1.
World Bank Group invests in a start-up tackling the $2.5 trillion food waste problem
Apeel, a food science start-up backed by Oprah and Katy Perry, is launching a new initiative to help the world’s smallest-scale farms waste less and get more of their crops to market. The company, which makes natural coatings that extend the shelf-life of supermarket staples like avocados and lemons, has raised $30 million in new funding from investors to help with the new effort as well as its expansion to more grocery stores around the world and introducing a wider variety of crop coatings. Among those new investors is the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a sister organization of the World Bank
and member of the World Bank Group, which is the largest global development institution focused exclusively on the private sector in developing countries. This year alone, IFC has invested $22 billion in private companies like Apeel, and their buy-in adds to a roster of heavy-hitting investors for the agritech company, including Andreessen Horowitz, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation. [ CNBC ]
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2.
What each presidential candidate means for venture capital
Joe Biden appears to align with more venture capital and startup industry priorities than does Donald Trump, despite the latter's dedication to cutting personal and business taxes. Why it matters: Trump’s hostility to immigration and bans on Chinese apps TikTok and WeChat are especially challenging for the industry, according to its top lobbying group, the National Venture Capital Association. The NVCA does not endorse presidential
candidates, nor does its political action committee (VenturePAC) donate to presidential candidates. - VenturePAC has given more to Republican congressional candidates in the 2020 cycle than to Democratic congressional candidates.
- Venture capitalists themselves tend to lean Democratic, although there are plenty of notable exceptions. [ Axios ]
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Special:
Deep tech VC fund The Engine raises $230M for its second fund from MIT and new backer Harvard
Deep tech. Hard tech. Or, as The Engine dubs it, Tough Tech. Venture investing today is essentially identical to what happens on Wall Street, focused on data rooms, spreadsheets, SaaS churn models and cohort analysis. Yet, the history of venture
capital firms is heavily interwoven with universities and their research. Some of the most famous VC funds like Kleiner Perkins got their start funding compelling research projects out of laboratories and financing their commercialization toward scale. Technical risk is something many VCs like to avoid, but The Engine has built an entire brand and thesis around it. Centered around Kendall Square and the broader MIT ecosystem, The Engine debuted a couple of years ago with a focus on
“tough tech” problems that are perhaps a touch too early for other VCs. That’s led to investments in companies like Boston Metal, which builds environmentally-friendly steel alloys, WoHo, which is rethinking modular building construction that we profiled last week, and Commonwealth Fusion Systems, which is developing fusion power. [ Tech Crunch ]
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3.
Intuitive Launches $100 Million Venture Capital Fund
Intuitive (Nasdaq: ISRG), a global technology leader in minimally invasive care and the pioneer of robotic-assisted surgery, today announced the launch of Intuitive Ventures. The inaugural $100 million fund will invest in the future leaders of minimally invasive care. Intuitive Ventures is focused on investment opportunities in digital tools, precision diagnostics, focal therapeutics and platform technologies that share Intuitive’s commitment to advancing positive outcomes in healthcare. The fund will support independent initiatives in the direct and adjacent fields of minimally invasive care and marks the entrance into the venture capital space for parent company Intuitive. “The future of minimally invasive care spans the patient journey from
early diagnosis to treatment and beyond,” said Julian Nikolchev, President of Intuitive Ventures. ”Intuitive Ventures is investing in cutting-edge innovation across the continuum of care to bring the future forward.” [ globe news wire ]
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4.
CREATING THE MINORITY RENAISSANCE FOR VENTURE CAPITAL: INTERVIEW WITH HENRI PIERRE-JACQUES AND JARRID TINGLE, MANAGING PARTNERS AT HARLEM CAPITAL
Walking into Harvard Business School as friends, roommates, and colleagues in 2017, Henri Pierre-Jacques (MBA 2019) and Jarrid Tingle (MBA 2019) already knew each other well. What they didn’t know yet was how their angel syndicate, Harlem Capital, would grow, evolve, and change the face of entrepreneurship over the next two years and beyond. The Early Days of Harlem Capital The Harlem Capital story begins well before that first day on campus. In 2015, Pierre-Jacques
and Tingle first joined forces at ICV Partners, a middle-market minority owned private equity firm founded by Willie Woods (MBA 1993), after each launching their careers in investment banking. “Joining ICV was a great experience and eye opening for us because we were used to being in majority environments,” said Tingle. “Also, at a smaller firm you were involved with everything, from investments, to legal, to tax, to portfolio management which created a great preamble before Harlem Capital.” [ Harvard Business Review ] Checkout 15K+ Venture Capital Data on our platform.
5.
