in response to a change in price. Question of the Week How do you approach networking, and what advice can you give others looking to build their professional connections? Join the conversation |
INSIDE STARTUPS LEADERBOARD (7 DAYS) |
 | Analyst | | 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. | | This newsletter was edited by Vibha Chapparike | |
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