Plus, Brite Semiconductor manages to avoid Biden’s crackdown
| For December 14, 2023 |  |
| Here’s a look at today’s Startups briefing. - 📝 BCG inks carbon dioxide removal deal with Climeworks.
- 👥 Startup layoffs on the horizon as VC pullback continues.
- 🤝 Linktree acquires competitor Koji from GoMeta.
Thank you. Karan
p/karan-chafekar | |
| 1 | | Boston Consulting Group (BCG) has inked a deal with Swiss climate startup Climeworks to remove 80,000 tons of carbon dioxide. This is BCG's second deal with Climeworks, after previously signing a deal in 2021. Financial details of the current agreement were not disclosed. However, Climeworks typically charges customers $1,300 to remove a ton of CO2 from the atmosphere. More: - The deal has a length of 15 years, which co-CEO Christoph Gebad described as being "a key enabler for our industry" when it comes to bankability and scalability.
- Climeworks uses direct air capture (DAC) technology to remove CO2 from the atmosphere.
- Its plant in Iceland can remove 4,000 tons of CO2 every year.
- Climeworks is building a second plant that can remove 36,000 tons of CO2 every year.
- Carbon removal technology can help reduce emissions for sectors that are hard to decarbonize, such as aviation and business travel, which represent BCG's largest source of emissions.
Zoom out: - In June, BCG contracted CarbonCapture Inc. to remove 40,000 tons of CO2 over five years.
|     | |
| 2 | | 1,150 tech companies, including startups, have laid off 256,499 employees so far this year, per Layoffs.fyi data seen by Bloomberg. 
What the numbers say: Bloomberg predicts more layoffs are on the horizon, as companies often let go employees around December and January. The number of people laid off this year has exceeded last year’s total of 164,969. What happened: The scarcity of VC funding is prompting firms to announce layoffs as startups run out of cash and face prospects of possibly shutting down. About 500 startups have already shut down this year, per Carta. Where to see the impact: Startups also seek alternative funding sources to ensure their business survives the economic downturn. Robotics pizza maker Stellar Pizza laid off half its workforce and was looking to raise $1.24M through crowdfunding, giving it an additional five months of runway. Homebuilder Veev, which had raised $400M in funding, announced it was shutting down and liquidating assets. Videoconferencing startup Loom announced two rounds of layoffs last year. This October, Atlassian acquired the firm for $975M, significantly less than its peak valuation of $1.53B. | | | |
| A message from our sponsor, Pyn. |  | | Create a better employee experience with our new free Employee Journey Designer Did you know, companies that invest in employee experience have more than four times the average profit and more than two times the average revenue than those that don’t? Our new - totally free - Employee Journey Designer makes it easy for you to invest in the employee experience by creating an actionable employee journey map. With the Journey Designer you can: - Create your own Employee Journey Map using our extensive library of moments that matter.
- Collaborate on your journey map. It’s easy to invite team members and share your map with others.
- Prioritize work to be done across the journey and assign ownership of important Touchpoints to members of your team.
Log In Today | |
|
| 3 | | Australian link-in-bio platform Linktree acquired competitor GoMeta's subsidiary Koji. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed. Linktree will shut down Koji's platform at the end of January next year and is offering existing users three months of Linktree's Pro subscription plan as a trial. More: - GoMeta launched the link-in-bio platform Koji in Mar. 2021 and invested $36M in the firm.
- Koji initially debuted as a mini web app development platform for non-technical developers before becoming a link-in-bio platform.
- The firm claims to cater to more than 700,000 creators through its platform.
- To date, Linktree has raised $165M in funding from investors and has 41 million users on its platform.
Zoom out: - This is Linktree's second acquisition this year after acquiring Sequoia-backed Bento earlier this June.
| | | |
| 4 | | OpenAI Startup Fund launched the second cohort of its Converge program. The six-week Converge-2 program is for "exceptional engineers, designers, researchers, and product builders using AI to reimagine the world." More: - The firm will shortlist 10 to 15 startups to participate in the Converge-2.
