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| Here’s your daily Startups briefing: - 🚗 Autonomous driving software startup Ghost Autonomy shut down operations
- 🦄 The unicorn creation rate for female-founded startups in the U.S. dropped sharply in 2023
- 💳 Credit card debt management startup Tally is set to pivot to a B2B business model
Thank you. Karan
p/karan-chafekar | |
| 1 | | Autonomous driving software startup Ghost Autonomy shut down worldwide operations on April 3, 2024, the company said in a statement. The company decided to wind down operations after failing to secure additional capital for the development and commercialization of its autonomous software. Additionally, the company realized that the long-term path to profitability was uncertain, given the current economic headwinds. More: - Ghost Autonomy is currently exploring "potential long-term destinations" for its technology.
- The company employed about 100 employees across its offices in Mountain View, Dallas, and Sydney.
- It recently announced a partnership with OpenAI and secured $5M from the OpenAI Startup Fund in November to enhance the reasoning capabilities of its autonomous driving systems using LLMs.
- Last August, the firm raised a $55M funding round.
- Ghost Autonomy initially started as a self-driving software maker but pivoted to crash prevention technology after missing its development deadline in 2020.
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| 2 | | The number of female-founded startups that achieved unicorn status plummeted sharply in 2023. 
What the numbers say: From the start of 2023 to the end of Q1 2024, only seven female-founded startups in the U.S. crossed the $1B valuation mark, per Crunchbase. In 2021, about 83 startups founded and co-founded by women turned unicorns. What happened: The overall unicorn creation rate has slowed down, with only 45 U.S.-based startups making the list in 2023. Last year's tally is far from the record-high 344 unicorns minted in 2021. Relevance: Female-founded startups that earned unicorn status last year include student transportation platform Zum, AI model training platform Imbue, green hydrogen company Ohmium, checkout-free parking solutions startup Metropolis, AI-powered coding assistant Replit, AI startup Adept AI, and fertility clinic Kindbody. Out of the new startups joining the unicorn board, three were pure-play AI startups, and two listed AI as enabling technology, indicating the growing prominence of AI among investors. | | | |
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| 3 | | Fintech startup Tally will gradually phase out its consumer-focused credit card debt management platform and pivot to a B2B model. Instead of serving customers directly, Tally will embed its tech within apps and websites of other financial platforms. The company will provide its credit card debt management and repayment technology as a white-label solution to publicly traded banks and fintechs. More: - Since its launch in 2015, Tally has helped users pay about $2B worth of credit card debt.
- In addition to reducing credit card debt and automating the payment process, the company also offered credit lines to pay cards on consumer's behalf at a lower interest rate.
- The company has lined up its first B2B customer, a "large publicly traded FI with 65M customers," to debut its embedded technology in June, per founder and CEO Jason Brown.
- The company will keep supporting existing customers and encourage them to use Tally through their customers' applications.
- Tally has lined up fresh funding from existing investors Andreessen Horowitz, Kleiner Perkins, and Sway to help with the strategic pivot.
- It has raised more than $200M in total funding to date, the last of which came in through a $80M Series D funding round at a valuation of $885M in Oct. 2022.
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| 4 | | European buyout giant EQT is set to acquire risk-management software firm Avetta from PE firm Welsh, Carson, Anderson, and Stove, per the WSJ. Sources pegged Avetta's valuation at the acquisition transaction to be more than $3B, including debt. The acquisition will help Avetta expand its global presence, particularly in Europe. More: - The acquisition marks an exit for the startup's VC backers, Norwest Venture Partners and TCV.
- Norwest invested $35M in Avetta in 2012.
- Welsh Carson acquired a majority stake in the firm after investing $500M in 2018, with TCV taking a minority stake.
- Avetta provides risk management and mitigation software to about 500 clients worldwide and their 130,000 contractors.
- The software can manage risks associated with health and safety, finances, and cybersecurity for clients and their suppliers.
Zoom out: - EQT financed the acquisition through its 10th main buyout fund, which closed at €22B ($23.64B).
- After making the current transaction, the fund has deployed about 40% of the capital.
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| 5 | | Indian fintech startup Navi is gearing up to raise between $200M and $400M from investors at a valuation of $2B, per TechCrunch. This is Navi's first large funding round from external investors, as it has been bootstrapped to date. Navi has been primarily self-funded by founder Sachin Bansal, renowned for co-founding e-commerce giant Flipkart. More: - Navi offers personal and home loans to customers as well as health insurance products.
- In 2022, it filed for an IPO listing with a target of raising $440M.
- However, it shelved plans when market conditions soured.
- Last August, Navi sold off its microfinancing unit, Chaitanya India, to Svatantra Microfin for about $178.5M.
- The move was part of its broader plan to narrow its focus on its digital-first business.
- Despite being rejected for a banking license by the nation's central bank, Bansal has not given up on turning Navi into a bank.
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| 6 | | Carpooling startup BlaBlaCar availed a €100M ($108M) revolving credit facility. French banks BNP Paribas and Société Générale and international banks Citi, JP Morgan, and HSBC provided the debt facility. The French startup opted for the non-dilutive funding option to scoop up smaller startups that are struggling to raise capital. More: - The company has been profitable for 24 months, claimed co-founder and CEO Nicolas Brusson.
- BlaBlaCar reported €195M ($211.8M) revenue in 2022 and over €250M ($271.5M) in 2023.
- In 2023, the startup facilitated bus and carpool rides for 80M passengers across the globe.
- It counts Brazil as its biggest market in terms of the number of users and expects India to displace its home country France from the second spot next year.
- The startup has yet to monetize its services in India, Brazil, Mexico, and Turkey.
- Next year, the company plans to add a train ticket booking option to its platform, expanding transit options for customers.
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| 7 | | Quick Hits: - As a key player in the corporate world, it's crucial to stay ahead of the curve and understand the implications of Visa and Mastercard's groundbreaking $5 billion settlement.*
- Defense technology firm Shield AI is set to acquire sensor maker Sentient Vision Systems for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition will help Shield AI expand the scope of its military drones by adding Sentient's technology to its self-developed flying software Hivemind.
- Biotech firm Ginkgo Bioworks acquired cell therapy platform assets from cellular therapy startup Modulus Therapeutics for an undisclosed sum.
- Yahoo agreed to acquire Artifact, the AI-powered news aggregator developed by Instagram's co-founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.
- African fintech startup Thepeer is shutting down, citing compliance issues that prevented it from becoming a key wallet provider. The firm had raised a $2.1M seed round two years ago.
- CCMP Capital Advisors-backed slip-resistant footwear maker Shoes for Crews filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Monday. In the bankruptcy filing, the firm listed assets worth about $100M against liabilities of $500M.
- Dice Cream is automating the ice cream industry with their revolutionary technology. Learn more about investing in their ice cream robot.*
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 | Analyst | | Karan Chafekar is a Management Consultant, Business enthusiast, and Licensed Pilot. | | This newsletter was edited by Karan Chafekar | |
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