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Arche Capital to Raise $100 Million Debut Fund Amid Crypto Comeback
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By Marc Vartabedian, WSJ Pro
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Good day. Crypto venture firm Arche Capital Management aims to raise a debut fund of up to $100 million, the latest firm to test the crypto waters as the sector attempts to rebound after a bruising couple of years.
Arche Co-founders Vanessa Grellet and William Wolf were crypto investors at different firms when the industry was hammered by a downturn that started in 2022 and knocked off many crypto companies. But their belief in crypto hasn’t wavered, they said, and they think limited partners that invest in venture funds are eager to jump back into the sector even if they suffered losses.
A growing crop of investors share that sentiment. In June, crypto-focused venture firm Paradigm said it raised its third fund, an $850 million vehicle focused on crypto startups. Axiom Venture Partners, a firm focused on crypto startups, said in July it was seeking $75 million for a sophomore fund. Earlier this year, Ego Death Capital, a venture fund focused on investing in bitcoin technology startups, said it was raising a $100 million second fund.
As more crypto funds spring up, the number of funding deals is also growing. There were 992 rounds for crypto startups from the start of the year through July, 32% more than during the same period last year, according to analytics provider CryptoRank. The total value of the deals stayed roughly level over the two periods.
Read the full story here.
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And now on to the news...
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Josh Kuhsner, founder of Thrive Capital. PHOTO: JAMIE McCARTHY/GETTY IMAGES
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Fresh funds. Thrive Capital raised $5 billion for its largest-ever pair of venture-capital funds, a sign of how the AI boom is encouraging some startup investors to go big again after a period of retrenchment,The Wall Street Journal reports.
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On Sunday, Thrive told its investors that it had received commitments for the full amount, which marks its biggest-ever fundraising and is among the largest completed this year by a venture firm. The New York-based firm last raised $3 billion two years ago.
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Thrive, founded 15 years ago by Josh Kushner, has gained greater prominence in Silicon Valley startup circles thanks to its close relationship with OpenAI, the ChatGPT maker helmed by CEO Sam Altman that kicked off the AI boom. Thrive first backed OpenAI in April 2023 and has invested hundreds of millions of dollars into the startup. Thrive also has invested in other AI startups recently, including Scale AI, and non-AI firms such as the movie studio A24.
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$1 Billion
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Size of Thrive Capital's early-stage venture fund. The firm also raised a $4 billion fund dedicated for later-stage investments.
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Ares Amasses Record $26 Billion in Second Quarter
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Ares Management raised a record $26 billion during this year’s second quarter and invested just as much, as the credit asset manager expects deal activity to remain high this year, WSJ Pro reports. “The macroeconomic backdrop for our business improved in the second quarter with a stronger transaction environment, solid and stable credit trends and a recovering real-estate market,” Chief Executive Michael Arougheti said Friday during a call with analysts to discuss the firm’s financial results in the period. “Given the more constructive transaction environment, we were more active across many of our investment strategies.” Ares invested $26.4 billion in the three months through June, about 74%
more than the $15.2 billion of the year-ago period and the second highest quarterly deployment total in the firm’s history, according to Arougheti.
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People
Onebeat, a provider of inventory management technology to retailers, appointed Sevonne Eliyahu as chief revenue officer. She was previously president of Gravyty.
NodThera, a startup focusing on the treatment of chronic inflammatory diseases, named Greg Chow as chief financial and business officer. He previously served as CFO at Freenome Holdings.
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Applied Carbon, a Houston-based startup whose technology converts agricultural crop waste into biochar, secured $21.5 million in Series A financing led by TO VC.
LTZ Therapeutics, a startup developing novel treatments for cancer and autoimmune diseases, landed $20.5 million in Series A funding led by Lapam Capital. The company’s main operations are in Redwood City, Calif., and China.
Checkly, a provider of proactive issue-detection technology for developers, raised $20 million in Series B funding. Balderton Capital led the round, with Partner Colin Hanna joining the company’s board.
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ILLUSTRATION: ROB DOBI
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AI vs. financial analysts: who is better at predicting earnings of public companies?
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What Bill Ackman got wrong with his bungled IPO
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AI is learning to predict the weather
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Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger’s dream job takes a nightmarish turn
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U.S. sues TikTok, alleging it violated child privacy law
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Google pulls Olympic-themed AI ad after failing to stick the landing
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OpenAI settles into its VC era (Fortune)
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Former Naver research scientist launches AI startup, aims to be the OpenAI of Korea (Forbes)
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