Female Foundry Week 87: New light on down-rounds. A surge in climate-focused funds. Female Foundry x Emerge Conference.
Welcome to The Week 87, 2023 Edition of the Female Foundry newsletter!
Female Foundry - where investors and female founders meet.
Every now and then I am reminded that I am only human. I’ve been sick all week. Before I crawl back into bed, here is a condensed version of the newsletter this week.
In the news
Swedish Skyqraft, co-founded by Sakina Turabali raises a $3.8m Seed co-led by Subvenio Invest, Neptunia Invest, and Antler round to improve energy grid infrastructure inspections; Swedish fintech company Swimbird, co-founded by Eva Svensson Lundell, secures a €2.6m round from several Scandinavian family offices and private investors; Berlin-based Novo, founded by Mona Hornung and Julia Wadehn, fetches a €1m Pre-Seed led by Citizen Capital to speed up the decarbonization of real estate at scale; Brussels-based Izix, co-founded by Aurelie Bekaert, picks up a €3m Series A led by Noia Capital to optimize the use of office buildings’ parking lots; London-based Finematter, founded by Caroline Chalmer and Mie Marie Ejdrup, fetches a €2.6m Seed round from several angel investors to foster a circular jewellery economy; Hamburg-based Traceless, founded by Anne Lamp and Johanna Baare, bags a €36.6m Series A round co-led by United Bankers and Swen Capital Partners to expand its eco-friendly plastic alternative.
Spotlight
New light on down-rounds.
The analysis released earlier this week, states that approximately 11% of all venture capital deals this year have been down rounds, marking a significant shift from the 6.64% recorded in 2022, which was the lowest in over two decades. What’s interesting is that, for comparison, during the dot-com bubble burst, the rate of down rounds reached a staggering 58%. Similarly, in the aftermath of the 2008 housing market crash, it climbed to nearly 36%.
So maybe things are not looking that bad for startups (and their backers)?
Not so quickly. The disclosed data may not offer a complete picture. Reporting of down rounds is often delayed, and private venture-backed companies are not obligated to publicly disclose valuation details. In light of historical trends during bear markets, there is still considerable room for venture-backed companies to face further declines. Some experts predict a significant increase in down rounds in the second and third quarters of the next year.
Analysis
A surge in climate-focused funds.
The number of climate-focused funds has surged 600% in the past five years according to the report released this week. During the first half of 2023, there was a continued increase in the demand for climate funds, with total assets under management surpassing the $500bn mark. Europe, where the regulatory push toward climate neutrality is the greatest, remains the largest market for climate funds, accounting for 84% of global climate fund assets. In just the past 18 months, assets in European funds with a climate-related strategy climbed by 38% to $447bn.
From the Community
Female Foundry x Emerge Conference
Female Foundry is an official partner of Emerge Conference, kicking off tomorrow - 2nd of October in Istambul and we have 2x €250 General entry tickets to give away to last-minute attendees from our community!
To get the FREE ticket, just respond to this newsletter. The two tickets will be given on the first come, first serve basis. If you would rather buy the ticket, we also have 20% discount. Just respond to the newsletter to get a promo code.
Ticket draw: European Blockchain Convention | 24-26th of October 2023 | Barcelona
The complimentary ticket winners are: Szilvia (F5aL03), Lena (G6yzOs), Elsa (LSdf0s) and Jennifer (TKX73z). I will get in touch with you shortly.
Hiring
This week hiring:
Datak ➯ Finance & Administration Manager H/F | Oater ➯ Praktikum Sustainable Product Development | Qualis Flow ➯ Finance Manager.
See more jobs on the Female Foundry Job Board.
Have a great rest of your Sunday. ..I am back to bed. See you next weekend!
Agata
Written by Agata Leliwa Nowicka, an investor, a startup adviser, a two-time entrepreneur, and a founder of Female Foundry based in London.
Suggestions? Drop me an email.
Check femalefoundry.co for more fundraising tools and investor content. View other Female Foundry articles.