VNTR Capital News Jan 7, 2024 – News, Events, VC Reads
Venture Capital, Web3, and Private Equity – Jan 7 News, Events, and VC Reads
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VNTR CAPITAL COMMUNITY NEWS
Happy New Year! Welcome back! We wish you great health, happiness, and success as you pursue your goals in 2024! This is our first VNTR Capital Newsletter edition in 2024.
Spotlight
Davos WEF — Join us at our annual Davos VC gathering held in conjunction with World Economic Forum 2024 at Venture Capital Investors Roundtable Davos on Jan 17, hosted at The Hub by CasperLabs. Companies seeking a presence at Davos and the opportunity to connect with influential investors are invited to apply and join us. Learn about sponsorship packages. Checkout Venture Capital's curated list of WEF side events
VNTR Membership — We onboarded 1000+ qualified investors on VNTR PRO and LITE memberships on the VNTR Platform. Our goal is to grow the platform and community to 10k vetted and qualified investment decision-makers in 2024. Using the VNTR Platform, Investors can connect, share deal flow, co-invest, support each other, register for VNTR events in one click, and enjoy partner offers.
VNTR Speed Networking — Meet 10-15 potential co-investors and partners during VNTR Speed Networking on Jan 9.
VNTR Supercars Rally — We launched the registration for our 3-day/3-night driving adventure in the UAE from February 29 to March 3. Traverse the stunning landscapes of UAE, navigate through captivating deserts, and conquer scenic mountain routes while behind the wheel of high-performance supercars. Join us for an unforgettable experience, complete with sightseeing stops and immersive moments along the way. Apply to join
VNTR GP membership — We launched VNTR GP Membership Services, designed to seamlessly connect top General Partners (GPs) with Limited Partners (LPs) on a global scale. Our dedicated team of account managers collaborates closely with Venture Capital (VC) fund GPs, actively facilitating introductions to LPs within the expansive VNTR network worldwide. At VNTR, we combine personal introductions service and organize a series of engaging GP LP activation activities and events. These events are strategically crafted to foster stronger connections between GPs and LPs, ultimately paving the way for effective capital deployment. Join the VNTR Platform to create your GP or LP accounts. Contact us if you want to join VNTR GP membership services.
Corporate Sponsorship — Join us as a partner with a customized corporate sponsorship program to leverage VNTR events, newsletters, and the VNTR platform to forge connections with investors and premium clientele in 2024. Companies are invited to Apply to schedule a call.
VNTR Chapters — We are launching VNTR Chapters globally and are on the lookout for dynamic Chapter Directors in key cities to spearhead the expansion of the VNTR Capital community. As Chapter Directors, you will play a crucial role as super connectors, fostering growth and establishing strong ties with the global Venture Capital community. Apply to join
Thank you to our Partners and Sponsors:
Casper Labs is a leading software and product development firm in the blockchain industry whose founding team authored the popular Casper Network. As the engineers at Casper Labs continue to introduce new features for the Casper codebase, Casper Labs has also developed into a fully-staffed software and solutions firm, offering products and services for enterprises and governments around the world. Casper Labs is proud to be in partnership with some of the world's most prestigious organizations, including SkyBridge Capital, the World Economic Forum, IBM, AWS, the XPRIZE Foundation & Open ExO, the HyperLedger Foundation, and others. For more, please feel free to contact Cliff Sarkin, Chief of Strategic Relations, via email.
Airmeet is an event experience platform for bringing people together from wherever they are, from virtual summits and webinars to meetups, workshops, and everything in between. Airmeet Event Experience Cloud is the only unlimited virtual and hybrid event platform out there. Contact Prashant Pansare to learn more.
