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| Hey Insiders, Today we are taking a look at Crossbow Therapeutics' $80M Series A round, Okla's SPAC merger with Sam Altman's SPAC AltC Acquisition, and Sustainable Ocean Alliance's new Ecopreneur Network program. 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 | | Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Crossbow Therapeutics announced a $80M Series A to develop antibody therapies for cancers. The round was led by MPM BioImpact and Pfizer, with participation from Eli Lilly, Polaris Partners, and Mirae Asset Venture Investment, among others. More: - Crossbow develops therapies that mimic T-cell receptors that could potentially target peptide-loaded major histocompatibility complexes on cancer cells.
- The biotech startup is led by Dr. Briggs Morrison, who worked for over 30 years at companies such as AstraZeneca, Pfizer, and Merck.
- Crossbow's Chief Scientific Officer, Dmitri Wiederschain, previously worked at Jounce Therapeutics and Novartis.
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| 2 | | What happened: Nuclear fission startup Okla is set to go public via a SPAC merger with AltC Acquisition, a blank check company established by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and former Citigroup banker Michael Klein. The transaction gives Okla a valuation of $850M. Altman invested in Okla in 2015 and has been its board chairman since. Relevance: Okla is set to gain nearly $500M cash that AltC currently holds. The capital injection will fuel Okla's business expansion plans as it sets out to establish its first reactors in Idaho and Ohio. 
Why it matters: Okla's listing announcement arrives when investor interest in SPAC transactions is dwindling, and several SPAC startups are filing for bankruptcy. Many SPACs are also on the verge of running out of their initial two-year timeline for liquidation, after which they have to return the capital to sponsors. Likewise, AltC is also approaching its deadline, raising questions over the Okla deal's timing. | | | |
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| 3 | | Sustainable Ocean Alliance (SOA) is retiring its Ocean Solutions Accelerator in favor of an Ecopreneur Network, which consists of 45 alum companies and investors that will guide new founders. The SOA is aimed at supporting startups that are working on restoring the health of oceans. More: - 45 startups have emerged from Ocean Solutions Accelerators, over a dozen of which have successfully raised $300M in funding.
- Recognizing that the true value of an accelerator lies in fostering a beneficial ecosystem, SOA has shifted its focus towards amplifying the community aspect rather than solely relying on the traditional accelerator program model.
- While the new program will retain some elements of the accelerator, the primary emphasis will be on providing long-term and stable support to ocean-focused startups.
- SOA is actively seeking startups tackling critical challenges such as removing CO2 from oceans, preserving delicate ecosystems, reducing waste, developing sustainable fisheries and seafood alternatives, and contributing to groundbreaking ocean research.
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| 4 | | SpecterOps, a Seattle-based cybersecurity company, raised $8.25M as an extension to its $33.25M Series A. The startup develops the BloodHound Enterprise, which identifies attack paths to Microsoft's Active Directory and Azure. More: - The new round is led by Ballistic Ventures, a firm founded by Kleiner Perkins GP Ted Schlein, former AT&T executive Barmak Mefta, and Mandiant CEO Kevin Mandia.
- The startup had raised $25M in April through a round led by Palo Alto-based firm Decibel, with participation from Duo Security co-founders Jon Oberheide and Dug Song.
- McKinsey & Co. estimates companies will spend $100B on cybersecurity systems and services by 2025.
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| 5 | | Allye, a battery storage technology startup, raised a €1M ($1.1M) funding round led by Elbow Beach Capital, with participation from Alpha Future Funds. The startup's first product, the Max, has a 300kWh capacity, the equivalent energy needed to power 40 homes for a day. More: - The startup focuses on making the battery storage systems mobile for industrial and residential use cases, seeing a market between those who opt for current solutions, such as grid-based Battery Energy Storage Systems or diesel generators.
- Allye aims to install 10,000 Max storage systems by 2030, after which it expects to set up 5,000 units per year.
- The company's goal is to hit £8.5M (~$10.98M) in revenue in 2024 and £45M in 2025.
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| 6 | | AI startup Anthropic launched a new version of its AI chatbot dubbed Claude. Claude 2 is built on a large language model and competes directly with OpenAI's ChatGPT. The latest version can generate responses up to 3,000 words and has higher accuracy on some topics, including coding and grade-school-level math. More: - The version is available to users across the U.S. and U.K.
- Quora had incorporated the previous version of Claude into its Poe app.
- Anthropic claims Claud 2 is better at generating "harmless responses" to "harmful prompts."
- The San Francisco, Calif.-based startup has raised over $1B in total funding to date, $450M of which came in through a funding round earlier this May.
- Daniela Amodei and her brother Dario co-founded Anthropic in 2021, along with other former OpenAI staffers.
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| 7 | | 
Last week, we asked our startups community, "What's a significant lesson you've learned about yourself as an entrepreneur and leader?" Here are some highlighted responses we received: - LaShana Lewis (p/lmlewis517), CEO at L. M. Lewis Consulting, answered: "I think one of the first things I learned was how much of a role model mindset one must change into when being an entrepreneur and leader. Most folks don't talk much about how this switch is critical in communication. I wouldn't say that I had to be more careful about what I said, but I had to be more cognizantly aware of the impact what I said had on either direct reports or the industry where I was seen as a subject matter expert."
- Deanna Bugalski (p/SGTFYdee), Founder of Suggesterfy, answered: "I've learned that I cannot control everything! I never considered myself a control freak until I became an entrepreneur, but I have realized that I have a bad habit of trying to do everything myself. To be a good leader, I have to relinquish control and give others autonomy and opportunities to help me out, which minimizes my stress!"
- Alexander Cooper (p/alexande-cooper), Owner of coopmeister.com, answered: "The cockroach is my spirit animal."
Join the conversations at Inside.com, and we may shout out your name and business or contact you for more! ⭐️ | | | |
| 8 | | Quick Hits: - Combine traditional project management with your docs, knowledge base, and AI.*
- Workforce management software maker When I Work acquired fintech startup Lean Financial for an undisclosed sum.
- Wealth tech startup OneAdvisory raised $4.3M in seed funding from Fika, Twelve Below Expa, CoFound, Valor Equity, and others.
- Japanese laser fusion startup EX-Fusion raised an additional $13M in seed funding.
- Spire Capital acquired Israeli cyber intelligence startup Cobwebs Technologies for $200M.
- Future-proof your skills and stay ahead with Brilliant. From AI to math and data science, their interactive lessons help you get ahead. Try it free today.*
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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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