Capital Cutback

Tiger Global Trims Fund Expectations, Indonesian Startups Get a Boost, and AI Cleans Up The Waste Industry.

Author

Adam from VC Brags
February 02, 2023

Welcome Shareholders,

In this daily edition of the Brags Newsletter, we'll cover the latest on Tiger Global's fundraising mishap, a Japanese bank looking to invest in Indonesia's thriving startup ecosystem, and a startup is looking to transform trash with its AI tech.

So sit back, grab a snack, and enjoy!

Venture Today 👏

  • Investment Firm Tiger Global is cutting back expectations aggressively for its new Fund, lowering the target capital raised from $6 billion to $5 billion.

The $5 billion raised would be a pretty significant shortfall for the New York investment manager, whose last comparable Fund raised $12.7 billion from investors. The downward revision comes after a tough year for the firm, which saw its flagship funds rack up historic losses as valuations of tech stocks declined between 30% and 80%.

Tiger Global was scrutinized last year after reports emerged that it had committed a lot of capital in startups at inflated valuations, sometimes just a few hours after meeting the founders. The firm also reportedly relied heavily on management consultants to conduct investment due diligence. With its bets blowing up, both in Startups and Public Markets, Tiger has shifted to investing in early-stage startups since late 2021.

Who's Raising?

  • Japan's largest bank MUFG has launched a new $100 million fund called MUFG Innovation Partners Garuda No. 1 Limited, targeting investments across Indonesian Startups.

The Fund is being launched through a collaboration between the bank's subsidiaries, MUFG Innovation Partners, MUFG Bank, and Indonesian commercial bank Danamon.

This is the third Fund managed by MUIP (MUFG's fund management company). The fund will aim to help its portfolio of companies increase competitiveness, improve digitalization efforts and increase reach by partnering with other portfolio companies. Since its launch in 2019, the firm has invested $307.5 million in startups across the globe.

Startup of the Day

  • AI-driven waste robotics company Recycleye said it raised $17 million through a Series A led by venture firm DCVC.

Other investors in the round include Promus Ventures, Playfair Capital, MMC Ventures, Creator Fund, and Atypical. The funds from the new round will be used to scale the company's technology and improve the accuracy of sorting waste by its robots.

Recycleye combines computer vision and AI to train robots to sort and pick an unlimited number of waste materials, including plastics, metals, paper, and cardboard. The company estimates that only 8% of waste around the globe is currently being recycled, but this can eventually grow to be a $1.6 trillion opportunity at some point in the future.

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