VNTR Capital News March 14, 2023 - News, Events, VC Reads
Venture Capital, Web3, and Private Equity - March 14 News, Events, and VC Reads
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Happy Tuesday!
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Scroll down for VNTR Capital Community News, Upcoming Events, and VC News/Reads.
VNTR CAPITAL COMMUNITY NEWS
Weekly Highlights
New Expert Session — We are delighted to announce that we will be hosting Bibop Gresta, the Co-Founder of HyperloopTT and Founder & CEO of Hyperloop Italia. HyperloopTT is a transportation technology company that aims to revolutionize the way people and goods are transported at supersonic speeds. Bibop will share insights into the workings and capabilities of this innovative transportation system. Join us Online to discover the future of transportation on March 21 at 4pm UK / 8pm Dubai. Apply now secure your spot
VNTR Membership — We are excited to announce that we have started onboarding our first members to the VNTR Community Membership. Our mission is to provide our members with the tools, resources, and network needed to achieve their financial goals and build a successful investment portfolio. Join VNTR Membership
Featured New PRO Members:
Dubai — VNTR Investors Roundtable Dubai March 15, 9:00 will bring together active investment decision-makers to network and discuss potential opportunities.
Paris — The upcoming Paris Blockchain Week is set to become the biggest crypto and blockchain event of the year. As part of this event, we are excited to host local and visiting investors at VNTR Investors Roundtable Paris on March 23.
Hong Kong — We will end the month with our first event in Hong Kong, VNTR Investors Roundtable HK, on March 30, as a side event for WOW Summit Hong Kong.
Portugal — Those looking to acquire a Golden Visa in Portugal are urged to take immediate action, as the government has announced plans to terminate the program in the near future owing to a lack of affordable housing. With the new legislation is expected to be ratified and enforced within the next two months, representing a final opportunity to apply before the opportunity vanishes. To apply for the program, investors can access the application process here.
Thank you to our partners:
Crypto Hunters TV Show is an innovative adventure-reality series that uniquely explores cryptocurrency and the blockchain world. The show provides an exciting combination of action, education, and entertainment as contestants embark on a thrilling global adventure to uncover the secrets of the crypto world. With a focus on accessibility and entertainment, the show aims to make the excitement of cryptocurrency accessible to a broader audience. To complement their strategy for untapped markets, the Crypto Hunters Mobile Game App will also be available. The game will be directly connected to the Crypto Hunters TV show and advertised prominently. Learn more and contact HK.
Flowdesk is the leading Market-Making as a Service (MMaaS) technology provider. MMaaS offers a new approach to managing liquidity on secondary markets. Crypto projects can bootstrap their own liquidity using Flowdesk’s MMaaS infrastructure and its trading team’s global coverage. Learn more and contact Romane.
Changex is a unique personal finance mobile app that connects crypto and DeFi to the real world via in-wallet banking. The company is building a swiss knife financial solution by providing access to multi-chain crypto trading, proprietary products such as Leveraged Staking to leverage any POS asset, and a Crypto Debit Card for unprecedented utility. Learn more and contact Gary.
Upcoming VNTR Capital events:
Mar 15 VNTR Investors Roundtable Dubai (during AIBC Eurasia 2023)
Mar 21 Hyperloop Technology Introduction with Bibop Gresta (Zoom)
Mar 23 VNTR Investors Roundtable Paris (during Paris Blockchain Week)
Mar 30 VNTR Investors Roundtable Hong Kong (During Wow Summit)
Apr 12 VNTR Investors Roundtable San Francisco (During Startup Grind)
Apr 27 VNTR Investors Roundtable Austin (During Consensus)
May 2 VNTR Investors Roundtable Rio De Janeiro (During Web Summit Rio)
RSVP to Upcoming VNTR Capital Events
The VNTR Capital Investors Community has a growing membership of 350+ qualified investors, actively investing in high-growth technology companies as VC/Crypto Fund managers, angel investors, and family offices.
