Yildiz Ventures Newsletter | 01-15 Mar’24
?? Hi there!
Welcome to Y?ld?z Ventures Newsletter, your bi-weekly roundup of news from the ever-changing world of start-ups!
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Whether you're a seasoned entrepreneur or just a passionate individual about innovation, disruption, and entrepreneurship, we hope you'll find something valuable in our newsletter. ??
???Let's take a look at the highlights of the 01-15 March 2024! ??
?? Online grocery / Food Delivery:?
?? Gopuff has extended its services to include 24/7 deliveries as the popularity of late-night orders on the app rises- ??
?? DoorDash’s new AI-powered ‘SafeChat+’ tool automatically detects verbal abuse- ??
?? The Co-op and Uber Direct have launched a new quick commerce partnership trial in a bid to bolster the retailer’s share of the quick commerce market- ??
?? Deliveroo narrowed its losses by ￡262m to ￡32m in 2023, beating expectations, as it revealed its grocery business had hit a ￡1bn a year run rate in the fourth quarter. The app said it had seen “particularly strong growth in mid-sized basket orders” in grocery- ??
?? Turkish Startups / VC & CVC News :
? Sanayi ve Teknoloji Bakanl??? taraf?ndan a??klanan 15 Turcorn aday?- ??
?? Ankara TEKMER ve LEAP Investment, yapay zeka alan?nda Sanda Global ve Webrazzi i? birli?inde?Artificial Intelligence Future Leaders Fellowship (FLAI) program?n? hayata ge?iriyor- ??
?? Papara, T-Bank'?n tamam?n? sat?n al?yor. Konuyla ilgili henüz resmi bir a??klama yap?lmasa da regülat?rlerin onay?n?n beklendi?i belirtildi- ??
?? Kripto para altyap? sa?lay?c?s? ve blok zinciri ekosistemi?Binance, 170 milyonu a?k?n kullan?c?s?yla, ge?en y?la g?re yüzde 30 büyüme g?sterdi- ??
?? Rekabet?i oyun platformu Gamer Arena, $6mn de?erleme üzerinden yat?r?m ald?. Gamer Arena'n?n yeni yat?r?m?, DOMiNO Ventures’tan geldi.- ??
?? Revo Capital'?n gelecek planlar? ve Building Bridges'ten ?ne ??kanlar- ??
?? ?eker ilavesiz, do?al protein bar ürünleriyle sa?l?kl? at??t?rmal?k sekt?ründe faaliyet g?steren Protein Stüdyo, Uniq2go markas? ile 10 milyon TL hedefle kitle fonlama yat?r?m turuna ??kt?- ??
?? Nadir hastal?klar?n h?zl? ve etkin tan?s? i?in DNA ve RNA dizi verilerini i?leyen yapay zeka destekli bir klinik karar destek sistemi geli?tiren sa?l?k biyoteknolojisi ?irketi PhiTech, $1.1mn yat?r?m ald?- ??
?? Kullan?c?lar?n?n dünyan?n farkl? noktalar?ndan al??veri? yapabilmelerine odaklanan Shippn, 8 milyon dolar de?erleme üzerinden 547 bin dolar yat?r?m ald?- ??
?? G?da israf?na odaklanan Yenir, Founder One’dan yat?r?m ald?- ??
?? Markalar ile Influencer i? birli?ini kolayla?t?ran Winfluencer, 10 milyon TL yat?r?m ald?- ??
?? Yapay zeka tabanl? u?tan uca sigortac?l?k fiyatlama platformlar? geli?tiren Lumnion'un $1mn yat?r?m turu, Maxis'in Yenilik?i Giri?im Sermayesi Yat?r?m Fonu liderli?inde ger?ekle?ti- ??
?? Dilek Day?nlarl? ile ScaleX Ventures'?n gelecek planlar?n? payla?t?- ??
?? Bütünle?ik ileti?im platformu Vimesoft, Motiwe'yi sat?n ald?- ??
???? Markalar i?in ak?? optimizasyonu ve g?rsel tasar?mlar sunan yerli giri?im: Feedance- ??
?? Aday takip ve yetenek y?netim sistemi HrPanda, 250 bin dolar yat?r?m ald?- ??
?? Yapay zeka tabanl? yaz?l?mlar geli?tirerek makinelerin durumunu takip eden Wisersense 630 bin euro yat?r?m ald?- ??
?? Global Startups / VC News :
?? Ocient secures $49.4mn to power the growth of its energy efficient data analytics solutions- ??
?? Claroty, NYC-based cyber-physical systems protection company, raised $100m in strategic growth financing- ??
?? U.S.-based vehicle software supplier Applied Intuition has raised $250mn in its latest Series E funding round, valuing it at $6 billion- ??
