DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Supersized seed rounds: The earliest stage of the startup market is getting out of control
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-31 | by ( Vishal Persaud | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Read previewThere's been an investor gold rush to find the hottest new startup, causing a new dynamic: larger seed rounds. In some cases, the seed round is getting out of control. Tier one multi-stage firms have decided to allocate more resources to investing at the seed stage, according to several traditional seed investors who Business Insider spoke to. Related storiesMy colleague Sri Muppidi has reported on these supersized seed rounds in AI startups throughout the summer. Other supersized seed rounds this year include a $10.5 million round by Swedish legal AI startup Leya, and Gameplay Galaxy recently announced a $24 million seed round for its Web3 gaming platform.

Persons: —, Greylock, they've, Let's, Sri Muppidi, Ed Sim, whiff, Sim, Sim postured, Shruti Gandhi Organizations: Service, Business, Q2 Venture Monitor, Sequoia, Felicis Ventures, Galaxy, Boldstart Ventures, Khosla Ventures, Canaan Partners, Instacart's, Ventures, Founders Locations: Canaan

☆ Crypto startup funding rises slightly in Q2 despite drop in deals: PitchBook
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-12 | by ( Talia Kaplan | Kaan Oguz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailCrypto startup funding rises slightly in Q2 despite drop in deals: PitchBookPitchBook's Robert Le breaks down the findings of the research firm's Q2 crypto report, which reveals that crypto startups raised slightly more from VC funding compared to Q1, despite a drop in the total number of deals.

Persons: PitchBook, Robert Le

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailEther climbs to start the week after crossing $2,600 over the weekend: CNBC Crypto WorldCNBC Crypto World features the latest news and daily trading updates from the digital currency markets and provides viewers with a look at what's ahead with high-profile interviews, explainers, and unique stories from the ever-changing crypto industry. On today's show, PitchBook's Robert Le breaks down the findings of the research firm's Q2 crypto report, which reveals that crypto startups raised slightly more from VC funding compared to Q1, despite a drop in the total number of deals.

Persons: explainers, PitchBook's Robert Le Organizations: CNBC Crypto, CNBC

☆ 'These are not normal;' A new type of dealmaking for AI startups is rattling Silicon Valley
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-10 | by ( Ben Bergman | Sri Muppidi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Google unnerved Silicon Valley last week when it agreed to pay $2.5 billion to license Character.AI's technology, hire its two superstar cofounders and 20 percent of employees. The deal came after AI developers Adept and Inflection both effectively sold themselves to Amazon and Microsoft, respectively, in recent months. It was only last year Character.AI raised $150 million in venture funding, which valued the company at $850 million. Its appeal as a chatbot that uses AI to make virtual characters that interact with users seems decidedly niche. Related storiesMost of the founders and investors Business Insider spoke to for this story say Google has little interest in Character.AI's actual product.

Persons: cofounders, Brent Queener, Kyle Sanford, Character.AI, Iris Sun, Noam Shazeer, Daniel De Freitas, Jack Selby, Peter Thiel's, Steve Brotman, Shazeer, De Freitas, PitchBook's Sanford, they're, Roy Bahat, Arvind Jain, Cameron Lester, Lester Organizations: Service, Microsoft, Bonfire Ventures, Business, Apple, Big Tech, AZ, Biden Administration, Federal Trade Commission, Department of Justice, Alpha Partners, FTC, DOJ, New York Times, Google, Madrona Venture, Bloomberg Beta, Jefferies

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailUniswap urges SEC to drop potential enforcement action in new filing: CNBC Crypto WorldCNBC Crypto World features the latest news and daily trading updates from the digital currency markets and provides viewers with a look at what's ahead with high-profile interviews, explainers, and unique stories from the ever-changing crypto industry. On today's show, Mary-Catherine Lader, Uniswap Labs' COO, discusses the filing urging the SEC to drop potential legal action against the firm. CNBC Crypto World also speaks with PitchBook's Robert Le about the research firm's latest crypto report.

