Feb 25th VC related events, news, articles for investors
Hello friends,
It has been a stressful tragic week and we hope things will get better asap :(
All of us want peace and no war is acceptable! Please help and support the organizations that are working to help the refugees and the people of Ukraine.
VNTR NEWS
We are hosting our first VNTR Breakfast event in India on March 3rd, 2022 hosted by Gaurav Sharma our regional partner in India. Gaurav is building our investors community in India and soon we will start investing in top Indian tech startups as a VNTR investment syndicate. The tech scene in India is growing rapidly and most of the major VCs and hedge funds are actively deploying capital there.
Want to join our team as a regional partner? VNTR regional partners grow VNTR local investors community and co-syndicate capital to VNTR deals. You can respond to this email if you are interested to grow in the Venture Capital world and joining our team.
We are launching a crypto-focused investment syndicate that will invest in promising crypto/blockchain/web3 ventures using DAO structures. We are still researching the mechanics of these investments and will share new deals with our active investors' community in March.
At least 20 members of the VNTR community will be in Dubai to explore the various projects that will be presented at Metaweek, WOW Summit, Crypto Expo Dubai, AIBC, and the various side events. If you plan to be there, join the VNTR Crypto Dubai March 2022 Telegram group to connect, get updates and plan activities together.
VNTR INVESTORS COMMUNITY
VNTR community is growing rapidly, 15 new investors joined us this week and 20 approved. The community allows vetted active VC investors to connect, share insights, learn from others, attend our online and offline events and collaborate on deals.
UPCOMING EVENTS
You can check VNTR upcoming events at https://www.vntr.vc/events
February 28 - March 3 - MWC Barcelona
March 3 - VNTR Breakfast New Delhi, India
March 8-9 - Metaweek Dubai, UAE
March 12-13 - Startup Grind Global Conference 2022, Silicon Valley
March 13-16 - Wow Summit Dubai, UAE
March 16-17 - Crypto Expo Dubai, UAE
March 17-19 - Nas Summit Dubai, UAE
March 20-23 - AIBC Summit Asia, Dubai, UAE
April 21 - Experiential Yachting Forum
April 22 - VNTR Breakfast Monaco
April 27-29 - TechChill 2022, Riga, Latvia
June 8-10 - South Summit. Madrid, Spain (30% partner discount)
June 20-23 - Collision, Toronto, Canada
Want to co-host VC events or sponsor, respond to this email to discuss opportunities.
VC READS
Trends That Will Shape VC Scene In 2022
Year on year more VC funding flows into the European startup ecosystem - in 2021 the amount hit 100bn EUR mainly due to increased investment tickets, a great deal of newly-launched funds, and innovative solutions fostered by the still-influential pandemic. On the other hand, such a trend indicates high competition within many different funds present on the European VC scene. Consequently, startups are becoming more selective while choosing the right VC fund for their business - no longer only money matters but also experience, industry expertise, and connections are crucial factors that VCs bring to the table.
How Web3 will change the digital economy forever
Do you remember the first time you posted on Facebook? The first time you tweeted? How about the first time you posted on LinkedIn? On Instagram? Think back – for the first ten years of the Internet, none of this was possible. The Internet was primarily a medium to read or gather information and the ability to create web pages were restricted to the privileged few.
Then came Web2. We called it the ‘read-write web.’ It democratized content creation where anyone could publish content. This User-Generated Content (UGC) today takes the form of blogs, tweets, posts, reviews, comments, and likes. The biggest social media and eCommerce platforms of today are all built on the back of UGC. We are now in the middle of the Web3 revolution. Perhaps the best way to think about Web3 is as the ‘read-write own’ web. The heart of Web3 is how it is challenging the way we think about ownership.
Why Early Valuations Might Surge in 2022
Will year-end Series A and B valuations top or trail those of January? This question sits atop most founders' lips and boardroom agendas. The broad market sentiment is they will be lower. Public-market software valuations have withered more than 60% from their highs. Alarms about interest rates, QE ending, and geopolitical risk have swirled around public technology companies, kinking the valuation curve. Amidst this gloomy backdrop, The Information published a story on hedge funds' strategy shift. Instead of late-stage opportunities, they’ll be focusing on the early-stage venture in 2022. If true, Series A and B markets may surge upward against the countervailing depressive momentum.
The Crunchbase Unicorn Board: Value Of World’s Biggest Startups Doubles In A Year To $4 Trillion
There are now more than 1,200 current unicorn startups—private companies valued at $1 billion or more—in the world, per The Crunchbase Unicorn Board.
