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Search resuls for: "Seed Fund"


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Strong By Form, a bio-composite materials startup hoping to make construction more sustainable, has just secured $5.2 million in seed funding. Founded in 2018 in Chile, the now Madrid-based startup uses timber for bio-composites to replace concrete and steel. It uses software to optimize the material's structural design and resource use, making it tough and more sustainable. "There is a growing demand for structural materials as the world needs to build 13,000 buildings every day, for the next 25 years, just to cope with population growth. Its structural timber products, such as slabs for buildings, will still use petrochemical-based resins as the company waits for a bio-based formula to be certified.
Persons: Andrés Mintik, Mintik, Minitik Organizations: Business, CMPC Ventures Locations: Chile, Madrid, Europe
But industry experts say governments need to offer incentives for companies to bring sustainable AC technologies to market and scale up. Removing humidity requires cooling air to the point at which water vapour becomes a liquid to be drained. This inability to get rid of humidity without first cooling the air makes conventional ACs less efficient. The company's AC prototype uses these materials to dry out air, aiming to produce fewer emissions than traditional ACs. More than 1 billion people living in warm climates still lack access to cooling, according to nonprofit Sustainable Energy for All.
Persons: Pedro Rodriguez, Susana Vera, We've, Lily Riahi, Riahi, Sorin Grama, Grama, Gree, Daikin, Miki Yamanaka, Larissa Gross, UNEP's Riahi, Baolong Wang, Wang, Xavier Moya, Gloria Dickie, Katy Daigle, Simon Jessop, Josie Kao Organizations: Puerta del, REUTERS, Rights, International Energy Agency, United Nations Environment Programme's, Cool Coalition, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Daikin's Global Environment Center, Sustainable Energy, Tsinghua University, University of Cambridge, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Puerta del Sol, Madrid, Spain, Seville, Europe, Spanish, Beijing, Indonesia, Britain, U.S
Conduiit, a fintech startup that promises to save entertainment companies time and money by centralizing their production finance operations, has raised $1 million in pre-seed funding. He saw how production companies were using a hodgepodge of services to manage day-to-day transactions, as well as managing individual productions in silos, resulting in lost time and wasted expense. ConduiitCharging on a SaaS model, Conduiit lets production companies access all their compliance, management, accounting, and payment tools from a single platform. "There are two Black founders in a world that doesn't have a lot of them," said Glover of Hamilton and Thurman. Only about 1% of venture funding in 2022 went to Black startup founders, according to Crunchbase data analyzed by TechCrunch .
Persons: Hiro Mizushima, Shawn Hamilton, Hamilton, Hamilton's, Jason Thurman, who's, HBO Max, Max, John Oliver, Drew Glover, Glover, Thurman, we're Organizations: Fiat Ventures, Aperture Venture, Business, Amazon, Netflix, Disney, HBO, Jigsaw, Laylow Productions, Productions, Silicon Valley Bank, Fiat, TechCrunch Locations: Silicon, Hollywood
It's been a challenging fundraising year for creator-economy startups. Some creator upstarts have still managed to raise millions of dollars in 2023 despite constraining macroeconomic conditions. Link-in-bio upstart Hype in April announced it had raised a $10 million Series A. "We knew going into it that we are fundraising in arguably the most challenging fundraising environment in recent times," said Arthur Leopold, cofounder of the creator-marketing platform Agentio and a former president at Cameo. The funding ranged from a few million dollars to as much as $70 million for one startup.
Persons: It's, upstarts, Andreessen Horowitz, VCs, Kara Burney, Arthur Leopold, Leopold, Agentio, Steven Galanis, YouTuber Cody Ko, PitchBook Organizations: PitchBook, Business, Abstract Ventures, Founders Fund, Silicon Valley Bank, Craft Ventures, AlleyCorp Locations: Web3, Silicon, North America
Generative Engineering has raised $4 million in seed funding. The London-based startup aims to simplify the design of physical productsCheck out the 12-slide pitch deck used to raise the fresh funds below. Generative Engineering, a startup that aims to simplify the design of physical products, has raised $4 million in fresh funds. The London-based startup, founded in 2021, has developed a platform to reduce the time and resources used on regular iterations in physical engineering. The startup's platform enables engineers to generate thousands of possible design choices and continuously test them, allowing design iteration to happen in parallel.