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UPCOMING VC EVENTS
Mar 19-20 Crypto Expo Europe, Bucharest, Romania
Mar 20-24 Paris Blockchain Week, Paris, France
Mar 20-21 World Blockchain Summit Dubai, UAE
Mar 23-25 Art Basel Asia, Hong Kong
Mar 29-30 WOW Summit Hong Kong
Mar 20 Global Startup Awards Grand Finale, Copenhagen, Denmark
Apr 11-12 Startup Grind, Silicon Valley, USA
Apr 19-20 Bloomberg New Economy Gateway Europe, Dublin, Ireland
Apr 20-23 Emerge Americas, Miami, USA
Apr 26-28 Consensus by CoinDesk, Austin, USA
Apr 27-28 TechChill, Riga, Latvia
May 9-10 OMR Festival 2023, Hamburg, Germany
Ma 12-14 TMRW Belgrade, Serbia
May 15-19 AIBC Americas, Sao Paolo, Brazil
May 18-20 Bitcoin, Miami, USA
May 24-25 Next Block Expo, Warsaw, Poland
May 25-28 Monaco Grand Prix, Monaco
May 30 - Jun 4 Tech Week San Francisco, US
May 30 - Jun 2 Innovex, Taipei, Taiwan
May 31 - Jun 2 GITEX Africa, Morocco
Jun 7-9 South Summit, Madrid, Spain
Jun 9-10 Epic Web3, Lisbon, Portugal
Jun 12-13 Metaverse Summit, Paris
Jun 14-17 Viva Technology, Paris
Jun 26-29 Collision, Toronto, Canada
July 6-7 Block3000, Lisbon, Portugal
July 19-22 AIBC Manila, Phillipines
Oct 7-8 DeGameFi, Tbilisi, Georgia
If you would like to submit VC-related events, please respond to this email or Telegram @byuric
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Check out VNTR Capital upcoming events
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VC READS
Joint Statement by Treasury, Federal Reserve, and FDIC - The FDIC is fully protecting the assets of SVB depositors.
Washington, DC -- The following statement was released by Secretary of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen, Federal Reserve Board Chair Jerome H. Powell, and FDIC Chairman Martin J. Gruenberg:
Today we are taking decisive actions to protect the U.S. economy by strengthening public confidence in our banking system. This step will ensure that the U.S. banking system continues to perform its vital roles of protecting deposits and providing access to credit to households and businesses in a manner that promotes strong and sustainable economic growth.
After receiving a recommendation from the boards of the FDIC and the Federal Reserve, and consulting with the President, Secretary Yellen approved actions enabling the FDIC to complete its resolution of Silicon Valley Bank, Santa Clara, California, in a manner that fully protects all depositors. Depositors will have access to all of their money starting Monday, March 13. No losses associated with the resolution of Silicon Valley Bank will be borne by the taxpayer.
HSBC swoops in to rescue UK arm of Silicon Valley Bank
HSBC has swooped to buy the UK arm of collapsed US Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), bringing relief to UK tech firms who warned they could go bust without help.
Customers and businesses who had been unable to withdraw their money will now be able to access it as normal.
The government and the Bank of England led the talks and worked through the night to scramble together the deal, which involves no taxpayer money.
HSBC said it paid just £1 for the SVB's UK arm.
Most Active US Investors In January, Y Combinator And Gaingels, Lead February Pack
It has been very interesting to watch how firms have responded to the changing market.
In February of last year, more than a dozen firms announced 10 or more deals, with several participating in 20 or more. Last month, just two firms took part in more than 10 announced rounds — Y Combinator and Gaingels. Andreessen Horowitz and Alumni Ventures participated in a combined total of 46 rounds in February 2022, per Crunchbase data.
Last month, those two firms combined to take part in only 13. Tiger Global participated in two dozen rounds in February 2022 — last month’s total was zero announced rounds.