Persons: Uniswap, explainers, Mary, Catherine Lader, PitchBook's Robert Le Organizations: SEC, CNBC Crypto, CNBC, Uniswap Labs

☆ These are the 11 startups most likely to IPO this year, according to analysts.
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-11 | by ( Riddhi Kanetkar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Rising interest rates and limited VC funding have slowed IPOs in the tech sector. With Instacart, Arm, and Klaviyo going public, the IPO market could be reviving this year. BI profiled 11 startups that are expected to IPO, according to PitchBook's Exit Predictor. Initial public offerings (IPOs) have slumped since the record-breaking 2021, when the the likes of likes of Roblox, UiPath, and Rivian listed. The market hasn't been helped by rising interest rates and a slump in venture capital funding, which has slowed down activity in late-stage startups.

Persons: —, It's Organizations: Service, Business

☆ First it was warehouses taking over America. Now it's data centers.
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-10 | by ( Matt Turner | Jordan Parker Erb | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

On the agenda today:This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Jahi Chikwendiu/The Washington Post via Getty ImagesThis week's dispatchData center boomAmerica's biggest warehouse owner is getting in on the data center game. Data centers are going up across rural America, impacting communities and placing strains on utilities. Unlike other businesses, venture firms don't suddenly go out of business. Such a dream will require more money than has ever been spent on any business venture in history.

Persons: —, Jahi, Prologis, ecommerce, Alyssa Powell, We've, Bitcoin, PitchBook, Alastair Grant, Rebecca Zisser, Altman's, Altman, Elon Musk, Jeff Peticolas, Matt Turner, Jordan Parker Erb, Dan DeFrancesco, Lisa Ryan Organizations: Service, Business, Washington, Getty, Blackstone, Big Tech, bitcoin Locations: America, Michigan, New York

☆ There's a wave of pre-IPO startups with pandemic-era price tags stuck in limbo right now
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-21 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

There is a wave of pandemic-era startups stuck in limbo right now. The days of seeing 80% to 100% year-on-year revenue growth are gone, Hussein Kanji from early-stage fund Hoxton Ventures told Business Insider. Hoxton Ventures' Hussein Kanji said the days of companies racking up 100% year-on-year revenue growth are over. Investors tend to assess whether a company is IPO-ready on the rule of 40, which is revenue growth plus EBIT margin. Kanji added: "This is a lesson for a lot of people – if the IPO window opens up, take the company public."

Persons: they're, James Ulan, Klarna, Ulan, Karna's, Hussein Kanji, Morgan Stanley, Kanji, Kamil Mieczakowski, Fabian Heilemann, Graphcore Organizations: Business, Hoxton Ventures, Hoxton, Nvidia, Sequoia Locations: Ulan

☆ The great startup cash crunch is underway — and it's forcing late-stage companies to face their demise
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-05 | by ( Vishal Persaud | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The VC funding picture for late-stage startups is looking pretty grim with capital hard to come by. Some late-stage startups are now folding and selling off their best assets during this cash crunch. AdvertisementAdvertisementIt's been a pretty brutal year for startups and their founders looking to raise venture capital funding. AdvertisementAdvertisementThis longer wait time between rounds isn't totally surprising since VC funding this year has been its lowest since 2018. Startup extinction season is well underway and it seems as though we're seeing a startup per week bite the dust.

Persons: It's, —, Olive AI, Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, Marc Benioff, Dan Lewis, Lewis Organizations: Service, Venture Monitor, US, Convoy, CNBC, Olive AI Locations: Canada

☆ Climate tech is like catnip to investors. Here's why the $13 billion sector is outperforming other industries.
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-02 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Europe's startup ecosystem has been battered this year but climate tech founders have managed to avoid the brunt of the immense downturn so far. PwC's global analysis of the sector also points to climate tech outperforming the norm, accounting for a tenth of private market investments in 2023. Venture capital investment into European startups more broadly is primed to slump by around 46% to 58.1 billion euros in 2023. These obligations have helped make climate tech startups "catnip to investors," Sustainable Ventures' Stuart Ferguson said. Last year, European companies like electric vehicle manufacturer Polestar and batter-maker Northvolt raised 1.6 billion euros and 1 billion euros respectively.