Organizations: Business Locations: London
Emmett Shear is the new interim CEO of OpenAI after Sam Altman's surprise ouster. AdvertisementEmmett Shear, the man slated to be the new interim CEO of OpenAI, believes artificial intelligence has a very real potential to destroy all life. "That loop will get tighter and tighter and tighter, and faster and faster and faster, until it can fully self-improve itself. There's a 5 to 50% probability that this could actually play out, Shear told Bartlett, though he said there was still "uncertainty" around such estimates. In another interview in September, Shear told podcast host and entrepreneur Shaan Puri that it was his optimism toward AI that made him fear its capabilities.
Persons: Emmett Shear, Sam Altman's, Altman, , Shear, Logan Bartlett, Bartlett, Shaan Puri, Sam Altman, Shear's, Dall, it's, OpenAI Organizations: Service, Business Insider Locations: There's
Qevlar, a cybersecurity startup, has raised $5 million in seed funding. The Paris-based company uses AI to help identify and manage security risks. Qevlar, an AI-powered cybersecurity startup, has raised $5 million in seed funding. The Paris-based company enables businesses to integrate the Qevlar platform, which then constantly monitors operations, helping identify and monitor security risks in the process. The startup aims to address issues including the alert fatigue faced by security teams and skills shortages in the sector.
Persons: DeepMind's Mehdi Ghissassi Organizations: EQT Ventures, Business Locations: Paris
In July, the firm announced its first dedicated seed fund focused on AI called AI Start. Prior to launching AI Start, Mayfield had already backed 25 early-stage startups in the space like MindsDB. Reddy's background makes him a perfect fit to lead the $250 million fund, Chaddha told Business Insider. This year, Chaddha tapped him to lead its new AI seed fund. With the AI Start fund, the team plans to double down and lead deals in seed stage and pre-seed generative AI startups, as well as AI infrastructure startups with an enterprise focus.
Persons: Mayfield, Vijay Reddy, who's, Reddy, Navin Chaddha, Mayfield's, Chaddha, He's Organizations: Business, Intel Capital, Cisco, Clear Ventures, Mayfield Locations: Mayfield
Dutch fintech startup Solvimon has raised $9.6 million in seed funding. The startup, founded by former Adyen execs, enables SaaS firms to offer usage-based pricing. Solvimon, a payments and billings startup, just raised $9.6 million in a seed round. The Dutch company, founded in 2022, has developed a billing platform that centers on usage-based pricing. "What we have seen is that the world is moving towards more flexible pricing," Kim Verkooij, Solvimon cofounder and CEO told Insider.
Persons: Kim Verkooij Organizations: billings Locations: Europe
Heali is a new startup that helps users develop nutrition plans to treat health conditions. The startup just raised a $3 million seed round from Astanor Ventures. One startup is betting that eating healthier doesn't just have nutritional benefits — it can also help people manage their health and treat chronic conditions. The startup, Heali just launched with $3 million in seed funding from Astanor Ventures. Based in Santa Monica, Heali offers nutrition plans created by registered dietitians with the help of AI, that consider individuals' food sensitivities and intolerances, as well as health goals and medical conditions.