?? Former Sequoia India Firm Launches New Fund for Early Ventures. Peak XV was Sequoia Capital’s investing arm for India, SE Asia- ??
?? Reddit targets valuation of close to $6.5 billion in upcoming IPO- ??
?? Investcorp & Sanabil back Salla’s $130mn pre-IPO fundraise. Salla is a top SaaS e-commerce platform in Saudi Arabia- ??
?? As European dynamism gathers momentum, Elaia and partners double down with new €120mn deep tech fund- ??
?? UK based ‘Banking-as-a-Service’ startup Griffin raises $24M as it attains full banking license- ??
?? ?? German restaurant discovery app NeoTaste snaps €15.1mn to go international- ??
?? Carbon-neutral courier Packfleet secures $10mn for expansion- ??
?? eComID closes €2.75M Pre-Seed to transform retail returns and sustainable shopping- ??
?? Skillshare, the world's largest online learning community for creatives, acquires creator tooling start-up Superpeer to expand its suite of products for creatives- ??
?? UK-based crop harvesting robot startup?Wootzano?is expanding into Malaysia via a?￡30mn partnership?with?VCI Global- ??
?? Telegram hits 900mn users and nears profitability as founder considers IPO- ??
?? Kaedim raises $15mn to fund AI-based 3D asset creation solutions- ??
????? E-commerce / Grocery:?
???? The Association of Convenience Stores’ 2024 Crime Report, highlights the scale of the retail crime ‘crisis‘ facing UK retailers. Shoplifting hit a record high of 5.6m incidents in 2023, almost fivefold as many as the previous year’s retail crime record of 1.1m incidents in 2022, new figures show- ??
???Amazon now lets sellers create listings through a URL by using AI- ??
?? Nectar360 is to launch ‘branded shops’, allowing brands to build custom pages on the Sainsbury’s website?in a first-of-its-kind offering available to clients on the Nectar360 ecommerce media platform- ??
?? What African B2B e-commerce startups can learn from OmniRetail’s profitable run- ??
?? UK supermarket?Tesco?is seeing an?uplift in demand for plant-based foods, and says that the industry is now in its “second phase”- ??
??? Fermat Raises $17mn Series A to Grow Its ML-Powered Social Commerce Shopping Experience- ??
?? Autonomo raises ￡2M Seed funding for checkout-free retail software- ??
?? M&S café is rolling out its fully recyclable takeaway cups as the retailer vies for the title of “most sustainable cup of coffee” on the high Street- ??
?? Scotmid Co-op has extended its AI-powered price reduction deal with Retail Insight for a further four years as product sell-through increased 1.8% year on year- ??
?? Waitrose owner John Lewis Partnership is set to invest a record ￡116 million in boosting staff pay, increasing wages by an average of 10%- ??
?? FoodTech / Food Companies:
?? Israeli startup Incredo unveiled Incredo Sugar G2, a concentrated version of its sugar-based reduction solution. Crafted from a blend of real sugar and protein, it preserves the sweetness and sensory characteristics of sugar, while using up to 50% less sugar content. - ??
领英推荐
?? Germany’s?REWE Group?launched a line of?own-label products formulated with ChoViva,?Planet A’s cocoa-free chocolate, made from locally-grown ingredients such as oats and sunflower seeds- ??
?? Swiss startup?Cultivated Biosciences?raised $5mn seed funding?to scale production of its yeast-derived fermented cream- ??
? UK trade standards group is pushing for new guidance to?ban the use of alternative descriptors?like ‘mylk’, ‘cheeze’, or ‘yoghurt-style’ on plant-based dairy packaging- ??
??Abu Dhabi-based sweet protein producer Novel Food Groups announced its plans to build a $500 million biotech production hub in the United Arab Emirates focused on precision fermentation - ??
?? Mexican startup?microTERRA?unveiled Flora, a protein ingredient extracted from duckweed, which helps to?enhance sweetness perception?in?F&B, reducing their sugar content without compromising taste or texture- ??
?? German startup?ProteinDistillery?secured €15mn seed funding. It uses biomass fermentation to create new protein ingredients, and will use the funds to support the launch of Europe's first protein-competence centre in the South of Germany- ??
?? Food?Brewer AG, based in Zurich,?secured over CHF 5mn seed funding?to support its plant cell culturing approach to making alternatives to cocoa and coffee, plus sustainable fats- ??
?? California’s Eat Just has reached a significant milestone, with its plant-based Just Egg completing sales equivalent to 500 million chicken eggs - ??
? ?? Why We're Now Living in The Golden Age of Snack Food- ??
