| Here’s a look at today’s Startups briefing. - 📉 Checkout.com reported five-fold higher losses in the U.K. in 2022.
- 🇪🇺 Female-founded startups in Europe raked in 5.2% of the funding.
- 🎣 Investors are luring startups by providing access to GPU clusters.
Thank you. Karan
p/karan-chafekar | |
| 1 | | British fintech startup Checkout.com reported losses of $126M for the U.K. division in the year ending December 2022, five-fold higher than the previous year's figure of $25M per overdue accounts filed with Companies House. The firm attributed the losses to reduced consumer spending, customers' return to physical stores, and heightened inflation. Revenues dropped from $260M in 2021 to $246M in 2022. More: - Checkout.com operates in 50 countries across Europe, North America, the Middle East, and Asia Pacific.
- The startup is considered one of the most valuable fintechs in Europe and had a valuation of $40B in 2022.
- The firm slashed its internal valuation to $11B at the end of 2022.
- Losses widened due to increased salaries, costing the company between $70M and $100M.
- Additionally, the firm reported a depreciation and amortization expense of $24.8M.
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| 2 | | A 5.2% share of European VC funding went to startups founded by only women in 2023, per Pitchbook. 
What the numbers say: Startups with at least one female co-founder bagged 20.2% of the total funding, closing 2,333 deals worth €10.6B ($11.37B) in 2023. The total funding allocated to female co-founded startups experienced a 28% dip in 2023. The dip in funding for female co-founded startups was modest compared to the 45.7% drop seen in the overall asset class in 2023. Relevance: Angel and seed-stage startups accounted for 829 of the total deals. Late-stage startups raked in 31.1% of the total funding. What happened: The U.K. emerged as a hotspot for female-founded startups, witnessing 781 deals in 2023. France and Germany also had a high number of deals involving female-led startups. | | | |
| 3 | | 35 startups offering services for gig workers and freelancers have collectively raised $800M to date. Startups in the sector are mostly centered around helping independent workers find jobs and manage finances. The VC funding dip has also impacted this sector, with several startups forced to take down rounds. More: - Freelancer-focused platforms Upwork and Fiverr, which had a collective valuation of about $20B two years ago, are currently valued at $2B and $1.1B, respectively.
- Notable funding rounds for job-finding platform startups from last year include Instawork's $60M Series D, Qwick's $40M, Brigad's $30M Series B, and Zubale's $25M Series A rounds.
- Startups offering finance management solutions for gig workers include Collective, Indy, and Hnry.
Zoom out: - Between 2016 and 2022, the proportion of independent workers increased by 25%
- Pre McKinsey's estimates, independent workers made up 36% of the American population in 2022.
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| 4 | | Investors are luring AI startups by offering access to GPU clusters. Microsoft's developer platform, GitHub's former CEO Nat Friedman, and his investment partner Daniel Gross were among the first to develop this idea. They started offering startups access to its 4,000 GPU cluster, called Andromeda Cluster, for a fee below market price. More: - The success of the Andromeda Cluster initiative spurred other investors, including Index Ventures, Microsoft's M12, and Y Combinator, to establish their own GPU clusters.
- Index launched a program last fall, giving startups free access to its cluster run by Oracle.
- Microsoft reportedly allocated "several thousand chips" for its venture arm M12, Y Combinator, and other early-stage funds.
- Conviction Partners, led by founder Sarah Guo, also joined the trend, providing startups access to its small cluster.
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| 5 | | Google revealed that it has selected 17 startups to join its second growth academy program for cybersecurity startups. This year's program, Growth Academy: AI for Cybersecurity, is centered around cybersecurity startups leveraging AI to develop innovative solutions. More: - The three-month program will be delivered at the Google Safety Center in Munich, Germany.
- Startups will work closely with Google AI and cybersecurity experts.
- Startups joining the current cohort include app protection platform Alma Security, cyberattack prevention software Blacklight, access management firm Cakewalk Technology GmbH, autonomous ethical hacking platform Ethiack Ida, disinformation monitoring platform LetsData, and human risk mitigation firm Zepo.
- Last year's cohort saw 15 startups participate in the program.
- The startups in the first cohort received 60 hours of one-on-one in-person and online mentoring from about 27 Google mentors.
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| 6 | | Oncology biotech startup NextPoint Therapeutics extended its Series B funding round by $42.5M, which brings the total raised under the round to $122.5M. The firm will use the proceeds from the latest round to advance its two immuno-oncology lead treatments into clinical trial phases and further develop additional therapeutic modalities. More: - The funding round comes just two weeks after NextPoint hired Ivan Cheung, former U.S. CEO of Japanese pharma Eisai, as its next CEO.
- Cheung departed Eisai after an 18-year tenure at the firm, of which he spent the first five to 10 years working on its oncology division.
- Catalio Capital Management led the new tranche, joined by Arkin Holdings, WTT Investment, MPM BioImpact, Leaps by Bayer, Sanofi Ventures, Invus, and others.
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| 7 | | Quick Hits: - If your business accepted Visa or MasterCard from Jan. 1, 2004, to Jan. 25, 2019, you may be entitled to a share of the historic $5.6 billion settlement.*
- Y Combinator published its revised list of 20 types of startups it wants to join its accelerator program. The firm is calling for AI-powered robotics, spacetech, defense technology, climate tech, spatial computing, enterprise AI software, ERP, and healthcare startups.
- Rasa, an enterprise-focused dev platform for building conversational AI assistants, raised a $30M Series C round co-led by StepStone Group and PayPal Ventures. Andreessen Horowitz, Accel, and Basis Set Ventures participated in the round.
- Seattle-based investment firm Breakwater Ventures emerged from stealth with a $10M fund to invest in pre-seed and seed-stage startups in data/AI, enterprise, fintech, and marketplaces. Average check sizes will range between $250,000 and $1M.
- California-based startup H2MOF is leveraging advancements in the field of molecularly engineered materials to develop hydrogen storage solutions. The firm is backed by Nobel laureate professor Fraser Stoddart.
- Conquer any Kubernetes challenge with the Kubernetes Cookbook. Get your copy from DoiT, a global team of cloud experts.*
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 | Analyst | | Karan Chafekar is a Management Consultant, Business enthusiast, and Licensed Pilot. | | This newsletter was edited by Vibha Chapparike | |
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