How much is too much, and how big is too big?
Money moving makes the news in VCs, startups, and big tech. That’s what this column is about: tracking awards. However, as time passes, investors must understand how awards, strategic investments, and acquisitions can lead to startup overspending and even ‘death.’
A recent article in Crunchbase focuses on uncapped SAFEs (Simple Agreements for Future Equity), which one would assume VCs build into their funding agreements. But, the article sheds light on the fact that many VCs focus on the reward, not the risk investors take when they give VCs money to invest.
“The legacy of the uncapped SAFE is now synonymous with price bubbles, reckless fundraising, and investors getting burned.” – The Case For The Uncapped SAFE, Crunchbase.
While many readers of this weekly column are ‘seasoned’ in VC funding, investors must ask questions of the VCs before throwing money into the game without understanding the risk—and what SAFE is.
Notable trends this week…
- An excellent week for domestic deals
- Tracking upward for double-digit awards
- Still taking more VCs to get deals done
Up next are this week’s top 5 VC deals…
1Drip Capital
$113M, Capital | Equity & Debt | Palo Alto, CA | Fintech | GMO Payment Gateway, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC), International Finance Corporation (IFC), East West Bank | https://www.dripcapital.com/en-us
LinkedIn Overview:
“Drip specializes in efficient working capital solutions, offering both payable and receivable finance solutions. While our core expertise lies in financing international trade, we extend our services…”
2Oyster
$59M, Series D, Capital| Equity | NC | Fintech | Silver Lake Waterman, Emergence Capital, Stripes, Georgian, G2 Venture Partners, Endeavor Catalyst | https://www.oysterhr.com/
LinkedIn Overview:
“Our mission is to create a more equal world by making it possible for companies everywhere to hire people anywhere. We believe it should be easy for any company to hire any person, no matter where they are located in the world.“
3Bridge
$58M, Capital | Equity| San Antonio, TX | Payments | Sequoia Capital, Ribbit Capital, Index Ventures, Haun Ventures | https://www.bridge.xyz/
LinkedIn Description:
“APIs that enable developers to move into, out of, and between any form of a dollar.“
4Cobre
$35M, Series B, Capital| Equity | Colombia | Payments | Oak HC/FT | https://mx.cobre.co/?modal=no
Website Description:
“Cobre builds technology to solve the biggest money movement problems for companies in LatAm…”
5Balance
$30M, Capital | Equity | A cutting-edge web3 gaming eco platform | Blockchain | Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Galaxy Interactive, Animoca Brands, K5, CLF Partners, MBK Capital, New Heights Fund, AMBER, MarbleX, Sky Mantra, Tuna, Aptos Labs, IOBC, Leland, Halcyon Capital, Uphonest, Taisu Ventures, Gate Labs, DWF Ventures, BING, WAGMI, Steve Chen, Marc Merrill, Thomas Vu | https://balance.fun/
Website Description:
“Balance is a Web3 ecosystem dedicated to Web3 gaming, leveraging a user base of 260M to revolutionize the gaming industry with blockchain and AI technology.”