?? Mars, Inc. is partnering with PIPA to develop an omics analysis platform, designed to accelerate research and operations insights related to potential pathogen risks throughout the food supply chain and proactively address food safety challenges - ??
?? Microbiome startups respond as industry is accused of ‘questionable practices’- ??
?? 7th Heaven Chocolate Unveils Vegan Peanut Butter Cups - ??
?? Cibus Capital?secured $645 million across two funds?to support mid-market and late-stage agrifood companies contributing to more efficient, less resource-intensive food production- ??
?? US vertical farming company?Oishii, which primarily produces berries,?secured $134mn Series B funding?in a round led by Japanese telecommunications firm?NTT- ??
? The Florida Senate has approved a bill?banning the sale of cultivated meat, making it the first US state to do so- ??
?? Unilever-owned?The Vegetarian Butcher?launched its first plant-based fish product, the “Krusty Fin”, made from rice and wheat protein and enriched with omega-3- ??
?? New German Dietary Guidelines recommend eating at least 75% plant-based foods- ??
? Nestlé shareholders call on food giant to reduce reliance on unhealthy products- ??
?? TWF Flours, based in India,?secured $1.4mn pre-Series A funding?from?Rainmatter. Its milling technology creates better quality flour which is healthier and retains higher levels of nutrients- ??
?? Norfolk Plant Sciences?released its?purple tomato seeds?for consumers to buy and grow at home, marking the first genetically modified?food?crop to be directly marketed to home gardeners- ??
?? ?? ?? AI / Web3 / Metaverse / Blockchain / Gaming:
?? BlackRock leads $75mn round by AI safety startup RapidSOS- ??
?? Bitcoin reached a new all-time high for the first time in more than two years, topping $69,210 according to Coin Metrics- ??
?? Unstructured raises $40mn Series B from Menlo Ventures, Databricks Ventures, IBM Ventures and NVIDIA to make enterprise data LLM-ready- ??
?? ?? Google DeepMind trains a video game-playing AI to be your co-op companion- ??
???? ChatGPT: Everything you need to know about the AI-powered chatbot- ??
?? Open source cryptography company?Zama?announced a $73 million Series A round. Zama builds fully homomorphic encryption solutions to protect privacy in blockchain & AI- ??
?? Apple is presently experimenting with a new AI-based ad purchasing tool for the App Store that can independently determine the best ad placements- ??
?? Bear Robotics, a robot waiter startup, just picked up $60mn from LG- ??
?? The London Stock Exchange has?announced?plans to accept applications for Bitcoin and Ether crypto exchange-traded notes (ETNs) in the second quarter of 2024- ??
?? Sustainability:
? Ketchup sachets and plastic wrapping on fruit and veg may be banned under new EU deal- ??
?? Nestlé has reduced its greenhouse gas emissions in 2023 by 13.5%, as the food and drinks manufacturer ramped up its efforts to achieve its net zero target- ??
?? Morrisons has launched a new Sustainable Farm Network to support its suppliers in achieving sustainable, net zero farming- ??
?? Worth Reading ?
?? Superfluous people vs AI: what the jobs revolution might look like- ??
?? Apple’s Vision Pro virtual reality headset launches in U.S.- ??
?? ?? ?ubat ay?nda tan?t?lan 8 yapay zeka modeli- ??
???? Two-Thirds of the UK’s Biggest Food Companies Make Money from Unhealthy Products Marketed to Children- ??
? Dünya ?ap?nda yapay zeka teknolojisine gü? veren 10 kad?n- ??
?? What TikTok tells us about the paradox of markets right now- ??
? News from Y?ld?z Ventures’ Portfolio Companies?
?? Earybird Digital East Fund portf?y ?irketi DraftWise, A serisi yat?r?m turunda?Index Ventures?liderli?inde $20mn yat?r?m ald?. DraftWise, avukatlar i?in yapay zeka destekli bir s?zle?me arac? sunuyor.- ??
?? ScaleX’in portfolyo ?irketlerinden Upstash, Andreessen Horowitz liderli?inde $10mn yat?r?m ald?. Upstash, tüketime dayal? bir fiyatland?rma modeli kullanarak geli?tiriciler i?in sunucusuz bir veri platformu sunuyor.- ??
?? 212 portf?y ?irketi Insider, $150mn y?ll?k tekrar eden gelire (ARR) ve $200mn CARR’a (Anla?ma Sa?lanm?? Tekrar Eden Gelir) ula?t?- ??
?? Ubicloud, Y Combinator ve 500 Emerging Europe'un kat?ld??? turda $16mn yat?r?m ald?- ??
?? Endeavor Catalyst portfolio company RemotePass, which helps companies onboard, manage, pay and retain remote workers, raised $5.5mn. 212 led the round- ??
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