Persons: They've, Stuart Ferguson, Fabian Heilemann, Heilemann, Biden's, Warner, Namratha, Mark Bula, Northvolt, Lisa Barclay, Ferguson, Aenu's Organizations: Steel, Venture, Sustainable Ventures, Warner, Ada Ventures, Elyos Energy, Green Steel, Nesta, Investments Locations: Swedish, British, Norwegian, London, Norway

☆ Meagan Loyst, the founder of Gen Z VCs, asked her social media followers for the one thing they would change about venture capital. Here's what they told her.
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-28 | by ( Madeline Renbarger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Loyst founded Gen Z VCs, a community of over 25,000 young investors, founders and operators. A plurality of young investors and founders said they wanted venture capital to be more accessible. AdvertisementAdvertisementFor newcomers, the clubby world of venture capital can often seem like a black box. AdvertisementAdvertisementAccording to her poll, 45% of respondents said they wished the venture capital industry was "more accessible" to newcomers. AdvertisementAdvertisementLoyst's survey responses are reflective of how many young investors and founders feel shut out of the venture capital industry today, which could potentially get worse during the venture capital downturn.

Persons: Loyst, Z, —, Meagan Loyst, Hippeau Organizations: Service, Black Venture, Venture, Sequoia, Forbes, Oxford University

☆ Is the IPO market really opening up? Many companies may be unwilling to accept lower valuations
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-19 | by ( Bob Pisani | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Is the IPO market really opening up? Over the weekend, Goldman Sachs' chief U.S. equity strategist David Kostin said the IPO market was becoming more "normalized," meaning issuance was starting to pick up. That means investors are looking for 1) much lower valuations, and 2) profitability. How excited are they about this "reopening" and much lower valuations? Lower valuations for investors and venture capital The good news is, lower valuations give investors on the first day of trading a greater chance at making money after trading starts.

Persons: Goldman Sachs, David Kostin, Kostin, Goldman's Kostin, Eric Bellomo, PitchBook's, FactSet, Nizar Tarhuni, Instacart, Catalyst, Rowe Price, you'll, Goldman, What's, Nizar Organizations: DST Global Locations: IPOs

☆ Analysis: Arm's stellar listing sets the stage for more SoftBank acquisitions
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-17 | by ( Anton Bridge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/2] A smartphone with a displayed Arm Ltd logo is placed on a computer motherboard in this illustration taken March 6, 2023. The tech investment behemoth raised nearly $5 billion from Arm's offering while retaining 90.6% of the firm. Known for debt-fuelled acquisition sprees, SoftBank founder and CEO Masayoshi Son flagged in June that the company was shifting back into "offence mode" as he highlighted the potential of artificial intelligence. That's after a year of "defence mode" when tech valuations crashed amid higher interest rates and global banking jitters. Few companies in SoftBank's investment portfolio have demonstrated commercial utility in AI, analysts said.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, behemoth, Masayoshi, Yoshimitsu Goto, SoftBank, SemiAnalysis, Kyle Stanford, There's, Amir Anvarzadeh, PitchBook's Stanford, Anton Bridge, Miyoung Kim, Edwina Gibbs Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Arm Holdings, SoftBank, HK, Vision, Nvidia, Asymmetric Advisors, Thomson Locations: British

☆ Arm's stellar listing sets the stage for more SoftBank acquisitions
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-15 | by ( Anton Bridge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

☆ Hip-hop stars and financial luminaries: Ritholtz Wealth Management redesigns the investment conference
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-11 | by ( Bob Pisani | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Surf City USA —for a financial conference. A financial conference on a beach? Reinventing the financial conferenceWelcome to FutureProof, billed as "the largest gathering of top-tier wealth management professionals, CEOs, CTOs, COOs, and fast-growing financial advisors." It's the brainchild of Barry Ritholtz, co-founder, chairman, and chief investment officer of Ritholtz Wealth Management, and CEO Josh Brown. "Coming out of the pandemic, it was obvious to us that the traditional financial conference was past its sell-by date," Ritholtz told me.

