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☆ From ads in video games, retail media, and cookieless tracking — experts predict these surging areas will drive ad industry M&A in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Lara O'Reilly | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Despite an economic downturn, experts predict there will be plenty of advertising M&A in 2023. While that could include some and firesales, deals are expected in hot areas like retail media and CTV. Insider spoke to more than a dozen industry experts who dished on the trends that will drive advertising M&A next year. Companies in hot areas like performance marketing, retail media and CTV will buy others to build out their offeringsPerformance marketing, retail media, and the growth of connected TV advertising have been among the hottest trends for advertising companies and agencies in recent years. Areas like retail media and ad-supported streaming are on fire.

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☆ Venture Firm Fifth Wall Raises Record Real-Estate Startup Fund
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Konrad Putzier | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Fifth Wall partners Brendan Wallace and Sarah Liu with others on the roof terrace of the Fifth Wall headquarters in New York City. Fifth Wall Ventures Management LLC raised the largest-ever venture fund focused on real-estate technology companies, the company said, a sign that some major investors are still bullish on property startups despite this year’s surge in interest rates. The $866 million fund, which closed on Friday, will invest in both early- and late-stage startups. Annaly Capital Management Inc., Arbor Realty Trust Inc., CBRE Group Inc., Equity Residential and a number of other major real-estate companies invested in the fund.

We asked readers, last year's rising stars, and industry leaders to name the top rising star VCs of 2022. After a record breaking year for venture capital in 2021, the tech and startups industry faced a much more tumultuous economic climate in 2022. And many young enterprising venture capitalists were able to source lucrative deals in top startups and wow their peers as up-and-coming stars in the industry. For the first time, there are more women on the list then men, which shows that more women are being brought into the pipeline of the traditionally male-dominated venture capital industry. Read on to see 2022's rising stars of venture capital, organized alphabetically by the investor's name.

☆ VCs say superpowered software, a dearth of new funds, and rampant M&A among the tech trends to watch in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Melia Russell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

We asked investors from firms like Accel, Sequoia, IVP, and Lightspeed to share their forecasts. Party rounds are out, unicorns are in, and the venture market will get worse before it gets better. Sign up for our newsletter for the latest tech news and scoops — delivered daily to your inbox. Loading Something is loading. We asked them to reveal the hot sectors they're eyeing, the trends that will fizzle, and the new realities of fundraising — for both startups and venture fund managers — in a tech downturn.

☆ Medly files for bankruptcy as the once-hot pharmacy startup crumbles under mounting losses
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( Rebecca Torrence | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Medly filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Friday. The company has been tumbling since August, when it laid off over half its staff and closed 24 stores. Pharmacy startup Medly filed for bankruptcy on Friday after mounting losses caught up to the company that once sought to disrupt pharmacy giants like CVS and Walgreens. Medly filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in US Bankruptcy Court in Delaware. Medly did not respond to Insider's request for comment about the filings.

☆ Inside SoftBank Vision Fund's awful, terrible, really bad year. How the venture fund tumbled, according to former employees, investors and rival VCs.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | Ben Bergman | Samantha Stokes | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

SoftBank's Vision Fund just experienced one of its most dismal years in its history. SoftBank's Vision Fund was once a power broker, having raised a jaw-dropping $100 billion in 2017, followed by plans to raise $108 billion for Vision Fund 2 in 2019 — two of the largest venture-investing vehicles ever established. But insiders are now questioning if it will ever regain influence, according to 11 ex-Vision Fund investors, former employees, VCs, and industry analysts who weighed in on the future of the Vision Fund. One ex-Vision Fund investor described Son, now taking the reins of Vision Fund 2, as someone who is "not a manager." Given its investing performance so far, the obvious question is what happens once Vision Fund 2 has reached full investment.

☆ PE wants to see some cash flow before it starts making deals
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

As the markets continue to sour, and a recession looms, everyone's wondering when PE firms will begin scooping up assets. High on Bae's wishlist are "all things digital," he said, with one giant caveat: profitability. There are plenty of companies doing fascinating things in the digital space, but many have yet to reach profitability (*cough* fintechs *cough*). Goldman Sachs is going dumpster diving for crypto companies. Chaos in the crypto markets is creating investing and acquisition opportunities for the bank, according to Matthew McDermott, Goldman's head of digital assets.

