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☆ People are having babies later and fertility rates are down. Venture capitalists see an opportunity in these 10 reproductive tech startups.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-05 | by ( Riddhi Kanetkar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Fertility rates are declining, with those trying for children often needing access to reproductive tech. Insider spoke to seven VCs who named the top startups innovating reproductive and fertility services. "While it is difficult to pin just one number to the size of Europe's reproductive and fertility tech sector, there has definitely been significant growth across the market," said Sasha Astafyeva, partner at Atomico. In 2021, investors poured a record $3.76 billion into reproductive tech startups globally, per Pitchbook data. Insider asked seven VCs about the reproductive and fertility technology startups set to take off.

Persons: Camila Caso, Sasha Astafyeva, Peter Thiel, —, Roe, Wade, Caso Organizations: World Health Organization, Founders Locations: Mexico, Atomico, Europe, Asia

☆ 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

☆ Early-stage investor Black Seed wants to help create the Black Silicon Valley. It just raised $6.25 million to do just that.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

London-based Black Seed has raised $6.25 million to back early-stage Black founders. The fund wants to create a "Black Silicon Valley" in London by investing in seed-stage startups. Black Seed, a VC fund dedicated to backing Black founders in the UK, has raised $6.25 million to invest in early-stage tech. Based out of Brixton, south London, Black Seed is the brainchild of Cyril Lutterodt and Karl Lokko. Black Seed has indicated that intends to raise the full amount.

Persons: Cyril Lutterodt, Karl Lokko, Lutterodt, We've, Lokko, hasn't, Black, haven't Organizations: Molten Ventures, Ventures, University of Texas, WestRiver Locations: London, Brixton, Manchester, Europe, Atomico, Black, Soho, Mayfair

☆ A Nvidia-backed platform that turns text into A.I.-generated avatars boosts valuation to $1 billion
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

In this article NVDA Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNTAn animated avatar generated by the AI video platform Synthesia. To do that, Synthesia has created animated avatars which look and sound like humans, but are generated by AI. Synthesia is a form of generative AI, similar to OpenAI's ChatGPT. The company doesn't disclose its sales or revenue metrics, though it says it "consistently driven triple digit growth," with over 12 million videos produced on the platform to date. Synthesia plans to ramp up investment into its technology, with a particular focus on advancing its AI research and making Synthesia avatars capable of performing more tasks.

Persons: Synthesia, Slack, Kleiner Perkins, Morgan Stanley, Victor Riparbelli, Matthias Niessner, Steffen Tjerrild, Lourdes Agapito, Philippe Botteri, Riparbelli, Nvidia isn't, it's, They're, Felix Capital, Atomico, they're, David Beckham, Beckham Organizations: Nvidia, CNBC, Accel, Facebook, Spotify, GV, FirstMark, MMC, YouTube, Netflix, Business, Iconiq, Felix, Meritech Locations: London, A.I

☆ Alphabet-backed U.K. payment firm GoCardless to cut 15% of headcount
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Ruxandra Iordache | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Alphabet -backed British fintech unicorn GoCardless has said it will reduce its global headcount by 15%, slashing 135 roles in a bid to cut costs. A separate 15 roles will be transferred from Britain to Latvian capital Riga. The payments firm most recently raised $312 million in a Series G funding round in February, earning a $2.1 billion valuation. Its backers include Alphabet's venture capital investment arm GV, BlackRock and Permira. Takeuchi hinted at the firm's renewed focus on profitability to CNBC in comments at the Money 20/20 conference last week.

Persons: GoCardless, Hiroki Takeuchi, Permira, Takeuchi, CNBC's Ryan Browne, — CNBC's Ryan Browne Organizations: GV, CNBC Locations: British, Australia, New Zealand, Britain, Latvian, Riga, London, BlackRock

☆ Venture capital giant Andreessen Horowitz to open first office outside of the US in London as it bets on the UK to become leader in crypto regulation
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Venture capital giant Andreessen Horowitz is set to open its first office outside of the US in London. The Silicon Valley giant is betting on the UK to become a leader in crypto regulation. Venture capital giant Andreessen Horowitz is set to open its first office outside of the US in London as it bets on the British government to become a leader in crypto regulation. Meanwhile, venture capital funding to crypto companies has collapsed over the past year. Andreessen general partner Chris Dixon said that crypto was still in its "early innings" and that technology takes "decades to develop," in a blog post announcing the London office.

