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☆ Startups trying to turn cities into carbon sinks to fight climate change have raised a record $2.2 billion this year, new report shows
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Green construction startups have raised a record $2.2 billion in 2022, per VC firm A/O PropTech. The construction and operation of buildings account for 37% of global CO2 emissions from energy use, according to the UN. The adoption of bio-based materials, such as wood, and a circular approach to construction can help cities become carbon sinks, the report stated. A carbon sink is when something can store more carbon emissions than it produces. Most building materials are currently "down-cycled" and used for things like filling potholes, she added.

☆ This secondhand fashion startup wants to become the Depop of Africa. Here's the 11-slide pitch deck Yaga used to raise $2.2 million.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Estonia-based Yaga just raised $2.2 million to bring its secondhand marketplace to Africa and Asia. The startup, backed by Startup Wise Guys, wants to become the next Vinted or Depop. An Estonia-based circular economy startup that wants to become the Vinted or Depop of Africa has just raised 2.2 million euros ($2.2 million). The company operates an app and website that are currently available in South Africa, Kenya, and India. "I went to Instagram and looked at how people buy and sell secondhand in South Africa and Kenya," the founder said.

☆ Carbon-accounting startup Planetly was shut down and all 200 staff laid off just a year after acquisition. Insiders say it's a bad omen for 2023.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

European carbon accounting companies lured $670 million in venture capital last year, as investors banked on growing appetite from corporates to bolster their ESG credentials. The slowdown means 2023 will be the toughest year since the Lehman Brothers collapse for potential closures of acquired companies, the source said. Still, carbon accounting companies are struggling with commercial traction due to market saturation and little differentiation, he said. "But if you acquire a carbon accounting software solution, you are probably a large organisation that has established customer relationships and had conversations about this before. European industry sources added that they expect further consolidation in the carbon accounting space.

☆ A startup building software to encrypt messaging tools such as Slack just raised $11 million from Molten Ventures. Check out the 17-slide pitch deck Worldr used to secure the round.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A startup building encryption software to secure business communications on Slack and Teams just raised $11 million. London-based startup Worldr has built an additional layer of "zero-trust" infrastructure offering security, privacy, and compliance for business communication apps. As the company scaled into new markets, it became a highly regulated business, Buchan told Insider. This means that despite using Slack or Teams for business communications, those companies can't access the customer's data. The company has built integrations for Microsoft Teams, Slack, and WhatsApp, and has Microsoft Outlook in the works.

☆ Russia's invasion of Ukraine has accelerated a nuclear renaissance. Europe's nuclear startups have raised a record $403 million in 2022.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Nuclear power has long been shunned by policymakers due to disasters like Chernobyl and Fukushima. Rising energy costs caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine have sparked a nuclear resurgence. For most, nuclear energy sparks memories of the large-scale disasters at Fukushima and Chernobyl. To generate energy via nuclear fusion, two atoms have to be combined – the same process that fuels the sun. Both are needed to fight climate change, according to Aneeqa Khan, a nuclear fusion research fellow at the Dalton Nuclear Institute.

☆ A pair of European VCs just closed the first tranche of a $50 million social impact fund. Here's the 7-slide LP deck Redstone and EnjoyVenture used to raise the funds.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

European VC firms Redstone and EnjoyVenture have closed the first tranche of their social impact fund. We got an exclusive look at the 7-slide LP deck it used to raise the first tranche of the fund. He agreed, but only if he could set up his own venture fund. Paul said he had seen a flurry of activity around environmental impact investing but less so around social impact. "The idea was really to have a holistic understanding of social impact," he said.

☆ Plant-based meat startup Heura just raised $20 million as it aims to become Europe's industry leader. Here's the 35-slide pitch deck it used to raise the funds.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Spanish alternative protein startup Heura just raised $20 million through a crowdfunding campaign. We got an exclusive look at the 35-slide pitch deck it used to raise the funds. Alternative protein startup Heura just raised 20 million euros (around $20 million) as sales of its alternative meats more than doubled in the first half of the year. The pair set about creating healthy meat alternatives that look, feel, and taste like animal-based meat while just using plant-based ingredients. Heura remains committed to growing the plant-based food sector across Europe, as it has done in Spain, Añaños told Insider.

☆ Climate investor Satgana funds early-stage founders tackling issues across food, energy, and carbon removal. Here's a peek at its first 16-slide LP fundraising deck.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Climate-focused investor Satgana just closed the first round of its inaugural $29 million fund. We got an exclusive look at the 16-slide pitch deck it used to raise the funds. European venture capital firm Satgana has closed the first tranche of its 30 million euros (around $29 million) climate tech fund. Founded in 2020, the Luxembourg-based investor will write checks of up to 500,000 euros to 40 pre-seed and seed-stage startups across Europe and Africa. This is particularly important for startups that enable other climate tech solutions but may not have direct impact, he said.