Persons: Tang, Redman, They're, Jeremy Siegel, Jeff Kleintop, Charles Schwab, Emily Roland, John Hancock, Cliff Asness, Jeff Gundlach, maven Jan van Eck, Barry Ritholtz, Josh Brown, Ritholtz, FutureProof, You'll, Goldman, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan, RIAs, Dan Ives, Scott Wapner, Siegel, Morningstar, Christine Benz, Jeffrey Ptak, Ben Johnson, podcasters Michael Batnick, Ben Carlson, Wu, Tang Clan Organizations: Wharton, Ritholtz Wealth Management, Chiropractic, Health, Investment Advisors, CNBC, Financial Locations: Huntington Beach , CA, Huntington Beach , California, Surf, Huntington Beach, AQR, DoubleLine, FutureProof, COOs, Wells, Wedbush, Young

☆ The dead IPO market is dragging down VCs' ability to raise new funds with returns tied up in startups overdue an exit, analysts say
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The lack of liquidity is making it even more difficult for VCs to raise new funds, analysts said. PitchBook's Nalin Patel said LP money could become trapped in companies that were "overdue an exit." Venture capital-backed exits have continued to collapse in 2023, piling pressure on general partners already facing a torrid time trying to raise funds from institutional investors. This represented a 40% decline on the $161.4 billion worth of exits posted during the same period last year. In a performing exit market growth stage companies like fintech giant Stripe, buy now, pay later firm Klarna, and software firm Databricks may all have already gone public.

Persons: PitchBook's Nalin Patel, Wise, Klarna, Kyle Stanford, Nalin Patel, Stanford Organizations: Venture, PitchBook's EMEA, Global, Companies Locations: Deliveroo, PitchBook's

Silicon Valley is bracing for what it fears will be an "extinction event" threatening the survival of hundreds of startups. Tom Loverro, a investor at 40-year-old Bay Area venture capital firm IVP, has been loudly warning for months on Twitter and in media interviews about a coming "mass extinction event" for startups. The total volume of venture capital investment into US startups has slumped for six consecutive quarters, according to data firm Pitchbook. Even a last-ditch slashing of the startup's prospective valuation — a "down-round," in Silicon Valley parlance — didn't whet investors' appetites. Over the past year, many startups that rely on Silicon Valley funding have been steeling themselves for the slowdown to avoid similar fates.

Persons: —, they're, Jennifer Neundorfer, That's, Tom Loverro, Loverro, Consuelo Vanderbilt, Vanderbilt, Cameron Lester, I've, Lester, Linda Ahrens, Ahrens, Unown, " Ahrens, Anna Dittrich, Plastiq, Vincent Harrison, Elad Gil, Steve Brotman, Brotman, Will Hawthorne, VC's, Mike Ryan, Pitchbook's Harrison, Sell, Hawthorne Organizations: Ventures, Sequoia Capital, —, Venture, Twitter, United States Federal Reserve, Jefferies, January Ventures, Alpha Partners, Avid Capital, Sugar, Menlo, BulletPoint Network Locations: Silicon, Sequoia, IVP, Valley, Instacart, Navan, Boston, Snowflake, America

☆ Robert Le breaks down PitchBook's Q1 crypto report
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( Talia Kaplan | Jordan Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailRobert Le breaks down PitchBook's Q1 crypto reportRobert Le, crypto analyst at PitchBook, sits down with Crypto World to discuss the research firm's Q1 report on venture capital investments in the space and emerging opportunities as well as his analyst note on Consensus 2023 released this week.

☆ The 2023 CNBC Disruptor 50: How we chose the companies
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( David Spiegel | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

The last Disruptor 50 company to go public was Gojek, which debuted on the Indonesia Stock Exchange more than a year ago. The last Disruptor 50 IPO in the U.S. market, Nubank , happened on December 9, 2021. Here's how we chose them:All private, independently owned startup companies founded after Jan. 1, 2008, were eligible to be nominated for the Disruptor 50 list. The 2023 list also features the first founder to have two companies make the Disruptor 50 (Rodney Williams of SoLo Funds). Imagine what that number could have been a year or two ago …Special thanks to the 2023 CNBC Disruptor 50 Advisory Council, who again offered us their time and insights.