Organizations: Astanor Ventures Locations: Santa Monica
Climate tech startups Montinutra, Harvest Thermal, Bisly, and Twig have recently raised a collective $13.6 million between them as early-stage deals continue to dominate the venture capital industry. Biochemicals startup Montinutra, founded in 2018, raised 2 million euros, $2.1 million, in October to convert forestry sidestreams into sustainable alternatives to petrochemicals. Check out the 18-slide pitch deck below:MontinutraMontinutraMontinutraMontinutraMontinutraMontinutraMontinutraMontinutraMontinutraMontinutraMontinutraMontinutraMontinutraMontinutraMontinutraMontinutraMontinutraMontinutraHeat pump startup Harvest Thermal raised $4 millionCalifornia-based Harvest Thermal raised a $4 million round for its heat pump and thermal storage combination in October. It is riding political tailwinds amid the US' recent commitment to install 20 million heat pumps by 2030. Check out the redacted pitch deck that it used to raise the funds below:Harvest ThermalHarvest ThermalHarvest ThermalHarvest ThermalHarvest ThermalHarvest ThermalHarvest ThermalHarvest ThermalHarvest ThermalHarvest ThermalHarvest ThermalHarvest Thermal Harvest ThermalHarvest ThermalHarvest ThermalHarvest ThermalHarvest ThermalHarvest ThermalBuilding energy management startup Bisly secured $3.8 millionEstonian startup Bisly, which wants to make it cheaper to improve the energy efficiency of buildings, just raised 3.6 million euros, $3.8 million, in seed funding in October.
Persons: Twig, Pajunen, Portfolia, Russ Tucker Organizations: Metsä, Earth Foundry, Climate Partners, Starshot, National Science Foundation, California Energy Commission, International Energy Agency, Aconterra, Second Century Ventures, SmartCap, Fund, Pinorena, Innovation, Seed Fund Locations: California, London
Dutch payments fintech startup Fero has raised $3 million in a seed funding round from US hedge fund Coatue. The Amsterdam-based startup, founded in 2022, aims to improve the customer verification process at checkouts and decrease the level of abandoned purchases. Payment authentication, where customer identities are verified, has become much more crucial for businesses since the rollout of Europe's PSD2 Open banking regulations. Fero wants to reduce the level of friction customers face during this authentication process, the startup's cofounder and CEO Craig Savage said. The company went through the tech startup incubation program Antler before raising this $3 million seed funding round led by Coatue, alongside Volta Ventures and Antler.
Persons: Fero, Craig Savage, Savage, Coatue Organizations: Volta Ventures Locations: The Amsterdam, Madrid, Amsterdam
But by building a program with "guardrails," a new legal tech company is working to bring all of the benefits of artificial intelligence to companies' in-house legal teams without the risks. Based in Chicago, Responsiv is an AI assistant for in-house legal teams. With Responsiv, in-house counsel can quickly get answers to legal questions that are easily verifiable, saving companies time and money. "There's a noticeable gap in innovation tailored specifically to in-house legal teams," Domash said. Funding for legal tech has fallen in 2023, according to Crunchbase, but many startups in the space focus on law firms.
Persons: ChatGPT, Mike Duboe, Nikita Solilov, Jordan Domash, Jordan, Nikita, Duboe, Domash, Responsiv, We'll, Darrow Organizations: Greylock Partners Locations: Chicago, Silver, Greylock
Yuzu Health is working to bring that system to the world of startups. Yuzu Health currently powers 10 healthcare plans for thousands of members, he said. "Broadly, we're excited about being modular and, as a new player in the space, unlocking startups' abilities to get self-funded plans." Yuzu Health joins a growing ecosystem of startups that are helping other startups operate and provide better perks and conditions for their employees. Check out the 15-slide pitch deck Yuzu Health used to land $5 million in seed funding:
Persons: Lachy Groom, Vanta, Max Kauderer, Yuzu, Russell Pekala, Ryan Lee, Kauderer Organizations: One Ventures, Altman, Browder, Unicorn, Coalition, Health Locations: Yuzu, New York
Director-General of the European Space Agency (ESA) Josef Aschbacher smiles as he attends an interview with Reuters during the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, January 18, 2023. Josef Aschbacher, director general of the European Space Agency (ESA), said a more precise 2024 launch period would be defined following a delayed long-duration firing test due on Nov. 23. Aschbacher declined to comment on the state of negotiations ahead of the Seville "Space Summit", which is also due to address climate change and Europe's ambitions in space exploration. This is something that is highly critical for Europe," Aschbacher said. But in Europe's system of horse-trading for space funding, any agreement on exploration is likely to depend on progress on the critical issue of Ariane 6 funding, the people said.