☆ This startup wants to give plant-based foods a meaty aroma and taste. Here's the 13-slide pitch deck Nourish Ingredients used to raise $28.6 million.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A startup creating plant-based fat to mimic ones found in meat just landed $28.6 million. Nourish Ingredients hopes its fat will help plant-based meat taste, smell and cook like the real thing. Australia-based startup Nourish Ingredients, founded in 2019, has developed a way to make animal fats using plant-based ingredients. Nourish Ingredients' fat will give foods a meaty aroma and taste, cofounder and CEO James Petrie told Insider. After two years of growth, plant-based food sales have stagnated as public perception dwindles, according to Deloitte.

☆ This startup helps Microsoft and P&G make their products more sustainable. Check out the 14-slide pitch deck Makersite used to raise $17.5 million.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A startup that helps companies build more sustainable products just raised $17.5 million. We got an exclusive look at the 14-slide pitch deck it used to raise the Series A round. A German startup that enables companies to assess the sustainability of their products before going to market just landed 18 million euros (around $17.5 million) in its first institutional raise. Makersite uses AI to create software-based replicas of product designs using technology known as digital twins. Check out the 14-slide pitch deck Makersite used to raise the fresh funds below.

☆ This startup could become the Google Analytics of carbon accounting. Here's the 13-slide pitch deck Climatiq used to raise $5.8 million.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Climate tech startup Climatiq has raised 6 million euros (around $5.8 million) in a seed round. VC firm Singular led the round into the carbon API startup with Cherry Ventures also participating. Companies can also import their own carbon emissions data to provide a more accurate estimate of their impact. Some consumer-focused tools already embed emissions data. Emissions data is already shown on travel sites like Google Flights.

☆ Carbon accounting startup Emitwise becomes latest climate tech startup to lay off staff as red hot sector jostles with economic downturn
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Layoffs have hit the red-hot climate tech sector as it jostles with the economic downturn. Carbon accounting startup Emitwise has become the latest climate tech startup to lay off staff as the industry jostles with the economic downturn, Insider understands. Climate tech is wide-ranging, encapsulating everything from research and development-heavy batteries to carbon accounting SaaS tools. The energy crisis has been a boon for home energy startups working on rooftop solar, heat pumps, and smart thermostats. At One Ventures' Lin added that in moments of economic difficulty "sometimes the most interesting innovations are born."

☆ Spain's startup scene has gone from a desert crossing to a $4 billion burgeoning industry. Now, it plans to cut red tape to birth a new batch of unicorns.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Spanish startups lured a record $4.1 billion from investors in 2021, according to PitchBook. The government hopes its new Startup Law will help birth an array of new unicorns. In 2016, Lucas Carné sold his fashion marketplace startup Privalia for around 500 million euros (around $495 million) in a landmark deal for the Spanish tech ecosystem. Privalia's sale to its enlarged French counterpart Ventee-Privee – since rebranded as VeePee – illustrated just how far the Spanish startup scene had changed in the space of 10 years. Spanish startups secured a record $4.1 billion in 2021 – more than double that of 2020 –, according to PitchBook data.

☆ Crop monitoring startup PlanetWatchers used this 11-slide pitch deck to raise a $11 million Series A from Seraphim Space and help farmers get paid after extreme weather events.
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A crop monitoring startup just raised a $11 million Series A from Seraphim Space. We got an exclusive look at the 11-slide redacted pitch deck it used to raise the funds. A startup helping to insure the agriculture industry through crop monitoring has raised a $11 million Series A from Seraphim Space. London-based PlanetWatchers has developed an analytics platform for crops, which it can monitor at any time and regardless of weather. The means PlanetWatchers can give accurate data to insurance companies no matter the weather, he added.

☆ One Point Five just raised $10 million to replace single-use plastics. Check out the pitch deck it used to raise the round led by Speedinvest.
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A startup cofounded by former execs from vertical farming unicorn Infarm has raised $10 million. Hamburg-based One Point Five is designing "litter-proof" materials for sauce and shampoo sachets. We got an exclusive look at the 10-slide pitch deck it used to raise the cash. A startup designing and developing "litter-proof" material to replace single-use packaging has raised 10.5 million euros (around $1.1 million). While designed to be recyclable, One Point Five's materials will also be "litter-proof," Weber said.

☆ Not So Dark just raised $80 million to help restaurants take on dark kitchens
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

French food tech startup Not So Dark just landed $80 million from Kharis Capital and Verlinvest. It was a food delivery company called Resto-in that was later acquired by Dutch company Lieferando, which in turn was gobbled up by Just Eat Takeaway. Now 37, Benoit is back in the food delivery game and just secured an $80 million Series B for Not So Dark. They have been criticized for killing the high street but grew in popularity during the pandemic as demand for food delivery soared. Not So Dark's technology also scans comments on each delivery platform to find ways to make deliveries better.

☆ We got an exclusive look at the 9-slide pitch deck Innovafeed, an insect protein startup, used to raise $250 million
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-22 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

We got an exclusive look at the 9-slide pitch deck it used to secure the funding. A startup developing insect-based food for aqua-farming, pet food, and eventually humans just raised $250 million to ramp up production. "One of the products we replace in aqua-feed is fish meal," Ray said. "Fish meal is made of small fish caught in South America, in Africa, turned into a meal to feed other food production. Replacing fish meal with Innovafeed's product reduces the carbon footprint of salmon feed by 50%, the cofounder said.

