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☆ Meet the $1 billion water-recycling startup helping the likes of Coca-Cola, BMW, and TSMC curb their usage and clamp down on pollution
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

The water-recycling firm Gradiant became one of the first in the space to be valued at $1 billion. Bajpayee's Gradiant helps industrial businesses get this under control by treating and recycling used water. Gradiant has raised over $400 million from investors to date and counts BMW, Coca-Cola, Pfizer, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. as customers. "If you think about it, ever since the industrial revolution, we've just been taking water from nature," Bajpayee told Insider. Bajpayee added that the company used fewer and, "in some cases," no chemicals in its treatments.

Persons: Gradiant, Anurag Bajpayee, we've, Bajpayee, MIT spinout, Iris, Extantia, Leonardo DiCaprio, Lindsey Higgins, Higgins Organizations: BMW, Cola, Pfizer, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, MIT, Synthesis Locations: Microsoft's, South America

☆ Carbon data and credit rating startup Sylvera just raised $57 million as it heads to the US. Check out the 12-slide pitch deck it used to raise the fresh funds.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Climate tech startup Sylvera has just raised $57 million for its carbon data platform. Sylvera, a startup helping businesses invest in high quality carbon credits, has just raised a $57 million Series B round led by Europe's Balderton Capital. The London-based startup, founded in 2020, provides carbon data and carbon credit ratings in an effort to bring integrity to a market plagued with quality issues. One carbon credit represents 1 metric ton of carbon dioxide or equivalent that has been removed from or prevented from entering the atmosphere. As well as decarbonization, many companies look to compensate for their hard-to-abate or historic emissions, which is where carbon credits come in.

Persons: Sylvera, Furey, it's, Serge Kruppa, 9yards Organizations: Balderton Capital, Fidelity Strategic Ventures, Bain & Company, Europe's, McKinsey, Paris, Index Ventures, Insight Partners Locations: London, New York

☆ This startup that makes it easier to design solar projects just raised $100 million. Check out the 14-slide pitch deck PVcase used to raise the fresh funds.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

PVcase, a software startup making it easier and faster to design solar projects, just raised $100 million. A solar design software startup has just raised $100 million in fresh funds. Lithuanian startup PVcase, which was founded in 2018, helps engineers plan and design solar energy projects via its software-as-a-service 3D modeling platform. The continued growth of solar meant that it's increasingly complex to develop big projects, Trainavicius said. PVcase could also include maintenance features when solar projects are up and running, such as predictive fixes.

Persons: Deividas Trainavicius, Trainavicius, it's, PVcase, What's Organizations: Lithuanian, Energize Ventures, Project Locations: Highland Europe, Lithuanian

☆ The Mediterranean 'island of cats' is facing disaster as 300,000 felines are estimated to have died from COVID, say animal advocates
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-15 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

An outbreak of feline coronavirus is killing off cats on a Mediterranean island known for its strays. In Cyprus, it is estimated that there are as many cats as there are humans, and it issometimes called the 'island of cats.' But 300,000 have died after a coronavirus outbreak that causes feline infectious peritonitis (FIP), per media reports quoting Dinos Ayiomamitis of animal rights groups Cat Paws Cyprus and Cyprus Voice for Animals. A new strain of feline coronavirus, Feline infectious peritonitis (FIP) -- which is not transmittable to humans -- is wreaking havoc on the cat population of Cyprus, known by some as the "island of cats." Veterinarian Kostis Larkou tends to a cat suffering from Feline Infectious Peritonitis (FIP), at clinic in Nicosia on June 20, 2023.

Persons: issometimes, felines, Dinos, CHRISTINA ASSI, Ayiomamitis, Demetris Epaminondas, Kostis Larkou, Danièlle Gunn, Moore, Nicholas of Organizations: Service, Animals, Cornell University, Getty, Pancyprian Veterinary Association, Daily Mail, University of Edinburgh Locations: Wall, Silicon, Cyprus, Southern Europe, Nicosia, AFP, Lebanon, Turkey, Israel, St

☆ California's Death Valley could top 130 degrees Fahrenheit this weekend – the hottest temperature recorded on Earth
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-15 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

California's Death Valley could top 130 degrees Fahrenheit this weekend – the hottest ever on Earth. Excessive heat warnings and heat advisories now cover over 100 million people in the US, per National Weather Service. California's Death Valley could topple the hottest temperature recorded this weekend amid what the US National Weather Service dubbed "sweltering and dangerous heat." John Locher/APSummer temperatures in the infamously dry national park often top 120 Fahrenheit, according to the National Parks Service. Heat could surpass 130 Fahrenheit this weekend, the record for the hottest temperature ever reliably measured on Earth, according to the Scientific American.