Persons: Andreessen Horowitz, Chris Dixon, Sriram Krishnan, Binance, Rishi Sunak, Dixon, Sunak, there's Organizations: Venture, Twitter, Facebook, Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, School from, Catalyst, Bessemer, Lightspeed Venture Partners Locations: London, Europe, School from London, Silicon, Sequoia

So what's hot in fintech right now? One area fintech companies are getting excited by is an improvement to online checkout tools. Callan Carvey, global head of operations at Cleo, said the firm's AI connects to a customer's bank account to get a better understanding of their financial behavior. "A job that typically would take around one or two weeks can now be completed in 30 minutes, right. Several fintech executives CNBC interviewed spoke of how they're not interested in launching products tailored to crypto as the demand from their customers isn't there.

Persons: MacKenzie Sigalos, hasn't, they've, Starling, Richard Davies, Davies, Niklas Guske, —, B2C fintechs, David Singleton, Guske, dazzled, Cleo, Callan Carvey, Carvey, Teo Blidarus, Taktile's, Hiroki Takeuchi, Takeuchi, Changpeng Zhao, they're, Jack Zhang, Zhang, Prajit Nanu, cryptocurrencies, Banks, Nanu Organizations: Bank, fintechs, CNBC, Business, Allica Bank, B2B, Tiger, Schroders Capital, Atom Bank, Schroders, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, SEC, U.S, cryptocurrencies Locations: Amsterdam, MacKenzie Sigalos AMSTERDAM, Netherlands, British, Atomico, U.S

☆ European startup funding to drop a further 39% this year as tech rout continues
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Investment into European tech startups is set to fall another 39% this year, according to data from venture capital firm Atomico, as the pain in global tech continues. Funding for Europe's venture-backed startups is forecast to decline from $83 billion in 2022 to $51 billion in 2023, Atomico said. The report is a scaled down, mid-year update from the London-headquartered fund, which has backed companies including Stripe, Klarna and Graphcore. Once richly-valued technology companies have seen their shares come under pressure from global factors, including Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine and tighter monetary policy. That's prompted investors to reassess their positions on lossmaking tech companies, whose values typically rest on the expectation of future cash flows.

Persons: Atomico Organizations: Investment, Technology, Federal Reserve Locations: Atomico, U.S, Europe, London, Ukraine

☆ Europe is producing more startup 'mafias' than ever despite tech rout
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-24 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The average time taken for a startup to hit unicorn status in Europe is now just seven years, according to Accel. Of the 353 "unicorn" companies in the region, 221 have spun out 1,171 new tech-enabled startup companies as employees at these firms left to start up their own ventures, Accel said, citing Dealroom data. Startup mafias have existed for decades. These "mafias," which are firms started by employees of other tech firms, have historically led to the creation of some of the largest tech companies known today. The largest cohort of newly established startup mafias comes from fintech, with almost 20% of European startups spun out of unicorns operating in the sector.

Persons: Accel, Elon Musk, Peter Thiel, Niklas Zennstrom, Taavet Hinrikus, I'd, Harry Nelis, Klarna, Wise Organizations: Accel, Spotify, PayPal, Elon, Ventures, Fund, Shell, Unilever, CNBC, Startup Locations: Europe, Israel, American, Silicon Valley, West Coast, Palo Alto, Netherlands, fintech

☆ Meet 11 women who were promoted to partner or higher in Europe's male-dominated VC industry in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Riddhi Kanetkar | Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Women held just 13.5% of general partner roles in Europe's VC industry last year, per Atomico. Europe's venture capital ecosystem has long boasted a dire track record when it comes to diversity. The lack of representation in top-level positions has a trickle-down effect with female-founded startups securing a meager 1.1% of VC funding in 2022. VC firms can widen "the candidate pool, require diverse shortlists, and interview candidates with competency-based assessment techniques," she said. This year, we have spotlighted 11 contenders who have landed top roles at European VC firms.

