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| 1 | | Startup funding hit a six-year low in Seattle, driven by the macroeconomic environment and higher interest rates, as GeekWire's regional tracker observed a 79% YoY drop in investments in Q1. "Fewer deals, lower valuations, and less capital being raised overall," said John Brust, partner at Seattle startup-focused law firm Wilson Sonsini. More: - "It has changed the way that we think about how to spend our next six months," said Melissa Haughey, CEO of mapping company Proxi, adding that there is "a lot of silence" about new rounds for startups.
- However, according to aggregated data by Carta from Q1 2022 to Q1 2023, startup funding in King County, Washington, reached $3.4B, ahead of Denver with $2.83B and Miami with $2.27B.
- 9.4% of Washington state's population works in tech, the highest in the nation.
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What the numbers say: The average annual salary for U.S.-based startup CEOs dropped 5% from 2022. Startup CEOs now make $142,000 on average, down from $150,000 in 2022, per Kruze Consulting. The figure is the lowest since 2020. What happened: Startup CEOs are taking lower salaries to extend the cash runway of their respective firms amidst a venture funding slump caused by economic headwinds, rising inflation, and unfavorable market debut conditions. Some CEOs are giving up their entire salaries as they navigate their startups through the prolonged venture funding slump. Where to see the impact: Since the crypto, D2C, and e-commerce sectors witnessed the highest drop in VC funding, CEOs of such startups are likely to have seen the highest compensation cuts. On the other hand, CEOs of biotech and healthcare startups have been able to raise their pay as these sectors are still attracting significant VC funding.  Relevance: While both male and female startup CEOs saw a drop in their compensations, the pay difference between them narrowed from last year. Startup women CEOs earned $14,000 less on average than their male counterparts in 2023, compared to a $20,000 difference in 2022.
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| 3 | | Sunnyvale, Calif.-based AI startup Figure raised $70M in fresh funding to develop its first humanoid robot, dubbed Figure 01. The robot is intended to alleviate labor shortages, replace people in dangerous tasks, and assist the global supply chain. CEO Brett Adcock said, "We believe that the structured, repetitive, and often dangerous tasks in warehouses are a great potential first application." More: - Adcock founded the startup in 2022 and has former employees from Boston Dynamics, Tesla, and Google's moonshot research lab.
- The startup currently has a team strength of 50 employees.
- Figure intends to offer its robots through a subscription service.
- The startup aims to demonstrate its humanoid robot in warehouses within a year.
- Figure is targeting a pilot trial with one or two clients within the next two years.
- Parkway Venture Capital led the current round with participation from Aliya Capital, Bold Ventures, Tamarack Global, and FJ Labs.
Zoom out: - Robotics and drone startups secured $5.73B in venture capital in 2022.
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| 4 | | U.K.-based Satellite Vu, a startup developing a satellite constellation for monitoring thermal emissions, raised £12.7M ($15.8M) as part of its Series A extension. The company plans to measure heat emitted from individual buildings for governments and businesses to reduce their emissions. More: - The company expects its satellites will be able to collect imagery at 3.5 meters per pixel.
- Satellite Vu claims $160M in customer commitments via the option to acquire satellite capacity.
- "Their $160M in early commitments is a stellar model of pre-launch sales for deep-tech companies, which other climate-tech firms could emulate," said Molten Ventures' head of climate tech, George Chalmers.
- The round included participation from Stellar Ventures, Lockheed Martin, Seraphim Space, A/O Proptech, Ridgeline Ventures, and Earth Sciences Foundation.
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| 5 | | TPG Growth-backed British automated identity verification startup Onfido acquired its U.S. counterpart Airside. Transaction details for the acquisition were not disclosed. The acquisition will help Onfido expand its services and refine its identity verification process. More: - Airside's founder, Adam Tsao, will join Onfido as general manager.
- Onfido CEO Mike Tuchen said, "We plan to take Airside's proven approach to the airline industry and apply it to other sectors requiring high customer assurance, such as financial services."
- Onfido has raised $200M to date from investors, including Salesforce Ventures and TPG Growth.
- Airside had raised $21M from backers, including Bain Capital.
- Major U.S. government organizations, such as the Transportation Security Agency (TSA) and airlines, are among the clients.
- Airside reportedly served over 10 million travelers.
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| 6 | | Careerpaths, a London-based career mentoring app, raised a €232,000 ($249,456) pre-seed round led by QVentures. The platform connects coaches with users interested in careers in tech, banking, M&A, private equity, and venture capital, among other areas. More: - The startup was founded by Guy Ellis, who previously worked at Goldman Sachs, and Saad Farooq, who co-founded ISHU.
- The company uses a structured mentorship approach, where those experienced in the industry share their insights with aspiring professionals.
- Careethpaths plans to expand to new geographical and career areas.
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- Ali Partovi's VC firm Neo secured $235M in capital commitments towards two new funds. $180M of the capital is earmarked for its seed fund and companies emerging from its accelerator, with the remaining $55M for late-stage investments.
- Seattle-based property management startup Marble incorporated AI into its platform to streamline the rental property management process for property owners.
- Hiring solutions startup Arc launched OpenAI's ChatGPT-4-powered application called HireAI. With the new application, organizations can screen resumes and shortlist candidates for remote software development positions.
- Compliance automation startup Strike Graph, which spun out from Madrona Venture Labs, secured $7M in fresh funding led by Bamcap with participation from Information Venture Partners.
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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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