Persons: John Locher, Petteri Taalas Organizations: Service, World Meteorological Organization, Weather Service, National Weather Service, National Parks Service, Scientific American, Guardian, Meteorological Organization Locations: West, Phoenix , Arizona, Europe, Turkey, Morocco, Argentina, Patagonia, Iraq

☆ Children addicted to video games ran away from home in the middle of the night to find WiFi when parents turned their internet connection off, says expert
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-15 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Children addicted to video games run away from home in search of WiFi and turn violence, per a doctor. Many games involve loot boxes, typically unknown items unlocked through additional gameplay or paid for with real-world or in-game money. Video game companies EA and Respawn have faced criticism for expensive loot boxes in Apex Legends, with one axe totaling $178 in microtransactions when it was released. "To spend money, these children need to borrow money from parents or use monetary gifts received for birthdays and Christmas. Last year, then-Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries opted not to regulate loot boxes as gambling.

Persons: Henrietta Bowden, Jones, Bowden, Nadine Dorries Organizations: for Gaming Disorders, National Centre for Gaming Disorders, Guardian, EA, Apex, Gambling Locations: microtransactions, Austrian, Belgium, Australia

☆ RideTandem organizes transport for rural workers at companies like Lidl and Next. Check out the 11-slide pitch deck it used to raise $3 million.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-12 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The London-based startup just raised $3 million to grow the company and enter Germany. Check out the 11-slide pitch deck it used to raise the fresh funds. A mobility startup that organizes commuter bus routes for staffers at companies like supermarket chain Lidl, clothing retailer Next, and British postal service Royal Mail has raised £2.3 million (around $3 million) in fresh funds. Opportunities a 20-minute drive away are difficult to access for a person who can't drive or can't afford to drive, living in a town where the bus route has been cut, Shapland-Howes said. Check out the 11-slide pitch deck the startup used to raise the fresh funds.

Persons: Alex Shapland, Howes, RideTandem Organizations: Royal, Shapland, Employers, UN, Blackfinch Ventures, FirstMonday, Venture, Innovation Fund Locations: London, Germany, England

☆ 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

We asked investors at European venture capital funds to pick out rising stars in the industry. Venture capital is in a state of flux right now. Insider has set out to identify some of the rising stars in Europe's venture capital ecosystem who are taking on that challenge. It is London-dominated, with the UK capital once again taking the most VC funding in Europe last year. Read on to see 2023's rising stars of venture capital in Europe, in no particular order.

Persons: Read Organizations: Venture Locations: London, Berlin, Paris, Europe, Stockholm

☆ AI can pick top-performing private equity funds better than many institutional investors, Oxford study finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-04 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

AI can pick private equity firms to back better than many investors, per an Oxford study. Artificial intelligence can pick out top-performing private equity (PE) funds better than many institutional investors, according to research from the University of Oxford. Researchers trained an AI model to identify high-performing PE funds by reading 400 fundraising prospectuses and factoring in long sections that are often overlooked by investors, for a study by the Saïd Business School. Ludovic Phalippou, the lead researcher and a professor of financial economics at Oxford Saïd. But only a limited number of investors have the resources to take advantage of AI, so Phalippou expects to see consultants add it to their services.

Persons: Ludovic Phalippou, Oxford Saïd, Phalippou Organizations: University of Oxford, Saïd Business School, Oxford, Oxford Saïd, Coller Locations: Oxford

☆ Smaller valuations and a lack of ego helped Spain's startup scene avoid some of Europe's shocking collapse in VC funding, investors say
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Spain's startup scene has evaded some of the collapse in VC funding that has rocked Europe in 2023. Smaller check sizes and a lack of "ego" has somewhat protected the ecosystem, investors say. Smaller valuations, check sizes, and a distinct lack of ego helped Spain's startup scene evade some of the shocking collapse in venture capital funding that has rocked Europe so far this year. Smaller rounds give Spain's startups an edge in the downturnWhat correction was felt was eased by the fact there is less "ego" in Spain's ecosystem, according to Max Bray, an investor at early-stage firm K Fund. As well as the birth of local growth funds, investors see corporations playing a role in closing the funding gap.

