City Venture Financial News

Despite Web3’s challenging journey in recent years, funding for the sector bounced back in the first quarter this year. It marks the first increase since the final quarter of 2021, a Crunchbase report published Thursday showed.

There are very few sectors in which the impact of AI is felt more than the cryptocurrency and blockchain sector. As the demand for AI products and utility increases, so does the appetite of investors to grab their piece of the pie.

Artificial intelligence firm Sapien AI has raised $5 million in a seed funding round with participation from Primitive Ventures, Animoca Ventures, Ravikant Capital, and Yield Guild Games.

venture capital arm of Italy's Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP) will invest 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) over the next five years in artificial intelligence (AI) and cybersecurity, the state lender said on Monday. The government in March had announced its intention to set up an investment fund to promote projects in the AI sector, backed by CDP, as part of its broader push, as chair of the G7, to focus on the impact of AI on jobs and inequality.

Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) financing activities in the cryptocurrency sector through the first quarter of 2024 are up 22% compared to the previous quarter, according to a research note from Architect Partners.

Venture capital (VC) funding in the crypto space has experienced a surge in the first quarter of 2024, breaking a two-year downtrend.

Web3 gaming platform Elixir Games has raised a $14 million seed funding round from Square Enix, the Solana Foundation and Shima Capital, and others.

Venture capital investors are increasingly demanding partial exits from late-stage startups as pressure to clock returns increases amid a slump in the technology market. Sizeable investment rounds of $50 million in the past year have included a significant secondary component that provides liquidity for existing investors, several industry executives said. Industry sources aware of the goings-on at mid-scale startups, who spoke to ET, said existing investors in such companies are demanding exits even at reduced valuations. A Bengaluru-based startup offering supply-chain solutions for retail businesses — last valued at around $300 million — is facing a significant cut in valuation along with ongoing discussions for secondary deals, according to one person cited above who said, “This is only one example and more such deals are currently structured that will play out in the coming months.”

Cipla executive Vikram Sudarsan, will now invest the capital to support its product pipeline for neuropsychiatric and neurodevelopmental disorders. This marks one of the largest early-stage funding rounds of a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company. The round was co-led by new investors F-Prime Capital, Forbion, and Norwest Venture Partners.

The crypto VC space is seeing renewed interest from high net-worth individuals and family offices after a year of relative quiet, according to Struck Capital founding partner Adam Struck.

funding winter intensified, according to a report by Bain & Company in collaboration with the Indian Venture and Alternate Capital Association (IVCA). A convergence of domestic and global factors including stubborn inflation, heightened investors' performance expectations, and persistent higher interest rates prolonged the funding winter, the report said, adding that softening global consumption and ongoing geopolitical uncertainties hindered startups from showcasing the necessary performance.

India Accelerator has partnered with the enterprise incubation centre (EIC) of Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Lucknow, to introduce a two-day Early Stage Venture Capital--Angel Investing Certification Programme. The residential programme at IIM Lucknow EIC (Noida) campus, to be held on April 6 and 7, will aim to expand the pool of angel investors by sharing knowledge on the startup investing landscape and opportunities for wealth creation with high-net-worth individuals (HNIs), ultra-high-net worth individuals (UHNIs), chartered accountants (CAs), family offices and startup mentors, said a press release issued by India Accelerator, the first Global Accelerator Network-partnered accelerator in India. India Accelerator was founded by Ashish Bhatia, Abhay Chawla and Mona Singh in 2017. It provides a dynamic and supportive ecosystem for entrepreneurs.

By Toby Sterling

Demand for Bitcoin ETFs is only beginning to ramp up, with some of the market’s largest players yet to begin buying, according to crypto asset manager Bitwise.

Spacetech startup Digantara, which focuses on space situational awareness, said it has raised $2 million from Aditya Birla Ventures and SIDBI Venture Capital, the venture capital arms of Aditya Birla Group and the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), respectively. The latest capital infusion marks the final close of the Bengaluru-based startup’s Series A stage of funding at $12 million. In June 2023, Digantara had raised $10 million led by Peak XV Partners (formerly Sequoia Capital India and Southeast Asia).

₹400-500 crore, with SIDBI holding a nearly 86% stake. It is billed as the country's first ARC supported by a large number of public sector banks and undertakings, focused on NPA resolution of the MSME sector. In 2022, Press Trust of India reported that Union bank of India had sold its 8% stake in ISARC in favour of Dhansamridhi Finance.

Venture capital firm Peak XV, formerly Sequoia Capital India and South East Asia, on Monday said it has launched new startup cohort Spark 03 with 14 companies that include 16 female founders. 

ChatGPT in November 2022, as investors sense an opportunity, betting on these startups that they might outpace bigger rivals. OpenAI, which at one point considered acquiring Figure, is investing $5 million, the report added.

Venture Capital firm Andreessen Horowitz has invested $100 million in crypto restating startup EigenLayer after its latest funding round.

As the market enters a crypto bull run, this in turn is triggering positive sentiment with several venture capital investors firms eyeing up new projects to invest in.

Singapore-based early-stage venture capital firm Farquhar VC has partnered with Asia’s leading Tezos blockchain Incubator, TZ APAC, to support new talent in Asia.