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| Here's a look at today's Startups briefing. - 💰 Elon Musk's AI startup xAI is looking to raise $1B.
- 🚀 Pragmatic raises £182M as semiconductor funding surges 68% QoQ.
- ⛔ ZestMoney to shut down after failing to find a buyer.
Thank you. Karan
p/karan-chafekar | |
| 1 | | Elon Musk is looking to raise $1B for his new AI startup xAI, per a SEC filing seen by WSJ. According to the filing document, the firm has already raised $135M from four unnamed investors. More: - Last month, xAI launched its first AI bot, Grok, which is trained on real-time data from social-media platform X, formerly Twitter.
- Users can access the Grok platform with a Premium+ subscription that starts at $16 per month.
- While the social media platform will operate as an independent entity from xAI, both will work closely together, said Musk.
- According to Musk's post on X in November, equity investors will own 25% of xAI.
Zoom out: - Musk created xAI last year to compete with generative AI products created by OpenAI and Alphabet's Google.
- He was one of the co-founders of OpenAI and left its board in 2018, citing differences over its control and direction.
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| 2 | | British chipmaker Pragmatic Semiconductor has raised £182M ($229M) in fresh funding from investors. 
What happened: Pragmatic, which specializes in flexible integrated circuit technology, will use the proceeds to scale its 300mm wafer production by building the third and fourth fabrication lines at its facility in Northeast England. M&G's Catalyst and HM Treasury's state-owned development bank, U.K. Infrastructure Bank, co-led the Series D round. Northern Gritstone, Latitude, MVolution Partners, British Patient Capital, Cambridge Innovation Capital, and Prosperity7 Ventures participated in the round. Relevance: Earlier this year, Pragmatic threatened to relocate overseas due to a lack of government support in the U.K. In May, the British government announced a £1B ($1.2B) funding package to support local semiconductor companies. The British government's package pales compared to the multi-billion dollar packages announced by other European nations. The U.S., Europe, and China have collectively pledged $40B towards semiconductor development since 2022. What the numbers say: Investors also continue to support semiconductor companies. Global semiconductor startups raised $5.2B in equity funding in Q3 2023, 68% more than the previous quarter. | | | |
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| 3 | | Biotech startup ReNAgade Therapeutics is downsizing, reducing its workforce by 10%. The firm made the layoffs "to focus efforts towards program teams that will help accelerate the path to DC & IND." The exact number of employees affected by the layoffs is unknown, but the firm had around 100 employees at its launch in May. More: - ReNAgade emerged from stealth with a $300M Series A round, the second-largest fundraising for the biotech sector this year, only behind ElevateBio's $401M Series D in May.
- ElevateBio also laid off 13% of its team in October.
- Earlier this year, the firm announced a joint partnership with RNA biotech firm Orna Therapeutics.
- The firm also announced the addition of CSL's former CEO, Paul Perreault, to its board of directors.
Zoom out: - ReNAgade's peers CRISPR Therapeutics and Eikon Therapeutics have also announced layoffs this year.
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| 4 | | Buy now, pay later (BNPL) startup ZestMoney will shut down by the end of the month. The firm decided to shut down after failing to find a buyer. The firm has laid off all of its 150 employees. More: - The firm raised $130M to date from investors, the last of which came in through a $58M Series C round in Sept. 2021.
- Earlier this May, ZestMoney's founders left the firm after acquisition talks with PhonePe failed.
- The three new leaders raised a few million dollars from existing investors as they charted a new path for the company.
- ZestMoney was valued at $445M at its peak.
- Prosus, which holds a 19.4% stake in the company, marked down its entire $38M investment to zero.
- The firm started to spiral after the Reserve Bank of India introduced new guidelines for BNPL companies in Jun. 2022.
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| 5 | | Expense management startup Navan laid off 145 employees, or 5% of its workforce, in a bid to increase operational efficiency and move toward profitability, per TechCrunch. The move comes as the firm is gearing up to go public sometime around Apr. 2024. More: - The firm had confidentially filed documents to go public sometime in 2023 but postponed plans to next year.
- Navan, formerly called TripActions, was reportedly targeting a valuation of $12B, higher than its last known post-money valuation of $9.2B from Oct. 2022, when it raised $154M in equity and $150M in debt.
- Navan initially focused on travel expense management but broadened its scope to overall spend management when revenues stopped during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- CEO and co-founder Ariel Cohen claims that spend volume processed via its platform grew by three times in Q1 2023 compared to the same quarter in 2022, while revenues showed a 3x YoY growth.
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| 6 | | Pharmaceutical giant Sanofi has inked a $140M collaboration deal with French deeptech startup Aqemia. The new collaboration builds upon Sanofi and Aqemia's previous oncology-based projects that started three years ago. The new collaborative initiative will have a larger area of focus than previous projects. More: - Aqemia uses quantum-inspired physics and generative AI to discover new drugs.
- The firm's core software can predict the effectiveness of a pharmaceutical drug in minutes.
- Aqemia based its software on academic research at École normale supérieure (PSL).
- With the new deal, Sanofi will get exclusive rights to wet lab research, development, and commercialization activities.
- Eurazeo, Bpifrance, and Elaia-backed Aqemia will get the $140M payout only after achieving certain R&D milestones.
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| 7 | | Quick Hits: - The Kubernetes Cookbook is your comprehensive companion equipping you with the knowledge and techniques to harness the full potential of Kubernetes.*
- Global startups raised $19.2B in VC funding in November, down 16% YoY compared to the $23B secured in the same month last year, per Crunchbase.
- Generative AI startup Leonardo.AI raised $31M in fresh funding from Blackbird, Side Stage Ventures, Smash Capital, TIRTA Ventures, Gaorong Capital, and Samsung Next.
- Air New Zealand plans to use Amazon-backed startup Beta Technologies' battery-powered plane for short cargo flights in 2026.
- Toast to 2024: Key affiliate marketing trends to help your campaigns start off on the right foot in the new year. Get the free report.*
*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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