VNTR Newsletter March 30, 2025 - Roadshow Riyadh
Venture Capital, Web3, and Private Equity – News, Events, and VC Reads
Hello friends,
Happy Sunday!
VNTR Newsletter is delivered to 100k+ investors and subscribers weekly to share the latest news, events, and articles from the global VC and startup ecosystem.
Scroll down to discover VNTR Community News, Upcoming Events, and the latest VC News and Reads.
VNTR Community News
VNTR Roadshow Riyadh Saudi Arabia: Join us for a three-day structured program to explore Saudi Arabia’s thriving startup and venture ecosystem. Connect with key ecosystem players, engage with local VCs and family offices, and build relationships with fellow investors:
📌 April 22 – Ecosystem Day: Meet ecosystem key stakeholders and attend the Al Hilal football game
📌 April 23 – VNTR Investor Forum Riyadh: keynotes, panel discussions, thematic roundtables, and VIP dinner.
📌 April 24 – Pre-arranged 1:1 meetings and VIP dinner.
🔗 Apply to join the Roadshow on VNTR
💼 Sponsorship packages available
🎙️ New Episode: VNTR Podcast with David Cohen, Founder of Techstars
In this episode, we sit down with David Cohen, founder of Techstars, to dive into the evolution of the accelerator model, what defines a great founder, and how Techstars has grown to back nearly 5,000 companies worldwide—including 22 unicorns.
Tune in now on YouTube, Spotify, Apple, or Substack
🇫🇷 VNTR Investor Roundtable Paris on April 9
Join us for an exclusive gathering of local and visiting investors during Paris Blockchain Week (15% discount using VNTR15 code).
Sponsorship opportunities are available for companies looking to engage with investors and high-net-worth individuals. Secure your spot today or contact Jonathan to customize the activations.
VNTR Chapter Directors Fellowship May 6 - June 5, 2025
VNTR is rapidly expanding its global chapter network to 50+ cities in 2025, with a strategic focus on the world’s leading tech and innovation hubs. Our current cohort includes cities such as London, Los Angeles, Boston, New York, Silicon Valley, Seattle, Vancouver, São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Santiago, Buenos Aires, Monaco, and more.
The May 2025 Fellowship Cohort is a five-week leadership program designed to empower serial entrepreneurs transitioning into venture capital. Fellows will gain the tools, knowledge, and strategies to launch and grow a thriving VNTR chapter.
📌 Learn more about the Chapter Director role
🚀 Apply now to join the May 2025 cohort and take on a leadership role at VNTR!
🔗 Know someone who would be a great fit? Share this opportunity with your network.
VNTR Regatta Sardinia: Join VNTR Club members from May 26 to 30, sail through Sardinia’s picturesque coastline, build deep relationships with fellow investors, engage in thought-provoking discussions on the latest venture capital trends, and unwind with curated experiences, gourmet dining, and breathtaking views.
Spouses and life partners are welcome and can share a cabin or hotel room.
🚀 Limited spots available – secure yours today
VNTR Events
Join us at our upcoming events to connect with key investment decision-makers:
April 2 2025
Club Mastermind Cascais
for active VNTR Club members only
April 4 2025
Investor Roundtable Bengaluru
April 9 2025
Investor Roundtable Paris
during Paris Blockchain Week
April 9 2025
Online Expert Session "Tokenization and RWAs"
April 10 2025
Investment Committee Online
April 11 2025
Investor Breakfast San Diego
April 13 2025
Investor Roundtable Manama
during Formula 1 Grand Prix
April 15 2025
Investor Roundtable Marrakesh
during Gitex Africa
April 17 2025
Club Mastermind Online
for active VNTR Club members only
April 17 2025
Investor Roundtable Tokyo
during TEAMZ Web3/AI Summit
April 22-24 2025
Investor Roadshow Riyadh
April 23 2025
Investor Forum Riyadh
April 23 2025
Investor Roundtable Bangkok
during Money 20/20 Asia
April 24 2025
Investor Roundtable Singapore
during Gitex Asia
April 24 2025
Investor Roundtable Miami
April 28 2025
Investor Roundtable Silicon Valley
during Startup Grind Conference
April 29 2025
Club Mastermind Dubai
for active VNTR Club members only
May 1 2025
Investor Forum Dubai
during Token2049 Dubai
May 6 2025
Club Mastermind Lisbon
for active VNTR Club members only
May 9 2025
Investor Roundtable Porto
during SIM 2025
May 12 2025
Investor Roundtable Doha
during MENA InsurTech Summit 2025
May 13 2025
Investor Roundtable Dubai
during Dubai Fintech Summit
May 14 2025
Investor Roundtable Vienna
during Vienna UP
May 15 2025
Investor Forum Toronto
during Consensus
May 15 2025
LPs, Family Offices & Fund of Funds Online Conference
Apply to Speak
May 21 2025
Investor Roundtable Doha
during Qatar Economic Forum
Thank you to our Partners
DeFi Bank in your Pocket 🔒 The ultimate DeFi wallet on iOS and Android, including multi-signature functionality for retail users, whales, treasuries, and DAOs. Contact Marcel Harmann, Founder and CEO, to discuss collaborations.
