The Great Mushroom Mission

A Startup Looks to Recreate Meat With Mushrooms, Saudi's PIF Makes Big Tech Bets, and Alexis Ohanian Makes a Comeback.

Author

Adam from VC Brags
February 09, 2023

Welcome Shareholders,   

In this daily edition of the Brags Newsletter, we'll cover how a startup is looking to transform the plant-based landscape with its spin on mushrooms, the latest tech VC bets from Saudi Arabia's PIF, and rumors on Alexis Ohanian's Venture Firm's latest funds. 

So sit back, grab a snack, and enjoy!

Startup of the Day

  • Australian Plant-based startup Fable Foods, which aims to replace Meat with mushrooms, has raised $8.5 million through a new series A led by Singapore VC firm K3.

The new funding comes nearly a year and a half after the company raised $6.5 million through a seed round in August 2021. Between the two rounds, Fable Foods has expanded across the Australian Markets and has started entering new international markets, including the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Singapore, and New Zealand.

Other participants in Series A include Yum! Brands, the parent company of Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, SaladStop! Founders Braha and Adrien Desbaillets and existing investors from the previous rounds. Fable Foods said that it would use the new funding for R&D, to expand its mushroom-based meat product line, and introduce its lineup in more international markets. 

Venture Today 👏

  • Investors, including Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) and Chinese Tech Giant Alibaba Group, will invest in Venture Firm eWTP Arabia Capital for a new $1 billion fund targeting technology startups across the Middle East and Asia. 

Founded in 2019, eWTP raised $400 million for its first fund, investing in sixteen companies, with three startups being listed on the Saudi Arabia Stock Exchange and two being floated on the US stock exchange.

Both Alibaba and Saudi's PIF will remain major backers of the second fund, alongside other potential international investors. The new investment from the PIF is an expansion of its strategy to aggressively invest in tech. It has already created a billion dollar fund of funds for venture capital firms and also directly invests through Sanabil, it's subsidiary.  

Who's Raising?

  • Venture capital firm Seven Seven Six, which was launched by Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, is planning to raise $776 million across two funds. 

This comes a year after Seven Seven Six raised $500 million across two funds, including $300 million for an early-stage vehicle and $200 million for a Series A/Series B-focused fund. If the firm is able to complete the raise, it will raise the firm's total assets under management by close to $1.5 billion.

Since its founding in 2020, the venture firm has made big bets, primarily across the crypto and Web3 space, including in NFT online video game developer Axie Infinity, Cryptocurrency firm Lolli, and NFT and Digital Collectibles focused Yuga Labs. 

Memes and Other Things

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