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The official channel of V3V Ventures. We share updates on our investments, portfolio companies, and fund activities. Buy Ads: @JamesCookTg (this is our only account).
🟢 Zomato secures $1B to fuel quick-commerce dominance
Zomato has raised $1B in its first big funding round since going public, with backing from major Indian mutual funds like Motilal Oswal and ICICI Prudential. The move positions Blinkit to lead India’s fast-growing quick-commerce market.
😁 We wonder if they deliver that street food from TikTok compilations
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💭 Building the future of AI agents – /dev/agents scores $56M seed round
AI startup /dev/agents, founded by ex-Google leaders, raised $56M at a $500M valuation to create an “Android for AI.” Their goal? A cloud-based operating system enabling AI agents to collaborate seamlessly on complex tasks.
Backed by tech heavyweights like Index Ventures, CapitalG, and OpenAI's Andrej Karpathy, their first product is expected next year, poised to revolutionize how we interact with AI. Looking forward to it.
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🎤 4 must-ask questions for founders in VC meetings
Make your VC meetings more impactful by asking these four key questions:
➖ Feedback on your pitch deck – Get immediate insights to refine your message.
➖ Requests for introductions – Leverage investor networks while interest is fresh.
➖ Resources and opinions – Tap into industry knowledge and market trends.
➖ How you can help them – Build reciprocal relationships and enhance your reputation.
These questions turn pitches into collaborative discussions, leaving a lasting impression.
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💎 How many rounds to become a unicorn?
For Spire, 18 funding rounds don’t seem that impressive when you learn the company was founded... on March 2, 1857. On the bright side, they deliver natural gas, so slow and steady wins the race.
Also interesting is the comparison between OpenAI and Anthropic, the latter only needed one round when OpenAI needed as many as 7.
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📌 State of Gen AI in the enterprise: 2024 insights from Menlo Ventures
Menlo Ventures' 2024 report reveals a transformative AI landscape: automation drives change, enterprise AI spending surges to $13.8B, and a talent crisis looms with 2–3x salary premiums for top AI/ML talent.
Dominant use case? Developers lead with 51% adoption in code generation.
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💥 Latin America’s fintech bounce — are we in for a 2025 boom?
2024 is shaping up as the year Latin American fintech rises from the ashes, with funding up 73% from last year. New infrastructure-focused startups and seasoned entrepreneurs are revamping the market. But challenges remain, like limited exits and heavy reliance on local funds.
🤔 Will 2025 bring global investors to the table?
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💸 This week’s big funding highlights – xAI and Anthropic lead the charge. Again AI?
AI continues to dominate this week's funding rounds. xAI raised $5B, doubling its valuation, while Anthropic secured $4B from Amazon. Other major rounds include LogicMonitor's $800M and Cyera's $300M. These deals show AI's strong hold on venture capital this week. It will definitely end someday, how soon do you think that “someday” will come?
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👀 2025 tech trends or where to invest
CB Insights' latest report highlights diverse innovations across industries:
➖ Financial Services: AI copilots aim to streamline tasks for wealth managers; crypto emerges as an AI-driven payment method.
➖Healthcare: Autonomous robots like Figure show cross-industry potential.
➖AI: Open-source AI is niche, funding is US-dominated (71%), and GPT-4 costs plummet.
➖Retail: Generative AI drives hyper-personalized customer recommendations.
➖Industrials: Big Tech pioneers nuclear power for efficiency; spaceflight costs drop 8x since 2008.
A must-read for insights into emerging tech across verticals. 96 page detailed review at the link in the source.
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🌐 Wiz’s $450m Dazz deal — a power move in cybersecurity?
Big moves in cloud security! Wiz, a major player in cybersecurity, just acquired dazz for $450M in cash and stock. This deal brings dazz’s expertise in remediation and posture management into wiz's all-in-one platform.
