VNTR Newsletter July 14, 2024 – News, Events, VC Reads
Venture Capital, Web3, and Private Equity – News, Events, and VC Reads
Hello friends,
Happy Sunday!
VNTR Newsletter is delivered to 95k+ investors and subscribers weekly to share the latest news, events, and articles from the global VC and startup ecosystem.
Scroll down for VNTR Community News, Upcoming Events, and VC News/Reads.
VNTR COMMUNITY NEWS
Spotlight
VNTR Podcast: Check out the new episode with Igor Ryabenkiy, General Partner at AltaIR Capital, "From Angel Deals to a Billion-Dollar Portfolio," available now on YouTube, Spotify, or Apple. Catch up on previous episodes!
Sponsorships: VNTR partners with select companies to design custom engagement plans that achieve their goals through activations within our global community. With over 200 events per year, newsletters, podcasts, personal introductions, and platform integrations, we provide comprehensive support for your business growth. Please get in touch with Lukas or apply to explore how we can help your business thrive.
New Chapters: The VNTR Community is expanding globally by launching regional chapters, and we're recruiting chapter directors in key tech hubs to join our team. If you're interested in launching a chapter, you can contact Olya or apply. We are excited to welcome our new Chapter Directors, who are building VNTR communities in the following regions:
Turkey: Ferda Kert
Brussels: Brent Dedecker
Israel: Shahar Matorin
Kuala Lumpur: Chris Birrell
Miami: Elena Guzov and Henryk Dabrowski
New York: Jessica Sophia Wong
Munich: Jonathan Nowak Delgado
Toronto: Vakeesan Mahalingam
Madrid: Lubica Kostalova
VNTR Summit: Join us at the annual VNTR Summit in Lisbon for a dynamic day of keynotes, panel discussions, workshops, GP roundtable, LP roundtable, one-on-one facilitated meetings, and the VNTR Awards, culminating in a vibrant evening party. Connect with the global VNTR Community and be part of this tier one gathering!
VNTR Island Retreat: Our VNTR Island Retreat has been rescheduled to September 12-15 in Koh Samui, Thailand. Join us for an immersive 3-day trip where VNTR Club members will connect, participate in outdoor experiences, masterminds, and travel together to Singapore for Token2049 week and the F1 Grand Prix Singapore. Activate your free investor account to apply and discover more about the VNTR Community and Club.
VNTR Syndicate: We shared two new deals on the VNTR Platform: HR Tech AI and a top VC fund. VNTR provides accredited investors with exclusive access to growth-stage companies and premier VC funds through VNTR SPVs.
July Events:
Phnom Penh: July 16 VNTR Investors Dinner Cambodia
Mexico City: July 17 VNTR Investors Breakfast Mexico City
Cascais: July 18 VNTR Padel Cascais
Online: July 23 VNTR Speed Networking
Online: July 24 VNTR Mastermind "Investor Mentoring" hosted by Gillian Muessig, Managing Director, Mastersfund, and Andrey Kostyuk, Co-founder, AAlchemy Ventures.
Online: July 25 VNTR Club Roundtable
Kuala Lumpur: July 25 VNTR Investors Roundtable Malaysia during TechInAsia Conference.
Nashville: July 26 VNTR Investors Roundtable during Bitcoin2024.
Paris: July 26-29 When Worlds Collide 2024 Summer Olympics Edition.
Thank you to our Partners:
Nashville Entrepreneur Centre has served as a launchpad for aspiring business owners in Nashville. This non-profit equips entrepreneurs from all backgrounds with the tools they need to succeed. NEC offers mentorship, workshops, and acess to crucial resources, fostering a collaborative environment where innovative ideas can flourish and contribute to Nashville's thriving business scene.
Perfect is a Personal Lifestyle app that helps you Book your flights and hotels and manage your lifestyle. Enjoy personalized assistance with tasks, errands, and reservations, freeing time for what truly matters. Join Perfect using "VNTR" code to get special discounts and VNTR experiences.
