Quality (over quantity)
It’s been an almost absent year for M&A, but tech valuations are rising, especially for later-stage startups. Despite fewer deals in 2023, late-stage startups are the new ‘shiny things’ as many investors pursue a “flight-to-quality” strategy.
“Late-stage investors remain cautious, doing fewer deals and favoring downside protection,” –CB Insights.
Looking back through 2023 until now, Digital Wealth News found investors seek the following ten traits when opening the checkbook to fund a startup:
Exit strategy | Competitive advantage | Passion | Talented team | Market size | Management team | Scalability | Traction | Viable business model | Skills & experience in vertical
And that, our friends, is the quality factor…
Some notable trends this week:
- This week’s #2, Fnality, has the big banks ‘giving’ them $$
- Payments led this week’s payouts
- Domestic deals got done!
And now, here are this week’s top 5 VC deals…
1Blockchain.com
$110M, Series E, Capital| Equity | UK | Crypto | Lightspeed Ventures, Baillie Gifford & Co | https://www.blockchain.com/en/
LinkedIn Overview:
“Welcome to the future of finance Bitcoin, Ethereum, and more, available on the Blockchain.com Wallet and Exchange.”
2Fnality
$95.2M, Series B, Capital| Equity | UK | Payments | Goldman Sachs, BNP Paribas, DTCC, Euroclear, Nomura, WisdomTree, Banco Santander, BNY Mellon, Barclays, CIBC, Commerzbank, ING, Lloyds Banking Group, Nasdaq Ventures, State Street, Sumimoto Mitsui Banking Corporation, UBS | https://www.fnality.org/home
LinkedIn Overview:
“The future is accelerating fast. Digital transformation is changing our lives, work and business. While other sectors are evolving, financial markets are slow, fragmented and siloed…“
3Imprint
$75M, Series B, Capital | Equity | NYC | Payments | Ribbit Capital, Thrive Capital, Kleiner Perkins, Moore Specialty Credit | https://www.imprint.co/
LinkedIn Description:
“Come and build the easiest and most rewarding way to pay!“
4ORO Labs
$34M, Series B, Capital| Equity| SF | Payments | Felicis, Norwest Venture Partners, B Capital, XYZ Venture Capital | https://www.orolabs.ai/
LinkedIn Description:
“ORO makes procurement incredibly easy and efficient for employees. #MakeProcurementAwesome“
5Puzzle
$30M, Capital |Equity | SF | Fintech | S32, XYZ Capital, General Catalyst, Felicis, Kapor Capital, Sterling Road, Born Ventures| https://puzzle.io/
LinkedIn Description:
“Don’t let the financial future of your startup keep you up at night – Puzzle is here to help…“