Persons: Josef Aschbacher, Arnd, Aschbacher, Safran, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Tim Hepher, Mark Potter Organizations: European Space Agency, ESA, Reuters, Economic, REUTERS, Rights, Elon, SpaceX, Russian Soyuz, Airbus, NATO, Thomson Locations: Davos, Switzerland, Seville, Spain, France, Germany, Italy, Russian, East, Ukraine, Europe, India, China, United States, Russia
The way Dan Miller told it, his startup Spora Health was crushing it, providing high-quality care to "thousands" of people online. The startup had secured at least one big contract, with Apple, according to three former Spora employees and another source close to Spora. Four of them told Insider they either no longer worked with Spora or hadn't seen Spora patients in a year. Two doctors listed on Spora's website as "featured Spora providers" also told Insider that they no longer worked for the startup. Another former clinician said she only ever treated a handful of Spora patients.
Persons: Dan Miller, Miller, Spora, it's, UnitedHealthcare, Aetna didn't, paychecks, hadn't, he's, It's, , we've, " Miller, Shelby Livingston, Rob Price, Emmalyse Brownstein, Ryan Pickrell, Gloria Dawson, Stephanie Hallett, Alcynna Lloyd, Hayley Peterson Organizations: Company, TechCrunch, Spora, US Securities and Exchange Commission, Apple, Aetna, Stanford Graduate School of Business, Human Ventures, MaC Venture, SEC Locations: Spora, Level's, slivingston@insider.com
Two years later, their brainchild has officially launched: Cooper, a support system for parents offering one-on-one sessions, virtual events, and other tools. The startup just raised a $2 million pre-seed round co-led by Difference Partners and Kli Capital. XFactor Ventures and multiple angel investors, including the founder of workout brand SLT, Amanda Freeman, also participated in the funding round. "We still dealt with the headwinds faced by female founders in general and particularly who are creating services that will support women," Slome told Insider. Check out the 15-slide pitch deck Cooper used to raise $2 million in pre-seed funding:
Persons: Gabby Slome, Ariel Boorstin, Cooper, Amanda Freeman, Boorstin, Slome, Ollie, Cooper's Organizations: Difference Partners, Kli, XFactor Ventures, of Psychiatry Locations: New York City
A climate fintech startup that wants to make nature a balance sheet-grade asset has just raised $11 million in seed funding. The Landbanking Group, founded in 2022, has created a software platform for land owners and investors. These assets can then be sold on to the likes of investors or corporations set on decarbonizing their supply chains. But in compensation markets, "you need to do harm first, for you to have an incentive to actually engage with nature," Stuchtey said. From there, the startup is positioning itself as a depository bank where nature assets are held, exchanged, and settled.
Persons: Martin Stuchtey, Sonja Stuchtey, Stuchtey Organizations: McKinsey, Force, 4P Capital Locations: Munich
Employee benefits startup Kota has raised $5.3 million in a seed round led by Swedish investor EQT Ventures. Kota helps businesses and employees track their enrollment and contributions through integrations with benefits providers. "Europe is very fragmented with lots of different pension and insurance plans making it hard for small companies to offer benefits because it's expensive and often very manual." Kota's seed round was led by EQT Ventures with participation from existing investors Northzone and Frontline Ventures. Check out Kota's 11-slide seed funding pitch deck below:
Persons: Luke Mackey, Kota, Mackey, Van Der Voort, Romain Huet, EQT Organizations: EQT Ventures, Irish, Frontline Ventures Locations: Swedish, Europe, Kota
This Moroccan startup is growing crops in the desert
  + stars: | 2023-10-24 | by ( Jacopo Prisco | ) edition.cnn.com   time to read: +4 min
Sand to Green is a Moroccan startup that can transform a patch of desert into a sustainable and profitable plantation in five years, according to Wissal Ben Moussa, its co-founder and chief agricultural officer. Wissal Ben Moussa, Sand to Green co-founder and chief agricultural officer. “My top three favorite trees are carob, fig and pomegranate,” Ben Moussa says. “With this system we create biodiversity, which means better soil, healthier crops and a bigger yield,” Ben Moussa says. “We can go anywhere in the world as long as we have access to brackish water,” Ben Moussa says.