☆ VCs are abandoning supply chain tech — except for startups that can cut out the human
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Emma Cosgrove | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Venture capital funding of supply chain startups was down 56% year-over-year in the third quarter. Venture funding for supply chain startups in the third quarter fell to $3.3 billion — down 56% year over year and 37% compared to the second quarter, according to Pitchbook. Before the pandemic, supply chain tech startup funding grew by a few billion every year for most of the last decade. Nearly half of the cash invested in supply chain startups went to last-mile companies. A temporary reckoningVenture investment in other types of supply chain startups — like technology for trucking and broader supply chain management — traditionally doesn't reach the heights of delivery startups.

☆ Exclusive: Ex-Tiger Global partner John Curtius to raise $1 billion for new venture capital fund -source
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Krystal Hu | Shadia Nasralla | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Nov 30 (Reuters) - John Curtius, a former partner at investment firm Tiger Global, is in talks with institutional investors to raise $1 billion for his new venture fund Cedar Investment Management, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters. The fund will focus on investing in early stage enterprise software companies in the United States and Europe, the source added, requesting anonymity while discussing private matters. If closed, the fund will likely be one of the largest new funds raised by first-time fund managers amid a slowing venture capital market. Curtius joined Tiger from Elliott Management in 2017 and had been running enterprise software investment at the prolific tech investment firm that has $125 billion in asset under management. His portfolio of tech companies includes security software SentinelOne (S.N) and unicorns such as data infrastructure firm Databricks and cybersecurity company Snyk.

☆ A Goldman Sachs-led $117 million round is the last stop before 'market leader' Locus Robotics' IPO
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Emma Cosgrove | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Locus Robotics raised $117 million in a round led by Goldman Sachs. Goldman Managing Director Mark Midle, who will be joining Locus' board, called the company a "market leader" in the warehouse automation space in a statement accompanying this announcement. Locus CEO Rick Faulk told Insider that Goldman, G2, and other investors in the oversubscribed round have been watching Locus for more than four years. But that doesn't mean all warehouse robotics startups are flourishing. Founded in 2014, Locus robots are in use in more than 320 warehouses around the world.

☆ 4 college friends turned $1 million into a New York venture-capital empire backing tech's hottest unicorns. Here's how they did it.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Darius Rafieyan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Founded as the side project of four college friends, Eniac Ventures has become a major player in VC. They named the firm Eniac Ventures, after the first electronic computer, developed at the University of Pennsylvania's engineering school, where the four had met. What started as the side hustle of four college buddies has become a powerhouse of the venture-capital industry, backing some of tech's hottest unicorns. And Eniac has invested alongside some of the biggest names in venture, including Y Combinator, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and New Enterprise Associates. Vasen met the Eniac partners at an event they hosted for prospective founders at a Chinese restaurant in San Francisco.

☆ Fintechs are opening up access to alternative investments previously reserved for sophisticated investors, but some VCs question if that's a good thing
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Asia Martin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

But some don't think retail investors are ready for the level of risk in the asset class. Alternative investments, as the name suggests, is an asset outside of traditional investments like stocks, bonds, and cash. Investors choose from private-equity funds, venture capital, hedge funds, real estate, and art, among other areas. Such returns have attracted state pension funds, university endowments, and, most recently, individual investors from the ultra-high-net-worth to the Joe Schmoes. Companies like iCapital, Allocate, RealBlocks and CAIS (pronounced case) launched to help wealth-management firms usher their clients into sought-after private market funds.

☆ Office space is tougher than ever to rent out. See the pitch deck that raised $15 million to help landlords compete for demanding tenants.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-26 | by ( Alex Nicoll | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

WiredScore certifies buildings' tech capabilities, like LEED does with environmental ratings. WiredScore CEO Arie Barendrecht walked Insider through the pitch deck he used to raise $15 million. In a world of remote work, potential office tenants have become pickier about their spaces. Generally speaking, prospective office tenants have little insight into what their office WiFi will look like. The company now also certifies technology in apartment buildings, the office of the remote worker.