☆ Britain's startup ecosystem dominates VC funding but it boasts one of Europe's worst gender pay gaps, new report shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Riddhi Kanetkar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Women earn 81 cents for every euro that men earn at European startups, a new report has found. The sector has an unadjusted pay gap of 19%, according to an analysis by data firm Figures. The unadjusted gap in the UK was an improvement on the 30% gap recorded last year. Germany tailed the UK, showcasing an unadjusted gender pay gap of 22%, followed by the Netherlands at 20%, and France at 15%. How different organizations measure the pay gap can vary but the wider bloc's gap is estimated to be around 13%, considerably lower than the tech sector's 19% gulf.

☆ LGBTQ+ founders face extra challenges when fundraising, with 75% hiding their sexual or gender identity, report finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Riddhi Kanetkar | Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

LGBTQ+ founders face extra barriers when fundraising, and many feel the need to conceal their identities. A new report tracking the experiences of LGBTQ+ founders and investors in the UK startup and venture capital ecosystem paints a dire picture. LGBTQ+ founders — especially those who identify as women and nonbinary — face additional barriers when fundraising, the report found. Cisgender refers to a person whose gender identity is the same as the sex assigned to them at birth. Funds could also commit a proportion of investment to diverse founders, including LGBTQ+ founders, the report's authors said.

☆ Early Spotify investor Northzone hires director from second-gen Tiger cub fund Tybourne Capital to lead growth-stage deals
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Early Spotify investor Northzone has hired Tybourne Capital director Sanjoy Malhi as a partner. Early Spotify backer Northzone has hired a director from second-generation Tiger Cub fund Tybourne Capital to lead its growth investments. The London-based fund, founded in 1996, has appointed Sanjot Malhi as a partner focused on growth-stage deals across Europe. Malhi will help distribute a $1 billion multi-stage fund that Northzone closed in September. However, many of those companies were funded with growth capital without having strong business fundamentals in place leading to a lot of pain in the market.

☆ This startup helps vets spend more time with pets and less time on admin. Check out the 10-slide pitch deck Digitail used to raise $11 million.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Digitail, a Romanian pet care startup, has raised $11 million in Series A funding. Digitail, founded in 2018, helps veterinary clinics automate their management systems. A startup that helps vets automate their often antiquated management systems has raised $11 million in fresh funds. "Today's reality is that there is a massive shortage of vets compared to the number of pets and that means they have less time to split between seeing pets and managing clinics," Digitail CEO Sebastian Gabor told Insider. Digitail, which is based in Romania's Iasi and Florida, provides a vertical, cloud-based SaaS platform to help vets with inventory management, invoicing, appointment calendars, and patient management.

☆ Meet 22 women who made partner in 2022 in Europe's male-dominated VC ecosystem where men outnumber women by 6 to 1
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | Riddhi Kanetkar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

We profiled 22 women to watch this year that were made partner at VC firms in 2022. Around 70% of women GPs have carried interest, a report by European Women in VC found last year. This effectively means that women GPs carry less firepower than their male counterparts, she added. We have profiled the women who climbed the ranks in Europe's male-dominated ecosystem, and were made partner in 2022. Due to the scale of Europe's VC sector, we no doubt missed out on some first-time partner promotions during 2022.

☆ 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.

☆ The VC dream machine pumped out one dumb startup after another. 2023 should put an end to that.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

2023 should curtail the current flow of bad startup ideas. The way it roughly works is to bet millions across lots of startups in the hope one of them blows up and returns that cash. 'Fewer insane ideas'We are no longer in a low-interest-rate market, meaning startup investors who could once rely on generous backers will have to be more cautious about how they spend their money. They do have lots of money, with an estimated $290 billion of capital available to them in October, according to Pitchbook data. But Kniaz senses a shift in motion: "This next year will show which emperor has clothes on or not.

