Soaring to New Highs

Cloud Security Startup Hits Decacorn Status in Under Three Years, Altai Targets fintech and insurtech startups, and Blockchain Founders Fund Bags $75 Million.

Author

Adam from VC Brags
February 28, 2023

Welcome Shareholders,

In this daily edition of the Brags Newsletter, we'll cover a cloud security startup going from 0 to $10 billion in under three years, a venture firm raising money to target the slumping fintech sector, and a Crypto VC looking to bring Web 3 adoption to the mainstream through its new Fund.

So sit back, grab a snack, and enjoy!

Startup of the Day

  • Cloud Security company Wiz is now valued at $10 billion after raising $300 million in a Series D raise co-led by Lightspeed Venture Partners and Greenoaks Capital Partners.

Other investors who participated in the round included Starbucks owner Howard Schultz and French business magnate Bernard Arnault. The new funding brings the total funding raised to date to $900 million and will be used for product development and hiring into 2024.

Founded in March 2020, Wiz is a New York-based cybersecurity unicorn that asserts its position as the world's largest, having achieved a $10 billion valuation as the fastest-growing software-as-a-service company. The founding team, which includes former leads of Microsoft's cloud security group, worked in collaboration for over 20 years, having previously co-founded enterprise cybersecurity firm Adallom (acquired by Microsoft for $320 million).

Who's Raising?

  • Early Stage, venture capital firm Altai Ventures, said that it closed a $53 million Fund targeting fintech and insurtech Funds.

Investors in the Fund include Bain Capital Ventures, Century Equity Partners, and various limited partners across P&C insurance, life insurance and retirement, insurance brokerage, and commercial banking.

The Fund's primary focus will be on the North American market, with investments ranging from $200,000 to $500,000 for seed rounds and $1 million to $3 million for Series A rounds. Altai has invested in startups like EvolutionIQ, which helps injured individuals resume participation in the workforce, and LULA, which provides an integrated suite of insurance infrastructure tools used to build and maintain insurance programs.

  • Crypto-focused venture capital firm Blockchain Founders Fund said it had raised $75 million from investors to increase Web 3 adoption.

Companies such as Polygon, Ripple, Octava, NEO Global Capital, Appworks, GSR, LD Capital, Metavest Capital, and individuals like Sebastien Borget, chief operating officer of The Sandbox, contributed to Fund.

The Fund will primarily support pre-seed, seed, and early-stage startups focused on the mass adoption of Web3 and Blockchain technology. The Fund has already invested in over 100 startups, with high-profile investments including the likes of Altered State Machine, Splinterlands, GRID, Krayon, and Magna. The firm plans to spread the Fund across 200 companies over the next year.

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