Upcoming VNTR Events:
Aug 8 VNTR Investors Roundtable Auckland (New Zealand Chapter gathering)
Aug 13 VNTR Investors Roundtable Toronto (Blockchain Futurist Conference)
Aug 14 VNTR Investors Roundtable Istanbul (Istanbul Blockchain Week)
Sep 4 VNTR Investors Roundtable Seoul (Korea Blockchain Week)
Sep 12 VNTR Investors Roundtable Dubai (Dubai AI & Web3 Festival)
Sep 26 VNTR Investors Roundtable Barcelona (European Blockchain Convention)
More events available on the VNTR Platform
Reach out to Lukas to sponsor VNTR events or join VNTR Corporate Membership.
Follow us on Social media: Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, Flickr, and X.
UPCOMING VC EVENTS
July 25-27 Bitcoin2024, Nashville, USA
Aug 21-23 VCILAT, Santa Cruz De La Sierra, Bolivia
Aug 22-24 Coinfest, Bali, Indonesia (20% Discount using CA24VNTR)
Aug 28-29 WebX, Tokyo, Japan
Sep 9-11 IPEM Paris, France
Sep 11-12 TechBBQ, Copenhagen, Denmark
Sep 18-19 Token2049, Singapore
Sep 24-27 Super Return Asia, Singapore
Sep 25-27 South Summit, Seoul, Korea
Sep 29 - Oct 1 Bitz & Pretzels, Munich, Germany
Oct 2-3 How to Web, Bucharest, Romania
Oct 7-13 San Francisco Tech Week, USA
Oct 14-18 GITEX Global, Dubai, UAE (Complimentary investor passes)
Oct 14-20 Los Angeles Tech Week, USA
Oct 15-17 Meridian by Stellar, London, UK
Oct 21-27 Mexico Tech Week, Mexico City, Mexico
Oct 22-23 Blockchain Life, Dubai, UAE (10% Discount using VNTR)
Oct 28-29 SWITCH, Singapore
Oct 28-Nov 1 Hong Kong FinTech Week, Hong Kong
Nov 11-14 Web Summit, Lisbon, Portugal
If you would like to submit VC-related events, please respond to this email or Telegram @byuric
Check out VNTR Capital upcoming events
VC Reads and News
View curated VC news and articles on the VNTR Platform
Most Active Investor Rankings Got Reshuffled In Q2 As VCs Got Busier
The Crunchbase rankings of active startup investors looked quite different in the second quarter of 2024 compared to a year ago. First, nearly all of the most active venture investors were busier in Q2 of this year. Second, several names at or near the top of the list of busiest and highest-spending investors — including Khosla Ventures, Coatue, and Accel — were much lower down a year ago.
Investors are starting to seriously fret about an AI bubble
Companies are still shoveling gobs of cash into building out the data centers and other infrastructure for an AI revolution. But voices on Wall Street and elsewhere are once again asking: Is that revolution ever actually coming?
A trio of recent research notes and expert missives have questioned whether the billions of dollars being poured into AI will ultimately pay off. The upshot of these notes seems intended to pour some cold water on runaway hype around data center investment, with warnings that generative AI tech still faces a long road ahead strewn with question marks about its ultimate value.
The Week’s 10 Biggest Funding Rounds: Skild AI Grabs $300M To Build Robot Brains
After a quiet holiday week, investors were back in action dishing out big rounds to startups in robotics, biotech, healthcare and more. Half a dozen rounds hit nine figures — perhaps a good sign for startups for the rest of summer.
How to Hire a CEO
Vinod Khosla recommendations: I often find boards of startups taking — what I consider to be — less-than-perfect approaches to hiring a CEO. The focus is often on “experience in the space” of the startup, irrespective of how qualified an individual is to lead a startup. Below I’ve boiled my approach down to 8 main qualities I look for when conducting CEO searches for portfolio companies in need of a CEO for the next chapter of their journey from startup to enterprise. But first, if the founder can scale over time it is better to get them help such that they can learn and have enough time to act on those learnings.