VNTR Capital 2024 Events:
Jan 8 VNTR PRO Members Mastermind (Online)
Jan 9 VNTR Speed Networking (Online)
Jan 10 VNTR PRO Members Mastermind (Online)
Jan 11 VNTR PRO Members Mastermind (Online)
Jan 11 VNTR Investors Dinner London (hosting VNTR PRO member Joachim Rittfeldt Hofvenschiöld)
Jan 15 VNTR Investors Roundtable Barcelona (Barcelona Chapter event)
Jan 16 Venture Capital Investors Lunch Davos (World Economic Forum 2024 side event)
Jan 17 Venture Capital Investors Roundtable Davos (World Economic Forum 2024 side event)
Jan 18 VNTR Investors Roundtable New Delhi (Fintech India Expo side event)
Jan 23 VNTR Investors Breakfast Tel-Aviv (Israel Chapter event)
Jan 25 VNTR Investors Roundtable Melbourne (Australian Open 2024 side event)
Feb 7 VNTR Investors Roundtable London (ICE London side event)
Feb 8 VNTR Investors Roundtable Mexico City (Zonamaco side event)
Feb 27 VNTR Investors Roundtable Barcelona (Mobile World Congress side event)
Feb 27 VNTR Investors Roundtable Doha (Web Summit Qatar side event)
Feb 29 - March 3 VNTR Investors Supercars Rally UAE
March 1 VNTR Investors Roundtable Denver (ETHDenver side event)
March 5 VNTR Investors Roundtable Riyadh (LEAP side event)
March 10 VNTR Investors Roundtable Austin (SXSW side event)
April 10 VNTR Investors Roundtable Paris (Paris Blockchain Week side event)
Additional 50+ VNTR events will be released on the VNTR Platform by the end of January 2024
RSVP to Upcoming VNTR Capital Events
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UPCOMING VC EVENTS
Jan 9-12 CES, Las Vegas, USA
Jan 9-19 WEB3FEST Winter Edition, St.Moritz & Davos, Switzerland
Jan 10-12 CFC, St. Moritz, Switzerland
Jan 10-11 MetaVSummit, Dubai, UAE
Jan 15-19 DavosWeek, Davos, Switzerland
Jan 15-19 unDavos, Davos, Switzerland
Jan 15-19 World Economic Forum Annual Meeting, Davos, Switzerland
Jan 16-18 iFX Expo, Dubai, UAE
Jan 17 House of Trust - yeswetrust Impact Investors Lunch, Davos, Switzerland
Jan 17 Raising Impact Family Office Investment Summit, Davos, Switzerland
Jan 17-19 FinTech India Expo, New Delhi, India
Jan 24-26 sTARTUp Day 2024, Tartu, Estonia
Jan 24-25 Asian Financial Forum, Hong Kong
Feb 6-8 ICE London, UK
Feb 20-21 Crypto360, Dubai, UAE
Feb 21-22 Step Conference, Dubai, UAE
Feb 21-22 Catalyst, Lisbon, Portugal
Feb 23-Mar 3 ETH Denver, Denver, USA
Feb 25-28 AIBC, Dubai, UAE
Feb 26-29 Mobile World Congress, Barcelona, Spain
Feb 26-29 4YFN, Barcelona, Spain
Feb 29-Mar 3 VNTR Supercars Rally UAE
Mar 4-7 LEAP, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Mar 8-16 SXSW, Austin, USA
Mar 26-27 Wow Summit, Hong Kong
April 8-12 Paris Blockchain Week, Paris, France
April 18-19 Token2049, Dubai, UAE
April 18-19 EmergeAmericas, Miami, USA
April 23-25 Money 20/20 Asia, Bangkok, Thailand
May 6-7 Dubai FinTech Summit, Dubai, UAE
May 15-16 Next Block Expo
May 22-25 Viva Technology, Paris, France
May 29-31 Consensus, Austin, UAE
May 29 -31 Gitex Africa, Morocco
June 5-7 South Summit, Madrid, Spain
If you would like to submit VC-related events, please respond to this email or Telegram @byuric
Follow us on Social media: Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, Flickr, and Twitter.
Check out VNTR Capital upcoming events
VC Reads and News
View curated VC news and articles on the VNTR Platform
Investors Who Amassed The Most Unicorns Stepped Way Back In 2023
Funding to the unicorn class of companies — those private startups valued at $1 billion or more — has fallen dramatically in 2023, to around 25% of what it was in the 2021 market peak, an analysis of Crunchbase data shows. So perhaps it’s no surprise that investments by leading investors in unicorn companies have dropped precipitously in 2023. For this analysis, we look at the nine most active venture and growth investors globally who have racked up the most investments in unicorn companies since 2018.
Heat is on for PE exits to rebound in 2024
Advisers to private equity firms are optimistic about a rebound in exit activity this year. The pressure is building on PE firms to deal with a backlog of maturing investments, which means more managers may be receptive to lower valuations to secure deals. PE exit activity slumped in 2023 as buyout firms chose to hold on to their investments rather than take them to market, holding out for a recovery in valuation multiples that would allow them to exit at better prices.
US venture capital fundraising hits a 6-year low
Fundraising by US venture capital firms hit a six-year low in 2023, an ominous sign for start-ups with dwindling cash reserves and fledging businesses reliant on such backing for survival.
