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☆ Britain rolled back an array of its net zero goals. It could spell pain for climate tech startups, experts say.
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-16 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Britain's dramatic rollback of its net zero ambitions will threaten climate tech startups' ability to raise fresh capital from investors, industry experts have warned. Sunak said the government remained committed to its obligation to reach net zero by 2050, despite the u-turns. He also unveiled a grant for boiler upgrades, reforms to energy infrastructure planning, and £150 million ($183 million) for the development of green tech. Climate tech is particularly exposed to this as it changes on a country-by-country basis, compared with health tech which has a "stable" and well-established regulatory process. "The bottom line for me is that it will happen independently of the politics now," said SE Ventures' Christiani.

Persons: Rishi Sunak, Sunak, Asif Ghafoor, Kiko Ventures, Arne Mortaeni, Michael Smith, Julien Christiani Organizations: EV, Kiko, Government, Ventures Locations: Europe, Germany, France

At least 10 European VC funds have told their founders to pull funds out of Silicon Valley Bank. Silicon Valley Bank's woes spread overseas on Friday morning as tech investors in Europe followed their US peers and advised founders to pull their cash from the bank. The bank's shares plummeted 60% amid concerns among investors and founders about the safety of their cash. The bank has been a stalwart in the tech industry over the past 40 years, acting as a banking partner and investor for startups across the world. Castiglione said that UK funds were only "screwed" if Europe followed suit with the "US panic contagion."

REUTERS/Phil NobleCOVENTRY, England, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Developing fully autonomous vehicles (AVs) that can go everywhere has proven harder and more expensive than expected, but investors are continuing to fund startups that target simpler self-driving vehicle solutions far removed from pedestrians and other vehicles operated by unpredictable humans. Earlier promises made by robotaxi companies of operating fleets of vehicles by the early 2020s have fallen well short. BMW iVentures has also invested in AV truck technology firm Kodiak Robotics, which managing partner Sage said has adopted a simpler approach to areas like mapping. Construction and agricultural equipment - used off-road in low-traffic environments - has been another growth area for AV startups. U.S. agricultural equipment maker AGCO Corp (AGCO.N), for instance, is using the Palo Alto, California-based startup's software for an experimental automated electric planter.

☆ Oxbotica raises $140 mln to deploy self-driving commercial vehicles
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Nick Carey | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Jan 11 (Reuters) - Self-driving software startup Oxbotica has raised $140 million from investors to speed deployment of autonomous vehicles (AVs) in areas including heavy industry, ports and airports. The Series C round includes funding from new investors including Japanese insurer Aioi Nissay Dowa Insurance, the venture capital arm of software company Trimble (TRMB.O) and the venture capital arm of Japanese oil refiner Eneos (5020.T). Oxbotica has now raised about $225 million in total and the company said that additional investors are expected to sign up before the funding round closes in a few months. Once regulations catch up with the industry, the company will start running tests on limited routes for Ocado in 2025, Jackson said. "The proceeds (of this funding round) will really accelerate deployment for our commercial customers."

☆ Without radical changes, TikTok could vanish from the US
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( Jordan Parker Erb | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

From burnout among open-source developers to the downfall of Andreessen Horowitz's buzzy tech publication, Future, it's a packed edition. The worker told Insider that they used "exam dumps" to pass technical certifications, and that the answers were easy to find online with a quick Google search. This year, developers told us that they're fed up, and some are quitting and even sabotaging their own projects. Despite the 10% raise, doled out in April, Mailchimp employees told Insider that people nonetheless felt belittled and were quitting in droves. Earlier this year, Andreessen Horowitz's buzzy tech publication Future shut down.

☆ Inside climate tech's record-breaking year where the energy crisis, new regulation, and a maturing debt market helped European startups raise $17.5 billion
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Climate tech was a clear green shoot in a tumultuous 2022 but there will be a delayed correction. But there has been one green shoot: Climate tech. "We've just gotten started when it comes to climate tech," Emitwise's Cozzi said. Many climate tech companies have raised at high valuations, said Magda Lukaszewicz, principal at Balderton Capital. Energy and infrastructure companies are tipped as winners, while pure software plays may see some consolidation, climate tech investors and founders said.

☆ Think long-term, grab land, watch your runway: Here's how European VCs are advising their founders ahead of a looming recession
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Sequoia's iconic 2008 'R.I.P Good Times' presentation still rings true for some investors. Good Times" presentation from 2008. "Because people are so programmed with the whole RIP Good Times thing, the nuance gets lost sometimes." Magda Lukaszewicz, principal at Balderton, echoed this – even if it takes companies longer to achieve said goals. Sequoia's "RIP Good Times" ends on a bleak note: Get Real or Go Home.

☆ Europe's tech ecosystem nursed a hangover in 2022 as the post-pandemic party ended and VCs returned to fundamentals
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Callum Burroughs | Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

VCs returned to slower capital deployment and due diligence processes after a record-breaking 2021. The COVID-19 pandemic and the last remnants of the era of cheap money led to reckless abandon in funding markets with tech startups raising capital at record rates, often at valuations untethered from reality. VC cash dried up considerably this year with investors pumping $16 billion into startups in the third quarter of 2022, a 44% annual decline. Numerous VCs told Insider the past two years had felt like an out-of-control celebration with many "now looking around at the aftermath and thinking about tidying up. " "The ecosystem is nursing its hangover after two years of a big party," Arne Morteani, founding partner at Kiko Ventures said.

☆ 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."

☆ 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.

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