☆ Binance, other crypto firms line up bids for bankrupt Voyager Digital after FTX collapse
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Binance and other crypto firms are preparing takeover offers for beleaguered digital currency lender Voyager Digital after FTX, which had initially agreed to acquire the firm, filed for bankruptcy. Voyager filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, which seeks to restructure troubled firms as viable business operations, in July after crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital defaulted on a loan from the company worth $670 million. It was then thrown back to square one after FTX itself filed for bankruptcy after experiencing its own bank run-style surge in withdrawals. This week, Binance confirmed reports that its U.S. subsidiary Binance.US plans to make an offer to rescue Voyager from collapse. CrossTower, a crypto and NFT trading platform, was among the parties that initially competed to buy Voyager in the court auction.

☆ A new player in the grocery software space just raised $10 million to compete in the nearly $150 billion online grocery segment. Check out the 13-page pitch deck that helped Vori secure the deal.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( Alex Bitter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Vori raised a $10 million Series A for its grocery-inventory software aimed at indepedent grocers. Vori, an inventory-management startup, pitches itself as a solution for those smaller grocers — a position that just helped it raise $10 million. Vori's inventory software provides inventory services to grocers that might only have a few stores, Hill said. "Our customers have been our most active and enthusiastic investors," Hill said. Check out the 13-slide pitch deck that Vori used to raise its $10 million Series A round:

☆ $5.7 billion Cityblock Health is planning 'aggressive' growth. Its CEO lays out how expanding mental-health services and dealmaking might be in the cards.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Rebecca Torrence | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Cityblock Health isn't putting its growth on pause as a recession looms. But Cityblock Health isn't slowing down. The startup's plans for growth include expanding its mental-health and maternal-health services, Ajayi said, adding that the company could also make some acquisitions. Cityblock isn't looking to buy any companies that work with members outside Medicaid and Medicare. While Cityblock can afford to ride out a recession, the startup isn't ignoring the market downturn, Ajayi said.

☆ $5.7 billion Cityblock Health is planning 'aggressive' growth. Its CEO shares how the startup wants to use M&A and more mental-health services to make that happen.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Rebecca Torrence | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Cityblock Health isn't putting its growth on pause as a recession looms. But Cityblock Health isn't slowing down. The startup's "aggressive" plans for growth include expanding its mental-health and maternal-health services, Ajayi said, adding that the company could also make some acquisitions. Cityblock isn't looking to buy any companies that work with members outside Medicaid and Medicare. While Cityblock can afford to ride out a recession, the startup isn't ignoring the market downturn, Ajayi said.

☆ Cloud financing lender Efficient Capital Labs raises $3.5 million from 645 Ventures to connect India-based startups to US lenders and expand operations to other countries
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Emilia David | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Efficient Capital Labs lends capital from US firms to software companies in India. 645 Ventures led its seed round, and it got $100 million debt from Community Investment Management. Kaustav Das, a cofounder of the cloud financing platform Efficient Capital Labs, wanted to start a company that played to his knowledge of the field. ECL raised $3.5 million in a seed round led by 645 Ventures in April and closed a $100 million debt facility from Community Investment Management this month. Capchase took in $400 million in additional debt financing in June.

☆ She fled her home, abandoned her possessions, and escaped Russian occupation in Kherson. Now, her small business is booming.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-20 | by ( Stephanie Stacey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Before Russia's invasion, her retail business It's Craft operated out of a warehouse in Nova Kakhovka — a small, strategically-significant city in the Kherson region of Ukraine. In April, Viktoria fled her home in Nova Kakhovka and reestablished herself — and her online store — in a new city. Now, she told Insider, business is booming — and sales have even outstripped pre-war figures. Viktoria joined 2,000 residents of Nova Kakhovka to protest Russian occupation in March. A hardened resolveBefore escaping Nova Kakhovka, Viktoria had applied to the Ukrainian Social Venture Fund to seek financial support for relaunching and relocating It's Craft.