The $67bn raised by US VCs in 2023 is the lowest annual total since 2017 and represents a 60 per cent drop from the $173bn raised in 2022, the peak year for fundraising, according to analysis by private markets data provider PitchBook and the National Venture Capital Association.
Globally, in 2023 venture investors raised the lowest level of capital since 2015.
European tech’s top VC-backed M&A deals in 2023
When it came to exits in 2023, all eyes in European tech were on M&A given equity markets remain unfriendly to newcomers. The M&A market showed consistent levels of activity, although the volume and value of deals were far from the peaks of 2020 and 2021, according to Atomico’s State of European Tech report. There were just five billion-dollar acquisitions, but not a single VC-backed company was in that group, the report said. Using data collected by Sifted covering 2023, we compiled Europe’s top 10 European tech takeovers of the year.
From SVB And SBF To AI And IPOs, There Was A Lot Of Action (And Acronyms) In 2023
After a rough 2022, many people in venture were hoping 2023 would offer a reprieve. While the year did see some steadying in the venture-backed startup world, it did not lack for big stories, big busts and big buzz. From crypto contagion to a banking crisis that rocked the industry, to a CEO’s firing saga that was like a never-ending soap opera storyline, 2023 saw a lot — so let’s take a look back as we go forward. The year started with many folks still trying to wrap their heads around one of the greatest startup implosions of all time.
How do I get a job in VC?
VCs play an important role in building ecosystems, and careers in venture capital have become increasingly sought after amid growing opportunities to invest in high-quality startups in Europe. But even as an increasing number of VC firms have been established in Europe, paths into VC haven’t gotten much easier. Demand for roles far outstrips supply, and the route in can be opaque, exclusive and arduous. I fell into VC by accident. I didn’t know what venture capital was at university, or even private equity as an asset class. There were no programmes designed to ease entry to the sector, and very few relatable examples of people whose career steps I could trace. Ten years on the landscape is different and — though not easy — there are more ways in.
Bitcoin ETF approval would be a ‘historic mistake,’ says Better Markets CEO
Dennis Kelleher, CEO of the nonprofit organization Better Markets, has urged the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) not to approve a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), arguing that it goes against the core principles of the regulatory body. In a letter addressed to SEC secretary Vanessa Countryman on Jan. 5, Kelleher emphasized that if the SEC were to approve a spot Bitcoin ETF, it could lead to investors facing significant risks.
Logjam in Funding: Limited Runway for Startups Heading into 2024
Venture capital fundraising in the United States has reached its lowest level in six years, according to recent data. The annual fundraising figure for 2023 is on track to be the lowest since 2015, with a decline of more than 50% compared to the previous year, according to the Financial Times. The annual total raised by VCs in 2023 is $67 billion, which is the lowest since 2017. This drop in funding has impacted startups across the globe, leading to mass layoffs and a lack of opportunity for cashing out. The challenging funding landscape has caused many startups to shut down, with thousands of workers losing their jobs. VC firms have also faced difficulties, with some showing vulnerabilities. However, there is cautious optimism that the situation will improve in 2024, albeit slightly.
Last year was a tough period for African growth-stage startups and 2024 presents a mixed bag
Last year presented a tough period for African tech startups. Venture capital was hard to bag (as predicted earlier), bridge and down rounds became the norm, and news of fire sales, layoffs and startup closures reverberated across the continent. With the overall amount of VC funding raised in Africa dipping significantly across the year, according to initial reports, after steady growth over the last decade (and the windfall of the previous two years), startups and scale-ups in the continent have suffered far-reaching consequences. Unshockingly, while capital became elusive from all fronts, growth-stage companies in Africa bore the brunt of the market correction, hot on the heels of a season of bountiful funding and high valuations.
Global Startup funding in 2023 clocks in at lowest level in five years
A slower final quarter ended a lackluster year for global startup funding as venture capital investors continued to hold back in 2023, Crunchbase data showed Thursday. Crunchbase said in a statement that in all, 2023 is on pace to be the lowest for venture funding since 2018. According to the statement, global startup investment in 2023 reached $285 billion — marking a 38 percent decline year over year, down from the $462 billion invested in 2022.
Cutbacks were deep across all funding stages globally. Early-stage funding in 2023 was down more than 40 percent year over year, late stage by 37 percent, and seed just over 30 percent. It’s worth keeping some perspective, though, overall funding in 2023 was down by less than 20 percent when compared to the pre-pandemic years of 2018 to 2020.