Wiz’s CEO called dazz a “perfect fit” and hinted at more acquisitions coming soon, fueled by $1B set aside for growth. With $500M in annual recurring revenue and nearly half the Fortune 100 as clients, Wiz is betting big on a secure future.
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💵 This $1B hotel tech startup is changing travel forever
Lighthouse just raised $370M in funding, skyrocketing its valuation past $1B. The London-based company uses AI to crunch massive amounts of travel data, giving hotels like Radisson and Holiday Inn the tools to outshine competitors. With plans to expand and maybe even acquire new businesses, Lighthouse is setting the stage for smarter, more personalized hospitality experiences.
🤔 What kind of data hotels collect about us? Share your thoughts in the comments
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❓ Are genetic testing startups a goldmine or gamble?
The genetic testing industry has seen both triumphs and setbacks. 23andMe, once a high-flyer, faces layoffs and declining market value. Yet others, like prenatal-focused Natera, thrive with multibillion-dollar valuations. Startups like BillionToOne and Genome Medical are raising hefty funds, while niches like pet DNA testing lose steam.
Despite past bubbles, the $10B genetic testing market is predicted to double by 2033, hinting at massive growth opportunities, but not without risks.
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🟢 Defense tech investments hit record highs in 2024
From $145M for Chaos Industries to Anduril’s $1.5B mega-round, venture capital in defense tech has soared past $3B this year, breaking all records. With rising global tensions and a predicted defense budget increase under the new U.S. administration, VCs are diving deeper into tech like AI-driven weapons and autonomous systems. If we're being honest, this feels more like the latest gold rush.
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🔥 M-KOPA's fintech growth for $400M in ARR
M-KOPA, an African fintech with a massive 30,000-strong sales force, is on track to hit a $400 million annual revenue rate by the end of 2024. Offering affordable, pay-as-you-go smartphones and other products, it’s turning the tides of financial inclusion for underbanked Africans.
With its unique business model and expanding reach, M-KOPA is proving that there’s big money in serving everyday earners in emerging markets.
💵 Pathway secures $10M to advance "Live AI" for real-time learning systems
Pathway has raised $10M in seed funding, led by TQ Ventures, to develop AI systems capable of real-time updates and memory retention. Competing with Cohere and Writer in the emerging "Live AI" field, Pathway’s tools feed live data into enterprise AI platforms for up-to-date decision-making.
Already impressing clients like NATO and La Poste, Pathway’s quirky origin story involves coffee, Chicago sunshine, and a "eureka" moment during a nerdy debate. AI that thinks on its feet? We're here for it.
🌐 Anduril execs cash big checks
Defense startup Anduril, valued at $14 billion, pays its top executives millions in cash and stock, with some earning over $19M in a year. CEO Brian Schimpf, COO Matt Grimm, and co-founder Palmer Luckey lead the pack. Much of the compensation includes multi-year equity grants, showing how the startup lures top talent from tech giants like Microsoft and Tesla.
Yeah, the pay is really good. So let's leave it here just in case: https://www.anduril.com/careers/
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💲How’s Telegram doing financially?
Telegram’s leaked financials for the first half of 2024 offer some fascinating insights, especially with debt repayments looming. Let’s break it down:
➖ Revenue: $525M – a whopping 190% increase from H1 2023. But here’s the catch: $225M came from a single deal allowing Toncoin to be the exclusive currency for small business ads. That deal? Terminated in October. It's probably the next step to something bigger.
➖ Ads and Premium: Advertising brought in $120M (double last year), and premium subscriptions soared to $119M, a 4x growth.
Telegram even hit profitability, netting $335M in H1 2024 (compare that to a $173M loss in 2023). Some of this went to buy back bonds in September, but here’s the twist:
➖Toncoin Sales: Telegram sold $348M worth of Toncoin – outperforming both ads and subscriptions combined. They’re sitting on $1.3B in digital assets, largely benefiting from Toncoin’s rising value earlier this year.
President-elect Donald Trump is considering appointing an advisor to lead efforts in AI policy, as well as the government’s use of the technology, Axios reports.