Despite the numbers being down, let’s take a look at those firms that played a role in the most investment rounds in the U.S.
Venture Capital Loses Its Relevance After SVB Fiasco
Have we reached the point where startups will bypass VC firms and just go straight to billionaires for funding?
If you are an entrepreneur who specializes in artificial intelligence or rocket launches, chances are, you are not familiar with how banks work, or know what a held-to-maturity portfolio means.
When tech founders go to venture capital, they are not only seeking funding, but also advice. In a way, VC funds function like management consulting companies. Having seen the rise and fall of many firms, they claim to know how businesses can grow. Often, they connect startups with big industry names and teach them how to build operations, such as banking, hiring and layoffs.
Israeli Startups Could Face ‘Frozen’ Funding Environment Amid Political Turmoil
Over the last seven years, fintech Papaya Global has become one of Israel’s most successful startups, raising hundreds of millions of dollars to build out its HR and payroll platform. But in late January, Papaya CEO Eynat Guez moved the company’s funds out of Israel, citing the country’s risky business climate amid political turmoil. She joins a growing group of tech leaders alarmed about Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu‘s plans to give parliament veto powers over the Supreme Court. Such reforms have not only triggered widespread protests the scale of which Israel hasn’t seen in decades, but also raise questions about the future of the country’s technology industry. The Israeli government is moving to allow the Knesset, its parliament, to appoint justices, override Supreme Court decisions, and remove the high court’s power to judge government legislation.
Sweden leads, totals slip: Nordic VC trends for 2022 in 6 charts
Venture capital dealmaking in the Nordics reached its second-highest year to date despite a significant pullback in investments. Below are six key trends from our 2023 Nordic Private Capital Breakdown detailing how venture dealmaking, exits and fundraising have evolved in the region—which comprises Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden—over the past decade. The Nordic region saw €10.1 billion (about $10.7 billion) invested across an estimated 1,267 deals last year, representing a 17.2% decline in deal value and 18.5% decline in deal count from 2021. Nevertheless, 2022 was still the second-biggest year on record for total capital raised, doubling that of 2020. Last year, the amount invested in the region accounted for 11.1% of overall European deal value.
Hundreds of venture capital firms vow to work with Silicon Valley Bank again if new owner is found
More than three hundred venture capital firms have signed a joint statement vowing to do business again with Silicon Valley Bank if it is “purchased and appropriately capitalized,” after the financial institution failed on Friday.
Regulators shuttered SVB and seized its deposits on Friday following a run on the bank on Thursday.
Preceding the bank’s failure, SVB CEO Greg Becker had announced a sudden need to raise $2.25 billion to shore up the financial institution’s balance sheet overnight on Wednesday. A dramatic wave of deposit withdrawals followed on Thursday.
Biden budget proposes 30% tax on crypto mining electricity usage
United States crypto miners could eventually be subject to a 30% tax on electricity costs under a budget proposal by President Joe Biden aimed to “reduce mining activity.”
A Department of the Treasury supplementary budget explainer paper released March 9 said any firm using resources — whether they be owned or rented — would be “subject to an excise tax equal to 30 percent of the costs of electricity used in digital asset mining.”
It proposed the tax would be implemented after Dec. 31, phased in over three years at a rate of 10% a year, reaching the max 30% tax rate by the third year. Crypto miners would have reporting requirements on the "amount and type of electricity used as well as the value of that electricity."
‘Our phones are ringing off the hook’: Amid a global downturn, the finance world is chasing Middle Eastern money
The organizers of the Investopia x Salt conference in Abu Dhabi — the brainchild of American financier and one-time White House press secretary Anthony Scaramucci and Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum — expected to see 1,000 guests over its two-day event in early March. Instead, it got 2,500. “We’re a little overwhelmed, but it’s a great sign,” one of the organizers told CNBC. Some others were annoyed. “It’s too many people. Everyone is coming to the Gulf now begging for money. It’s embarrassing,” one Dubai-based fund manager said. Both sources declined to be named due to professional restrictions. That oil-rich Gulf states have a lot of money to spend isn’t new. The region’s 10 largest sovereign wealth funds combined manage nearly $4 trillion, according to the Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute. That’s more than the gross domestic product of France or the U.K. — and it doesn’t include private money.
