Giant Ventures

Building a climate company? 👋 Come say hi to Madelene Larsson at The Drop next week Madelene will be flying the Giant flag, meeting old and new friends, and also running a ripple discussion, along with co-host Alfred Lam, PhD, (Partner at Chrysalix Venture Capital) at The Drop next week on one of her expert topics: critical minerals. We know we need more minerals and metals to fuel the drive to net zero - but how do we find them? How can we ensure both supply and sovereignty? Which companies are offering solutions here, and how can they scale? It'll be a heated debate. See you there!

We are thrilled to announce that from today, Look Up Ventures will be partnering with Giant Ventures. Nicolaj Reffstrup, co-founder and former CEO of Ganni A/S, and Tommy Ahlers, serial entrepreneur and former Minister of Higher Education & Science in Denmark, will represent Giant in Denmark and the Nordics - investing from the Seed and Early Growth funds. Tommy Ahlers will join Nicolaj Reffstrup as Venture Partner at Giant, working to expand our existing investments in the Danish ecosystem: sourcing companies for Giant, supporting our founders, and expanding Giant’s visibility. They will no longer be making new investments from Look Up Ventures, but will continue to support those already invested in. We are proud to be 100% founder-run at Giant, and we’re thrilled to add two more incredible impact-driven entrepreneurs to the roster. Both Nicolaj and Tommy have sharp operational experience, network and expertise and a long history of investing in climate technology companies - including companies in vertical farming, carbon-negative textiles and fashion resale. It's clear that the Nordics are emerging as one of the strongest entrepreneurial forces in Europe: we've already invested in Syre, ZTLment, Invert, Geofy, and Agreena (one of Europe's fastest growing climate tech companies) - and we're excited to continue investing in the best Danish and Nordic companies with the expert help of Nicolaj and Tommy. Welcome 🚀

Jim McKelvey co-founder of Square, along with Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, announced at Giant Ideas that he's putting in $100M of his own money into a brand new space. Square has become a +$50B company, and he's now taking on healthcare: more specifically, moving the needle on drug discovery. Having lost his mother in his twenties, to a health condition that now two pills could cure, he's impatient to get good solutions to market faster and to put real science - not money - at the centre of it. Watch the full talk on YouTube, or listen to the Giant Ideas Podcast on any podcast player - links in comments.

What is going on with UK spinouts? If the UK wants to be a "Science Superpower", Madelene Larsson argues in her latest op-ed, the critical question is how can scientist founders flourish? Madelene Larsson, Principal at Giant, penned this piece for the Giant blog on what the UK has got wrong so far, why universities are prioritising the wrong things, and tips for founders wanting to move science from the lab > to the real world. She discusses: 🔬 The role model that US universities provide and how we can emulate it 🔬 The rising founder profile of the 'Angry Scientist' 🔬 The University Equity Myth: milestone payouts vs equity Plus, top scientist founder tips including: 🥼 Find the right co-founders - don't defer to 'grey hair' expertise, and look at the figures - there are plenty of successful scientist CEOs 🥼 Consider non-dilutive opportunities to de-risk your technology  🥼 Prioritise for speed always 🥼 Obsess with your customer just as much as you obsess about your technology: just because something ‘can’ be done, doesn’t mean that customers will buy it. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/gJfPJm8i #venturecapital #startups #science #scientificresearch #venturebuilding #climatetech #universities #spinout #entrepreneurship #academia #education

Delighted to have my talk from this year's #GiantIdeas Summit on the latest episode of the Giant Ideas podcast.

Huge congratulations to Doccla, who have just raised their £35M Series B. We co-led Doccla's seed round in 2021, and have seen them work tirelessly, always putting the patient at the heart, on a mission to build Europe's largest virtual ward. Doccla is adding over 1,000 new patients each month, and has almost quadrupled its revenue in just one year. Doccla has now monitored over 4m patient days with over 95% patient compliance. The NHS, who Doccla have been working with and become the largest virtual ward for, have experienced a 63% reduction in A&E attendance while experiencing a 300% return on investment. The oversubscribed Series B was led by Lakestar with participation from Optum Ventures and Elaia and existing investors General Catalyst and Bertelsmann Investments. Read more in Sifted's piece by Mimi Billing: https://lnkd.in/eMUQ577W

ClimateHack's HackSummit caught up with two Giant CEOs building at the forefront of the new manufacturing revolution. - Edward Shenderovich of biomanufacturing company Synonym (backed by Andreessen Horowitz and Giant Ventures) - Dennis Nobelius of polyester recycling company Syre (backed by H&M, Volvo Cars and IKEA Foundation and Giant Ventures) - Marissa Beatty of Turnover Labs (backed by Collaborative Fund and industry strategics) Read what they have to say about the future of green manufacturing: https://lnkd.in/e7t-FkEw

Why do batteries need better designs, and how can data get us there? Penelope Jones, Founder & CEO of Giant portfolio company Byterat, joined us on stage at the Tate Modern to share her giant idea. Batteries will be increasingly essential for net zero - from energy storage for modern data centres, to electric vehicles - yet the state of battery development today is broken. Battery engineers waste hours every day in archaic data analysis systems. Byterat is the modern data platform for battery scientists - allowing thousands of experiments at any given time, unlocking previously hidden insights in their battery data to move faster. Byterat was listed in Y Combinator's top 100 AI startups, and in business insider's hottest 100 climate tech startups. 🎤 Watch her 3 minute pitch here: https://lnkd.in/eyGbBUA4

Jia Lin Yong, investor at Giant, spoke to Sifted's Kai Nicol-Schwarz to share the techbio companies on her radar. In August 2022, European techbio startups had raised €1.69bn in funding. Jia Lin Yong's top picks in the space range from a universal AI foundation model for biology, to medicine for neurological conditions, to hardware to automate lab workflows. Prior to joining Giant, Jia Lin worked as Chief of Staff at health tech unicorn Babylon, having previously worked in health impact and climate change consulting at PwC. She holds a Master of Engineering in Civil and Environmental Engineering, where she came top of her class (but would be too humble to tell you herself). Read more here: https://lnkd.in/eNMk22s6

Today on the Giant Ideas podcast we share a talk from June Sarpong OBE - internationally renowned broadcaster, writer and diversity expert. June was appointed as the BBC's first Global Director of Creative Diversity, and has built a reputation as one the world’s top diversity executives. June started her career presenting for shows on MTV and Channel 4's T4, and is now the author of the multiple award-winning books; “Diversify: Six Degrees of integration”, “The Power of Women” and “The Power of Privilege”. June talks about the power of diversity for independent thought, a surprising case study that turned an entertainment business around, and why consumer brands need to wake up to a changing demographic. We love that she’s all about results, not just wise words. She joined us live at Giant Ideas to share this powerful talk on ‘winning through diversity’. Listen to link in the comments!