These unicorn companies have collectively raised more than $700 billion in funding over their lifetimes and reached a new milestone this year: Topping $4 trillion in value for the first time. That’s double the value of the world’s unicorns at the end of 2020 when the 650 private companies on the list were altogether valued at around $2 trillion.
Why crypto startup funding has surged despite the policy, legal woes
Funding in global and Indian crypto ventures hit a record high in 2021 despite uncertainties on legal and policy fronts. Blockchain platform Polygon recently raised $450 million. What has caused the spurt in investments in the last two years? What is the strategy behind private equity and venture capital investors’ bets in this emerging space despite the uncertainty around crypto regulation in India? Crypto companies spent millions of dollars on advertisements for the Super Bowl for the first time last Sunday, attracting over 100 million viewers. One of the ads which have gone viral features comedian Larry David. The creator of the hit sitcom ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’ portrays skeptical figures during great moments in history. After scoffing at the invention of the light bulb and man landing on the moon, David suggests crypto will never amount to anything.
Meet The VC Firm With $544 Million To Buy ‘Orphaned’ Startup Stakes From Other Funds
In the thick of it all, Viswanathan’s firm is hoping to profit through a less-common approach. Founded in 2018, the firm looks to build positions in startups by buying out other VC firms -either a portfolio of their equity holdings or taking some or all of an investment à la carte. And Viswanathan has two new funds, worth a combined $544 million, in new capital to do it.
The early stage continues to resemble the late stage of years past.” That’s quite the lede from Pitchbook’s 2021 VC Valuations Report. As Yogi Berra once said, “It’s getting late early.”
According to this report, the median early-stage valuation jumped 50% YoY to $45 million in 2021. “This value represents a higher median than the late-stage just a few years ago and illustrates the tsunami of capital that has flowed into the venture strategy.”
Fintech Funding In Africa Reaches Record High As Flutterwave Becomes Continent’s Highest-Valued Startup
This week fintech company Flutterwave earned the rank of Africa’s highest-valued startup with a $3 billion valuation that came with a fresh $250 million Series D round of funding.
The news was certainly celebrated by the company, but also continent-wide, especially taken in the context of an overall rise in fintech funding to African startups.
In 2021, fintech companies headquartered in Africa raised $2 billion, per Crunchbase data. That contrasts with $230 million raised in 2020. (Worth noting however is that Flutterwave’s funding is not actually included in these numbers since it is technically headquartered in San Francisco much like fellow Africa-operating fintech company Chipper Cash).
Ciao Bella! Scalapay brings home $497 million as Italy now lays claim to its first unicorn
Having raked in $155 million in a Tiger Global-led round last September, it was only a matter of time until buy-now-pay-later platform Scalapay lay claim to the title of Italy’s first startup with a $1 billion+ valuation. And such is the case as of today, as the Milanese company has announced an additional $497 million ($213 million in equity and $284 million in debt) added to the coffers in a Series B round.
Under The Hood: How Early-Stage Investor Initialized Spots Future Unicorns
Garry Tan, a co-founder at seed investment firm Initialized Capital, became an investor almost by accident. Tan had joined the prestigious startup accelerator Y Combinator in 2010 as a designer in residence and that same year was given a shot at becoming an investor as the program grew. Previously, Tan co-founded Posterous, a company that made blogging simple, which was accepted into Y Combinator’s Summer 2008 program. While an investor at YC, Tan co-founded Initialized in 2012 with Alexis Ohanian, co-founder of Reddit, another YC company, along with YC partner Harjeet Taggar. (Ohanian is now a board partner at Initialized and has since founded Seven Seven Six. Taggar rejoined YC as a partner in 2020.)
While Dutch tech sizzles, it’s a cold winter for the country’s deeptech founders
While Dutch tech startups have raised record amounts in the past year, there’s one group feeling left out: deeptech founders. Take artificial intelligence, a fiercely competitive deeptech segment. Per capita, the Netherlands has the highest density of AI startups in the EU. But while Dutch AI startups attract 8% of all VC deals, per 2021 data, this translates to only 3% of total funding raised by Dutch startups last year, according to Techleap. That marks a sharp contrast with funding and success in other tech sectors. Of the 10 largest deals raised by European tech companies in 2021, two — MessageBird and Mollie — were Dutch, which in turn has made it fifth in Europe for unicorns with 24, or startups valued at over $1bn. A gold-rush mentality reigns. Money invested in Dutch tech is rising not only thanks to more rounds but also the growing size of rounds.