Global venture capital investment activity plunges YOY in February
Venture capital investments worldwide tumbled 64.7% in February to $17 billion from $48.22 billion a year earlier, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data. The number of funding rounds with venture capital participation was down 44% to 1,150 rounds from 2,056 rounds in February 2022. The total amount raised also declined sequentially from $19.46 billion in January via 1,197 rounds. Electric mobility product developer Zeekr Intelligent Technology Holding Ltd. raised the largest funding round in February with a transaction value of $750 million. Quzhou State Owned Capital Xin'an Capital Management Co. Ltd. and other investors participated in the round. Zeekr plans to use the proceeds to support technology research and global brand expansion.
SVB Financial is also looking for a buyer for SVB Securities and its SVB Capital VC division
Frenetic buyer interest in SVB Bank may have cooled a little this morning after the U.S. government announced a backstop, with existing deposits covered while SVB Bank remains under the control of the FDIC. But in the meantime, the rest of SVB Financial is getting dismantled.
SVB Financial, the holding company parent of the failed SVB Bank, said today that it was formally seeking strategic alternatives — buyers or otherwise — for SVB Capital and SVB Securities, two subsidiaries not directly connected to the collapsed bank. SVB Capital has $9.5 billion in assets under management, while SVB Securities has been around in one form or another since 1999. Based out of Boston, it’s brokered and provided services to startups across nearly 700 deals, per PitchBook data.
Series B Funding Has Also Fallen Sharply
When technology and biotech valuations began to tumble last year, U.S. Series B funding held up at first, offering one of the brighter areas in a more bearish investment environment.
That’s no longer the case. In recent months, Series B funding to U.S. startups has fallen sharply. So far in 2023, investment is on track to come in at the lowest quarterly level in more than three years. The continuing slowdown this year comes after dealmaking had already been contracting for a couple quarters. Per Crunchbase data, Series B investment in the second half of 2022 was down over 60% from the year-ago period. For a sense of how far things have fallen, we chart out Series B deal counts and funding for the past nine quarters below.
Why is Top Global VC Fund stuck in controversies in India?
“It is not enough for investors alone to focus on creating a culture of good corporate governance. This must also come from the founder. Investors can ask questions and ramp up diligence, but founders need to be committed to the end goal of ensuring that the company succeeds within the four corners of law. While most of our founders are absolutely committed to this, the unfortunate reality is that some have not been so. In those rare cases, we will act.” These are the words of Shailendra Singh, the all-powerful managing director for India and Southeast Asia region of Sequoia Capital. The influential venture capital (VC) firm is credited with defining and shaping the Indian start-up sector. It got its right share of laurels when the start-up sector was shining.
CBDCs threaten our future, so it’s time to take a stand
If the development of blockchain technology was a financial revolution, central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) are the counter-revolution. Their development has intensified in 2023 across the globe, and it’s now more important than ever for the world to know what could lay behind the acronym. While there are some who think central banks can be trusted to proceed, the facts stand against them. This technology would give central banks unprecedented control, could pose serious security risks and is also entirely unnecessary.
If you understand blockchain, you also understand the privacy dangers inherent in government-issued digital currencies. Every detail of every transaction would be available to state regulators, such as tax authorities. In the United Kingdom’s case, the tax agency would not require any additional legal powers to examine all the details of every CBDC transaction.
SVB collapse brings Softbank's startup financing under investors' lens
As the world assesses the fallout from Silicon Valley Bank’s implosion, investors are casting a wary eye at SoftBank Group Corp. — by many measures, the startup arena’s biggest backer and advocate.
