Empire State Development’s Post

The number of new seed investments on Carta declined 27% in 2023 compared to the previous year. Early-stage venture capital investors agree that this decrease in deals is not due to a change in supply. There are just as many promising young startups today as there were last year. Instead, VCs say the dealmaking slowdown is due to a shift in demand. Early-stage investors have grown more selective. They’ve become more focused on tangible metrics like revenue and profitability and less likely to be swayed by growth metrics alone. What does this mean for startup seeking new capital? One major development, according to Julia Gudish Krieger of Pari Passu Venture Partners, is an uptick in extension and bridge rounds, particularly at the seed stage. Rather than raising a new priced rounds, many companies are choosing to tack on some additional funding to their previous primary funding. In past VC market environments, these sorts of extension rounds were not always greeted with enthusiasm. In the current market, where deals are tougher to come by, Krieger says that attitude has changed. “Companies that are raising seed extensions, and sizable seed extensions, are actually getting positive optics around it, versus anyone focusing on the valuation,” Krieger says. “That’s been something that’s interesting to watch.” Want more insights from Julia on how seed startups are extending their runway, or more Carta data on how the market has adapted? Check out the link to my full story in the comments below.

This is excellent. With some good mentoring a business / product / service idea can be picked up early on. How many huge businesses opportunities die before they were noticed?

🗞️ Today's Startups & VC Updates - 21/02 Bluestein Ventures: Chicago-based VC raised $45M for Fund III, targeting early-stage food tech with a focus on health, wellness, and digital technology. Hack VC: NYC-based web3 venture capital firm closed Venture Fund I at $150M, reaching $425M in total assets under management. Startup Fundraising 💰 Los Angeles music tech startup, ENGINEEARS, raised $7.5 million in Seed funding led by Drive Capital, with participation from notable artists and venture firms. E-commerce spinoff, OpenBorder, secured $10 million in seed funding led by Peak XV Partners for its borderless commerce approach. San Diego-based virtual cardiometabolic healthcare provider, 9amHealth, raised $9.5 million in Series A extension funding led by The Cigna Group Ventures. Berlin-based embedded life insurance platform, Embea, raised €4 million in Seed funding led by Atlantic Labs. Omaha-based medical device developer UMD raised $1.6 million in Seed funding led by Bright Minds Capital Partners. French startup Planity, a SaaS platform for beauty salon appointments, raised €45 million in a Series C round. Paris-based MedTech startup AZmed secured €15 million in funding from Maison Worms, Techstars, and Teampact Ventures. Iowa-based DNA soil intelligence company, Trace Genomics, raised $10.5 million in Series B funding led by S2G Ventures and Ajax Strategies. Minneapolis-based provider of rare earth-free permanent magnets, Niron Magnetics, Inc. Magnetics, raised $25 million in funding led by Samsung Ventures. Westborough-based sustainable battery materials solutions provider @Ascend Elements raised an additional $162 million in funding. Milford-based development stage company Reprieve Cardiovascular raised $42 million in Series A funding led by Lightstone Ventures and Sante Ventures. Nashville-based healthcare technology startup, UnityAI, raised $4 million in seed funding led by Max Ventures. German AI-based voice rehabilitation company Altavo raised €5 million in Series A funding led by Occident. San Jose-based AI-based computing company Recogni secured $102 million in Series C funding led by Celesta Capital and GreatPoint Ventures. Boston-based unified observability SaaS solution provider SigScalr raised $1.76 million in Pre-Seed funding led by Scribble Ventures. . #statups #businessnews #venturecapital #funding #businessnews #founders

Title: Revolutionizing Early-Stage Startup Funding: Schwab’s Game-Changer Charles Schwab is leveling the venture capital playing field launching Schwab Alternative Investment Marketplace. Designed for independent advisers and affluent investors, this platform makes alternative investments like venture capital, private equity, and hedge funds more accessible, breaking down the traditional barriers that kept them exclusive to institutional investors. For founders, this move could significantly widen the investor pool. Higher accessibility of alternative investments may help startups bolster their fund bases as potential investors have easy-to-use channels for backing early-stage ventures. Crucially, Schwab's platform is poised to lower the entry barrier for investment in startups - minimums start at $100k, a stark contrast with traditional venture capital minimums that often spiral into millions. This accessibility could motivate more startups to consider such platforms while securing their initial funding rounds. If you’ve got a killer start-up idea, this just might be the game-changer you need. With platforms like Schwab’s, the venture capital landscape is no longer a hard-to-reach vista but a tangible opportunity offering a wider range of accessible investment avenues. Mimicking institutional investors, can this democratization become a new norm? Will this spark a global shift making venture capital available to more investors and, in turn, more startup dreams turned into entrepreneurial realities? More about Schwab’s venture capital revolution can be read here: https://lnkd.in/gPePF7zn #schwab #venturecapital #startups #alternativeinvestments #changeiscoming #newrules #InvestmentTrends