Your Personal Lifestyle app that helps you Book 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 access to VNTR experiences.
Companies who would like to sponsor VNTR events can apply as a sponsor. View the top events sponsorship packages.
Or be a core supporter of the VNTR community year-round, engaging with our global investor network. Check Details & Packages.
Upcoming VC Events and Conferences
April 7 The Global Stratalogues Welcoming Dinner, Paris, France (20% discount using code VNTR)
April 8-10 Paris Blockchain Week, France (15% discount using VNTR15)
April 9-11 South Summit Brazil, Porto Alegre, Brazil
April 14-16 GITEX Africa, Marrakech, Morocco (Complimentary investor passes)
April 22 Earth Day Miami 2025, US (25% discount using code VNTR)
April 23-25 Money 20/20 Asia, Bangkok, Thailand
April 23-25 GITEX Asia, Singapore (Complimentary investor passes)
April 27-30 Web Summit Rio, Brazil
April 29-30 Startup Grind Conference, Silicon Valley, USA (Complimentary Investor Passes for VNTR)
April 30 - May 1 Token2049, Dubai, UAE
May 8-16 Vienna UP, Austria
May 8-9 SIM 2025, Porto, Portugal
May 9-10 Blockchain Week Rome, Italy (Complimentary investor passes for Club members, 10% discount using VNTR10)
May 11-12 InsureTech Mena, Doha, Qatar
May 12-13 Dubai FinTech Summit, Dubai, UAE
May 14-16 Consensus, Toronto, Canada
May 20-22 Qatar Economic Forum, Doha, Qatar
May 21-23 GITEX Europe, Berlin, Germany (Complimentary investor passes)
May 27-29 Bitcoin 2025, Las Vegas, US (25% discount using code VNTR)
May 27-30 Web Summit Vancouver, Canada
May 28-29 WOW Summit, Hong Kong
June 2-8 New York Tech Week, USA
June 4-6 South Summit Madrid 2025, Spain
June 9-13 London Tech Week, London, UK
June 11-14 Viva Technology, Paris, France
June 19-21 BTC Prague, Czech Republic
June 25-26 FinTech Summit Africa 2025, Johannesburg, South Africa
June 26-27 LegalTech Talk, London, UK (Complimentary investor passes)
June 26-27 Istanbul Blockchain Week
If you would like to submit VC-related events, please get in touch with Yuri or Telegram @byuric
VC Reads and News
View curated VC news and articles on the VNTR Platform
The Week’s Biggest Funding Rounds: Fleetio And Mercury Nab Massive Rounds
A big week for big-money rounds. Seven startups locked up massive rounds of $100 million or more. That includes two cybersecurity firms and two companies in the transportation space.
The Great Liquidity Shift
71% of exit dollars in 2024 came from a new avenue : secondaries.
Historically, IPOs and M&A have been the dominant exit paths for venture backed companies. Some years IPOs dominate, other M&A dominates, but in 2024 secondaries captured the super majority.
New York Startup Funding Off To A Slow Start In 2025
For New York metro-area startups, it’s starting out as a big year for exits. This month, Google announced plans to acquire New York-based cybersecurity provider Wiz for $32 billion in what could rank as the largest startup acquisition of all time. Meanwhile, another metro-area company — Livingston, New Jersey-based CoreWeave — is on track to go public at a reported target valuation around $32 billion. In the world of startup funding, however, things are off to a slower start.
Real estate funds took a record 21.8 months to close in 2024
Real estate fund managers have never taken more than an average of 16 months to raise funds—until last year. Despite some signs of improving performance in the asset class at the end of 2024, closed-end real estate funds have yet to recover from years of negative returns. Last year, GPs in the asset class took an average of 21.8 months to close vehicles, a nearly 65% increase from their historical average time to close, according to PitchBook’s H2 2024 Global Real Estate report.
A Booming Start To The Year For The Billion-Dollar Exits Board
Billion-dollar exits are on the rise. So far this year, 11 U.S. venture-backed private companies have gone public or agreed to be acquired at valuations of $1 billion or more, per Crunchbase data. That’s more than double the number from the same period last year. What’s more, this year’s lineup of big exits includes a record-breaking one: Google’s planned $32 billion purchase of cybersecurity unicorn Wiz, announced last week. If consummated, the deal would be the largest acquisition of a venture-backed, private startup ever.
Who’s running in Trump’s race to make US a ‘Bitcoin superpower?
US President Donald Trump wants to make his country a “Bitcoin superpower,” but the question remains as to who he is competing against. Speaking at Blockwork’s Digital Asset Summit on March 20 to a crowd of crypto industry executives and observers, he said, “Together we will make America the undisputed Bitcoin (BTC) superpower and the crypto capital of the world.”
The investors backing UK & Ireland’s fastest-growing startups
Some investors have an eye for future moneymakers. The 100 fastest-growing startups in the UK and Ireland, according to the latest Sifted Leaderboard, have been backed by 953 between them. (That's 27% more than the 2024 cohort.) 25 of those investors have at least two startups on the leaderboard this year. Of these, a striking 24% are headquartered in the US, while the majority — 54% — call the UK home. Other non-European countries represented include Canada, Singapore, China, Japan and Nigeria.