Forecast: 15 Companies We Think May Actually, Really, Finally, Maybe Go Public In 2024
Will 2024 be the year IPOs finally come roaring back, after a more than two-year lull? That seems unlikely, but then again, all venture-backed startups have to exit sometime, so at least some companies will likely decide to head to the public markets this year.
With that in mind, we once again offer up some ideas for companies we think would be top contenders when the public markets eventually reopen for new tech listings.
Fund of funds hasn't been popular in recent years, but everything might change soon.
Andreessen Horowitz is preparing to launch a new FoF. Bain Capital Ventures and Insight Partners have already used FoFs to access early-stage deal flow.
DePINs and AI positioned to be 2024 ‘power duo,’ DeFi execs predict
In 2023, decentralized physical infrastructure networks (DePINs) started gaining traction with major manufacturers worldwide to integrate physical world infrastructure with blockchain technology. DePINs are blockchain protocols that use cryptocurrency tokens to incentivize the creation and operation of physical infrastructure in a decentralized manner. It is increasingly associated with the Internet of Things (IoT). According to data from digital asset marketing intelligence firm Messari, the DePIN market has a current valuation of nearly $2.2 trillion, with a trajectory that could see it reach up to $3.5 trillion in the next four years.
The global venture capital market is not done retreating yet
Even though news of potential interest rate cuts has led to optimism that the IPO window might reopen and things might improve in startup land, it appears the global venture capital market has yet to level out: Early data from PitchBook indicates global VC investment in startups continued to slide in the fourth quarter of 2023. While things are down sharply in the United States compared to the heady days of 2021, investment trends seem to have largely reached a new normal — U.S. startups raised $37.5 billion in Q4 2023, which wasn’t much less than the $37.6 billion they raised in Q2 2023 and the $39.8 billion in Q4 2022.
VCs are optimistic that AI investing will move beyond the hype in 2024
Artificial intelligence startups had a wild ride in 2023. Everyone and their grandmother tried out some sort of AI tool, startups in the space raised rounds at 2021 valuations, there were high-profile shutdowns, and then to close out the year, we had all the drama surrounding Sam Altman and OpenAI — plus New York Times’ lawsuit against the company. With so much in the rearview mirror, it’s hard to predict what will happen with AI startups in 2024. But some people, like investors, make their living from shrewd bets, so TechCrunch+ recently asked more than 40 investors what they think AI investing could look like in 2024.
The French tech exit market seems to have a €5B-ish annual ceiling on it
French corporates aren't big on M&A (acquisition by PE firms is often now a better route to exit), and going public in France doesn't have much upside. It's hard to build an asset class when an ever increasing number of deals all eventually have to fight over the same exit pie.
Creativity will be key to private equity's success in 2024
Necessity is the mother of invention, so goes the adage. And, while ingenuity and adaptability have always been in private equity's DNA, 2023 was a year when the paradigm shifted dramatically, and PE had little option but to change up its approach. The coming year is likely to bring greater stability (heavy emphasis on likely), but there is little indication that dramatic changes in market conditions are in the offing. In short, creative approaches will be just as important in 2024 as they were in 2023—perhaps even more.
Investors Press Pause On Gaming Startups
When it comes to raising money, gaming startups aren’t seeing a lot of play. Per Crunchbase data, seed- through growth-stage investment in companies tied to the gaming industry hit a multiyear low last year. Large, pre-IPO rounds all but disappeared, and early-stage action remained muted. For perspective, we charted out global investment for the past six calendar years below. It shows that funding in 2023 was down 79% from the prior year.
Why generative AI orchestration startups are poised for growth in 2024
Startups are racing to bring generative AI to other companies. Plenty have stumbled along the way. Many of the most pressing challenges have less to do with perfecting large language models than sorting out how to use them. Choosing the right model, integrating multiple LLMs into a single service, and deploying applications at low cost—these are the problems projects now face.
Enter orchestration startups, which help developers integrate and manage generative AI models. And they're poised to play an ever-larger role as founders embrace a multi-model approach and more companies put generative AI into action.
Crypto doesn’t need a blockchain or token, Tether CEO says
In 2024, the crypto industry needs to provide users with “real-world use cases and applications” that are not necessarily based on a token or blockchain, according to Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino. “Crypto doesn’t need a blockchain. It doesn’t need a token,” he told Cointelegraph in an exclusive interview. Ardoino argued that the next crypto killer app should be focused on the fundamental value proposition offered by cryptography, which consists of peer-to-peer transactions and privacy protections.