Skåne Ventures, a collaboration of leading incubators, raises €2.9 million to support local startups in Sweden Skåne Ventures, a collaborative effort between Minc, Ideon Science Park, HETCH AB, and Krinova Incubator & Science Park, has secured €2.9 million (33.6 million SEK) in its first funding round. This initiative aims to become one of Sweden’s largest investment structures for early-stage startups. Despite the challenges of raising capital in the current global climate, Skåne Ventures has attracted significant support. Half of the investment capital comes from more than 70 private investors, primarily business angels, in the region. The remaining funds are provided by the state venture capital company Saminvest AB, which serves as an anchor investor. The goal of Skåne Ventures is to identify promising startups and provide them with the necessary support to foster growth and innovation. The initiative also aims to contribute to a more sustainable, gender-equal, and innovative world. Investments will not only be based on financial prospects but also on potential societal impact. https://lnkd.in/dJBch38v #nordicmade #sweden #venturecapital #startups #funding #trending

Edinburgh, with its highly educated workforce and thriving financial sector, has become a hotbed for startups. Here, we explore 10 VC firms that could be the perfect partners to fund your next venture in this vibrant economy. 💸 Learn how venture capital works and meet 10 VC firms eager to be part of Edinburgh's next big success story. Par Equity, Archangel Investors Limited, Old College Capital, Seed Haus, SIS Ventures, Pentech Ventures, Circularity Capital, Amati Global Investors, DSW Ventures, Maven Capital Partners 👏 #edinburgh #entrepreneurship #venturecapital #startup #startups #businessgrowth Read more 👇  https://lnkd.in/gKG_PzDS

Radical Ventures, a Canadian venture capital firm that made early bets on a string of hot artificial intelligence startups, has secured nearly US$800 million in commitments for a new fund. Radical Ventures is currently nearing the close of the new fund, which will boost its assets under management to about $1.8 billion. The new fund will be Radical Ventures first to focus on later-stage companies. In the seven years since its founding, the firm has mostly backed very early AI startups, investing small checks at the seed stage. Its portfolio companies include Cohere Inc. and Covariant Inc., both of which have grown to become significant players, along with AI chip development startup Untether AI and drug discovery company Genesis Therapeutics Inc. The new fund will allow Radical Ventures to write larger checks for bigger companies. “With this, we can lead deals,” said Radical Ventures co-founder and managing partner Jordan Jacobs. https://lnkd.in/gHf4_vca

Angel investors provide the early capital that helps visionary founders get startups off the ground. Angel investing provides the opportunity to collaborate on world-changing ventures. When done right, it also provides excellent financial returns.   In this virtual event presented by Gust, David S. Rose will walk us through the mechanics of good angel investing, answering all your questions (and some you haven't thought to ask) about early-stage startup funding.    You'll learn what it takes to become an angel, including what to look for in making investments, and why although both founders and angels believe that a 25% annual return on an angel investment is eminently reasonable, the same exact math means that angels will only invest in ventures they think can return 30x their investment! David S. Rose, the Founder and Executive Chairman of Gust, is one of the world's leading experts on angel investing. He has personally invested in over 120 startups, with exits to companies like Google, Amazon, Facebook, Uber, Intel and Oracle. David founded New York Angels, one of the world's largest and most active angel groups with over $100 million invested into more than 400 startups, and is the author of the industry's standard guidebook for angels, the New York Times best seller, Angel Investing: The Gust Guide to Making Money & Having Fun Investing in Startups. Register to attend:

📉 Houston's Startup Funding Update: Despite a downward trend in venture capital for Houston startups in 2023—down to $1.5B from $2.2B in 2022—the space-focused Axiom Space leads the charge with a $350M raise. Discover how Houston's innovators are navigating the shifting VC landscape. #HoustonStartups #VentureCapital #StartupEconomy #Innovation 💡🚀

Back to basic: valuation based on how the company making profit as soon as possible...