Persons: Wissal Ben Moussa, , Ben Moussa, Sand, Morocco that’s, ” Ben Moussa, , Green Organizations: London CNN, United Nations, UN Convention, Biosaline Agriculture Locations: Africa, South America, Europe, China, Moroccan, Biochar, Morocco, Asia, Dubai, Tanzania, Sand, Mauritania, Senegal, Namibia, Egypt, United States
She ended up starting two businesses, one of which is ImagineCreate AI, an AI imaging tool that officially launches Tuesday with an undisclosed amount of pre-seed funding from Precursor Ventures. ImagineCreate AI was directly inspired by a brand Yusuf started shortly after leaving Shopify. ImagineCreate AI is launching as a web app that can be integrated into Shopify merchants' admin. Before-and-after images show how ImagineCreate AI generates custom backgrounds. Launching ImagineCreate AI on the Shopify App Store brings Yusuf's entrepreneurial journey full circle.
Persons: Fatima Yusuf, Yusuf, ChatGPT, Shopify, Madeline Stone Organizations: Precursor Ventures Locations: Shopify, mstone@insider.com
Ctrl Alt, a fintech startup that offers infrastructure to invest in alternative assets, has raised $2.7 million in a seed round. For fintech startups that offer wealth management and investment products, alternatives could provide new opportunities to make revenues from wider yield spreads, Ong said. "The market is tough for fundraising and that has an impact on you as a founder," Ong added. The fresh capital will go towards building out Ctrl Alt's tech team and expanding its relationships with prospective customers. Check out Ctrl Alt's 10-slide seed funding deck below:
Persons: Morgan Stanley, Matt Ong, it's, Ong Organizations: Forward Partners, Middlegame Ventures, Enterprise Ireland, Algorand Ventures, Syndicate Locations: London, fintech
Hiive, a startup that offers a marketplace for secondary shares in private tech companies, has raised $4.2 million in funding. The Vancouver-based company, founded in 2021, enables the purchase and sale of stakes in pre-IPO, venture-backed companies. Hiive, led by Sim Desai, formerly of secondaries broker Setter Capital, wants to provide a marketplace where an array of buyers and sellers can make trades. "We saw this market growing exponentially after 2021 and thought there must be an opportunity to centralize this rapidly growing market," Desai told Insider. Hiive's $4.2 million funding was led by Uncorrelated Ventures, alongside Splash Capital, Harmony Venture Partners, Hack VC, and Agmen Capital.
Persons: Sim Desai, Desai, we've, it's, Hack Organizations: Capital, Splash Capital, Harmony Venture Partners, Agmen Locations: Vancouver
Savoy Life is building a virtual care platform for long-term care facilities. Peter Emigh, Savoy Life's founder and CEO, said he saw the need to improve long-term care facilities while working as a healthcare administrator at CareMore Health. He said improving the lives of everyday residents receiving long-term care starts with giving operators of those communities more – and better – tools. Savoy Life is entering an already booming market focused on the aging population, which could grow to north of $2 trillion by 2028, according to research consultancy Markets N Research. Check out the nine-slide pitch deck that Savoy Life used to raise $3 million and launch out of stealth.
Persons: Peter Emigh, Savoy, Organizations: Red Cell Partners, American Healthcare Association, National Center for, CareMore, Research, Frontrunners
Adtech startup Sincera, which offers metadata to other adtech firms, raised $4.2 million in funding. The company plans to grow its team and access more compute through its cloud providers. AdvertisementAdvertisementSincera, a startup that uses metadata to help adtech companies improve their offerings, just raised a $4.2 million seed round. Customers to date have included LiveRamp, identity company ID5, and publicly traded adtech company The Trade Desk. Check out the key slides from the pitch deck that helped Sincera raise its $4.2 million seed funding round.
Persons: , Mike O'Sullivan, Ian Meyers, Meyer, O'Sullivan, Mike Rowe, Jobs, cera, Sincera Organizations: NextView Ventures, Service, Discovery, Trade, LiveRamp Ventures Locations: New York
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