Welcome to The VC Corner, your weekly dose of Venture Capital and Startups to keep you up and running!
Whether you're a seasoned investor or startup operator, this newsletter is your go-to source 🚀
Top Headlines 🚨
Investors raise billions to buy discounted stakes in start-ups 💰 [Financial Times]
Aramco expands global venture capital program with $4bn funds injection 💵 [Aramco Ventures]
38% of VCs disappeared from dealmaking in 2023 ❌ [Pitchbook]
VCs need to start investing, says EIF boss 🌱 [sifted]
Amazon eyes AI, autonomous vehicles and Asia as $1B industrial innovation fund evolves 🚗 [TechCrunch]
Honeywell Announces the Closing of $300 Million Equity Investment Round for Quantinuum at $5B pre-money valuation 💸 [Quantinuum]
Visa Closes Acquisition of Pismo 🤝 [Finsmes]
This Week’s Recommendation 💡
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In-Depth Insights 🔍
Startup identity & the sadness of a successful exit 🚪 [Jason Cohen]
New VC in town: “MANG” (Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, and Nvidia). Total capital raised in their 2023 deals was $25B+, which is ~8% of the total venture capital raised in North America 📈 [Apoorv Agrawal]
Why Do KPIs Matter? The Most Comprehensive Guide on What it Takes to Raise a Growth Round 📊 [Andre Retterath]
Are startup stages becoming irrelevant? 🤔 [Michael Ho]
→ 4% of seeds were north of a $50M valuation in 2023
→ 8% of series As were under a $10M valuation
→ 5% of series Bs were under $10M
Asset-light Software Businesses: The New Paradigm for Startups 🔄 [John Kenedy, Will Manidis]
AI has a trust problem — meet the startups trying to fix it 🤖 [sifted]
Venture-Backed or Bootstrapped? There’s a Third Way. Just Raise One Round 🔒 [Jason Lemkin]
The Dark Side of Sales. While unleashing the “animal spirits” of your sales team, beware of the unintended consequences that powerful incentives can create ⚠️ [David Sacks]
Are you looking to connect with over 6,000 VCs and Founders? The VC Corner reaches a dynamic and engaged audience eager for new opportunities and solutions. If you have services that could spark their interest, I'd love to hear from you! Reach out now and let's explore how we can collaborate.
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Interesting Reports 📊
VC Industry Outlook - Insights and Predictions from VC Managers and Limited Partner 🔮 [Allocate, Norbert Gehrke]
Now decides next: Insights from the leading edge of generative AI adoption 💡 [Deloitte]
AI Governance Alliance - Briefing Paper Series 📄 [World Economic Forum, Tony Moroney]
Captivating Podcasts 🎙️
LP investments strategies, IRR focus, and more [This Week in Startups]
The other side of AI hype [Equity]
$250M Founder Reveals How The Rich Avoid Taxes (Legally) [My First Million]
Upcoming Events 📅
The EU Sustainable Investment Summit | Brussels | Jan 24
Revenue, runway and returns: How to go-to-market in 2024 | Remote | Jan 24
sTARTUp Day 2024 | Tartu, Estonia | Jan 24-26
Plug and Play Insurtech Europe Expo 11 | Munich | Jan 31
Startup to scaleup: Creating the dream Gen Z workplace | Remote | Jan 31
IoT Solutions World Congress | Barcelona | Jan 31-Feb 2
Future of Ukraine Summit | Stockholm, Sweden | Feb 15–16
4YFN | Barcelona | Feb 27–29
0100 Conference DACH 2024 | Vienna | Feb 28-29
Insurtech Insights Europe | London | Mar 20-21