☆ From $32 billion to criminal investigations: How Sam Bankman-Fried's empire vanished overnight
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Mackenzie Sigalos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +17 min

Alameda's success spurred the launch of crypto exchange FTX in the spring of 2019. A Twitter fight with the CEO of rival exchange Binance pulled the mask off the scheme. Alameda, FTX and a host of subsidiaries Bankman-Fried founded have filed for bankruptcy protection in Delaware. On Nov. 2, CoinDesk reported a leaked balance sheet showing that a significant amount of Alameda's assets were held in FTX's illiquid FTT token. On Nov. 6, according to Bankman-Fried, the exchange had roughly $5 billion of withdrawals, "the largest by a huge margin."

☆ Women and family health startup Maven raises $90 million for post-Roe v. Wade world
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( Eric Rosenbaum | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Maven, the women and family health startup, has raised $90 million in a new fundraising round, and in a tough environment for venture funding. Maven reached unicorn status last August in a $110 million round right before the bottom dropped out of the tech sector. Maven has benefitted from greater focus on women's health, particularly since the Supreme Court overturned Roe V. Wade. Global family benefits growth and Medicaid are two areas that Maven is prioritizing with the new funding. The family benefits will build off of the virtual platform that grew during Covid and include new features for Maven Wallet, the company's financial reimbursement platform.

☆ In a tech downturn, breakout stars of venture capital are going abroad to hunt for funding. Here's why.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( Melia Russell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

The flow of capital motivated more investors to split from established firms and raise their own funds, but it hasn't always been easy. For years they've gone abroad to raise capital from limited partners, mostly wealthy individuals and family offices. This isn't new territory for international investors. He continues to use his personal wealth to back startups and venture funds mostly stateside, including Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, and Brianne Kimmel's Worklife Ventures. Even those with ties to international investors may struggle to raise funds as fears of a global recession escalate.

☆ Weight loss startups offer access to new drugs, but do they provide good care?
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-13 | by ( Darius Tahir | Kaiser Health News | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +11 min

Now a wave of startups offer access to a new category of drugs coupled with intensive behavioral coaching online. These patients pay hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars, to access new drugs, called GLP-1 agonists, along with online coaching to encourage healthy habits. (That price includes generic drugs, but not the newer GLP-1 agonists, like Wegovy.) The firms say they’re on the vanguard of weight care, both citing the influence of biology and other scientific factors as key ingredients to their approaches. Found said older generics like zonisamide are more accessible than the GLP-1 agonists advertised on social media and their own website.

☆ Tiger Global, Coatue, and other hedge funds tried to upend venture capital. It backfired and now they're 'licking their wounds,' VCs say.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Darius Rafieyan | Melia Russell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

New investments by Tiger Global and Coatue fell 60% and 67%, respectively, this year. "They're licking their wounds," said Nihal Mehta, a founding partner at Eniac Ventures, whose portfolio includes the marketing-tech startup Attentive, a crown jewel of Tiger Global and Coatue's portfolios. Speaking to founders, Mehta hears crossover funds come up less and less in conversation, and partners at some crossover funds tell him they're pulling back from new deals, though crossover funds haven't disappeared altogether. Crossover funds found themselves with billions of dollars in deployed capital and few exits in sight. Last month, Tiger Global and Coatue both revealed they are seeking to raise new funds earmarked for early-stage startup deals.

☆ Ordergroove just raised $100 million to help online retailers grow subscribers as repeat customers offer a lifeline amid an unstable economy
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Madeline Stone | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Ordergroove makes software that brands and retailers use to sell their products via subscriptions. Ordergroove helps brands build long-term rapport with customers through subscriptions and memberships. "When I started Ordergroove, there were three retailers at the time doing subscriptions: Amazon, QVC, and Petco," Alvo said. 'We just want our customers to be successful'The needs of Ordergroove's customers have changed in recent decades. Recharge similarly sells subscription management software and has raised $277 million in venture funding since it was founded in 2014.

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