It was only four months ago. luck It painted an image of the tech industry being littered with dead unicorns. “The atmosphere is definitely getting worse for startups,” writes Jessica Matthews. It’s a bitter pill to swallow, especially after a period when the financial faucet couldn’t be turned off.
That calculation certainly arrived in good health. After an extraordinary period of post-pandemic growth, health tech startups have turned their noses up at it, but the extent of the blemish has largely depended on the category. (Biopharma? “This is just a scratch. DTC? Please bring me a stretcher.”)
The headlines were bleak (“The Gold Rush is Over,” “Expectations Reset,” “Valuations Fall,” “It’s Brutal”) but now is the time to talk to your investors, just as I did then. luckBrainstorming Health Summit was held in Southern California this week, and there’s some relief that reality is finally catching up to the hype.
“If you’re an entrepreneur right now, raising money can feel really, really difficult,” says Marvelon’s Anargya Vardhana. But “now is the time to build a great company,” she said. Because “resilience, grit, and enforced constraints” enable companies to refine their business models, market approaches, and more.
“The bar is even higher. What investors are looking for is different than what investors were looking for in the past,” added Alyssa Jaffee of 7wireVentures. She said, “In all my years as a venture capitalist, I have never heard a conversation about profitability as much as I have here in the last 18 to 24 months.”
Do you want to get back to the basics of your business and the unmet needs? That’s why you should have hope, no matter how long it may be.
“You make money and you provide a service to your patients,” said GV’s Kathy Friedman. “So I’m optimistic.”
PS This topic and many others will be discussed in: luckAnnual invitation-only Brainstorm Tech Summit held in July. Interested in getting involved? Register here.
Andrew Naska
Editor-in-Chief of Brainstorm
twitter: @editorialiste
Email: andrew.nusca@fortune.com
Submit Term Sheet Newsletter Agreement here.
Joe Abrams curated the deals section of today’s newsletter.
Correction: Tuesday’s newsletter incorrectly stated that Databricks Ventures’ first VC fund invested in 23 startups. The exact number of startups the fund has invested in is 25.
venture deal
– Artur BioA San Francisco-based biotechnology company developing new treatments for immune diseases has raised $225 million in Series B funding. BVF Capital Partners lead the round, RA Capital Management, Cormorant Asset Management, Soleus Capitalothers.
– Ha Paris, France-based developer of generative AI models designed to perform inference and tasks across a range of domains, has raised $220 million in seed funding. accelerator, UiPath, bpi france, Eric Schmidt, Xavier Neal, Amazon, first markothers.
– SnowCambridge, Massachusetts-based AI-powered music production platform has raised $125 million in funding. Lightspeed Venture Partners Lead the round and be joined by: Nat Friedman and Daniel Gross, matrix, founder collectiveothers.
– LabGeniusa London, UK-based machine learning platform designed for the discovery of new antibodies, has raised £35 million ($44.5 million) in Series B funding. M Ventures I led the round and was joined by: Octopus Ventures, LG Corporationand existing investors Atomico, Bloodline capital, Lux Capitaland obvious ventures.
– teach zena London, UK-based platform aimed at connecting schools with teachers and teaching assistants, has raised $37 million in Series B funding. Round 2 Capital Led the round with participation from existing investors Ajubo, Brighteye Ventures, FJ Lab, Ascension Venturesangel investor.
– PracticaA Palo Alto, California-based language learning app with AI avatars has raised $35.5 million in Series A funding. Blossom Capital I led the round and others joined in as well.
– collaborative AIa San Jose, Calif.-based developer of AI technology designed to make it easier for businesses to search image, video and audio data, has raised $30 million in Series B funding. cherry rock capital and emerson collective Lead the round and be joined by: greycroft, Andreessen Horowitz, bessemer venture partnerand outstanding capital.
– Witness AIa San Mateo, Calif.-based developer of security and governance tools for enterprise AI, has raised $27.5 million in Series A funding. Ballistic Ventures and Google Venture.