☆ We visited Chris Sacca-backed Epoch Biodesign's London HQ. The startup wants to clamp down on pollution with plastic eating enzymes.
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Epoch Biodesign, a startup converting plastic to chemicals using enzymes, has raised $14.5 million. Epoch Biodesign uses plastic-eating enzymes as a base and scientifically alters them to produce a specific chemical from the consumed plastic. Epoch Biodesign is also developing enabling technologies to do this cheaper, faster, better, and at greater scale. This is a colony picker, one the machines used test and select Epoch Biodesign's enzymes in the lab. In the long run, Epoch Biodesign expects to license out its technology so it isn't running facilities itself.

☆ This startup wants to decarbonize the construction industry using biochar. Check out the 11-slide pitch deck EcoLocked use to raise $1.8 million.
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A climate tech startup developing building materials with sequestered carbon just raised $1.8 million. A climate tech startup developing building materials with biochar, a charcoal-like form of sequestered carbon dioxide, just raised 1.8 million euros (around $1.8 million) in its first funding round. Manufacturing building materials such as steel, cement, and glass accounted for 11%. Changing building materials is a "major pathway" to decarbonization, he added, thanks to increased energy efficiency. Long-term, EcoLocked sees itself developing recipes for other building materials as well as concrete.

☆ Leonardo DiCaprio's Regeneration VC backed on-site rental startup Tulu's $25 million Series A after seeing this 12-slide pitch deck
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-20 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The US startup hopes people will rent items instead of buying them – shifting to a circular economy. Check out the 12-slide pitch deck it used to secure funding from Leonard DiCaprio's Regeneration VC. A startup banking on a consumer shift from ownership to rental has just topped up its Series A to $25 million, with new backing from Leonard DiCaprio-funded firm Regeneration VC. You need to clean, you need to cook, you need to host; what are the items that you need for that?" Tulu kiosks are in 19 cities in the US, UK, the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, and Israel, the company said.

☆ Patagonia's charitable change will inspire founders. We spoke to 8 VCs about how startups can create their own climate change legacy.
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-16 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | Tasmin Lockwood | Riddhi Kanetkar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Patagonia's Yvon Chouinard said he was giving away his $3 billion company to fight climate change. Insider spoke to 8 VCs about how hard it is for founders to follow suit and what they can do instead. "Instead of 'going public', you could say we're 'going purpose'," Chouinard wrote. Insider spoke to eight investors to find out why venture capital-backed startups would struggle to replicate Patagonia's model and what they could do instead. This means founders need to be active at an early stage in deciding what to do with their business.

☆ GoStudent, a $3 billion edtech startup backed by SoftBank and Coatue, is laying off a tenth of its staff
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-16 | by ( Riddhi Kanetkar | Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

GoStudent, Europe's first edtech unicorn, is laying off 200 employees — around 10% of its workforce. The Vienna-based startup is backed by investing giants like SoftBank, Coatue, and Tencent. It joins 23 other edtech companies that have let staffers go amid the global economic downturn. GoStudent, an edtech unicorn backed by some of the world's biggest tech investors, is laying off a tenth of its workforce, the company's CEO said. Japan's SoftBank, Chinese tech investor Tencent, and New York hedge fund Coatue have all backed GoStudent, which is valued at 3 billion euros (around $3 billion).

These are the best seed investors backing European firms, based on data analysis from Tribe Capital. Insider and Tribe also identified the Seed 10: the best female early-stage investors. We have listed the top 50 seed investors into European firms, based in countries including the UK, Sweden, Turkey, and the US. Insider has also detailed the 10 best female seed-stage investors in Europe in the Seed 10 list. How Tribe Capital selected and ranked Insider's Seed 50 and Seed 10 lists of the early check-writers in Europe

☆ Zelenskyy praised Elon Musk's Starlink for saving Ukraine from Russian propaganda in Wired interview
▼ + stars: | 2022-06-03 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has praised Elon Musk's Starlink for helping overcome Russian propaganda. Ukrainians in offline areas were told by Russian troops that their country "does not exist anymore". The satellite network has been "very effective," Zelenskyy told Wired in an interview published on Thursday. I am really grateful for the support of Starlink," the Ukrainian leader told Wired. Internet connections have been instrumental in Ukraine's war effort, with the "IT Army" combatting Russian cyberattacks on Ukrainian infrastructure.

☆ Twitter is building new features including a version of Google Alerts despite Musk takeover uncertainty
▼ + stars: | 2022-06-03 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Twitter is building new features, including one similar to Google Alerts. They will then receive push notifications for tweets relating to the query, similar to Google Alerts send to an email inbox. In screenshots posted on Twitter, Roussel shows a bell icon to the right of the search bar after searching in the Twitter app. https://twitter.com/evowizz/status/1531753374047260674Users can already receive search notifications via TweetDeck by turning on alerts for specific columns, as noted by 9to5Google. It comes as Twitter was plunged into turmoil following the apparent takeover by Musk and an internal shake-up.

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