Indexing VC gathers pace
Venture capital is no longer a cottage industry. Sequoia Capital long ago gave up its principle that “if we can’t ride a bicycle to [the company], we won’t invest.”
Venture capital has arrived as a global asset class, where investors are seeing venture as a component within their asset allocation strategies. VC’s potential for power law returns appeals to allocators. David Swensen’s Endowment model has become received wisdom, with ever increasing allocations to alternatives (including venture). KKR has perhaps been the most vocal asset manager in pushing for the Swensen approach for retail investors too, with “trillions” to be unlocked with retail investors moving to alts.
More ex-military officials are becoming VCs as defense tech investment reached $35B
The distance between Silicon Valley and the Pentagon just keeps getting smaller. As venture capitalists continue to pour money into defense tech startups, they’re turning to a new hiring pool: veterans and ex-Department of Defense officials.
Andreessen Horowitz hired Matt Shortal, an ex-fighter jet pilot, as its chief of staff; Lux Capital brought on Tony Thomas, former head of U.S. Special Operations Command, as an adviser; and Shield Capital’s managing partner Raj Shah served in the Air Force.
Startups Merge In Spaces Where Funding Has Fallen
It’s common in venture capital to see startups with similar businesses close big rounds around the same time. This year, it’s generative AI. A couple years ago, there were many niches where funding flowed, including areas like D2C, homebuying, and consumer fintech. But hot sectors often don’t stay that way, especially in areas where the biggest rounds occurred close to the market peak. Now, in spaces where investment has shriveled, we’re seeing heavily funded startups merging with former rivals and others in a bid to stay competitive or simply stay afloat.
Global Funding And M&A Picked Up In Q2, While AI Funding Mushroomed
Global startup funding picked up in the second quarter, reaching $79 billion — rising 16% quarter over quarter and 12% from the $71 billion invested in Q2 2023. Mega-rounds — fundings $100 million and above — accounted for much of the increase this past quarter. Funding to companies in AI more than doubled quarter over quarter to $24 billion — representing 30% of all dollars invested, the largest quarter for AI funding in recent years. And there are signs that larger M&A deals increased in Q2, providing much-needed liquidity to venture capital markets.
When not to take a corporate’s money
As the funding environment for startups remains challenging, corporate venture capital (CVC) has become a popular — and for many — at first glance, an attractive option. According to Dealroom data, CVCs have been involved in one in four European startup deals so far this year, and account for over a quarter of startup funding. Despite this, the inner workings of how CVC units operate remains widely misunderstood by many outside the industry — and can make them a bad fit for some startups.
The typical private equity fund now takes 1.5 years to close
Private equity’s capital raising process is taking longer than it has in over a decade. Bogged down by a lack of exits and plummeting distributions to LPs, the median time to close across US PE funds climbed to 18.1 months in H1 2024, up from 14.7 months in 2023 and 11.2 months in 2022, according to PitchBook’s Q2 2024 US PE Breakdown. Blackstone’s latest buyout fund—with nearly $20 billion in capital raised—is yet to close more than two years after its initial launch. Similarly, Platinum Equity’s sixth buyout fund remains open, with about $10.7 billion in capital gathered since its October 2021 open date.
North American Startup Funding Jumped Higher In Q2
North American startup funding perked up in the second quarter, bolstered by early-stage investment around artificial intelligence. Overall, investors put $45.3 billion into seed- through growth-stage financings for U.S. and Canadian startups in the second quarter of 2024. That’s a 30% rise from the prior quarter and a 35% jump from the same period last year.
UK hopes to lure IPOs in major listing rules overhaul
The UK’s financial regulator has simplified listing rules in the hope that more tech startups will list in London. Calling it the “biggest overhaul in three decades,” the Financial Conduct Authority is offering more flexibility around enhanced voting rights and removing the need for votes on significant transactions. The FCA will also combine the premium and standard listing segments into a new, single category for shares, which will allow all companies to implement dual-class share structures.
