Hydrogen-powered electric vehicles, VC trends of Q1 2024, Meta and Intel's excitement about AI chip, and many more...
What's Up Tech? #178
Welcome to our 178th newsletter, written with 🖤 by Elisabeth Heroguelle, Malena Marcén, Ariadna Ramiro Pérez, Gianluca Pontonio, Justine Pelisson and Ghita Benjelloun.
Fundraisings from last week with HysetCo, Factorial, Bunq, and Onum
News from last week with the key VC trends of Q1 2024, Lakestar’s latest $600M closing, Meta and Intel’s investment in AI chip technology, and Bending Spoons’ unicorn secret
Internships & Job offers of the week
Enjoy the read! 🌞
🚗 HysetCo raised €200M to expand hydrogen vehicle network (🇫🇷)
HysetCo, a pioneering startup facilitating the rental of hydrogen-powered electric vehicles to Paris taxi drivers, has secured nearly €200 million ($218 million) in funding. HysetCo currently distributes nearly 30 tons of hydrogen per month, mainly to taxi drivers, and expects to exceed 20 million kilometers driven by 2023.
The funding will drive HysetCo's expansion of integrated services for professionals, including vehicle rental, refueling and related services. 🚘
France-based HysetCo Raises Nearly €200M to Accelerate Hydrogen Mobility Solutions
📈 Factorial raised $80M to accelerate on growth (🇪🇸)
Barcelona-based Factorial, known for its all-in-one business and HR management software tailored for small and medium businesses (SMBs) globally, received $80M investment from General Catalyst, bolstering its growth strategy. 🚀
CEO Jordi Romero highlights the focus on product development and customer support, while CFO Moran Laufer sees it as a game changer for sustainable growth. 📊
Factorial Secures $80M of Go-To-Market Investment from General Catalyst to Accelerate Growth
🏦 Bunq received a fresh capital injection of $29M for expansion (🇳🇱)
Dutch digital bank Bunq, known for its mission to revolutionize banking through user-friendly digital interfaces and innovative financial services, announced a capital boost of €29M from shareholders, after achieving €53M net profit in 2023. 💰
Funds will fuel expansion in the UK and US, leveraging a resubmitted banking license application. 🌎
Amsterdam based neobank Bunq raises $29M to expand in the UK and the US
📊 Onum raised $28M to revolutionize data analytics (🇪🇸)
Madrid-based Onum raised a $28m Series A. Cofounded in October 2023 by Pedro Castillo (founder of Devo platform, valued at $2bn), Onum helps companies isolate and observe critical valuable information within big datasets, reducing analytics costs and processing times; customizing the service to each business need. 🤓
The startup will use the money to accelerate product development and to expand globally, mostly to the US. 😎
Dawn Capital and Insight Partners back Spain’s Data Startup Onum with a $28m Series A
🔍 VC trends of Q1 2024: U.S. Cautious Equilibrium vs. European Megafund Surge
U.S. Venture Caution. The U.S. market remains in a phase of cautious equilibrium, with $36.6 billion invested across nearly 4,000 deals. This reflects a strategic preference for risk mitigation, emphasizing late-stage funding over seed and early-stage investments (at their lowest since 2014) amid regulatory uncertainties and economic volatility. Such caution suggests investors are prioritizing stability and are wary of the broader economic signals. 💼
European Megafunds Consolidation. Europe witnessed a surge in megafund (>€1B) activities, with significant capital injections led by veteran funds such as CVC Capital Partners, which raised a record €26 billion. European investors are consolidating capital into fewer, larger funds, driven by a combination of experienced fund management, lower fee structures, and an increasing democratization of private equity which expands the investor base through retail participation. 📈
Overall, the two trends appear to be two strategies to cope with the same economic uncertainty. In this context, EU megafunds attracting significant flow of North American capital indicate a cross-continental diversification strategy, as global investors seek to mitigate regional risks and capitalize on differing market dynamics. 🔄
✌️ Revolut and Spotify-backer Lakestar has closed $600m (€552m)
Lakestar fund - known for its investments in innovative European companies, particularly in deeptech, AI, healthcare, digitalization, and fintech sectors (with $2bn in AUM and 137 investments to date) - has just closed $600M.💸
This new capital will be split in two funds: an early-stage for seed and Series A investments of $280M, and another fund with $320m for Series B rounds and above. Lakestar plans to make 20-25 early-stage investments and 10-12 growth investments. 😏
Spotify-Backer Lakestar Raises $600m Funding for Early Stage and Growth Stage Fund
🔌 Meta and Intel deepen investment in AI chip technology amid U.S. semiconductor push
Meta and Intel are escalating their tech rivalry with Nvidia by developing advanced AI chips - Meta's 'Artemis' and Intel's 'Gaudi 3'. Artemis aims to triple performance for AI tasks across Meta platforms, reducing reliance on Nvidia, while Gaudi 3 improves training of large language models by 50% over Nvidia's H100. ⚡️
Both companies are leveraging the advanced 5nm manufacturing process from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC). Concurrently, the Taiwanese giant is boosting its U.S. investment to $65 billion to build a state-of-the-art 2-nanometer chip facility in Arizona by 2028. This move, backed by a $6.6 billion U.S. government investment, aims to strengthen domestic chip production and reduce supply chain vulnerabilities amidst global geopolitical tensions. 🎉
🦄 The secret sauce of Bending Spoons’ unicorn success
The Italian tech unicorn Bending Spoons has strategically expanded through acquisitions, notably securing Hopin’s assets after purchasing Meetup and Mosaic Group’s suite of apps, all in 2024. Unlike many European competitors, Bending Spoons has been profitable since inception. A $155m funding round in February and a disclosed valuation of $2.55bn bolstered its acquisition efforts. 📈
The strategy behind Bending Spoons is acquiring products with proven market fit, enhancing them internally. Despite a late start in external investment, it now leverages acquisitions for growth, emphasizing long-term vision. The CEO Luca Ferrari aims to inspire Italy's tech ecosystem while eyeing a potential IPO. 💫
Internships
VC Analyst Intern - Serena (Paris)
Business Development Intern - Project A (Berlin)
Intern - Partech (Paris)
Jobs
Investment Associate - Quantum Light (London)
Junior Relationship Manager - High-Tech Gründerfonds (Germany)
Community Manager - DTCP Capital (London)
👉 If you’d like to discover more offers, you can check our job board just here or fill this form to submit a new one.
You can also read more about baby vc on our website and follow our updates on LinkedIn, or directly reach out to us at hello@baby-vc.co! 🤝
The whole baby vc crew 🖤