Before the meltdown, Masayoshi Son’s investment powerhouse — which has poured more than $140 billion into names from WeWork to ByteDance Ltd. and DoorDash Inc. — had already been reeling from the post-pandemic economic downturn. Now investors are cautiously pulling back despite the overnight pledge from US authorities to rescue the US lender that sits at the heart of Silicon Valley’s venture capital ecosystem.
China Tightens Control Over Online Content, Bans Use of OpenAI’s ChatGPT by Big Tech Companies
In another move to monitor the rise of AI within China, the Chinese government has ordered large technology companies in the country to refrain from providing services related to ChatGPT. According to NikkeiAsia, this directive is part of a broader effort to tighten control over online content and prevent the spread of what the government deems as harmful information. State media also blasts ChatGPT as a spreader of U.S. government misinformation.
Regulators have told tech giants, Tencent Holdings and Ant Group, an Alibaba Group Holding affiliate, to not offer access to ChatGPT services on their platforms. This goes for direct services and third parties as reported by sources speaking to NikkeiAsia. This is no surprise as the popular chatbot is currently unavailable in China without a virtual private network.
A longevity expert who studied people who live to 110 on how humanity and AI will master aging
As a postdoctoral researcher at Stanford University, Kristen Fortney used bioinformatics to study the genetics of supercentenarians — people who live to the age of 110 and beyond. Now she is at the forefront of biotech efforts to turn longevity science knowledge into medicine. As CEO and co-founder of BioAge, a clinical stage biotech developing a pipeline of treatments to extend healthy lifespan by targeting molecular causes of aging, Fortney is working directly on a biological challenge that has attracted some of the biggest minds, and deepest pockets, in the world. There’s a long history of wealthy people directing their financial resources where they can make the greatest positive impact on human health, she noted in a recent interview with CNBC ahead of its upcoming Healthy Returns virtual conference.
AI startups raise over $50 billion venture capital funding in 2022: GlobalData
With the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) in the global market, it has caught the attention of venture capital (VC) investors.
According to leading data and analytics firm GlobalData, 3,198 AI startups received $52.1 billion funding across 3,396 VC funding deals during 2022.
Private company valuations defy fall in listed stocks, adviser says
Fears that private investments are due for a price crash to match the drop in stock markets are overblown, says a prominent manager and adviser for private portfolios. The conclusion from Hamilton Lane, with $832bn in assets under management and supervision, stands in contrast to warnings from JPMorgan and others that valuations of private companies may be too high or are coming down. While listed equities trade daily, private equity holdings are assessed less frequently and their values have not moved down as sharply since early 2022. Hamilton Lane’s annual report on the industry, to be published on Thursday, said most private equity holdings are appraised conservatively and should hold their value. At the start of last year, most private companies were priced at a substantial discount to public companies in the same sector, the report found.
New Low: Monthly Funding Dips Below $20B As Funds Continue Record Raises
Global monthly funding fell to $18 billion in February 2023. Not since February 2020 has global funding dipped below $20 billion in a single month. Funding for the past month was down 63% from $48.8 billion a year earlier. And month-over-month funding was down 43%. January funding was up in large part due to a $10 billion round raised by OpenAI. Late-stage funding fell the most, by 73%, while early-stage funding was down 52% year over year, based on an analysis of Crunchbase data.This drop in late-stage funding takes place in a climate in which venture funds are closing on billion-dollar funds. This past month, San Francisco-based Bain Capital closed on $1.9 billion in funds, its largest to date. And data-driven investor SignalFire, also based in San Francisco, raised $900 million across its seed, breakout and opportunity funds, larger than prior funds.
Naspers shuts down Foundry, its $100M fund focused on South African startups
Naspers, Africa’s most valuable tech company by market capitalization, has wound down the operations of its R1.4 billion (≈$100 million) South Africa-focused venture capital fund Naspers Foundry, according to local news outlet BusinessDay.
