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<blockquote>FTV Capital has successfully completed its latest growth equity fundraise, securing $4.05 billion in capital commitments across two complementary funds:</blockquote> 1. FTV VIII: The firm's eighth flagship fund closed oversubscribed at $3.4 billion, surpassing its target and exceeding its predecessor fund FTV VII, which closed at $2.35 billion in March 2022. 2. FTV Ascend I: A new vehicle dedicated to smaller investments, which closed oversubscribed at $651 million. - The new capital allows FTV to support innovative, high-growth companies with equity checks ranging from $20 million to $300 million.- FTV VIII will target investments ranging from $60 million to $300 million.- FTV Ascend I will focus on investments between $20 million and $60 million.- Both funds will make control and minority equity investments in companies across the enterprise and financial technology landscape. FTV Capital's track record:- With this fundraise, FTV has raised over $10.2 billion since its founding in 1998.- The firm has invested over $6.7 billion in 149 portfolio companies.- FTV has realized over $7.4 billion from its investments. - In 2024, FTV deployed a record $1.6 billion and generated over $1.0 billion in realizations.- New investments include Arden, BillingPlatform, Kore.ai, Orbus Software, ParkHub, VALD, and Zema Global.- Significant realizations include Agiloft, Docupace, Egress, and Tango Card. FTV announced several promotions, including: - Karen Derr Gilbert: Expanded role as partner and chief operating officer- Mike Cichowski and Alex Malvone: Named co-heads of FTV Ascend- Brent Fierro and Paul Cabral: Promoted to partners---Join the Future of Venture Capital Investing with NewnexNewnex is the platform focused on institutional investors where verified startups, VCs, and LPs converge for private fundraising and investment through trusted references. Centralize your fundraising and investment activities and access the global VC network with just a few clicks. Join for free at <a href="http://www.newnex.io" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.newnex.io</a>&nbsp; We are digitalizing institutional investing to make VC as accessible as public markets while retaining the uniqueness of private markets. The mission is to unify 5,000+ VC/LP firms with 100,000 startups on a trusted platform for reference-only private deal-making. Disclaimer: The information presented in this article is based on available sources and may not be entirely accurate or up-to-date. We do not guarantee the accuracy of the content, and readers should conduct their own research and consult with financial professionals before making any decisions.

FTV Capital closes $4.05 billion growth fund

<blockquote>The recent $600 million loss suffered by BlackRock on its investment in Alacrity Solutions highlights the potential risks and complexities of the private credit market. This case study offers valuable insights into the mechanics of private credit investments and the challenges faced by even the most sophisticated investors.</blockquote> In February 2023, BlackRock acquired a controlling stake in Alacrity Solutions, an insurance outsourcing company, for approximately $600 million through its Long Term Private Capital strategy. This investment was part of BlackRock's broader push into alternative assets and private markets. Less than a year after the acquisition, Alacrity faced significant financial difficulties. The company struggled with its debt load and experienced a rapid decline in its business performance. This swift deterioration caught many by surprise, given the relatively short timeframe since BlackRock's investment. As Alacrity's financial situation worsened, a group of private credit funds, including Antares Capital, Blue Owl Capital, KKR, and Goldman Sachs Asset Management, stepped in to take control of the company. This restructuring effectively wiped out BlackRock's entire equity investment, resulting in a loss exceeding $600 million. Several factors contributed to this significant loss: 1. Leverage: Alacrity had substantial debt, including approximately $1 billion in senior debt and $500 million in junior debt at the time of BlackRock's investment. This high leverage amplified the company's financial risks. 2. Valuation Challenges: Private credit investments often face valuation difficulties due to their illiquid nature and lack of public market comparables. This can lead to potential mispricing of risks. 3. Covenant Structure: While private credit deals typically include protective covenants, the specifics of Alacrity's debt agreements and how they were structured remain unclear. 4. Market Conditions: Rising interest rates and economic uncertainties may have exacerbated Alacrity's financial challenges, particularly given the floating-rate nature of many private credit loans. This case underscores several key aspects of the private credit market: 1. Risk-Return Trade-off: Private credit often offers higher yields but comes with increased risks, including potential total loss of capital. 2. Illiquidity: The lack of a secondary market for private credit investments can make it difficult to exit positions or accurately value holdings. 3. Importance of Due Diligence: Thorough credit analysis and ongoing monitoring are crucial in private credit investments. 4. Regulatory Concerns: The rapid growth of private credit has raised concerns among regulators about potential systemic risks and the need for increased oversight. BlackRock's loss serves as a reminder of the complexities and risks inherent in private credit investments. While the asset class continues to attract significant capital, this case demonstrates the importance of robust risk management, diversification, and a deep understanding of the underlying businesses and market dynamics in private credit investing.---Join the Future of Venture Capital Investing with Newnex Newnex is the platform focused on institutional investors where verified startups, VCs, and LPs converge for private fundraising and investment through trusted references. Centralize your fundraising and investment activities and access the global VC network with just a few clicks. Join for free at [<a href="http://www.newnex.io" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.newnex.io</a>](<a href="http://www.newnex.io/)" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">http://www.newnex.io/)</a> Newnex is digitalizing institutional investing to make VC as accessible as public markets while retaining the uniqueness of private markets. The mission is to unify 5,000+ VC/LP firms with 100,000 startups on a trusted platform for reference-only private deal-making.---Disclaimer: The information presented in this article is based on available sources and may not be entirely accurate or up-to-date. We do not guarantee the accuracy of the content, and readers should conduct their own research and consult with financial professionals before making any investment and other decisions.

