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| Hey Insiders, Today we are looking at Better Collective's acquisition of Playmaker HQ, why AI is a top spending priority for startups, and Spotify co-founder's new startup Neko Health's $65M funding round. Scroll down for some quick hits, and let us know what other content you'd like to see in future issues. Karan
p/karan-chafekar | |
| 1 | | Copenhagen-based Better Collective, a digital sports media group, announced the acquisition of Florida-based sports and entertainment platform Playmaker HQ. The deal involves a total of $54M, of which a $15M payment is up-front, $1M deferred, and $38M based on performance over three years. More: - Playmaker HQ focuses primarily on original entertainment and sports content with athlete exclusives for the U.S. market.
- The acquired company distributes about 2,000 content pieces through social media, including TikTok, YouTube, and Twitter.
- Playmaker expects to generate more than $10M in revenue for the year with an EBITDA margin of 20% to 25%.
- Playmaker joins other Better Collective portfolio companies, including Action Network, VegasInsider.com, and HLTV.org.
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| 2 | | 
What the numbers say: Small businesses expect to spend between $45,000 and $142,000 on digital tools over the next 12 months, per a survey done by Intuit Quickbooks. AI and e-commerce tools were a top spending priority for 73% of the respondents. Relevance: Startups intend to leverage AI tools to reduce labor costs and improve operational efficiency. Their main priorities are streamlining marketing and content creation, analyzing customer trends, and automating customer service support, as confirmed by 34%, 32%, and 31% of the respondents, respectively. Where to see the impact: 43% of founders intend to use the time freed up by allocating tasks to AI systems to develop customer relationships, while 36% said they would focus on products and services. In another survey done by Wakefield Research and Microsoft, 47% of small business owners expected AI to be a valuable asset to their business. | | | |
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| 3 | | Neko Health raised its first external funding, a $65M (€60M) Series A round led by Lakestar. The Swedish healthcare startup was co-founded by Spotify's co-founder Daniel Ek along with Hjalmar Nilsonne in 2018. Neko Health intends to use the proceeds to accelerate expansion, add more clinics in Europe, back R&D and clinical studies, and recruit employees. More: - The startup emerged from stealth earlier this February.
- Neko Health provides AI-powered full-body scans that help detect skin conditions, cardiovascular diseases, and metabolic syndromes.
- The firm inaugurated its first clinic in Stockholm, Sweden, where it offers the body scan — which takes roughly 10 minutes — for €250 ($272).
- Atomico and General Catalyst backed the firm's current fundraiser.
- Atomico's founder Klaus Hommels and General Catalyst's founder Niklas Zennström will take board seats alongside the two founders of Neko Health.
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| 4 | | Sony's Network Communications subsidiary revealed a $3.5M investment in Web3 infrastructure startup Startale Labs. The company works on all-in-one solutions for Web3 developers, with a focus on real-world assets within ecosystems. More: - Sony and Startale previously hosted a Web3 incubation program.
- The Network Communications subsidiary mainly serves as a fiber optic internet service provider, however, it has recently dabbled in NFT projects.
- In March, Sony filed a patent for a system that enables NFT sharing across multiple gaming platforms.
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| 5 | | RAK Digital Assets Oasis, a free zone for crypto companies in the United Arab Emirates, signed a memorandum of understanding with the HBAR Foundation to create a grant program for startups developing in the Hedera blockchain. Free zones in the UAE enable startups to keep 100% ownership of their business within the country. More: - "By creating and enabling the world's first licensed Web3 ecosystem, we are facilitating the seamless exchange of information, connecting businesses across sectors, and paving the way for synergistic relationships to flourish," said Sheikh Mohammed bin Humaid bin Abdullah Al Qasimi, chairman of the RAK DAO.
- The program seeks to support startups with marketing, business development, and technology.
- Crypto companies such as Coinbase, Binance, and Gemini have recently expressed interest in the UAE amid regulatory uncertainty in the U.S.
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| 6 | | Morphimmune, a preclinical biotech startup developing small molecule therapeutics, is merging with publicly listed biotech company Immunome. The deal includes a private placement investment of $125M from Enavate Sciences, EcoR1 Capital, Redmile Group, Janus Henderson Investors, Avidity Partners, and Woodline Partners. More: - Post completion of the transaction, Morphimmune will drop its brand name and continue as Immunome.
- Morphimmune's CEO, Clay Siegall, will serve as the CEO, president, and chairman of the merged entity.
- Siegall previously co-founded and led the biotech firm Seagen.
- Earlier this March, Pfizer announced it would acquire Seagon for $43B.
- Morphimmune spun out from Purdue University. It has since raised $32M from unnamed investors.
- Post the merger, Morphimmune's investors will receive 45% shares of the merged entity, while Immunome's stockholders will get a 55% stake in the combined company.
- The firm intends to move three new drug candidates to clinical trial phases within 18 months of the closing of the merger transaction.
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- Aviation startup Alef Aeronautics secured FAA approval to commence test flights of its 100% electric innovative flying car, Model A.
- Travel tech company Sabre acquired British cloud-based software services startup Techsembly for an undisclosed sum.
- French accounting startup Dougs raised $27M (€25M) from British VC firm Expedition Growth Capital. This is the firm's first outside funding, as it was bootstrapped since its founding in 2015. It generated $16.4M (€15M) in annual recurring revenue.
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Term of the Day Adverse selection: Adverse selection is a market dynamic in which a buyer or seller has an informational advantage over another party. Question of the Week What's your stance on employees discussing their salaries with each other? 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 Vibha Chapparike | |
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