🕶️ Are North American VCs losing their appeal?

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Six bullets of updates

1. 👀 'I am thrilled to announce…’: LinkedIn's new 'suggested posts' could boost your content's visibility for months or even years.

2. 🪴 Ex-Microsoft employee and founder of Flora, Aabesh De, scores a $300K deal on Shark Tank for his plant sensor startup.

3. 🔔 FlowGPT raises $10M to democratize AI development despite ethical concerns over rule-breaking apps.

4. 🌃 Best Nights VC, the venture arm of Jägermeister, has invested in 14 startups reshaping nightlife, with checks between $300k-$1m.

5. 🎬 Swipe right on your dream film job (hehe) with BeScene, a Tinder-style networking app for filmmakers, with 7,200 already on the waitlist.

6. 🎓 Edtech giant Byju's rocked as investors vote to oust founder, raising questions around accountability.

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North American GPs struggle to win over Europe's heart

North American VCs repeatedly miss the mark regarding the European startup market. While this sector has continued to grow for at least the past 10 years, the total value of European deals with at least one American investor has significantly decreased. In 2023, it dropped by 57% compared to the previous year, while deal volume declined by 39%. Meanwhile, the total deal volume in Europe has more than doubled 🌍

Why does this market pose a particular challenge for American investors? It could be the fact that languages are independent in each country or the existence of multiple currencies. 🪙 Local players have the upper hand, representing 80% of the capital deployed in Europe. Learn more!

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Startup Events and Deadlines

1. How to Turn Your Startup Vision into Reality  | March 4 | Online 

2. Vision Pro Residency Demo Day | March 6 | Online

3. Financial Modeling Course | March 24 | Online

4. SaaSOpen: Austin | March 28 | Austin 

5. How Much Money Should You Raise? | Webinar | April 12 | Online

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These companies just raised money

1. 🌋 Exploding fund! Geothermal startup Fervo Energy is heating up, raising $221M and slashing drilling costs by 70% within a year.

2. 🍁 Canadian VC firm Golden Ventures closes on $100M for their fifth fund, targeting game-changing tech startups.

3. 💸 Colombian startup Simetrik bags $55M in Series B round, led by Goldman Sachs, to bolster its financial automation tech. 

4. 🇨🇳 Autonomous startup Haomo.ai lands a $14M boost from Chengdu government-backed fund, as China's AV industry treads a cautious funding path.

5. 👷 San Francisco-based startup Interview Kickstart just netted $10M in its first funding round after aiding engineers to land $1.2M+ job offers.

6. 🇧🇷 Brazilian proptech Housi snags $10M to take its subscription-based living solution global, with first stops in the US and Portugal.

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Techstars leaves Seattle; its CEO explains why

The changes in the operation of the accelerator group Techstars have sparked much discussion. Its most significant move was closing its operations in Seattle and Boulder, Colorado. It had recently done the same with its headquarters in Austin, Texas. In an interview with TechCrunch, CEO Maëlle Gavet discussed the reasons behind these decisions and their implications for the future:

• The traditional franchise model, where funds were raised locally, no longer aligns with the company's goals. Instead, Techstars now focuses on what the overall structure can offer to founders. 

• Looking ahead to 2024, they plan to exceed the 700 pre-seed investments made in 2023, expanding within and outside the United States 🇺🇸 Keep readinig!

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