BlackRock's $600 Million Private Credit Loss: A Cautionary Tale

<blockquote>Tacora Capital, an Austin-based venture debt firm, has successfully raised $268.7 million for its second fund, according to a recent SEC filing. This new fund builds on the success of Tacora's inaugural fund, which raised approximately $350 million in 2022.</blockquote> - The new fund has secured commitments from 28 investors- Tacora's first fund in 2022 included a $250 million investment from Peter Thiel- It's unclear if Thiel is participating in this latest fund Tacora Capital, founded in 2021 by Keri Findley, specializes in providing venture debt to VC-backed startups. The firm focuses on capital-intensive sectors like fintech and hardware companies, offering an alternative to traditional equity financing. Findley, who previously worked at Third Point hedge fund, stated that the new fund reflects successful deployment of the inaugural fund and continued demand for flexible, non-leveraged financing solutions. Tacora's approach involves backing loans against "specific, strong assets owned by well-positioned companies" to mitigate risks associated with startup lending. The firm has provided venture debt to companies including FlexPoint, Exectras, and StayTuned. This fundraising success comes amid a busy period for Peter Thiel's investment activities. His Founders Fund is reportedly in talks to raise around $3 billion for a new growth-stage focused fund, following high-profile investments in companies like Ramp, Anduril Industries, and Databricks in 2024.---Join the Future of Venture Capital Investing with Newnex Newnex is the platform focused on institutional investors where verified startups, VCs, and LPs converge for private fundraising and investment through trusted references. Centralize your fundraising and investment activities and access the global VC network with just a few clicks. Join for free at <a href="http://www.newnex.io/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.newnex.io</a> We are digitalizing institutional investing to make VC as accessible as public markets while retaining the uniqueness of private markets. We are on a mission to bring 5,000+ VC/LP firms with 100,000 startups on a trusted, reference-only private deal-making platform.

