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Six bullets of updates

1. 🗣️ Most VC firms struggle with basic communication, with 66% failing to define their industry vertical on their websites.

2. 🚨 New fund! Dubai's COTU Ventures launches a $54M fund for early-stage startups, with a keen eye on fintech and B2B software.

3. ⏰ New fund! Venture capital firm Zacua Ventures launches a $56M fund to boost tech in the construction industry, already investing in a dozen startups.

4. ₿ Betting big on Bitcoin, Asymmetrical Financial launches a $21M DeFi fund aiming to unlock the trillion-dollar asset's potential.

5. 💻 In a bid to boost edge AI innovation, four top European research institutes launch €156mn consortium, Prevail, to create a multi-hub network for developing and testing AI tech.

6. 🛒 Thrasio, the once king of e-commerce aggregation, files for Chapter 11, with a $90M lifeline to restructure its $495M debt.

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The Growing Industry of Startup Shutdown Support

In an unusual trend, VCs are now backing startups designed to help other startups shut down. With a 90% failure rate among startups, companies like Sunset and SimpleClosure are seeing success in helping founders navigate the difficult process of legally and financially dismantling their companies. In 2024, with funding slowing globally and many startups shuttering, the need for such services is increasing.

These companies are not just serving failed startups but also those which have healthy revenues but are not considered "venture scale." The services they provide include auctioning assets, facilitating stock purchases, and even initiating introductions to potential buyers. Keep reading!

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These companies just raised money

1. 🚗  Electric automaker Polestar secures a hefty $950M loan, but plans further layoffs to keep its EV development on track.

2. 🇫🇷 French AI startup Photoroom, famous for its Barbie selfie generator, secured $43mn in a Series B round, pushing its valuation to $500mn.

3. 🚗 Brazilian vehicle insurtech Loovi just pocketed $9M to expand its services, aiming to insure more of Brazil's 70% uninsured vehicles.

4. 🔗 Initia simplifies blockchain app development, securing a cool $7.5M seed round.

5. 🤖 Enkrypt AI, looking to reduce AI's hallucination rate from 6% to 0.6%, garners $2.35M in funding

6. 🇧🇷 Brazilian workspace management startup Neowrk bags $2M in a Seed round to fuel expansion and boost integration with other platforms.

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Crafting a new narrative in manufacturing

In the old-world-meets-new-world news, London-based startup CloudNC is leveraging AI to bring about a revolution in the global manufacturing sector, specifically within CNC (computer numerical control) machining, an industry worth a whopping $1 trillion. Since launching six months ago, CloudNC has attracted hundreds of paying customers and raised a $45m Series B round.

Meanwhile, German startup Daedalus, founded by one of OpenAI's first engineers, Jonas Schneider, is taking a different approach. Instead of modernizing existing manufacturing processes, it aims to build AI-controlled factories from scratch. The startup raised $21m in Series A funding this month.

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Why Investors WANT Startups to Lose Money - Startups 101

Why does everything you learned in Business School would NOT apply to the reality of startups? For example, investors WANT startups to lose money; they say profits are BORING. What?! Check out this video to understand this apparent nonsense aaaaand SUBSCRIBE!