The official likely won’t be Elon Musk, who has become an influential figure on Trump’s transition team, but Musk will likely play a major role in shaping AI policy as well.
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💰 State of Private Markets Q3 2024
Carta’s latest market report highlights a stable plateau in investments and valuations, with $20.1B invested this quarter (vs. $17.5B a year ago).
➡️ Key insights:
Downrounds persist at 20.3%, but deal terms are slightly more founder-friendly, with participating preferreds down to 4.1%.
Bridge rounds dominate Seed (39%) and Series A (40%), reflecting difficulty in raising priced rounds early.
⏳ The wait between funding stages is growing:
Seed → A: 1.95 years
A → B: 2.61 years
B → C: 2.22 years
📉 Raising Series B now takes over 2.5 years post-Series A – a sign of shifting market dynamics.
Let's check and discuss full report in the comments 👇
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👀 Why venture capital lost its spark?
Remember when VCs hunted for world-changing ideas? Today, they’re stuck chasing mostly quick SaaS profits. Valuations based on ARR and short-term gains have sidelined deep tech and real innovation. Fixing this? Either rethink how VCs get paid or stop relying on lazy math.
Is it real to bring back bold, long-term bets?
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👌 ByteDance stays strong despite US pressure
ByteDance's valuation keeps climbing, even with the threat of a US ban. Instead of traditional funding, they're boosting value through stock buybacks. This move is a bold strategy to maintain growth and stay resilient in a tough market. ByteDance’s confidence is clear – they're playing the long game, despite the challenges.
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🟢 Cyera doubles down. From $1.4B to $3B just in 7 months
Data security startup Cyera is on fire – after raising $300M in April, the company just secured another $300M, skyrocketing its valuation to $3B. Cyera’s AI-driven platform protects and analyzes company data, keeping security teams ahead of the game. Founded in 2021, it has raised $760M total and is now a leading player in AI-powered cybersecurity.
Cybersec + AI is the most underrated combination of all.
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🔔 Crypto M&A dreams or is the bull run finally unlocking the door?
As Bitcoin hits $94K and stocks of crypto giants like Coinbase surge post-election, the long-quiet M&A market might roar to life. With startups desperate for funding amidst a VC drought, bigger players could use their soaring shares to scoop them up.
Do you think this surge is the perfect moment for crypto startups to cash out or is it just a temporary spike?
🎙 AI + blockchain? The smart founders cashing in on the ultimate tech combo
While some investors juggle between blockchain and AI or just make memes about it, savvy founders have blended both worlds into a hot new category: decentralized AI on blockchain. It's not just hype – investment in this innovative sector is booming.
Honestly, our team admire their brilliance...
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🖥 How Nvidia makes money
Nvidia's revenue grew significantly in Q3, doubling compared to last year. However, its growth rate has slowed down, disappointing investors.
While the company experienced a 265% increase in revenue last year, this year’s expected growth is only 70%.
Despite the slowdown, Nvidia remains a key player in AI and gaming technologies, generating income through AI model training, graphics processing, and hardware sales.
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JUST IN: Nvidia $NVDA reports $35.1 billion in revenue for Q3, 6% higher than expectations.
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💭 Why Bling Capital is still shining
Ben Ling’s Bling Capital just raised $270M for its fourth fund, with half reserved for follow-on investments in standout startups. Known for backing unicorns like GitLab and Webflow, Bling leverages a powerful network of tech leaders from firms like OpenAI and Stripe to guide its portfolio.
This team invested in 170 startups, including Rippling and Vise, this seed-stage VC keeps proving its knack for spotting the next big thing.
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📌 VCs struggle with lowest returns since 2011
In 2023, U.S. VCs faced a liquidity crisis, investing $60 billion more than they returned, with only $26 billion in returns – the lowest since 2011.
Despite record-high funding in recent years, the exit market has been quiet. However, IPOs like Klarna and ServiceTitan may bring relief in 2024, potentially reducing the deficit.
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