What’s Hot (and What’s not)
There are four hot sectors that Crunchbase has identified as continuing to win cash; Generative AI, Power Generation, Esports, and The Future of Work- or, specifically, finding work.
This leads us to what’s NOT hot- tech layoffs. This week, three well-known companies announced layoffs: Uber, Zulily, and Sonos.
In the sectors, we track:
- Crypto-focused Bitwise laid off its 900 staff members.
- Binance.US also laid off employees, but how many are unknown.
And at least three companies folded this week, according to Crunchbase’s layoffs tracker.
Things are still tough out there, people. Stay vigilant, balance the checkbook, and cut costs where you can.
Some notable trends this week:
- Off-shore deals dominated this week.
- Smaller awards across all sectors.
- U.S.-based VCs are seeking more opportunities across the ‘big pond.’
More cowbell, please; here are this week’s Top 5 VC Deals
1Arkon Energy
$26 M, Capital| Equity| Australia | Blockchain| Sandton Capital Partners | https://www.arkonenergy.com/
LinkedIn Overview:
“Arkon Energy is a infrastructure business, we develop, own and operate renewable energy-powered bitcoin mining solutions at enterprise scale, with an increasing portfolio and project pipeline of both hosted and fully-owned sites across Australia and internationally…”
2Yendo
$24M, Series A, Capital| Equity | TX | Payments | FPV Ventures, Human Capital, Autotech Ventures | https://www.yendo.com/
LinkedIn Overview:
“We believe everyone should have equitable access to affordable credit. Leveraging ML/AI to inform credit and valuation decisions, Yendo is the world’s first vehicle-secured, revolving credit solution…”
3dtcpay
$16.5M, Pre-Series A, Capital | Equity | Singapore | Crypto | Kwee Liong Tek, David Tung, Jean Marc Poullet, Tham Sai Choy | https://dtcpay.com/
LinkedIn Overview:
“dtcpay is a regulated payment service provider that offers reliable solutions for merchants to grow revenues with increased acceptance rates across fiat and cryptocurrency…”
4Yellow
$14M, Series B, Capital| Equity |South Africa | Payments |Convergence Partners, Energy Entrepreneurs Growth Fund | https://www.yellow.africa/
LinkedIn Overview:
“Yellow’s purpose is to make life better for customers living in Africa. Through a digital technology platform, Yellow enables a distributed network of sales agents to serve rural households with life-changing products and services.”
5Neutron
$10M, Seed, Capital | Equity | Cosmos | Blockchain | Binance Labs, CoinFund, Delphi Ventures, Longhash, Nomad | https://www.neutron.money/
LinkedIn Overview:
“Neutron helps Indian companies improve their invoice collection process! Our software manages your Accounts Receivables for you with automated yet personalized workflows and integrates with one click (literally) with your existing accounting software like Tally or Zoho..”
