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| Here's a look at today's Startups briefing. - 🛫 American Airlines purchases credits from carbon-removal startup Graphyte.
- 📈 Startup shutdowns cause a surge in U.S. tech layoffs.
- 🤝 Dutch government approves Nexperia's acquisition of chip startup Nowi.
Thank you. Karan
p/karan-chafekar | |
| 1 | | American Airlines is planning to purchase credits from carbon-removal startup Graphyte. The startup removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere using "carbon casting," a novel method that uses bricks made out of carbon-absorbing plant materials. The novel approach helps Graphyte sharply lower carbon capture costs compared to existing approaches. More: - Graphyte transforms agricultural waste, such as sawdust or tree bark, into dense carbon bricks, which are sealed using a proprietary polymer barrier and securely stored underground in a specially engineered site.
- This process effectively locks away the carbon, preventing the plant matter from decomposing and releasing the carbon into the atmosphere.
- Graphyte is charging American Airlines $100 per metric ton to remove 10,000 metric tons of carbon.
- The price is significantly lower than the average carbon-removal charges of about $675 per metric ton, per data from CDR.fyi.
- The startup is building its first plant in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and expects to have the capacity to remove 50,000 tons of CO2 per year.
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| 2 | | While large organizations have slowed their job cuts in recent months, startups and SMEs continue to announce layoffs at a steady pace. 
What the numbers say: Since the start of 2022, more than 270,000 tech workers have been laid off in the U.S. 7,663 workers were laid off in October. Over the past six months, roughly 3,000 to 11,000 U.S. tech workers have been laid off every month. The number of layoffs announced each month has been steady since the 65,000 layoffs announced in January. Relevance: Recent closures of startups over the past few months have caused a slight surge in layoffs in October. Short-term housing provider Zeus Living, logistics technology company Slync, and digital freight network Convoy were the startups that closed operations recently. Additionally, NFT marketplace OpenSea reduced its workforce strength by half, social network platform Nextdoor laid off 25% of employees, and alternative protein startup Beyond Meat lowered its headcount by 19%. | | | |
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| 3 | | EV battery startup Our Next Energy (ONE) laid off 128 salaried and hourly employees or 25% of its workforce. The company said the move was part of its "revised business plan." Prevailing market conditions, including high interest rates, economic volatility, and slowed EV adoption rate, prompted the firm to make the layoffs. More: - Apple veteran Mujeeb Ijaz founded ONE in 2000.
- The firm manufactures lithium-ion phosphate battery cells for EVs and grid storage.
- ONE recently started manufacturing cells at its $1.6B plant in Van Buren, Michigan.
- ONE said the latest move would help it establish its gigafactory in Michigan and develop a North American battery supply chain.
- The firm cemented its unicorn status earlier this February when it raised a $300M Series B funding round at a valuation of $1.2B.
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| 4 | | The Dutch government has approved Chinese-owned computer chip firm Nexperia's acquisition of chip startup Nowi. However, the Dutch government started examining the deal closely earlier this May after establishing a new office to analyze national security risks linked to foreign acquisitions of potentially critical technologies. More: - Nexperia acquired Nowi for an undisclosed sum last year.
- The move comes amidst a time when several nations are trying to curb the transfer of critical technology to China.
Zoom out: - China's Wingtech Technology indirectly acquired a 75.9% stake in Dutch chipmaker NXP's division Nexperia in 2018.
- The move came months after Chinese regulators stopped U.S. chipmaker Qualcomm from acquiring NXP in a $44B deal.
- In Nov. 2022, the U.K. government ordered Nexperia to sell at least 86% of its stake in British microchip factory Newport Wafer Fab.
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| 5 | | British supercomputing quantum chip startup Oxford Quantum Circuits Ltd. (OQC) raised a Series B round of $100M. Japanese VC firm SBI Investments led the round, joined by two investment firms linked to Oxford University and the University of Tokyo's Edge Capital fund. The firm will use the proceeds from the recent funding to develop the next generation of quantum processors, which are expected to have several hundred qubits. More: - OQC develops quantum processors based on qubit technology.
- The firm's latest chip, OQC Toshiko, has 32 qubits, four times more than its predecessor.
- Nvidia's director of high-performance computing, Tim Costa, said, "By combining OQC Toshiko with the Nvidia GH200 Grace Hopper Superchip through Nvidia CUDA Quantum, a platform for integrated quantum-classical computing, OQC can better empower businesses and researchers to make breakthroughs across industries and in critical scientific domains."
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| 6 | | French startup studio Hexa raised $22M (€20M) in fresh funding. Majority of the funding came from its community of founders, including "Luc Pallavidino (Yousign), Adrien Van Den Branden (Canyon), Paul Vidal (Collective), and Arnaud Schwartz (Marble)," per Hexa co-founder Thibaud Elzière. More: - The firm aims to raise another subsequent round next year.
- Hexa, previously known as eFounders, expects to launch 30 new B2B software-as-a-service startups.
- The firm typically creates a special-purpose vehicle for a specific investment, which allows its network of investors through its eClub to participate in the round.
- Hexa typically retains a 30% equity stake post-seed funding.
- Over the past 12 years, Hexa has launched 40 companies, the most notable of which are Front, Aircall, and Spendesk.
- The total value of Hexa's portfolio is $4.8B, slightly lower than the previous figure of $5B
- Portfolio companies generate $277M in annual recurring revenue.
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| 7 | | Quick Hits: - Competitors are killing your efficiency. Read how Greenhouse gained $85M in revenue from reps who used Klue over non-Klue users.*
- Cradle, a Dutch biotech startup that leverages AI to design proteins, bagged $24M in Series A funding led by Index Ventures, with participation from Kindred Capital.
- Pet health app and insurance provider Lassie secured a Series B funding round worth €23M ($25.2M). Balderton Capital led the round, joined by existing investors Felix Capital, Inventure, Passion Capital, and Philian.
- Finnish startup Varjo launched a new mixed-reality headset called XR-4, with prices starting from $3,990.
- German eVTOL aircraft maker Lilium received Design Organization Approval from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency.
*This is sponsored content. | | | |
 | Analyst | | Karan Chafekar is a Management Consultant, Business enthusiast, and Licensed Pilot. | | This newsletter was edited by Vibha Chapparike | |
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