Green Bytes

Ex-Meta CTO Launches Climate VC, Kleiner Perkins Alum Launches TSMC Backed Fund to Find the Next Big Startup, and a Startup Soars High After its Latest Funding Round.

Author

Adam from VC Brags
May 02, 2023

Welcome Shareholders,

In this daily edition of the Brags Newsletter, weā€™ll cover a new early-stage climate venture firm being launched by Metaā€™s former CTO. Also, an ex-Kleiner Perkins partner launches a new fund backed by TSMC, and Ziplineā€™s latest funding round elevates its valuation to $4.2 billion.

So sit back, grab a snack, and enjoy!

Venture Today šŸ‘

  • Former Meta CTO Mike Schroepfer has started climate VC firm Gigascale Capital with former Prelude Ventures general partner Victoria Beasley and former Fine Structure Ventures investor Evaline Tsai

Gigascale, backed by Schroepfer's family office, will support early-stage climate hardware startups.

The venture firm, which will initially focus on decarbonization and industrial electrification, will also explore sustainable aviation fuels and grid interconnectivity while considering software and consumer-facing investments with tangible climate impact. Gigascale will provide pre-seed to Series A stage companies with investments typically amounting to a few million dollars.

Whoā€™s Raising?

  • Wen Hsieh, a longtime Kleiner Perkins partner, is leaving the venture firm to establish a fund supported by both the firm and Taiwanese chipmaker TSMC.

Hsieh is raising $200 million for Matter Venture Partners, with backing from Kleiner Perkins and TSMC, joined by Haomiao Huang, to support early-stage hard-tech startups in the US, focusing on AI and robotics with real-world applications.

With two Caltech PhDs, Hsieh has spent 17 years at Kleiner Perkins, investing in companies like DJI and Desktop Metal, and will continue serving on boards such as LightForce while launching his new fund. Notable Kleiner Perkins alumni who founded their funds include Vinod Khosla of Khosla Ventures and Mary Meeker, who established BOND Capital.

Startup of the Day

  • San Francisco-based Drone Delivery Startup Zipline has raised $330 million in a New Series F round, increasing its valuation by 55% to $4.2 Billion.

The new funding comes at a time when Zipline unveiled its Platform 2 autonomous drone, capable of carrying eight pounds of cargo for 10 miles, charging on a lamppost-like docking station, and partnering with Sweetgreen, Michigan Medicine, and other health systems.

Zipline's success stems from deploying autonomous delivery drones in Rwanda since 2016, expanding to Ghana, and experiencing a surge during the pandemic as it transported blood and Covid-19 vaccines in African nations while awaiting US regulatory approval. Zipline, now operating in Cote d'Ivoire, Japan, Kenya, Nigeria, Arkansas, North Carolina, and Utah, expanded in the US after receiving a 2020 FAA waiver for Covid-19 relief drone deliveries and partnering with Walmart, with full-scale operations awaiting further FAA clearance.

Fresh Finds

  • Oppflow offers a single platform for content management, combining AI, analytics, and collaboration for content marketers and teams.

  • The platform includes AI content assistance, customized recommendations, team collaboration features, and integration with Google Analytics.

  • Users can manage workflows, track task history, and classify content using tags for different mediums like Instagram, LinkedIn, and blogs.

Memes and Other Things

The Headlines

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