VCs anticipate more exits in 2024 but have no consensus on when or how
It’s been a rough few years for startups looking to exit, but companies, especially late-stage startups, can’t stay private forever. When the exit market didn’t open back up in 2023, as many hoped after a very quiet 2022, investors and founders alike decided that 2024 was the year that the exit market would defrost. Now that 2024 is here, do they still think that? TechCrunch+ recently surveyed more than 40 investors to get their predictions on a variety of topics heading into 2024, including what they thought the state of the exit market will look like. The vast majority of investors responded that they think exit volume will be higher in 2024 than in 2023 and 2022, but there wasn’t consensus on what those exits would look like.
India saw highest private equity, venture capital exits in 2023
India saw the highest number of private equity and venture capital exits in 2023, according to a report on Wednesday. The report by Nuvama Institutional Equities showed that about 78 companies witnessed PE exits, totalling Rs 97,500 crore. This included Paytm at Rs 12,900 crore — Alibaba, Berkshire Hathaway, and SoftBank Corp; followed by Coforge at Rs 10,900 crore — Baring Asia; and Mankind at Rs 8,800 crore — ChrysCapital and Capital International, the report said. About 45 per cent of the total PE exits in 2023 were reported in financials.
Stablecoins Can Help Fix the Current Lending Market
Lending markets are evolving, transitioning from a traditional, bank-centric framework to a more diverse and technologically advanced ecosystem. This evolution is particularly evident since the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) and is fundamentally reshaping the landscape of capital aggregation and distribution.
However, the current market structure still faces considerable friction. We believe, integrating blockchain into the existing financial tech stack will improve the efficiency of capital flows and expand access.
VC investments and exits were tepid in 2023
In 2023, U.S. venture capital deal activity continued its slump from the highs two years ago, and global VC investments fell to the lowest levels since 2019.
In 2023, 15,766 deals were completed in the U.S., but, more importantly for the industry, just $170.6 billion was invested into companies, which is roughly half of the amount invested in 2021 and highlights the shortage of capital availability private companies are facing, according to a report by Pitchbook and National Venture Capital Association.
ETFs Offer Tailwinds for Other Digital Assets
Looking back, 2023 was unmistakably a year of transition for the emergent asset class. Positioning, leverage and the speculative excesses from the previous market cycle were swept away in 2022, allowing for the seeds of the next cycle to sprout in 2023. What persisted and remains is a market with increased interoperability across protocols and projects, with builders and market participants catering to regulated institutional investors with an eye towards greater real-world utility. Once prominent crypto exchanges like FTX and Binance have seen changes in leadership, with more regulated players like Coinbase, Bullish (now owner of CoinDesk), and EDX leading the market. Meanwhile, traditional futures exchanges like CME are seeing growing volumes for bitcoin and ether-linked futures contracts (see chart below), which now exceed Binance in bitcoin futures open interest.
As IPO Market Ends 2023 With A Whimper Not A Bang, What Does 2024 Hold?
The September public debuts of Arm, Klaviyo and Instacart signaled the public markets could be opening up again. After all, these were the largest tech IPOs in more than 18 months. However, since these debuts, zero venture-backed companies in the U.S. markets have listed above a billion dollars. And Klaviyo and Instacart are down from their IPO price by 22% and 33%, respectively, as of Dec. 31, 2023, around three months since going public. Arm, which was acquired by SoftBank in 2016 and then taken public, is by contrast 40% above its IPO price.
2024 Predictions by Scott Galloway
Each year, we review/make predictions re the past/coming year. Most years, we hit more than we miss. But we do miss — if we made 10 predictions that all came true, that wouldn’t be predicting but stating the obvious. The caliber of a prediction is a function of what it reveals about the subject, how it frames or reframes a familiar topic, and whether it inspires a productive dialogue. Here’s how we did in 2023, followed by our predictions for 2024.
The Paradigm Shift in Venture Capital: From Seed to Series A
The venture capital (VC) sector is renowned for its ever-changing nature, marked by continuous shifts and new trends. This dynamism is vital for investors who excel in identifying future opportunities for substantial investment, often referred to as 'smart money'. These investors are more than just financial backers; they strategically place their capital in ventures where they foresee significant growth and innovation.
Recently, there's been a notable shift in this domain: the perceptions of risk and value in Series A funding rounds as compared to Seed rounds are evolving. Historically, Seed rounds were perceived as high-risk but potentially high-reward opportunities, while Series A rounds were considered somewhat safer bets. However, current trends suggest a re-evaluation of these stages. This article intends to delve into this shift, exploring how and why the perceptions of risk and value at these stages are changing, and the broader implications for the VC ecosystem.