☆ The funding environment for female founders in Europe is set to remain equally dire in 2022, new report shows
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The investment landscape for female founders has remained equally dire in 2022, a new report has found. The funding environment for female founders in Europe is set to remain equally dire in 2022, a new report has predicted. AtomicoThere are a number of initiatives and funds targeted towards early-stage startups with women founders. Just 12% of Europe's general partner roles were filled by women in 2021, according to last year's State of European Tech report. The updated report found women founders are "almost just as likely" to begin angel investing as their men counterparts, creating a positive flywheel.

☆ European startups are on course to raise $85 billion this year – over $18 billion short of 2021's record, new report shows
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

European startups are on track to raise $85 billion this year, a new report has stated. We've analysed the key highlights from the industry-wide report on Europe's tech sector. European startups are on course to raise $85 billion by the end of 2022, which would leave it 17% – or $18.6 billion – short of last year's record dealmaking, according to Atomico's State of European Tech 22 report. Investment in European startups was up 52% in the first quarter of 2022 to $29.2 billion. In theory, this comes down to a cooling off of what Wehmeier described as "capital markets becoming overheated through cheap available capital."

☆ Over $400 billion has been erased from the value of Europe's tech industry this year
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Europe's tech industry has lost more than $400 billion in value this year, according to venture capital firm Atomico. That's prompted investors to reassess their positions on lossmaking tech companies, whose values typically rest on the expectation of future cash flows. That is down 18% from the more than $100 billion European startups raised in 2021. It was nevertheless the second-highest amount ever invested in the European tech ecosystem to date, Atomico said. European tech investment shattered records last year as participation from U.S. investors surged to new heights.

LONDON/STOCKHOLM, Dec 7 (Reuters) - The European tech industry saw $400 billion in value wiped out this year and an 18% decline in venture capital funding, according to a report from venture capital firm Atomico. "The European tech ecosystem is facing the most challenging macroeconomic environment since the global financial crisis," Tom Wehmeier, partner at Atomico, told Reuters. Venture capital funding in Europe was down to $85 billion for the year, based on data collected across 41 countries, an 18% decline from the $100 billion raised in 2021. In a survey of founders and investors on the continent, 77% said they were either as enthusiastic, or more so, about the future of the European tech industry than in 2021. "The financial markets have changed, and with that, the expectations of everyone working within the European tech industry need to evolve."

☆ DeepL, a hot AI translation startup pioneered by a former Googler, is closing in on a round above $100 million led by Netflix-backer IVP near a $1 billion valuation
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Translation startup DeepL is closing in on a new funding round led by US giant IVP, sources say. DeepL previously sold a portion of its business to US investor Benchmark. Like Google Translate, DeepL offers a free translation service powered by artificial intelligence. A small test run by Insider indicates that DeepL is, at least in some cases, more intuitive than Google. DeepL previously sold a 13.6% portion of its business to US fund Benchmark and Btov Partners in 2018, according to reporting by Slator.

☆ Manufacturing software startup Katana raises $35 million in a round led by Spotify-backer Northzone using this 19-slide pitch deck
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Estonian startup Katana has raised $35 million for its enterprise resource planning software. Check out the 19-slide pitch deck it used to raise the Series B round below. Estonian manufacturing software startup Katana has raised $35 million in a Series B round led by early Spotify investor Northzone. Northzone led the Series B round with additional participation from other VCs, including new investor Lightrock as well as returning investors Atomico, 42CAP, and several angel investors. Check out the 19-slide pitch deck Katana used to raise the fresh funds below.

☆ 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."

☆ HR software startup Factorial has raised $120 million at a $1 billion valuation. Here's the 11-slide pitch deck it used.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Spanish HR tech startup Factorial has raised $120 million in fresh funding. Its software lets employers manage time off, hiring, payroll, and other HR functions. The Barcelona-based company has become a unicorn after raising a new deal led by Atomico. Spanish HR tech startup Factorial has raised $120 million in fresh funding to become the country's latest unicorn, valued at $1 billion. Founded in 2016, Factorial provides an HR platform to small- and medium-sized businesses.

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