– majorityMiami, Florida-based mobile banking and international services platform for US immigrants has raised $20 million in funding. Victor Jacobson and Hjalmar Winbrad Leading the round, Magnus Nilsson, Jacob De Geer, Valar Ventures, Heartcore Capitaland enthusiastic venturers.
– XGS EnergyThe Palo Alto, California-based developer of geothermal energy harvesting tools has raised $20 million in Series A funding. Valo Ventures and Volo earth ventures Lead the round and be joined by: B Current impact investing, MIH Capitalexisting investors thin line capitalothers.
– Noria Dublin, Ireland-based AI-powered operating system for hospitality businesses, has raised $16 million in Series A funding. accelerator Led the round with participation from existing investors cavalry, play fair, Samaipataand triple point.
– footprinta New York City-based consumer onboarding automation platform, has raised $13 million in Series A funding. QED Investors lead the round, Neo, Animal Capitaland existing investors index ventures, Lehrer Hippo, Operator Partners, box group, Palm Tree Capitaland meaning.
– Vaxes TechnologiesThe Cambridge, Massachusetts-based company is developing patches designed to deliver vaccines and medicines. RA Capital Management, Engine Venture, GHICand mission bio capital.
– Unified Appa Gurugram, India and Dubai, UAE-based platform designed to integrate SaaS applications and help businesses create custom applications faster, has raised $11 million in seed funding. did. elevation capital The round was led by the company’s founders and angel investors.
– Traction AgAn Auburn, Indiana-based agricultural accounting technology development company has raised $10 million in Series A funding. Cooperative Business Lead the round and be joined by: growth of plymouth others.
– Weather XMThe Athens, Greece-based crypto-enabled network of weather stations and weather data has raised $7.7 million in Series A funding. light speed sect I led the round and was joined by: protocol lab, borderless capital, Arca, alumni venture, Placeholder VC, red beard venturesothers.
– stack AIA San Francisco-based platform that allows companies to build their own AI assistants has raised $3 million in seed funding. Gradient Ventures Lead the round and be joined by: beat ventures, True Capitalangel investor.
private equity
– summit partner invested $72 million in one stockis an order management platform for retail businesses based in Toulouse, France.
– nexa equity invested $31 million in easy metricsis a labor analytics platform for warehouses and manufacturers based in Bellevue, Washington.
– Blue Point Capital Partners increased capital National safety clothingis a Cleveland, Ohio-based manufacturer of branded personal protective equipment and safety products for electrical, industrial, and service applications. Financial terms were not disclosed.
– Forward Consumer Partners acquired 50% of the shares in Xochitlan Irving, Texas-based tortilla chip and salsa company. Financial terms were not disclosed.
– KKR acquired a minority stake in infinxFinancial terms were not disclosed.
– Merlin Equity Partners acquired a majority stake in baxter planningis a predictive services supply chain solutions provider based in Austin, Texas. Financial terms were not disclosed.
– redwood service acquired a majority stake in deans home servicesis a Maple Grove, Indiana-based provider of HVAC, plumbing, electrical, sewer, and drainage services. Financial terms were not disclosed.
end
– Warburg Pincus and Temasek agreed to acquire a majority stake in specialized risk groupis a specialist insurance brokerage based in London, UK. HGGC. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Funds + Fund of Funds
– carlyle (NASDAQ:CG)The Washington, D.C.-based private equity firm is investing 430 billion yen in its fifth Japanese corporate buyout fund focused on Japanese companies in industries such as technology, media and communications, consumer, retail, and healthcare. 2.8 billion).
– Aile Partners CapitalThe Miami, Florida-based private equity firm has raised $496 million for its second fund focused on healthcare technology and technology-enabled services companies.
people
– leapfrog investmentImpact investor based in London, UK, hiring Suleymane Ba As Partner and Co-Head of Climate Strategy.Previously just climate.
– Madronaa Seattle-based venture capital firm, has hired Jeff Mills as partner and head of investor relations in its Palo Alto, California, office. he was with me before Griffon Investor.
– pritzker private capitalThe private equity firm, based in Chicago, Illinois and Los Angeles, California, Rebecca Converse Become a partner.