Healthcare And Security Led For New Unicorns In February
Nine companies joined The Crunchbase Unicorn Board in February with healthcare and cybersecurity the leading sectors for new unicorn companies. While by itself it wasn’t the leading sector for unicorn creation last month, artificial intelligence was a significant technology in the new healthcare and cybersecurity sector unicorns, as well as for those companies in the sales and marketing industries. Four of the new February unicorns are U.S.-based, and Saudi Arabia, China, Israel, Ireland and Canada each added one new unicorn last month.
US VC secondaries dry powder is growing — but deals are remaining concentrated
Secondaries in US startups are aligning with overall VC dealmaking priorities, according to a new PitchBook research report, as secondary dollars concentrate on trendy companies and sectors like AI. While limited and general partners have seized on secondaries as one solution for venture’s big liquidity problem, the reality is that all of 2024’s secondary transactions added up to a small fraction of the US venture market.
EU watchdog wants insurers’ crypto holdings 100% covered, citing volatility
The European Union’s insurance authority has proposed a blanket rule that would mandate insurance firms to maintain capital equal to the value of their crypto holdings as part of a measure to mitigate risks for policyholders. The new proposal — made by the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority in a Technical Advice report to the European Commission on March 27 — would set a far stricter standard than other asset classes, such as stocks and real estate, which don’t even need to be half-backed.
The 3 Golden M&A Rules Founders And CEOs Should Follow
With signs indicating that 2025 will finally bring the upswing in M&A the market has long been predicting, many management teams (and their investors) will be looking to pursue a “buy and build” strategy this year. For founders who are used to being in “sales” mode, the pivot to being a “buyer” can be a tricky gear change.
Why a US listing might not always be the best path for Europe’s startups
European VC-backed startups often favor a US IPO in the hope of better valuation, but data shows that listing closer to home has advantages. The IPO window for European startups is widening, and the region is expected to see an increase in listings this year. Some companies will be looking at domestic floats—fintech company ClearScore‘s CEO this week told The Times that London is “the natural destination” for an IPO.
The Overfunding Trap: Why Raising More Than You Need Can Harm Your Startup
Overvaluations remain a persistent issue in venture capital, impacting both founders and investors. The inflated valuations of 2021 continue to weigh on startups, particularly in the current market downturn. Now, with AI startups commanding aggressive multiples, history seems poised to repeat itself. While turning down funding is difficult, restraint, when possible, is often the better choice. Otherwise, founders risk setting their companies up for failure.
Crypto’s hopes may hinge on US regulation
The Trump administration is expected to create a friendlier regulatory regime that could inspire a number of venture-backed crypto companies to finally go public. There was just one VC-backed crypto IPO in 2024, with a mere four in 2023 and five in 2022, according to PitchBook’s Q4 2024 Crypto VC Trends. A record of eight companies went public in 2021, thanks in large part to the boom in special purpose acquisition companies that year.
When It Comes To Investing, There Are Polar Bears And There Are Buffaloes. Which One Are You?
Surviving in nature is a lot like venture capital. There are buffaloes, moving in herds across familiar plains, finding safety in numbers, and competing in often-depleted grounds, while investors move in predictable patterns, following well-worn paths in search of unicorns, with FOMO driving decisions over conviction. Meanwhile, the solitary polar bear traverses territories others consider uninhabitable, discovering abundant fishing spots. Their hunting brings specialized repetitive knowledge, allowing them to spot value where herds cannot.
Have a co-investment opportunity? Call Liberty, Liberty, Liberty
Today’s LPs want to be direct dealmakers, too. It’s a bargain GPs are willing to strike, granting co-investment rights to win fund commitments. But stiff competition among co-sponsors is forcing institutional investors to staff up their dealmaking ranks and train their governance committees to move faster. Take Liberty Mutual‘s $100-billion-plus investment arm, which is transitioning its platform from fund commitments to direct and co-investments.
Most EU banks fail to meet rising crypto investor demand
European banks and financial institutions may be significantly underestimating the demand for cryptocurrency services, with fewer than one in five offering digital asset products, according to a new survey by crypto investment platform Bitpanda. The study surveyed 10,000 retail and business investors across 13 European countries and found that more than 40% of business investors already hold cryptocurrencies, with another 18% planning to invest in the near future.
Building A Business And A Family: Lessons From Parenthood That Made Me A Better Leader
It’s often said that parenting is the toughest job you’ll ever have and that founding a startup is the most challenging thing you will ever do. With 85% of founders suffering from high stress, taking on both roles at once — as I did, founding Wokelo AI just months before my daughter was born — may sound like a recipe for burnout.
India's VC funding surges 40% in early 2025, defying global slowdown
India’s venture capital (VC) funding landscape began 2025 on a strong note, with investment value rising nearly 40 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) in January and February—significantly outpacing global trends—according to a GlobalData report. Deal volume also increased 11 per cent during the same period, underscoring growing investor confidence in the country’s innovation-driven startup ecosystem.