According to the report, the firm, which is taking this approach as venture capital takes a hit globally, will maintain the investments, including writing follow-on checks, in its nine portfolio companies such as Planet42, SweepSouth, Naked, Aerobotics and WhereIsMyTransport. Naspers is aligning its efforts with the approach it adopts internationally via Prosus Ventures — which now carries the mandate of maintaining Naspers’ local investments — and will no longer have a dedicated team focused on South African startups, the report said.
More deals, less funds: Nordic PE trends in 6 charts
In 2022, Nordic private equity dealmaking held up well in the face of tightening monetary policy, which increased the cost of debt and weighed heavily on sponsors. At the same time, however, the number of funds closed in the region plummeted. Below, we explore six key trends from PitchBook's 2023 Nordic Private Capital Breakdown that illustrate how the PE industry across Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden fared in 2022.PE professionals in the Nordic region were kept busy in 2022 as deal count increased by 6.3% from the previous year. While deal value remained flat as tightening monetary policy made the use of leverage costly, the hike in transactions shows that deals were still being completed, albeit ones of a smaller size.
International Women’s Day Revives Debate Over Global Funding Challenge for Female Entrepreneurs
From access to education to pay parity and boardroom diversity, much has been done to advance gender equality around the world. But as the world marks International Women’s Day on Wednesday (March 8) to celebrate “the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women,” there is no debate that large gaps remain in the progress towards a gender equal world. In fact, according to the World Economic Forum 2022 Global Gender Gap report 2022, gender parity is not recovering, and is projected to take another 132 years to close the global gender gap. Access to venture capital (VC) or funding is a prime example of where a wide gender gap remains, leaving female-founded and led firms with a much shorter end of the funding stick than their male counterparts. Estimates by the International Financial Corporation (IFC) show that a $300 billion gap in financing exists for women-owned small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), and remains a major constraint, particularly in developing countries.
One Bank Folds, Another Wobbles and Wall Street Asks If It’s a Crisis
Silvergate Capital Corp.’s abrupt shutdown and SVB Financial Group’s hasty fundraising have sent US bank stocks diving and tongues wagging across the industry: Could this be the start of a much bigger problem? The issue at both of the once-highflying California lenders was an unusually fickle base of depositors who yanked money quickly. But below that is a crack reaching across finance: Rising interest rates have left banks laden with low-interest bonds that can’t be sold in a hurry without losses. So if too many customers tap their deposits at once, it risks a vicious cycle. Across the investing world, “people are asking who is the next one?” said Jens Nordvig, founder of market analytics and data intelligence companies Exante Data and Market Reader. “I am getting lots of questions about this from my clients.”
The 10 most active PE investors in European food and beverage
Paris-based agri-focused investor Unigrains has topped a list of the most active private equity investors in Europe's food and drink sector. Unigrains, which has backed the likes of Spanish sausage brand Palicios and UK cider maker Aston Manor, has made a total of 38 investments in the food and beverage sector over the past five years. Overall investment in European food and drink hit a record high in 2021 with €24.5 billion (about $25.86 billion) transacted across 188 deals, according to PitchBook data. Last year, a far more modest €9.2 billion was invested across 143 deals, representing the lowest annual total for capital invested in the sector since 2018.
The SEC's Custody Rule Would Be a Net Positive for Crypto
The short timeline between the FTX exchange's collapse in November 2022 and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) vote in February 2023 to expand the types of digital assets included in the so-called Custody Rule shows that regulators are moving quickly to take actions they perceive will safeguard the crypto industry. As much as regulators have been harped on by crypto insiders for not understanding the space and setting precedents that hamper innovation, requiring exchanges to separate custody from trading will be enormously positive for the future of crypto.
