| |
| Hey Insiders, Today we are taking a look at Canva's $50M fund and why Bitwise laid off all its employees. We have also rounded up the top early-stage funding rounds of this week. Scroll down for some quick hits, and then let us know what other content you'd like to see in future issues. Karan
p/karan-chafekar | |
| 1 | | Design software company Canva announced a $50M fund for developers building apps for its platform. The company also released the Apps software developer kit for public use. More: - The Canva Connect Rest APIs are scheduled to be released later this year.
- The software developer kit had been in beta testing for the past nine months. The company claims 11,000 developers are on the waitlist for the SDK.
- Canva plans to add app integrations with as Amazon, Bitly, Frontify, and HeyGen, among others.
- The company claims more than 200 million images have been generated using its AI products, such as Text to Image and Magic Edit.
|     | |
| 2 | | 
VCs deployed $417M in North American startups between pre-seed and Series A stages this week from June 12 to June 16, per Crunchbase data. Digital entertainment startups raked in 18% of the funding this week. Healthcare, biotech, and cybersecurity startups nabbed 9%, 9%, and 7% of the financing, respectively. Here are the top 10 largest rounds announced this week: - Sports content startup FZ Sports bagged $74M in debt and equity funding. 777 Partners, MEP Capital, Torneos, Serengeti Asset Management, and Magma Partners provided the funding.
- Biotech startup Theradaptive raised $26M in Series A funding to advance its targeted regenerative therapeutics.
- Venture Guides, Capri Ventures, and Alumni Ventures led an $18M Series A round into cloud recovery assurance platform developer Elastio Software.
- Content misinformation compliance and enforcement platform Trust Lab nabbed $15M Series A funding led by U.S. Venture Partners (USVP) and Foundation Capital.
- Behavioral health company EvolvedMD secured $14M in Series A funding led by Conductive Ventures.
- Oakland, California-based robotics and apparel company Unspun nabbed $14M in Series A funding round. Lowercarbon led the funding with participation from SOSV, Climate Capital, Signia Ventures, and MVP Ventures.
- Seattle-based recruitment automation startup Humanly nabbed $12M in fresh funding to accelerate the growth of its AI-powered software.
- AptEdge, a Redwood City, California-based generative AI startup focusing on technical customer service, nabbed $11M through its oversubscribed seed+ funding round led by Stage 2 Capital.
- Gridware, a climate tech startup developing real-time monitoring solutions for grid assets, extended its seed round with $10.5M in additional funding led by Fifty Years and Lowercarbon Capital.
- Women's health and fertility startup Oova raised $10.3M in Series A funding led by Spero Ventures.
| | | |
| A message from our sponsor, Linqto. |  | | Ripple is significantly transforming the future of financial transactions. Leveraging blockchain technology, it's enhancing international transfers by making them swifter, more affordable, and more reliable through its decentralized infrastructure. RippleNet, its cutting-edge solution, has connected over 300 financial institutions across 40 countries to facilitate seamless real-time settlements, improving liquidity and lowering transaction costs substantially. Further, Ripple's strategic expansions and acquisitions, like the recent $250 million purchase of a Swiss crypto custody provider, Metaco, underline its ambitious vision for the future. As blockchain technology continues to disrupt mainstream finance, Ripple's consistent innovation solidifies its place at the vanguard of this evolution. Through Linqto, you have the unique opportunity to invest in Ripple and be a part of the ongoing revolution in global finance that it is spearheading. - Global Network: RippleNet connects 300+ financial institutions across 40 countries, streamlining cross-border transactions.
- Cost-Efficiency: Ripple's technology significantly lowers transaction costs, improving the affordability of international transfers.
- Transaction Speed: Ripple reduces settlement times to seconds, far surpassing traditional banking methods that often take days.
Growth Strategy: Ripple's recent $250 million acquisition demonstrates its commitment to expanding services and influence in the blockchain sector. Invest in Ripple Today | |
|
| 3 | | On Wednesday, workforce training startup Bitwise Industries laid off all 900 employees, citing "unforeseeable business circumstances and other reasons." The layoffs come just four months after the firm raised $80M. Troubles have escalated at the firm, with the Fresno-based startup edging on the brink of bankruptcy, dealing with multiple lawsuits, and facing fraud allegations against its founders. Long-time backer of the firm, Kapor Capital, is now claiming that the founders and co-CEOs Jake A. Soberal and Irma L. Olguin Jr. misled VCs by allegedly inflating financials. More: - Bitwise's board fired Soberal and Olguin in early June and brought in board member Ollen Douglass as their replacement.
- The news came after the firm ceased operations and furloughed all its staff on Memorial Day, May 29.