☆ PitchBook's Robert Le explains how ChatGPT could impact crypto
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Talia Kaplan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailPitchBook's Robert Le explains how ChatGPT could impact cryptoCNBC Crypto World features the latest news and daily trading updates from the digital currency markets and provides viewers with a look at what's ahead with high-profile interviews, explainers, and unique stories from the ever-changing crypto industry. Crypto World spoke with PitchBook crypto analyst Robert Le about his research on the positive and negative impacts of ChatGPT on the space.

☆ Ether drops to $1,900, and PitchBook research reveals ChatGPT's impact on crypto: CNBC Crypto World
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailEther drops to $1,900, and PitchBook research reveals ChatGPT's impact on crypto: CNBC Crypto WorldCNBC Crypto World features the latest news and daily trading updates from the digital currency markets and provides viewers with a look at what's ahead with high-profile interviews, explainers, and unique stories from the ever-changing crypto industry. On today's show, PitchBook's Robert Le breaks down how ChatGPT can positively and negatively impact crypto.

☆ Carbon-related tech raised a record-breaking $4.2 billion in 2022 as VCs poured into direct air capture and carbon accounting startups despite wider slowdown
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Emissions removal and management startups raised $4.2 billion last year, up from $3.6 billion in 2021. Carbon-related startups raked in $4.2 billion from venture capitalists globally last year across 204 deals, according to a new report from PitchBook. PitchBook's carbon tech categorization also includes fintech and analytics companies such as Coatue-backed carbon accounting firm Sweep. "We can't contain the climate crisis to an acceptable degree of global heating without actively addressing carbon capture and sequestration." While carbon tech is defying the wider venture-capital slowdown, which has seen valuations and deal counts plummet in the face of the war in Ukraine and fears of recession, the wider carbon and emissions tech category has remained flat.

☆ Energy startups touting everything from solar-powered cars to next-gen nuclear reactors are red hot right now. Here are 32 to watch in 2023, according to VCs.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Russia's invasion of Ukraine thrust energy companies into the spotlight in 2022. We asked European investors to name energy startups poised to take off in 2023. European energy companies raised a record $3 billion in 2022, a marked increase on the $1.96 billion secured in 2021, according to PitchBook. Insider asked investors which European startups were ones to watch in 2023. Here are the 32 companies investors named, in alphabetical order.

☆ Taking out debt used to be a mark of shame in the startup world. Investors like Peter Thiel are helping make it cool.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( Emilia David | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

InsiderPeter Thiel poured $250 million into Tacora Capital, which reflects a new interest in venture debt. Data from the startup tracker PitchBook showed that US venture debt reached $26.5 billion in value at the end of November. Startups can access venture debt through banks like Silicon Valley Bank or funds that specialize in the vehicle. Since those lenders deal with younger companies, venture-debt terms can be more flexible than traditional business loans. Traditional VC isn't going anywhereWhat the experts all agree on is that venture debt isn't going to replace the traditional venture-capital model anytime soon.

☆ Slowing crypto startup funding may still surpass 2021 record - Pitchbook
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Medha Singh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Dec 8 (Reuters) - Total funding at crypto startups this year is set to exceed investments in 2021, research firm Pitchbook said on Thursday though the pace of capital deployment is slowing as a series of crypto blowups sapped private equity investment appetite. Crypto projects globally attracted $19.9 billion in venture capital (VC) investments in the first nine months of 2022, 41% higher than a year ago, according to Pitchbook data. In total, last year drew in a record $21.2 billion. "The lack of clear regulation and guidance remains one of the crypto industry's greatest concerns and limiting factors," said Robert Le, crypto analyst at PitchBook. VCs infused $1.5 billion in the so-called Web3 companies in third quarter, a 44.5% growth sequentially, according to Pitchbook.

Search resuls for: "PitchBook's"

25 mentions found