Shooting for the Stars

Welcome Shareholders,

In this daily edition of the Brags Newsletter, we'll cover the latest on a new VC looking to invest in Aerospace startups, Stripe taking a haircut on its valuation to get its employees an exit, and a UK startup looking to electrify gadget ownership with new funding. So sit back, grab a snack, and enjoy!

Before we get started, we have a small announcement to make. VCBrags and Miami Hack Week are hosting a Happy Hour on Feb 1st. To know more and sign up for the event, please fill out the form below.

Who's Raising?

Embedded Ventures Takes Off with $100 Million Raise for National Security and Space Tech Startups

• Los Angeles-based Venture Firm Embedded is raising $100 million from investors for its inaugural fund to target companies in the space sector building for both commercial and national security customers.

Embedded is being led by GPs Jenna Bryant and Jordan Noone, who co-founded the 3D rocket printing company Relativity Space. The firm has previously made seed/early-stage investments in aerospace startups, with a portfolio that includes satellite communications company Akash Systems and space data solutions firm Slingshot Aerospace.

With its new fund, the firm is specifically looking to invest in dual-use technologies that serve commercial and defense customers. Back in 2021, Embedded signed a co-operative agreement with the US Space Force to better understand their needs. The venture firm is now kicking off due diligence with six new potential investments and anticipates closing its funding by the second quarter of this year.

Venture Today 👏

Stripe Steps Up With Plans for $2.5 Billion Raise

• Payments processor Stripe is close to raising $2.5 billion in funding through a new growth round led by Thrive Capital.

According to reports, Thrive Capital, founded by Joshua Kushner, has committed $1 billion for the new round. Stripe's new potential valuation of between $55 and $60 billion, and is a significant discount to its $95 billion valuation from its last funding round in 2021 (the company raised $600 million then).

The new round is not meant for growth but would rather be used to pay the company's tax liabilities and allow its employees to sell shares. Stripe has also hired Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan to explore options for an IPO and told employees that it was considering multiple routes to let its employees cash out within the next twelve months (some stock options are set to expire by 2024).

Startup of the Day

Raylo Gets Wired With $136 Million Raise for Gadget Leasing Platform

• Raylo has raised £110 million ($136 million) through debt and equity to popularise its gadget lease model amidst a global consumer electronics slowdown.

A major part of the funding comes from debt provided by NatWest and Quilam Capital, with unnamed existing investors providing equity (these include Telefonica, Octopus Ventures, Macquarie Capital, and others). The new capital is a significant departure for Raylo, which has raised only $14.5 million in equity and $36 million in debt. The London-based company operates across the UK, selling monthly subscriptions for consumer electronic devices, including phones, tablets, and laptops. In addition to leasing devices,

Raylo is also developing a platform to asses risk for each sale and automatically recommend tech using AI. The third part of the company's flywheel is a platform called 'Raylo Pay,' which is embedded by third-party merchants to enable leasing services. With inflation cutting into household balance sheets and talks of an ongoing recession, Raylo could see increased adoption since most consumers want the latest gadgets like phones, laptops, and VR headsets but may not necessarily be able to afford them.

Memes and Other Things

This is how it is when you're a tier 3 firm in a hot deal😩