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| Here’s a look at today’s Startups briefing. - Irish EV charging startup Erapid raises $32M.
- Bootstrapped AI startup Midjourney hits $200M in ARR.
- LiquidPiston bags $30M through a crowdfunding campaign.
Thank you. Karan
p/karan-chafekar | |
| 1 | | Ireland-based EV charging company Erapid, known by its EasyGo brand, raised €30M (~$31.7M) led by Aviva Investor. The company operates 4,000 charging points across 1,500 locations. More: - The startup plans to use the funds to hire 60 employees.
- Erapid claims more than 50,000 registered users, growing at a rate of 2,000 per month.
- The company plans to add more than 20,000 AC chargers to its network, including at hotels and apartment buildings.
- Erapid, which sources its charger stalls from Tritium, is planning to replace phone booths with EV chargers through a partnership with Irish telecom Eir.
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| 2 | | Bootstrapped AI-powered image generation startup Midjourney has reportedly hit $200M in annual recurring revenue (ARR), per CB Insights. 
What the numbers say: Per CB Insights, Midjourney could be valued at $10B, using a multiple of 50x on the ARR. With just 100 employees, Midjourney is generating outsized revenue compared to rivals Stability AI and Metaphysic, which have a workforce strength of 175 and 97 employees, respectively. Stability is generating considerably less revenue and was last valued at $1B. Relevance: Due to strong revenue, Midjourney is able to aggressively grow its team size. The firm increased its team headcount by 25% in the six months preceding Sept. 2023. In the same period, Stability grew its headcount by 18%. What's next: Midjourney intends to remain bootstrapped despite a potential frenzy from investors. VCs, including Coatue and Lightspeed Venture Partners, are heavily investing in the generative AI space, most of which is going into organizations working on developing AI assistants. | | | |
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| 3 | | LiquidPiston, a startup developing efficient rotary engine technology, raised $30M in capital from a crowdfunding campaign on the DealMaker platform. The firm has raised $50M in total funding to date from three Regulation CF campaigns and two Regulation A campaigns. More: - DealMaker CEO Rebecca Kacaba said, "LiquidPiston is a perfect example of an aspiring startup that has leveraged the reach of crowdfunding to bypass traditional funding bureaucracies and reach directly into the hearts and minds of individual investors more familiar with their area of innovation."
- Over 10,000 investors participated in the recent oversubscribed Reg A+ equity crowdfunding campaign.
- LiquidPiston will use the proceeds to accelerate R&D, scale up operations, and commercialize the company's engine technology.
- The Bloomfield, Conn.-based startup claims its engine technology can deliver major gains in efficiency and power density, and has applications across the automotive, aerospace, and power generation industries.
- LiquidPiston has secured $65M in funding from the U.S. Department of Defense, including a recent $35M contract from the U.S. Air Force.
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| 4 | | Engine Biosciences, a BioTech startup with a presence in Redwood City, CA., and Singapore, raised a $27M Series A extension. The company uses machine learning to discover and develop precision oncology medicine. More: - The round was led by Polaris Partners, with participation by Temasek's ClavystBio, Invus, EDBI, and Cedars Sinai's Singapore-based investment firm Coronet Ventures.
- The startup seeks to develop precision medicine by locating key genetic interactions driving diseases, focusing on solid tumors.
- Engine claims over 30 previously unidentified precision medicine opportunities.
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| 5 | | Redhorse Corp. acquired Gainesville, Fla.-based cybersecurity firm Allied Associates International for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition adds cyber intelligence capabilities to Redhorse's data analytics, engineering, and other tech services for federal clients. More: - Arlington's Redhorse and Gainesville's Allied Associates International, both founded in 2008, serve defense, national security, intelligence, and other federal clients.
- Two years ago, Redhorse had secured investment from venture capital firm Blue Delta Capital Partners to support acquisitions like this.
- With Allied Associates, Redhorse now has nearly 500 employees, up from 400 in Jan. 2022.
- Allied Associates will operate as a Redhorse business unit, with the existing leadership continuing to lead the division.
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| 6 | | London-based HR tech startup Spotted Zebra raised a €8.8M ($9.3M) Series A led by SaaS-focused VC firm Nauta Capital. The company develops a management platform that enables organizations to identify skills gaps and tackle these through hiring, succession planning, or reskilling. More: - Spotted Zebra plans to use the funds to expand across markets and sectors, as it seeks to reach 10 million individuals on its platform by 2030.
- The startup, founded in 2020, claims FTSE100 companies among its clients.
- Spotted Zebra last raised a €1.6M investment led by Playfair Capital in April.
- Playfair Capital also invested in the new round, in addition to participation by Act VC and Entrepreneur First.
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- Authentication and user management tools provider FusionAuth bagged its first outside funding of $65M. Updata Partners led the funding round.
- AI-powered cybersecurity services startup SpiderSilk raised $9M in fresh funding led by Aramco's venture fund Wa'ed Ventures.
- U.S.-based battery startup Our Next Energy started manufacturing prototype battery cells at its Michigan plant.
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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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