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It’s the “polish the pitch” season!

Early-stage startups faced a challenging fundraising landscape in 2023.

Startup founders, here's a New Year's resolution: give that pitch deck a makeover! Why? Well, according to a report from DocSend, fundraising got trickier for startups in 2023. Founders had to reach out to more investors but ended up with fewer meetings. The takeaway? Quality beats quantity! Before you start firing off emails, keep in mind that AI has made it easy to bombard VCs. So, understand how VC works and what an investment thesis is.

While the report paints a bit of a gloomy picture, it highlights the importance of smart outreach. Take a breather from the funding hustle this holiday season. Use the time to refine your pitch, and come back swinging in January. A well-crafted pitch deck screams "new year, new me!"

Takeaways from this week’s podcasts

Discover the many benefits of global hiring

You might say it’s a down to Earth solution

With Deel’s Business Case for Global Hiring Guide, you’ll discover how to overcome the most common global hiring challenges and what route works best for your expanding workforce.

These companies just raised money

1. 🤖 French startup Mistral AI just sealed the deal on its highly anticipated Series A funding with  $415 million.

2. 💻 Docker’s acquiring AtomicJar means a $25 million Series A. Instead of soaring solo, the container pioneer brings AtomicJar's 19 employees into Docker's new testing division.

3. 🗃️ London-based fintech startup Triple has secured $7.5 million in a successful seed round to enhance its fintech infrastructure services further.

4. 🔋 X-energy, a company specializing in advanced small modular nuclear reactors and clean energy fuel technology, successfully concluded its Series C funding round, amassing $235 million.

5. 🩺 Odyssey Therapeutics sealed a $101 million Series C funding round, with Ascenta Capital in the lead.

There’s less appetite for the food tech sector

Venture capital love for the food tech sector hit a rough patch in Q3 2023, marking the eighth consecutive quarter of decline with 205 deals totaling $2 billion, a 13.9% drop from the previous quarter. Year over year, it's down over 71%. PitchBook categorizes "food tech" into various sectors, and despite the decline, the market is still evolving. 🥗

A bright spot was the Instacart IPO, bringing some excitement, but there's a lack of tech startups rushing for the exit, according to Alex Frederick, senior analyst at PitchBook.

If this doesn’t sound that positive, it is well-known that food tech is an area where innovation and disruption are valued. Therefore, it will always be an inspiring space to participate in. 

Six bullets of updates

1. Let’s talk about the layers of generative AI in the enterprise tech stack and unravel its gradual but impactful process. 💥 

2. There’s a 14% pay gap between full-time male and female employees in various industries. How can companies value gender diversity? 👩‍💻  

3. TikTok has boogied to become the first non-gaming app to hit $10 billion in consumer spending with a 61% growth in 2023. 📱

4. Why is AI so feasible for companies with less than 50 employees? There’s a scenario where a startup could save over $400,000 annually. 🫰🏽 

5. AI is throwing the ultimate inclusion jamboree! PwC forecasts it to add a whopping $16 trillion to the global economy by 2030. 🦽 

6. Live sports broadcasting platform Caffeine is on a roll! From $5 million to $60 million monthly active users in just a year!  🏈