- Startups enlisted in the program will receive an initial equity investment of $2M and will need to devote four to six hours per week to the program.
- OpenAI raised a $100M fund to invest in early-stage AI startups last year, which received backing from Microsoft and other investors.
- In addition to the funding, the firm will get to learn from leading practitioners and the firm's community of builders.
| | | |
| A message from our sponsor, Vendry. |  | | See why agencies partner with Vendry to scale companies like Uber, Zoom, Hubspot and Slack to help grow their business. Hiring the right agency partner is arguably the biggest decision your marketing team will make in 2024. So why do we all keep searching online for “best marketing agency for xyz”? We started Vendry to provide a resource that matches teams to agencies that have the experience to grow their business. And the best part is, we made it 100% free. Our agency partners pay us ONLY if you decide to sign with them. Meaning, we work very hard to ensure we are matching you with an agency that is a great long term fit. Quit searching for the perfect agency and let us do it for you. Search For Free | |
|
| 5 | | Banking and technology platform fintech startup Kapital bagged $40M in Series B equity funding led by Tribe Capital. In addition, the firm availed $125M in debt financing. Kapital will use the proceeds to expand in Mexico and other Latin American countries. More: - Cervin Ventures, Tru Arrow, MS&AD Ventures, and Alumni Ventures participated in the funding round.
- Earlier this August, Kapital raised a $75M Series A round at a $195.5M valuation.
- The firm will use the debt facility to provide loans in existing markets, including Mexico, Columbia, and Peru.
- Kapital plans to incorporate AI solutions on its platform that can provide vendor recommendations and payment automation.
- Tribe Capital's chairman, Arjun Sethi, will join Kapital's board due to the round.
| | | |
| 6 | | Chinese chip designer Brite Semiconductor has managed to avoid the Biden administration's crackdown despite offering services to at least six Chinese military suppliers and raising capital from American investors. Reuters has found no evidence of Brite violating any regulations but finds the situation concerning, given that the firm also has access to sensitive U.S. technology from Synopsys and Cadence Design. More: - Wells Fargo is one of the most prominent backers of Brite.
- Brite's second-largest shareholder, SMIC, which holds a 19% stake in the firm, was barred by the U.S. government from receiving goods from American suppliers.
- Open-source intelligence company Datenna's managing director, Martijn Rasser, said, "Brite is a classic example of how a U.S.-China joint venture could end up funneling valuable semiconductor technology to SMIC and the PLA."
Zoom out: - The Biden Administration announced sweeping measures last October to stop the flow of sensitive technology to China.
- This August, President Biden signed an executive order prohibiting U.S. investment in certain sensitive technologies in China.
| | | |
| 7 | | Quick Hits: - The Kubernetes Cookbook is your comprehensive companion equipping you with the knowledge and techniques to harness the full potential of Kubernetes.*
- Revenue-based financing startup ArK Capital rebranded to Gilion. The rebranding comes as the firm gears up for an expansion to the U.S.
- Kleiner Perkins is reportedly leading a $200M funding round into Glean, a startup that uses OpenAI’s large language model to search through companies’ internal data. The firm is targeting a pre-money valuation of $2B.
- Substance use and behavioral health treatment startup PursueCare acquired assets from bankrupt addiction treatment biotech company Pear Therapeutics for an undisclosed sum. The asset acquisition news comes as PursueCare raised a $20M Series B round led by T.Rx Capital and Yamaha Motor Ventures.
- Savvy billionaires are hedging their portfolios with farmland. New REIT goes public, and stock price increases 12.20% in its first quarter opening.*
*This is sponsored content. | | | |
 | Analyst | | Karan Chafekar is a Management Consultant, Business enthusiast, and Licensed Pilot. | | This newsletter was edited by Vibha Chapparike | |
| |
 | Vendry gets you matched with 3 vetted agencies in <7 days. 100% free. | |
|
| |
RE:
RE ALL:
FWD:
