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| Hey Insiders, Today we are taking a look at Endor Labs' $70M funding round, the 10% YoY increase in private debt funding, and HackerOne's layoffs. I hope you enjoy today's edition! Karan
p/karan-chafekar | |
| 1 | | Code security company Endor Labs announced it raised a $70M Series A led by Lightspeed Venture Partners. The startup focuses on helping companies choose and maintain open-source software and reduce vulnerabilities. More: - According to Endor Labs, organizations use 12% of the open-source code they import, spending time searching for vulnerabilities in code that will not be used.
- "We use these call graphs, which are generated without any runtime agents, to show customers whether or not a vulnerability is actually reachable," said Endor Labs' CEO Varun Badhwar.
- The startup plans to use the funds to expand to other areas of code security and go-to-market.
- The round included participation from Dell Technologies Capital, Coatue, and Section 32, among others.
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What the numbers say: So far this year, global private debt funds have accumulated $122B in capital, up 10% from the same time last year. The value of debt funds has increased despite a drop in the number of funds from 122 last year to 81 in the first half of this year. At this rate, private debt value will cross $200B at this year's end for the fourth consecutive year. Relevance: 20 of the largest funds raked in $87.3B or 72% of the entire private debt capital. The two largest private debt vehicles were HPS Investment Partners' $19B mezzanine debt fund and Goldman Sachs Asset Management's $11.7B mezzanine fund. What happened: Traditional banks are curbing their lending, allowing private lenders to cement their positions in the credit market. Due to the imbalance between supply and demand, deal terms have tipped in favor of private debt fund managers, who can negotiate stricter covenants and higher interest rates, per Pitchbook's lead analyst Tim Clarke. | | | |
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| 3 | | San Francisco, Calif.-based cybersecurity startup HackerOne announced layoffs today, impacting 12% of its workforce, or roughly 50 of its employees. The layoffs will affect its workers across the U.S., Canada, the U.K., and the Netherlands. More: - CEO Marten Mickos called the "reduction in force as a one-time event."
- Its total workforce strength before the layoffs was 450 employees.
- HackerOne, which provides a bug bounty and penetration testing platform, has raised almost $160M in funding to date.
- It received a $49M capital injection last January.
- Notable backers of the firm include New Enterprise Associates, Valor Equity Partners, EQT Ventures, and Dragoneer Investment Group.
- The firm counts the U.S. Department of Defense, Google, and Microsoft as its clients.
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| 4 | | Boston, Mass.-based storage and information management company Iron Mountain reached an agreement to acquire storage startup Clutter. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but The Information claims that Clutter sold itself at a steep discount. Clutter was last valued at $600M in 2019. More: - Per an internal note seen by The Information, the company "needed at least $20M to fully fund the business."
- Clutter pursued the acquisition after failing to secure additional capital from investors as its "cash reserves [were] projected to run out by June 30, 2023."
- The Culver City, Calif.-based startup had raised $296.3M in funding from investors, the last of which came in the form of a $200M Series D round in Feb. 2019.
- Notable backers of the firm include SoftBank, Atomico, and Sequoia Capital.
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| 5 | | Uptiv Health announced it secured an $8M Seed round from undisclosed investors. The startup plans to tackle the $100B infusion therapy market, which includes treatments for cancer, Crohn's disease, and rheumatoid arthritis, among other diseases. More: - Uptiv focuses on a patient-focused approach, offering after-hours appointments and 24/7 access to healthcare staff via an app, among other services.
- "Uptiv Health was founded on the fundamental principle that we are treating a whole person, not just administering infusion therapy and sending patients home until their next appointment," said the startup's CEO and co-founder, Torben Nielsen.
- The company plans to open its first location in Westland, Michigan, in August.
- 3.2 million Americans rely on infusion therapies.
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| 6 | | Fit Hub is launching a GPT-based chatbot for meditation and fitness. The startup was founded by former director of technology at Amazon and VP of engineering at Landing AI, Gopi Prashanth. More: - The chatbot, built on OpenAI's ChatGPT, generates workout or meditation plans by considering factors such as available equipment, injuries, time, and emotional state.
- Fit Hub adopted a freemium model for the app, currently in beta on iOS and Android, with up to six free daily workout or meditation plans.
- The startup raised a $2.5M Seed round from Clear Ventures in Mar. 2022 and currently has 12 employees.
- The company plans to compete with fitness apps such as 8fit and Strava and meditation apps such as Headspace, TalkSpace, and Calm*.
*NOTE: Inside.com founder and CEO Jason Calacanis is an investor in Calm. | | | |
| 7 | | Quick Hits: - The AWS Cookbook — packed with practical insights and hands-on examples — is a must-have for your cloud toolkit.*
- Risk management, claims management, policy administration, and insurance coverage startup Lula secured $35.5M in Series B funding co-led by NextView Ventures and Khosla Ventures.
- Kevin Dallas, the former Microsoft executive and CEO of Wind River, succeeded Ed Boyajian as the CEO of EnterpriseDB.
- Biotech startup Celsius Therapeutics laid off 75% of its employees from its 40-person team.
- PacBio, an organization that develops sequencing systems to resolve genetically complex problems, acquired Pleasanton, Calif.-based biotech startup Apton Biosystems. Apton will receive 6.3 million shares of PacBio worth $85M and an additional $25M in stock or cash if Apton is able to reach $50M in revenue, bringing the total value of the transaction to $110M.
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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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