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Bear Market Blowout
Investors Score Big on Crypto Markdowns, Reach Looks to Cash in On Classrooms With New Fund, and a Startup Capitalises on The Broadband Boom With New Funding.
Adam from VC Brags
April 11, 2023
Welcome Shareholders,
In this daily edition of the Brags Newsletter, we’ll cover how the largest crypto investors are looking to score big after valuations fall across the industry, an EdTech focused Venture Firm looks to maintain its momentum with its fourth fund, and Gigstream Looks to Blitz the Nation With its Broadband after a new funding round.
So sit back, grab a snack, and enjoy!
Venture Today 👏
Despite a decline in crypto funding last quarter, the largest investors in the sector are continuing to push forward.
The need for large funds and investors to support startups remains crucial, especially given the current regulatory scrutiny and bearish market sentiment in the crypto space. Ava Labs, which deployed the layer-1 blockchain Avalanche, launched a $200 million Blizzard investment fund in 2021 to expand its chain's ecosystem. In the past 18 months, the fund has invested in around 400 deals across 125 portfolio companies, utilizing over three-quarters of its capital.
Ava Labs isn't alone in its active investment; several crypto venture funds raised a few years ago still have capital to deploy. For instance, Multicoin Capital launched a $430 million fund in 2022, having invested less than half of it, with the majority remaining available for future investments. Perhaps the best example of this is Andreessen Horowitz, which has launched four dedicated funds, with the most recent one amounting to $4.5 billion in May 2022 (the firm has raised $7.6 billion in total for crypto), with most of the capital yet to be deployed. On the other hand, recently established funds are also making significant investments. In January, Venom Foundation introduced a $1 billion venture fund in partnership with Iceberg Capital, targeting Web3 investments from pre-seed to later stages.
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Who’s Raising?
San Francisco's Reach Capital has secured a record $215 million for its fourth fund, marking the largest in the firm's history.
Like its predecessors, Reach IV will concentrate on early-stage education and future-of-work investments, targeting seed to Series B rounds in both US and international companies. Reach intends to accelerate the pace of its investments in K-12, higher education, and career upskilling/reskilling startups, focusing on those that aid teachers facing shortages and burnout. Additionally, the firm is interested in backing companies employing generative AI in education.
Reach Capital ranks among the largest edtech-focused venture funds, alongside Owl Ventures, Learn Capital, and GSV. The firm has backed several unicorns, such as Outschool, ClassDojo, and Handshake. Reach Capital also leads in edtech investment by deal count. As of mid-March 2023, it closed 72 startup deals since 2018.
Startup of the Day
Tysons Corner-based Gigstreem, which offers premium residential and commercial broadband networks, has secured $59 million in funding.
The fundraising comes through two rounds from existing investors. Crestline Investors led the first round, raising $19 million, and was joined by RET Ventures, Essex Property Trust, and UDR. The funding from the round will enable Gigstreem to expand its services nationwide and pursue acquisitions. Subsequently, Crestline led a $40 million round, a substantial portion of which facilitated the acquisition of most assets from Atlanta-based GigaMonster Networks. This acquisition will significantly boost Gigstreem's national footprint, doubling its technological assets, and enhancing customer support and engineering capabilities.
Founded in 2017 by CEO Andrew Kusminsky, Gigstreem is a national ISP for apartments, residential communities, businesses, and events. Currently serving 52,000 units across 28 markets, the company plans to extend its services to 40,000 more apartments in 2023.
Fresh Finds
Vault Vision allows Webflow users to effortlessly integrate secure logins using facial recognition, fingerprint, or PIN verification across modern devices.
No-code auth integration enhances client productivity, earning potential, and promises industry-leading security with phishing-proof technology.
Users can register and sign in across devices using various authentication methods, such as facial recognition or fingerprint verification, without needing passwords, making it the most secure user experience in the no-code app builder industry.
Memes and Other Things
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