- An email sent out to all employees on Wednesday confirmed that the layoffs would be permanent.
- Former employee Chase Carter filed a lawsuit alleging that the firm stole his company Listing Alert and did not transfer the sum.
- Another lawsuit accuses the founders of failing to pay wages and violating the Warn Act.
- Bitwise Industries had raised $150M from investors, including JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs.
| | | |
| 4 | | Spanish digital asset startup Bit2Me raised €14M ($15.3M). The round was led by Investcorp, with participation from Telefónica Ventures. More: - The investment round also included participation from Stratminds VC, YGG fund, and Cardano's Adaverse.
- The company intends to leverage Telefónica's markets in Latin America in order to gain more users and expand cryptocurrency access.
- "For over 2 years, we have been working to improve our platform to achieve the highest levels of quality and product portfolio, while at the same time maintaining the highest levels of regulatory compliance and protection of our customers' assets," said the startup's co-founder and CEO, Leif Ferreira.
| | | |
| A message from our sponsor, AE Studio. |  | | Accelerate Your Growth with AE’s Devs, Designers, and Data Scientists Are you a founder or executive itching to outpace the competition? AE's stellar team is here to supercharge your journey to success. By partnering with us, you'll witness quick, impactful results. 🎯 Accelerate your progress with our custom software development.
We're not just a coding shop; we're a strategic partner, delivering custom software solutions to propel your business objectives faster. 🎯 Ignite a transformative wave in your industry by leveraging AE’s Enterprise Digital Transformation services.
Our holistic approach seamlessly integrates with your business environment, launching your company into the digital stratosphere. 🎯 Extract maximum value from your investment with custom AI/ML solutions.
Our world-class data science team ensures your business stays ahead of the curve, delivering superior returns. At AE, we're your partners in growth. Rejoice. Help is here! Hire a Superteam | |
|
| 5 | | Telemedicine and health tracking startup Nue Life Health raised $1.9M in additional funding from existing backers. The firm also announced free versions of its Nue app and Nue score for patients undergoing ketamine therapy. More: - A year ago, the firm secured a $23M Series A funding round led by Obvious Ventures.
- Nue Life reportedly caters to over 8,000 patients across the U.S. through its "at home" ketamine programs.
- Nue Life's treatment modalities include lozenges, intramuscular (IM), and intravenous (IV) treatments.
- The firm hired former national CMO of HCA, Dr. Frank Drummond, as its new chief medical officer.
- It intends to use the proceeds to expand its market reach.
| | | |
| 6 | | Meetingflow raised $760,000 from recurring investors to pivot to target sales and customer service teams. The startup, previously known as Panda.AI, launched off the AI2 Incubator at the Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence with the original intention to build a cross-app search and AI platform for account collaboration and meeting prep. More: - Meetingflow first raised $3.3M in 2020 but struggled to gain traction. "We had sales and good market reception but didn't see the user adoption we needed to justify further investment," said CEO Aaron Goldfeder.
- The company pivoted to using OpenAI's GPT to automate parts of the client call process and sync with CRM processes.
- The startup has a total of seven employees, including a UX designer, a software engineer, a product architect, and a VP of customer experience.
- The round included participation from PSL Ventures, AI2 Incubator, and Ascend.
| | | |
| 7 | | Quick Hits: - Put the bourbon boom in your portfolio. CaskX is a revolutionary new platform helping individuals invest in full barrels of bourbon. Request access.*
- The Texas State Securities Board accused crypto trading platform Abra of securities fraud and filed an immediate cease and desist order against the company.
- SoftBank-backed metaverse startup Improbable announced plans for a network of interoperable web3 metaverses to rival similar offerings developed by Meta and Microsoft. The firm announced Google, Nvidia, and Ubitus as launch partners.
- Early-stage tech incubator Tampa Bay Innovation Center opened applications for its next accelerator program for data, IoT, AI, and machine learning startups.
- Discover how brands can achieve incremental revenue growth, increased brand awareness and more.*
*This is sponsored content | | | |
| Upcoming Events | | JUN
20 | | Contract Negotiations 101 with Mathew Kerbis | | | | | | | JUN
22 | | Inside.com Book Club - Automate Your Busywork (June 2023) | | | | | | * This is a sponsored event | | | |
Term of the Day Data-driven attribution: Data-driven attribution is an attribution model used in marketing to measure the impact of touchpoints throughout the customer journey. Question of the Week How do you feel about the phrase "The customer is always right"? Join the conversation |
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 Beth Duckett | |
| |
 | Get Started In Private Equity, With Linqto. | |
|
| |
|
| |
