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| Hey Insiders, Today we are taking a look at Neoleukin's reverse merger with Neurogene, why SAP backed three AI startups, and Verismo Therapeutics' $17M funding round. Scroll down for some quick hits, and let us know what other content you'd like to see in future issues. Karan
p/karan-chafekar | |
| 1 | | Seattle-based publicly listed biotech firm Neoleukin Therapeutics will undergo a reverse merger with New York-based gene therapy startup Neurogene. The latter has raised $95M from investors, including Great Point Partners, EcoR1 Capital, and Redmile Group, to fund the transaction. More: - Neurogene will assume Neoleukin's Nasdaq listing and trade under the NGNE ticker.
- After concluding the transaction, the firm expects to have roughly $200M in cash.
- Neurogene's CEO and founder Rachel McMinn, a former Wall Street analyst, will lead the merged entity.
- Neurogene had previously raised $68.5M in Series A funding and $115M in Series B funding.
- Neurogene's existing stakeholders are set to receive 84% shares of the new combined entity, with Neoleukin's investors set to receive the remaining 16%.
Zoom out: - The move marks the end of a tumultuous period for Neoleukin after it laid off 70% of its staff and started searching for strategic alternatives earlier this March.
- CEO Jonathan Drachman also stepped down from his role in the same month.
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| 2 | | 
What the numbers say: SAP announced today that it had invested in three AI startups: Cohere, Anthropic, and Aleph Alpha. Last week, SAP-backed VC firm Sapphire Ventures made a $1B commitment to invest in enterprise AI startups. Why it matters: The move aims to add generative AI solutions to its business applications portfolio. SAP, currently the third largest software company, intends to maintain its market share with new generative AI offerings. The company has already started pilots and proof of concepts with customers. What happened: Global AI startups raised $20.2B in funding in Q2 2023. Financing for startups across all sectors continues to decline, with the exception of the AI industry. While funding for all sectors declined 18% QoQ, AI sector funding remained flat compared to the preceding quarter. | | | |
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| 3 | | Verismo Therapeutics, a University of Pennsylvania immunotherapy spinout, announced a $17M round led by South Korean biotech DongKoo and VC firm HLB. The startup plans to use the funds to produce therapies against blood, ovarian, and bile duct cancers. More: - Verismo's CEO and Penn professors Michael C. Milone and Donal L. Siegel created the KIR-CAR (killer immunoglobulin-like receptors) platform that targets solid tumors.
- Verismo last raised $7M in February in a pre-Series A round led by BRV Capital Management and Ignite Innovation.
- The new round brings the startup's total raised to $50M since its inception in 2020.
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| 4 | | Figure AI, a startup developing a humanoid robot for warehouse work, raised $9M from Intel's venture arm. The company was founded by Brett Adcock, who founded eVTOL developer Archer Aviation and the online recruiting platform Hired. More: - The startup released a rendering of its Figure 01 robot in March as it exited stealth mode.
- Figure 01 is a 5'2" robot weighing 130 lbs with the capability of carrying 40 lbs.
- Adcock bootstrapped Figure AI with $100M prior to a $70M investment in May led by Parkway Venture Capital with participation from Tamarack Global, Moving Capital, and FJ Labs, among others.
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| 5 | | Subdron, a startup developing technology for underwater ship inspection, announced it raised €1.3M ($1.45M). The round was co-led by Xista Science Ventures and Faber's Ocean/Climate Fund, with participation from Saber GmbH. More: - The company, headquartered in Austria, plans to use the new funds to install an office in Porto, Portugal, given its access to marine robotics research centers and ocean transportation companies.
- The startup is working on addressing biofouling (the accumulation of microorganisms, plants, and algae on wet surfaces) increases CO2 emissions by increasing vessels' fuel consumption.
- Dr. Carlos Esteban of Faber estimates 3% of carbon emissions are attributable to maritime transport.
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| 6 | | Dunzo deferred salaries of employees for a month as it is "streamlining our cash flow so we can build a more sustainable business for the future," per an internal email sent out to employees. The Indian hyperlocal delivery startup was reportedly finalizing a $50M funding round in March and is in advanced discussion with investors to raise an additional $20M to $25M, sources informed TechCrunch. More: - The firm said that it would be delaying August salaries to early September.
- Additionally, Dunzo will likely lay off 200 employees, making it its third layoff this year after already reducing 400 jobs so far.
- Dunzo has raised nearly $500M from investors to date, including Google and Reliance.
- Market intelligence firm Tracxn has last valued the firm at $757M.
- In a bid to conserve cash, the firm has shut down more than half of its dark stores and is currently prioritizing its B2B offering.
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- Terraform Labs promoted COO and CFO Chris Amani to the interim CEO role, while its co-founder and former CEO Do Kwon faces charges related to the crash of cryptocurrencies Terra and Luna.
- British electric flying taxi startup Vertical Aerospace successfully completed a remote test flight of its eVTOL prototype VX4 at Cotswold Airport in southwest England.
- Singaporean digital bank startup GXS Bank increased the deposit limit for savings accounts from ~$3,800 to $57,000, suggesting that the nation's regulator, the Monetary Authority of Singapore, has increased the $38M (S$50M) deposit cap imposed on fintech startups.
- Corporate credit card fintech startup Karat Financial nabbed $70M in Series B funding. The funding consists of a $40M equity tranche led by SignalFire and a $30M debt facility provided by TriplePoint Capital.
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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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