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| Hey Insiders, Today's newsletter covers: - Foro's acquisition of Bridge
- Deloitte: IPO pipeline startups are 'unprepared'
- Divvy Homes' third round of layoffs
If you find this newsletter useful, please share it with your friends and colleagues. Thank you. Karan
p/karan-chafekar | |
| 1 | | Foro is acquiring Bridge, an SMB lending startup that emerged from Citi's internal incubator. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed. In addition to the acquisition, Foro will receive $3M in funding from Citi and TTV Capital. More: - Bridge's co-founder Rohit Mathur will take over the CEO role at Foro.
- Bridge provides loans between $100,000 to $10M to mid-sized businesses.
- It recently inked a deal with Walmart to extend credit to its suppliers.
- Foro, which is backed by Fifth Third Bank and Fin Capital, emerged from stealth earlier this January.
Zoom out: - Bridge is the fourth startup to emerge from Citi's internal incubator Institutional Clients Group.
- Delta Capital acquired Citi-incubated workflow tool startup QMA in July.
- Analytics firm Outaura spun out from Citi and Bank of America last year.
- Proxy voting startup Proximity spun out with $20.5M funding in 2020.
Q: Can the practice of spinning out internally incubated startups pave the way for greater innovation within established industries? Join the conversation here. |     | |
| 2 | | Startups and investors are eagerly watching Arm and Instacart's upcoming IPOs to gauge the readiness of the U.S. IPO market. Per Deloitte's "Road to Next" report, startups in the pipeline will need to get their financials in order before pursuing an IPO listing, 
What the numbers say: IPO transactions on U.S. exchanges have plunged by 94% from 2021's record, with firms raising just $14.2B from IPOs so far this year. Due to the shuttered IPO market, investors had to postpone the exits of several late-stage and growth-stage portfolio startups, many of which are now gearing up for their IPOs. Arm's IPO has attracted exceptional attention and is oversubscribed tenfold, reflecting the surging investor appetite for IPO opportunities. What happened: Deloitte's U.S. IPO services co-leader Barrett Daniels said, "The demand is high, but the supply of debut-ready companies is still revving up. In short, the pipeline is unprepared, although it is healthy." | | | |
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| 3 | | Rent-to-own startup Divvy Homes is laying off 94 employees, making it its third round of layoffs within a year. The roles cut include the company's VP of sales, compliance, and public relations, among others. More: - Divvy was estimated to have ~200 people on its payroll prior to the layoffs.
- The company attributes the decision to the macroeconomic environment, the cost of capital, and the need for cash.
- The previous layoff occurred in February and reportedly included the head of growth marketing. In Sept. 2022, the company reduced 40 positions.
- Divvy's last round was a $200M Series D led by Tiger Global Management and Caffeinated Capital, valuing the startup at $2B in Aug. 2021.
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| 4 | | Vertical SaaS platform for logistics, Kale Logistics Solutions, secured a $30M Series B led by private equity fund Creaegis Advisors. The India-based startup is seeking expansion to the U.S. and Europe. More: - The company focuses on providing cloud-based software tools for digital data transfer between stakeholders in the cargo sector and logistics, which, according to the startup, is 80% standardized.
- Kale Logistics works with 100 airports and ports, with clients in 36 countries.
- The startup has also expanded to the Middle East and Africa.
- The new investment round follows a $5M Series A raised in 2020.
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| 5 | | RipeLocker, a startup that focuses on technology for preserving fruits and nuts, raised $10M. The company plans to use the funds to increase inventory and continue efficacy trials around the world. More: - The startup's storage containers keep oxygen and low pressure and maintain high humidity to extend post-harvest life by weeks to months.
- Founded in 2016, RipeLocker moved into a 5,000 sq. ft. converted lumberyard on Bainbridge Island, Washington.
- The company has activity in Australia, Chile, Peru, and Mexico, among other countries. It is also testing the technology with salmon in Alaska.
- RipeLocker previously raised a $5M Series B in Apr. 2021.
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| 6 | | Several major U.S. health insurers are opting not to renew contracts with eldercare startup Papa for the upcoming year, as the startup grapples with allegations of mistreatment of seniors that have utilized its service. Health insurers that have declined to renew include Humana, CVS Health Corp.'s Aetna, and Molina Healthcare. More: - Papa's operations heavily depend on contracts with health insurers, often including complimentary service hours for clients each year.
- A spokesperson for Papa informed Bloomberg that one-third of Papa's clients have "expanded services."
- The spokesperson also confirmed that Papa is still "actively selling 2024 programs."
Zoom out: - Earlier this May, Businessweek reported that Papa received 1,200 confidential complaint reports accusing the startup's caregivers of sexual assault, harassment, theft, and unsafe conditions.
- In response, the startup announced that it had introduced new trust and safety measures.
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- Treasury4 raised $20M in Series A funding led by WestCap. Cowles Company, Fortson VC, Voyager Capital, Kickstart Seed Fund, and W.T.B. Financial Corporation participated in the funding round.
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INSIDE STARTUPS LEADERBOARD (30 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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 | Amplitude customers saw 217% ROI in The Total Economic Impact™ of Amplitude. | |
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