Persons: SoftBank, Catalyst, Pablo Pedrejón, Max Bray, Dalia Silberstein, Pedro Arribas Gridilla, Juliette Simonin, Margarita Albors, Tasmin Lockwood, Bray, Marc Sabas, Fund's Bray, Wallbox cofounders Enric Asunción, Eduard Castañeda, Glovo, Wallbox, Oscar Pierre, Ship2B's Sabas, Danae Vara, Danae Vara Ship2B, hasn't, Sabas, CVCs, There's, Félix Ortega, K Fund's Bray, Sérgio Massano Organizations: Accel, Pedrejón, Venture, Fund, Esade Center, Social, Foundation, Spanish, K Fund, Investors, Danae Vara Ship2B Ventures, Investment, Corporations, Barcelona Activa, Telefónica, BBVA, Proeduca Locations: Europe, Spain, Madrid, France, Germany, Switzerland, Netherlands, Seaya, Bray, Vara, Barcelona, Silicon, London

☆ Nearly half of startups backed by some of the UK and Europe's top VC funds have zero women on the board, trailing bigger firms
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | Riddhi Kanetkar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Almost half of startups backed by top UK and European VC firms lack female board members, data shows. It means startups trail the 350 biggest listed UK firms, which hit 40% female board representation. Startups, though often promising to disrupt the status quo, are well behind larger firms when it comes to female leadership. Nearly half of startups currently backed by top UK and European venture capital firms lack any women on the board, new figures show. The data comes from 16 VC firms in the UK and Europe and covers 450 companies in their portfolios.

Persons: ESG_VC, Henry Philipson, Philipson, Michelle You, there's Organizations: European, Molten Ventures, Beringea, MMC, British Private Equity, Venture Capital Association, Investors Locations: Highland, Europe

☆ There's a big venture capital funding downturn — except for this one set of investors
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( Riddhi Kanetkar | Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Venture capital funding into startups has drastically slowed. Corporate venture capital grew in 2022 and looks to grow again in 2023, bucking the broader downturn. Continuing a pullback in funding activity in 2022, venture capital into European startups fell by 32.1% in Q1 of 2023, per Pitchbook data. Faced with the prospect of raising down rounds at slashed valuations, startups are turning to an alternative mode of funding — corporate venture capitalists. A corporate venture capital firm, or CVC, is the investing arm of a specific business.

Persons: Ekaterina Almasque, Almasque, Sabrina Maniscalco, Luis Valente, Valente, iLoF, Charlie Bullock Organizations: Corporate, GV, Google, Catalyst, Catalyst Fund, Presidio Ventures, Japan's Sumitomo Corporation, Microsoft, OSRAM Ventures

☆ Climate startup Supercritical nabbed $13 million to help carbon removal projects get funded. Check out the 11-slide pitch deck it used to secure the funds from Lightspeed.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

London-based startup Supercritical just raised $13 million to help projects get funded via companies. London-based startup Supercritical has just raised $13 million from Lightspeed Venture Partners to help the "groundswell" of businesses pledging to invest in carbon removal. That's where carbon removal — tree-planting, sucking CO2 from the air using technology, or enhanced rock weathering — comes in. Long term, it wants to be the "no brainer" option for carbon removal purchases. Check out the 11-slide redacted pitch deck Supercritical used to raise the funds.

Persons: we've, Michelle You, Aaron Randall, Carbo Organizations: Lightspeed Venture Partners, Paris, Frontier Fund, RTP Global, Greencode Ventures, MMC Ventures Locations: London

☆ Climate startup CleanHub helps groups in India, Indonesia, and Cambodia save trash from landfill. Check out the 12-slide pitch deck it used to raise $7 million.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Climate startup CleanHub wants to make it easier for developing economies to recycle trash. About a third of trash globally is dumped or burned, contributing to the climate crisis. Check out the 12-slide pitch deck CleanHub used to raise $12 million. Material that can be is recycled, while other waste is co-processed, meaning it is burned and used as fuel. Check out the 12-slide pitch deck it used to raise the cash below.