Despite 2022’s volatility, VC funds performed better than you think
Over the last year, the venture industry has had a tough time. Many feared that the bull market had pushed valuations to unsustainable heights and would result in a windfall of startup down rounds and cash burn, which would have a negative impact on VC fund performance. But before SVB failed, it was going relatively well. It might appear that the opposite is true, at least according to a report about the University of California’s endowment. But since this report only looked at funds with vintages of 2018 or later — which haven’t hit the critical J-curve yet — calling these funds “underperforming” wouldn’t be telling quite the whole story, because the numbers don’t take the fund’s lifecycle into account.
Silicon Valley Bank’s Collapse Will Leave A Big Hole In The Startup World
Any bank collapse can cause jitters in an economy or industry, but Silicon Valley Bank’s dramatic fall in just a handful of days likely will leave a lasting impact on the tech and startup ecosystem it tried so hard to foster. SVB was the dominant bank for tech startups and venture debt in the U.S., cultivating a reputation for close-knit relationships with the power brokers of venture and taking chances on young startups that most banks wouldn’t have the time of day for. The bank was founded in 1983 by Bill Biggerstaff and Robert Medearis with an eye toward backing VC-backed companies — a still relatively new phenomenon at the time. From there it grew, even surviving the California real estate crash in the early 1990s. It provided banking services for up-and-coming tech companies such as Cisco Systems and Bay Networks.
Why private capital in India is ready for a reset
After many years of rapid growth, India’s private capital (venture capital and private equity) market is taking a much-needed breather. After a further acceleration in the post-COVID euphoria of 2020 and 2021, deal activity began to decline in 2022. The slowdown has continued into the first quarter of 2023. Despite the recent downtrend, Indian private capital markets have come of age. At more than US$50 billion a year, private equity (PE) and venture capital (VC) investments represent more than half of all FDI received by the country.
Several industries in India, such as e-commerce, food delivery, microfinance, and medical diagnostics, have been nurtured by VC and PE capital. As private institutional capital takes on a more prominent role in the Indian economy, the industry faces some important challenges, including tightening capital conditions, increasing competition in the domestic markets, and the need for accountability on corporate governance.
‘Not going to beg’: why entrepreneurs of color are increasingly self-funding
Rechelle Balanzat, an Asian-American founder, has led her startup Juliette, a self-funded, app-enabled dry-cleaning startup since 2014. As a double minority in tech, Balanzat said she faced gender bias with investors, and also encountered investors who inflicted racial bias. Investors would often expect Balanzat to speak with an accent and if not they were amazed she could speak English, she said. Balanzat said her decision to self-fund her startup was born out of necessity. In fact, she is not the only founder of color that finds venture capital fundraising to feel more like a marathon than a sprint. In actuality, many report that the process can feel more like running on a hamster wheel, endless and with no positive outcome.
ChatGPT and generative AI are booming, but the costs can be extraordinary
Before OpenAI’s ChatGPT emerged and captured the world’s attention for its ability to create compelling sentences, a small startup called Latitude was wowing consumers with its AI Dungeon game that let them use artificial intelligence to create fantastical tales based on their prompts. But as AI Dungeon became more popular, Latitude CEO Nick Walton recalled that the cost to maintain the text-based role-playing game began to skyrocket. AI Dungeon’s text-generation software was powered by the GPT language technology offered by the Microsoft -backed AI research lab OpenAI. The more people played AI Dungeon, the bigger the bill Latitude had to pay OpenAI.
Meta pulling the plug on NFTs across Instagram and Facebook
Big Tech firm Meta is scrapping its nonfungible token features across its social media platforms, Facebook and Instagram, around 10 months after they first launched.
Stephane Kasriel, Meta’s head of commerce and financial technologies, tweeted the news on March 13, saying Meta is “winding down” its NFT support to “focus on other ways to support creators, people, and businesses.” Kasriel added the firm is still prioritizing ways for users to “connect with their fans and monetize” and will focus on tools such as building payment rails on its platform and through its messaging apps, along with monetizing Reels, the short-form videos that feature on Facebook and Instagram.