$60 Million Japanese-Israeli Venture Capital Fund Aims to Invest in Early Stage Israeli Tech Companies
CTech – Japanese asset management firm Aristagora Advisors announced on Tuesday the launch of a new venture capital fund Aristagora VC dedicated to investment in early-stage Israeli startups. The $60 million fund will focus on deep tech companies and will invest $500,00 to $1.5 million as an initial investment in each selected initiative and support its portfolio companies’ growth through next-stage funding rounds. The fund’s Israeli partners include managing partner Anat Tila Cherni, who has 10 years of experience in the fields of technology investments, capital markets, and investment banking, having previously led the Asia Desk at Discount Capital Underwriting; managing partner Moshe Sarfaty, a former managing partner at Krypton VC and a former Bank of America executive; and investment committee chairman Gideon Ben-Zvi, who currently serves as the CEO of Valens and in the past founded and managed four startups, three of which made it through successful exits. The fund’s fourth partner, Takeshi Shinoda, operates out of Japan and is the owner and CEO of Aristagora Advisors.[ algemeiner ]
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6.
New York State Teachers assigns $200 million to venture capital fund
New York State Teachers' Retirement System, Albany, made a private equity commitment of up to $200 million to TCV XI, a late-stage venture and growth fund, according a report prepared for the $109.5 billion pension fund's upcoming governing board meeting Thursday. The fund, managed by Technology Crossover Ventures, focuses on "investments in the enterprise IT, internet, services and software
subsectors of the technology industry," the report said. Technology Crossover Ventures is an existing relationship for the pension fund. [ pionline ] Checkout 15K+ Venture Capital Data on our platform.
7.
Ordermark Raises $120M in Series C Funding Led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2 to Help Independent Restaurants Thrive
Ordermark, one of the leading providers of online ordering management solutions for restaurants and virtual restaurant concepts, today announced the close of its $120M Series C funding round led by Softbank Vision Fund 2[1] and joined by returning investor Act One Ventures. The funding will be used to help more restaurants transition to online ordering during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. “2020 has been a tough year for restaurants and that’s why we’re focused on providing products and services to help keep their doors open,” said Alex Canter, Ordermark CEO and Co-Founder.
“With 92% of restaurant traffic now off-premise, this funding gives us the opportunity to provide more restaurants with innovative ways to reach more consumers. The restaurant industry is in the midst of the e-commerce phase, where restaurants must get creative by embracing technology and new sources of revenue generation to reach customers outside of their four walls.” [ Business wire ] Checkout 15K+ Venture Capital Data on our platform.
8.
SimilarWeb announces closing of $120M financing round
SimilarWeb, the world's leading digital market intelligence company, today announced the closing of a $120M investment round. The transaction includes both primary and secondary components, bringing the company's total funding to $240M to date. The round was co-led by ION Crossover Partners and Viola Growth. This latest investment will be used to accelerate SimilarWeb's aggressive growth plans, expand brand awareness, and support expansion of the business through M&A activities. [ Yahoo ]
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9.
Tencent leads $100M Series B funding round into China-based esport provider VSPN
Further confirmation that the esports market is booming amid the pandemic comes today with the news that esports “total solutions provider” VSPN (Versus Programming Network) has raised what it describes as “close to” $100 million in a Series B funding round, led by Tencent Holdings . Other investors that participated in the round include Tiantu Capital, SIG (Susquehanna International Group), and Kuaishou. The funding round will go toward improving esports products and its ecosystem in China and across Asia. [ Tech Crunch ] Checkout 15K+ Venture Capital Data on our platform.
10.
Impact America’s $55 million second fund is hunting for unicorns in the disruption of systemic racism
Kesha Cash has raised $55 million to look for technologies that address one of the largest market inefficiencies of our time: systemic racism. Impact America Fund’s thesis: Solutions to structural racism represent a series of multi-billion dollar investment opportunities. Cash, the fund’s sole general partner, attracted more than 65 limited partners to her second fund, including the MacArthur, Ford, California Wellness, Kellogg and Surdna foundations. Wealth managers betting on Cash include Cambridge Associates, Veris Wealth Partners, Caprock, Trillium Impact Partners and Monticello Associates. [ impact alpha ] Checkout 15K+ Venture Capital Data on our platform.
11.
Rockset raises $40 million to index and analyze data at scale
Real-time analytics startup Rockset today announced a $40 million round. The company says the funds will be used to grow its workforce and accelerate product development and research while bolstering its go-to-market efforts. A 2018 report from Domo estimated that humans were creating 2.5 quintillion bytes (or 2.5 exabytes) of data per day, a number that has only increased since. Perhaps unsurprisingly, some companies are tapping the data deluge more effectively — and efficiently — than others. A recent Pricewaterhousecoopers survey of over 1,800 business leaders found that 43%
obtained little tangible benefit from their information. And over 20% reported deriving no benefit whatsoever. [ Venture Beat ] Checkout 15K+ Venture Capital Data on our platform.
12.
Israeli SaaS co Salto raises $27m
Israeli SaaS company Salto has announced a $27 million Series A financing round led by Bessemer Venture Partners, Lightspeed Venture Partners and Salesforce Ventures. The company, founded by serial entrepreneurs CEO Rami Tamir, Benny Schnaider and Gil Hoffer, has emerged from stealth and launched its SaaS solution for business application configuration. After their success with previous companies - Pentacom (acquired by Cisco), Qumranet (acquired by Red Hat) and Ravello Systems (acquired by Oracle) -
they founded Salto to fundamentally change the way companies configure and manage their business applications. [ tribune ledger news ] Checkout 15K+ Venture Capital Data on our platform.
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