Persons: Joel Tasche, Tasche, CleanHub, Louis Pfitzner Organizations: World Bank, Integra Partners, Übermorgen Ventures Locations: Mount Rinjani, Lake Constance, Germany, Berlin, India, Indonesia, Cambodia

☆ Why investors pumped $100 million into a startup using microbial fungi to turn soil into a crucial tool in the fight against climate change
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

The startup Loam Bio wants to use fungi to boost soil health and help keep carbon in the ground. But soil carbon is in a sorry state, in part due to current agricultural practices. There are different types of soil carbon; some decompose easily while others can take thousands of years to break down. The soil microbiome could also change to start breaking down the carbon that gets fixed in soil, Bailey added. "The most important thing is that we're really accurately measuring the carbon that we store in the soil," Hudson said.

Persons: Guy Hudson, Chris Sacca's, Hacking, It's, Hudson, Monique, Britt Koskella, Koskella, Andy Bailey, Bailey, we're, Chris Shafto, Dr Brooke Bruning, you've Organizations: Green Tech, Service, Australian, Lowercarbon Capital, Lowercarbon, UC Berkeley, University of Bristol Locations: Australia, Brazil

☆ Kitt designs, builds, and manages office space for the likes of Oatly. Check out the 35-slide pitch deck it used to raise $8 million from Hoxton Ventures.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Kitt, which designs, constructs, and manages office space, just raised $8 million. Instead, he was consumed by a quirk of his Kentish Town, London, office space: a leaky AC unit. It was this experience, and the subsequent chasing of the landlord for repairs, that germinated the seed of his next business: managed office space. Kitt has a marketplace of office space to connect landlords and commercial tenants. With the rise of remote work, office space is now seen as a strategic decision, Coulson said.

Persons: Steve Coulson, Coulson, Kitt Organizations: Kitt, Hoxton Ventures, Babylon, New Locations: Kentish, London, Deliveroo, Kitt, New York

☆ Apple alumni have founded buzzy startups in climate, fintech, and AI worth over $180 billion. These are the 22 most promising in Europe.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( Riddhi Kanetkar | Tasmin Lockwood | Ricki Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Insider mapped out Europe's hottest startups launched by ex-Apple staffers, according to Dealroom data. Startups that have hired ex-Apple staffers, such as chip startups Rivos and Nuvia, have been accused by the tech giant of poaching ideas and copyright infringement. From 2010 to 2015, ex-Apple staffers had registered 163 startups which cinched funding. As the tech giant widens its global footprint, with new manufacturing bases and stores in India, its roster of alumni-turned-founders is also fast expanding across continents. Here are the 22 European startups led by ex-Apple staffers that experienced the most growth in the 12 months to May 2023, according to data from Dealroom.

Persons: Evgeny Bik, Bik, Jafferjee Organizations: Apple Locations: India, Dealroom, Europe

☆ Mass layoffs are creating a new generation of founders building climate, health, and fintech startups
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Tech layoffs are fuelling an influx of new founder talent. Delivery Hero scaled down its ghost kitchen project and, despite being offered another role internally, Pankow exited in December 2022. As the cofounder of cybersecurity startup Simplyblock, he is part of a new wave of founders born of tech layoffs. In 2022, programme applications from founders working at tech companies that have made layoffs increased by 111% to 1,273. "As the world's strongest talent, capital and political will gravitates towards this issue, we are seeing founders building technology designed to leave a real impact," Klink added.

Persons: Rob Pankow, Pankow, Christoph Klink, Klink, Ling Walker, Patreon, Tasmin Lockwood Organizations: Meta, WIRED, Ventures Locations: Berlin, Patreon

☆ This startup making the electricity grid more resilient while reducing wildfires just raised $10.5 million. Check out the 10-slide pitch deck Gridware used to land the fresh funds.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

California startup Gridware is working to prevent forest fires and make the grid more resilient. But Timothy Barat, the cofounder and CEO of risk management and wildfire mitigation startup Gridware, does exactly that. On a huge plot of land outside California's Bay area, Gridware has its own electricity grid complete with full-size 40-foot poles and power lines spanning 200 feet. Wildfires can be sparked by a number of things, including downed power lines. For example, the startup can detect vegetation striking power lines as soon as it happens.

