🕶️ We’re living the unicorn revival

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Paula Echeverria & Arturo Pardo
August 17, 2024

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Unicorns are sprouting up everywhere, even in the early stages of funding. Is this just another trend, or something bigger? We’re diving into that, plus why AI is steering the ship. 🦄

Meanwhile, franchise diversification is branching out beyond food 🍛. Skincare is the new darling, with lower costs and higher ROI. And in a major glow-up, Revolut is now rubbing shoulders with Europe’s biggest banks.

Have a great weekend! 

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Six bullets of updates

  1. 💳 Revolut joins Europe's biggest banks with a $45B valuation after the share sale.

  2. 🏍️ India's Ola Electric soars to $7B valuation on e-motorcycle launch battery plan.

  3. 🩻 Elon Musk's new AI image generator is powered by Black Forest Labs, a startup focusing on creative AI.

  4. 🎢 WeRide is gearing up for an IPO, while Waymo hosts nightly "honk-a-thons" and CNH builds a startup pipeline.

  5. 🌳 Linktree acquires Plann, enhancing its platform with social media scheduling tools and expanding user capabilities.

  6. 😗 This TikTok creator shows that opting out of TSA face scans isn’t always easy.

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Are high valuations making a comeback?

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The pace of creating new unicorns is increasing, especially at earlier funding stages. Through July, 70 new unicorns were minted, with 28 reaching unicorn status after early-stage funding rounds (seed, Series A, or Series B). This is close to the 29 early-stage unicorns created last year, though still far from the peak years of 2021 and 2022.

Investors seem more willing to fund young companies at high valuations again, and AI startups are leading the trend. Notable examples include xAI, Moonshot AI, and Cognition, which achieved unicorn status early. Other sectors, such as Web3, retail, space, and defense, also saw early-stage unicorns.

While this trend is noteworthy, it's uncertain if it indicates a lasting shift. Investor enthusiasm for funding early-stage companies at high valuations may be returning, but it could also be temporary, as the number of early-stage unicorns minted dropped in the second quarter of the year. Whether this signals a return to the high-valuation frenzy seen in previous years remains. Want to read more?

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These companies just raised money

  1. 💸 NEA leads a $100M round into Fei-Fei Li’s AI startup, pushing its valuation over $1B.

  2. 🏢 EliseAI raises $75M to revolutionize property management with advanced AI-powered chatbots for landlords.

  3. 🏔️ Chilean-American proptech Andes STR raises $4M to expand AI-driven short-term rental management into Latin America and the EU. 

  4. 🇲🇽 Mexican marketplace Veikul raises a $3M seed round to enhance its technology and expand to Mexico City, Guadalajara, and Monterrey.

  5. 🖲️ AI social media vetting startup Ferretl secures $2.5M and launches election personnel screening tool.

  6. 🥘 Tucán raised $1M in a seed round to bolster its restaurant e-commerce platform, which is now expanding to Latam!

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Franchise diversification is trending beyond food

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Franchise experts are diversifying beyond food due to rising costs in the restaurant industry. Traditionally, food franchises like burgers and pizza were seen as reliable investments. However, the high equipment costs, wages, and ingredients push franchisees to explore non-food categories.

Skincare studios like GLO30 offer an attractive alternative with lower startup costs and higher ROI. This trend could reshape the franchising landscape, driving growth in the health and wellness sectors. This sector already represents a $1.5 trillion market and remains ripe for development.

For example, Greg Flynn of Flynn Group LP, traditionally involved in food franchises, is now investing in fitness with Planet Fitness, highlighting the shift. Entrepreneurs should consider these emerging opportunities for sustainable, generational wealth. Read more.

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