Central eastern Europe’s most active early-stage VCs
In central eastern Europe’s young startup ecosystem, early-stage investments make up the vast majority of VC transactions. In 2023, 92% of the 818 deals closed in the region were at pre-seed (611) or seed (144), according to data platform Dealroom. Europe’s economic downturn has hit the region hard — and 2023 saw startups raise less early-stage funding than 2022. In 2022, CEE startups raised €140m in pre-seed funding and €324m in seed funding; in 2023, that dropped to €99.8m at pre-seed and €278m at seed, according to Dealroom.
House fails to override Biden’s veto on nullifying SEC crypto rule
The US House of Representatives could not gather enough support to override President Joe Biden’s veto of a resolution affecting a Securities and Exchange Commission rule on banks recording cryptocurrency as a liability on their balance sheets. In a July 11 vote, 228 House members voted to override President Biden’s veto of H.J.Res. 109, overturning SEC Staff Accounting Bulletin (SAB) No. 121 — 60 votes short of the two-thirds majority required. The failed vote suggested that the veto would likely stand, and US banks would be limited from serving as crypto custodians for their customers, barring future legislation.
Wave of PE liquidity needs fast approaches secondary market
The secondary market isn’t big enough to meet the growing tidal wave of private equity managers’ liquidity demands, and if primary exit avenues don’t come back soon, limited partners’ portfolios may be caught in the wreckage. In the limited exit environment, money managers have turned to alternative liquidity options like GP-led continuation vehicles and LP-led stake sales to return capital to their investors.
Eye On AI: Q2 Funding Shows Investors Are Willing To Open Their Checkbooks — For the Right Company
Last quarter was a great quarter if you were a founder of an AI-related startup looking for funding — maybe. Such startups saw more money in 2Q than they ever have before, raising a whopping $24.2 billion in 1,001 deals, per Crunchbase data. This is more than twice as much as raised by similar startups in the first quarter and also about twice what was raised in the same quarter last year. Thanks to the huge windfall seen in Q2, the first half of this year saw $35.6 billion go to AI startups — a 24% increase from the $28.7 billion in H1 last year.
Unique New Vesting Schedules
Equity grants are a common part of most compensation packages, especially within the tech industry, and companies have typically utilized them to align employee interests with the long term success of the business and also reduce turnover by getting employees to stay with the company for longer.
Traditionally, companies will use a 4-year vesting schedule, where employees will get 25% of their total equity grant every year for 4 years as long as they’re with the company. With rapidly changing economic and job markets though, more companies have started experimenting with unique vesting schedules as a way to attract more talent while also saving money. We wanted to highlight a few of those companies in this post.
The cybersecurity startups most likely to go public
It’s been a mixed year for the cybersecurity industry. 2024 started off strong, with publicly-listed leaders trading up and the investment bank rumor mill whirring about Cato Networks and Snyk‘s impending IPOs. Lightspeed-backed Rubrik had a rare public debut that leapt 16% on its first day of trading. But after Palo Alto Networks adjusted its revenue forecast in March, the security leader’s stock price plummeted over 25% in a single day of trading, dampening industry comparables.
Tech Investors Go to the Movies
For all the chatter about how AI could up-end movie-making and entertainment, the two recent tech/Hollywood deals that have made headlines don’t have a lot to do with that, at least for now. David Ellison, the son of Oracle’s Larry Ellison, is buying Paramount Pictures, one of the original Hollywood studies that dominated big-time movie-making for a century. Joshua Kushner’s Thrive Capital, meanwhile, is investing $75 million in independent distributor A24, which has won praise for movies such as the Oscar-winner Everything Everywhere all at Once.
Asia Funding Limps Along, Hits Lowest Level Since 2015
Despite a slight resurgence across the global venture funding landscape, Asia seems to be left behind. The region suffered its worst quarter for venture funding since the final quarter of 2015, with Asia-based startups raising only $14.6 billion — a 24% decline from Q1 and a 32% dropoff year to year.