Persons: JP Morgan, Timothy Barat, Chris Sacca's, Gridware's Barat, Barat, Gridware, Chris Sacca, we've, Seth Bannon Organizations: Lowercarbon Capital, UC Berkeley, Lowercarbon, Fifty Locations: California, California's, Barat, Gridware's, San Francisco, NYC

☆ Here's the 19-slide pitch deck Jolt, a climate tech startup curbing the cost of hydrogen power, used to raise $6 million
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Take a peek inside the 19-slide redacted pitch deck it used to raise the fresh funds. A Barcelona-based startup hoping to make hydrogen power cheaper, more efficient, and durable, just nabbed 6 million euros (around $6.4 million) in Series A funding. Jolt, founded in 2022 as a spin-out of the Catalan Institute of Chemical Research, makes electrodes for electrolyzers and hydrogen fuel cells. Electrodes are the "heart" of hydrogen, Jolt cofounder and CEO Leon Rizzi told Insider, but they are "genuinely not fit for purpose." Jolt makes an alternative coating, which requires 80 degree-heat for up to 60 seconds and can be done in an oven or via an infrared lamp.

Persons: Leon Rizzi, we've, Rizzi, it's, Jolt Organizations: Catalan Institute of Chemical Research, McKinsey, Climentum Capital, Ship2B Ventures, Partners, NET, Rizzi Locations: Barcelona, headcount

☆ Jaguar Land Rover's VC arm backed a $2 million round in plant-based leather startup Uncaged Innovations after seeing this 11-slide pitch deck
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Biotech startup Uncaged is mimicking the characteristics of traditional leather but using plants. Uncaged just nabbed $2 million from Jaguar Land Rover's investment arm using this pitch deck. A startup creating animal- and plastic-free leather just netted $2 million in a pre-seed round that was backed by Jaguar Land Rover's investment arm InMotion Ventures. US biotech company Uncaged Innovations, founded in 2020, mimics the characteristics of skin proteins with plants. Uncaged Innovations is taking a "two-pronged approach" by serving the fashion and automobile industries.

Persons: Stephanie Downs, Xiaokun Wang, Johns Hopkins, Tesla, Downs, VegInvest, Alwyn Capital Organizations: Biotech, Land, Jaguar Land, InMotion Ventures, Uncaged Innovations, Downs, Brands Locations: York

☆ Earth's natural resources are finite. These 19 hot startups want to keep oil and minerals in the ground.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Oil, soil, metals, sand, and water underpin everything in daily life – but they are finite. From recycling to synthetic biology, a bevy of startups are working to help curb consumption of natural resources. Natural resources such as oil, soil, metals, sand, and water underpin everything in daily life. Climate-minded startups are trying to help reduce humanity's reliance on finite resources, working on new kinds of food, recycling technologies, and energy production. They chose startups working in technologies such as battery production, plastic alternatives, and cultivated meat.

☆ Meet the climate startup turning a 5,000-mile stretch of seaweed from a plague of coastal communities into a giant carbon store
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-24 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

London-based Seaweed Generation is one such startup dedicated to seaweed sequestration. She's part of a wave of new "blue economy" entrepreneurs taking advantage of seaweed for carbon removal. Seaweed GenerationThe seaweed RoombaEstridge's Seaweed Generation has developed a robot that she described as a "Roomba meets Pac-Man." Seaweed Generation will work in waters with around 4,000 meters of depth and no upwelling current, which could bring sargassum back to the surface. Seaweed Generation has a planned pilot with the government of Antigua, which is invested in protecting its tourism industry.

☆ This startup uses volcanic rock to capture carbon for the likes of Stripe and Microsoft. Check out the 20-slide pitch deck Undo used to raise $12 million.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A startup speeding up a natural rock weathering process for carbon removal just raised $12 million. A startup spreading volcanic rock on farms as a form of carbon dioxide removal has just secured $12 million in its first institutional round led by Chris Sacca's Lowercarbon Capital. "We get a 50,000-times increase in rates of reaction versus that natural process, and we can absorb far more CO2," Mann said. The startup makes money by selling carbon removal credits. Mann wants to help regulate the industry before others try selling enhanced rock weathering without fully understanding the process and what is required.

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