| |
| Here's a look at today's Startups briefing. - Seattle startups show resilience with fewer down rounds than Bay Area, NY.
- German AI startup Aleph Alpha bags $500M Series B funding.
- Kubernetes cost optimization platform CAST AI raises $35M.
Thank you. Karan
p/karan-chafekar | |
| 1 | | In the first nine months of this year, only 12% of funding rounds for Seattle startups were down rounds compared to 17% nationally, per Carta. Seattle fared better than the Bay Area and New York, which saw 17% and 24% down rounds, respectively. More: - Graham & Walker's founder and general partner Leslie Feinzaig reckons that Seattle-based startups have fared better as they focus more on revenue than startups from other regions.
- Feinzaig believes that this helped several startups maintain their previous valuations amidst a period where investors have emphasized profitability and cost-cutting.
- With startups already focused on profitability, many were able to reduce their need for additional capital from investors.
Zoom out: - However, not all Seattle-based startups could weather the tough market conditions.
- Seattle-based trucking marketplace startup Convoy closed operations last month and sold off its technology to competitor Flexport.
- 540 U.S. startups have shuttered this year, up from 467 from all of last year, per Carta.
|     | |
| 2 | | German AI startup Aleph Alpha has secured $500M in Series B funding. What the numbers say: The firm intends to use the proceeds "to expand its offerings while maintaining independence and flexibility for customers in infrastructure, cloud compatibility, on-premise support, and hybrid setups," per CEO and founder Jonas Andrulis. Innovation Park Artificial Intelligence, Schwarz Group, and Bosch Ventures co-led the funding round, joined by Hewlett Packard Enterprise, SAP, and Burda Principal Investments. 
What happened: Aleph Alpha's funding round dwarfs the $11.3B round raised by OpenAI and the $4B raised by Anthropic. Aleph Alpha's funding round comes as the number of generative AI startup VC deals dipped by 29% QoQ in Q3 2023, per Pitchbook. Despite the dip, AI startups were able to raise $6.1B thanks largely to Anthropic's mega fundraiser. | | | |
| |
|
| 3 | | CAST AI, a Kubernetes cost optimization platform, raised a $35M Series B led by Vintage Investment Partners. The startup uses artificial intelligence to analyze data points and cut cloud costs. More: - CAST claims Akamai, Hitachi, Forbes, and Samsung Next, among others.
- The round included participation from recurring investors Creandum AB and Uncorrelated Ventures.
- Gartner estimates global cloud spending will grow by 21% from $597B in 2023 to $724B in 2024.
| | | |
| 4 | | Seattle-based investment firm Curious raised $16M to acquire struggling startups. The firm targets companies with $500,000 to $5M of ARR that are not meeting growth expectations or with low runway. More: - "The venture model has somehow convinced us to take the most cost-efficient businesses in history — software — and turn them into cash incinerators, all in the name of growth," said the firm's founder, former Bitly CMO Andrew Dumont.
- Curious was founded in 2017 as a traditional investment firm, allocating capital to startups such as Loftium, Makara, and Jargon.
- The firm does not have a specific geographic and invests across verticals.
| | | |
| A message from our sponsor, Nudge Security. |  | | Save money and reduce risks with our SaaS rationalization toolkit It’s happening at almost every organization: boards are pushing to reduce SaaS spend. Which means IT teams are faced with the challenge of: - Inventorying all SaaS apps
- Justifying investments
- Eliminating waste
Not an easy task in modern organizations where SaaS applications typically outnumber employees. So, how and where do you get started? To avoid getting bogged down, you need to be strategic in your approach. Download our “Ultimate Guide” to learn how to prioritize your efforts to maximize impact and earn quick wins. Get The Guide | |
|
| 5 | | Australian business financing company Earlypay is acquiring Melbourne-based fintech Timelio for AUD$3M ($1.93M). The startup had raised a total of $12.5M, including $7.5M in Aug. 2022 from Thorney Investments, Wilbow Group, Riversdale Capital Funding, and David Roseman. More: - Timelio focuses on invoice and trade financing for Australian small and medium-sized businesses.
- In 2022, the startup acquired Bendigo and Adelaide Bank's Invoice Finance business, which gave it exclusive access to referrals for a period of three years.
- Co-founders Charlotte and Andrew Petris said they "decided now is the right time to exit the business" after founding it in 2015.
| | | |
| 6 | | Flipkart's co-founder Binny Bansal is launching an AI-as-a-service startup in stealth mode and has hired 15 employees for the venture, mostly AI scientists. The firm will emulate outsourcing firms by providing AI talent, products, and services to corporate customers. The startup expects to launch its products and services in the second half of 2024, sources informed Bloomberg. More: - Bansal will reportedly target legal and e-commerce industries first.
- The startup will be headquartered in Singapore, however, it will use Bangalore as its main operations hub.
- Sources informed Bloomberg that Bansal eventually expects to expand to the U.S.
Zoom out: - Bansal founded Flipkart along with co-founder Sachin Bansal.
- He held the role of chief operating officer before taking on the chief executive officer role.
- In 2018, Bansal sold a majority stake in the firm to Walmart for $16B.
| | | |
| 7 | | Quick Hits: - Upway offers discounted e-bikes from top brands with a one-year warranty and 14-day returns. Buy your e-bike by Nov. 9 for a chance to enter a giveaway and receive your money back.*
- Elon Musk's brain-computing interface startup Neuralink is looking for volunteers for its first clinical trial after recently receiving approval from the FDA.
- U.S.-based self-driving startup May Mobility secured a $67M capital investment from NTT Communications.
- Data observability platform Logz.io emerged from stealth with $23M funding, which includes a $17M Series A round led by Newlands. Blumberg Capital, Aspenwood Ventures, High Sage, and Exponent backed the funding round.
- The Stephen and Renee Bisciotti Foundation launched a $100M startup fund under Blackbird Laboratories to invest in university-based startups in the Baltimore region.
- Bring your ideas to life in seconds. App, web, and UI design has never been easier with Uizard. You bring the ideas, AI does the rest. Sign up free!*
*This is sponsored content. | | | |
| Upcoming Events | | NOV
14 | | Dive into Metricool's plans and learn how to manage, analyze, and schedule content across all social media platforms.* | | | | | | | NOV
25 | | AI in Financial Services with Saroop Bharwani | | | | | | | NOV
25 | | The Future of Fractional Work with David Berkowitz | | | | | | * This is a sponsored event | | | |
Term of the Day Incubator: A business incubator is a program that provides founders with resources and funding to develop their product idea or business model. Question of the Week What perks would convince you to return to the office? 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 | |
| |
 | With 500+ 5-star G2 reviews, you’ll see why 3,500+ customers choose Drata to automate compliance for SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR and more. | |
|
| |
|
| |
