March Meltdown

VC Dealmaking Dries Up in March, Lux Capital's Deep Tech Fund Secures $1.15 Billion, and a Startup Looks to Elevate Employee Benefits.

Author

Adam from VC Brags
April 14, 2023

Welcome Shareholders,

In this daily edition of the Brags Newsletter, we’ll cover how VC Investments slid last month due to market uncertainties, Lux Capital looks to boost deep tech startups with its new fund, and a Startup gets a funding boost for its innovative benefits management platform.

So sit back, grab a snack, and enjoy!

Venture Today 👏

  • In March 2023, global venture capital investments plunged 44.3% to $29.15 billion compared to the previous year, reflecting a faltering economy and diminished risk capital for early-stage firms.

VC funding rounds in March 2023 decreased by 54.9% to 1,085 rounds from 2,374 in March 2022. In March, Yangtze Memory Technologies, a Chinese flash memory manufacturer, secured the largest funding round at $7.09 billion, followed by Fintech Stripe with a $6.5 billion transaction value.

Nearly half of VC investments (48%), went to technology, media, and telecommunications, with financial services in second (26.3%). March indicates another slow month for VCs despite sufficient liquidity due to concerns over a prolonged recession due to the effects of higher interests from central banks.

Who’s Raising?

  • Lux Capital secured $1.15 billion to invest in startups specializing in science and deep technologies, including artificial intelligence, robotics, and biotechnology.

Lux, which has offices in New York City and Menlo Park, California, raised its largest fund to date, to finance early-stage companies in biology and technology, manufacturing, aerospace, and AI. The firm's assets under management now surpass $5 billion.

The new fund raise coincides with a challenging period for the VC industry, as US venture-backed deals reached a 13-quarter low in the first three months of 2023. Founded in 2000, Lux said it remains well-equipped and will continue to support founders through the economic downturn.

Startup of the Day

  • Elevate, a consumer benefits administration platform, has secured $28 million in funding led by Anthemis, joined by Fin Capital Norwest Venture Partners, Greycroft, Bowery Capital, and Firebolt Ventures.

The latest funding raises Elevate's total to $43 million and will be allocated to product development, hiring, and customer acquisition. Elevate said its founding team, which has experience in legacy benefits companies, recognized the industry's lack of flexible, scalable technology for the evolving workforce. In response, they built Elevate from scratch, utilizing modern technologies like AI to focus on employees' needs and deliver a contemporary experience.

Elevate allows employees to manage pre-tax benefits via web or mobile dashboards. Offering real-time reimbursement for health savings and flexible spending accounts, it features a contactless card compatible with mobile payment providers. Claims are processed instantly, with managers receiving reports promptly.

Fresh Finds

  • Zencal creates booking links with custom schedules and elegant profile pages featuring logos, colors, reviews, and product images.

  • The platform allows users to connect Stripe for various meeting sales options, manage team members, and sync calendars for round-robin or client-selected team meetings.

  • Zencal offers a professional human assistant, free hosting for free meetings, and high-converting landing pages and scheduling UX for paid meetings.

Memes and Other Things

The Headlines

How Was Today's Newsletter?

Give us your honest opinion. We really don't mind.