SoftBank Skips The Party

SoftBank Takes a Pass on a Startup's Latest Funding Round, A Blockchain Startup Goes from Full Steam Ahead to Full Stop, and March Capital Goes All in on AI With New Fund.

Author

Adam from VC Brags
February 06, 2023

Welcome Shareholders,

In this daily edition of the Brags Newsletter, we'll cover the latest on a UK Neobank going in alone without its biggest investors' backing, a blockchain startup pulls back its fundraising targets as investor sentiment worsens, and a California based Venture fund looks to ride the AI hype train with its latest Fund.

So sit back, grab a snack, and enjoy!

Startup of the Day

  • British P2P lender Zopa has raised $92.4 million from investors in a new funding round led by IAG Silverstripe.

The raise also saw participation from hedge fund Davidson Kempner and Venture Capitalist Augmentum, bringing the firm's valuation to over $1 billion. SoftBank, which last led a $300 million round for the firm in 2021, chose not to take part this time. This isn't surprising, considering most of SoftBank's big bets have turned sour in the last eighteen months, with the technology investor posting a $23 billion loss for the August quarter.

London-based Zopa, which was founded as a P2P lending startup in 2005, has diversified its operations across credit cards, checking accounts, and other banking services. The company last reported that it had given out loans of $2.4 billion against deposits of $3.6 billion while having over 850,000 customers.

Venture Today đź‘Ź

  • Blockchain Startup Figure, established by Mike Cagney, the former CEO of lending giant SoFi Technologies, has recently significantly reduced its funding goals and is evaluating the possibility of divesting various assets in an effort to conserve cash.

Figure raised $200 million at a $3.2 billion valuation in 2021 amidst the height of the fintech boom. Since the high profile raise, however, the blockchain startup has been forced to navigate uncertainties, including a series of departures from senior leaders, including its president and CFO, a breakdown in its plans to go public through a SPAC deal and cutting its fundraising ambitions amidst a slowing market.

The startup is now looking to raise $100 million, which is one-third of the original goal that the company initially had a few months ago. Cagney said that Figure and the entire industry were dealing with a lot of headwinds, and it would delay raising money instead of agreeing to a down round. Figure, which builds financial products on a blockchain, said that it would also look to spin off part of its business to cut costs amidst the downturn.

Who's Raising?

  • Santa Monica, California Based Venture Firm March Capital has raised a $650 million Fund focussing on early growth investments targeting AI startups.

The venture firm wants to deploy the $650 million raised across 15 startups focused on artificial intelligence while also targeting between 12-15 startups in other sectors raising money post their Series B. March Capital, which manages over $1.6 billion in assets, said that these will include startups across cloud software, cybersecurity, and data infrastructure.

March Capital's most successful investments to date include network security company CrowdStrike, which went public at a $700 million valuation in 2019; Communications Software company TeleSign, which was sold for $230 million in 2017; and Security Startup KnowBe4, which went public through a $152 million IPO.

Memes and Other Things