Tacora Capital Raises $268.7 Million for Second Fund

Newnex's round-up of Startups Funded19 September 2023 <a href="https://conigital.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Conigital</a>, a pioneering British driverless vehicle company, has recently revealed its impressive achievement of securing £500 million in Series A+ funding, a blend of equity and debt. This substantial investment materialized through a strategic partnership with a prominent global Private Equity infrastructure firm overseeing £150 billion in assets. Additionally, Conigital has established strategic academic collaborations with various institutions, including Coventry University, University of Essex, and Queensland University of Technology. Notably, the company also engages in collaborative efforts with industry leaders AWS and BT, providing cutting-edge cloud and 5G communications infrastructure.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.open-cosmos.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Open Cosmos</a>, a UK-based satellite company, has successfully raised $50 million in its Series B funding round to fuel its international growth and enhance its capabilities in providing solutions for monitoring and addressing climate change. The funding was secured from a group of investors, including ETF Partners, Trill Impact, A&amp;G, Accenture Ventures, Banco Santander InnoEnergy Climate Tech Fund, and Claret Capital Partners, with notable participation from Taavet Hinrikus and Kheng Nam Lee.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.caeli-energie.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 112, 192);">Caeli Energie</a>, a deep-tech startup headquartered in Grenoble, France, has successfully secured €10 million in its second funding round. The funding comes from a consortium of notable investors, including Asterion Ventures, Starquest, Bpifrance, and Rise PropTech. Caeli Energie is dedicated to revolutionizing air conditioning technology, replacing polluting systems with eco-friendly, low-carbon technology proudly made in France. <a href="https://thirona.eu/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 112, 192);">Thirona</a>, headquartered in Nijmegen, specializes in utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) for advanced analysis of thoracic CT images. The company recently disclosed securing €7.5 million in a new funding round. Notably, HERAN Partners and Borski Fund contributed €5 million as investors, while an additional €2.5 million grant was awarded by the European Innovation Council (EIC).&nbsp;<a href="https://charac.co.uk/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 112, 192);">Charac</a>, the NHS-integrated pharmacy app focused on easing operational challenges for independent community pharmacies, has secured £1.2 million in a financing round encompassing both debt and equity. This fresh funding injection is a result of a collaborative effort between the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) and individual pharmacy owners, culminating in a cumulative funding milestone of £2.5 million.&nbsp;Swiss robotics startup <a href="https://www.ascento.ai/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Asento</a> has introduced its latest workforce addition, the autonomous security patrolling robot known as Asento Guard, aimed at addressing the significant labor shortage of security guards, a challenge experienced by many countries with a 52 percent decrease in their security workforce. To make this innovative venture a reality, the startup successfully secured $4.3 million in funding. This pre-seed funding round was led by Wingman Ventures and Playfair Capital, with notable participation from Tim Kentley-Klay, founder of Zoox (acquired by Amazon); robotics industry veteran Ryan Gariepy, CTO &amp; co-founder of Clearpath Robotics and OTTO Motors; Daniel Kottlarz, founder of MYBOTSHOP; and Tobias Redlin, founder of IGO3D. Additionally, Asento received non-dilutive funding from the Swiss Innovation Agency Innosuisse and the European Space Agency incubator ESA BIC.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cleafy.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 112, 192);">Cleafy</a>, a Milan-based technology company specializing in proactive fraud prevention for digital banking, has successfully raised €10 million in funding. Leading this investment round is United Ventures through the fund UV T-Growth. The funding infusion will facilitate Cleafy's expansion into new markets and advance the development of its technology platform.&nbsp;<a href="https://goldilock.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 112, 192);">Goldilock</a>, a British cybersecurity firm, has recently achieved a significant milestone by securing $1.7 million in funding in a Seed round. This funding round is supported by prominent investors, including the Harvard Business School Alumni Angels of Greater NY and New York Angels. Tallinn-based cybersecurity company <a href="https://www.binalyze.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Binalyze</a>, which specializes in digital forensics and incident response solutions, has successfully secured $19 million in a Series A funding round, further advancing its market presence. In total, Binalyze has raised nearly $31 million since the beginning of 2021. Leading the Series A round is Molten Ventures, with participation from existing investors Earlybird Digital East and OpenOcean, along with new investors including Cisco Investments, Citi Ventures, and Deutsche Bank Corporate Venture Capital.&nbsp;UK-based sustainable tech platform<a href="https://www.raylo.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> Raylo</a> has secured £5.2 million in its latest funding round, comprising both cash and media-for-equity components. This funding round was led by Macquarie and Channel 4 Ventures, with an additional crowdfunding campaign in the pipeline. <a href="https://www.kuano.ai/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Kuano</a>, a drug discovery company, has successfully concluded a £1.8 million seed funding round. The company's unique approach integrates quantum mechanics and AI to revolutionize the development of future medicines, with a primary emphasis on visualizing and modeling enzymes. The funding round was spearheaded by Mercia Ventures and featured participation from ACF Investors, Ascension Ventures, o2h Ventures, Meltwind Advisory LLP, along with several Angel investors.<a href="https://iomed.health/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 112, 192);">IOMED</a>, a frontrunner in AI-powered healthcare data activation technology, has recently announced the successful closure of its Series A investment round, amassing a total of €10 million in funding. The round was prominently led by Philips Ventures, the venture capital division of health technology giant Philips, along with XTX Ventures, the venture capital branch of leading algorithmic trading firm XTX Markets. Additional contributions came from Fondo Bolsa Social, Redseed, and existing investors Adara Ventures and EASO Ventures. Moreover, IOMED secured an additional grant of nearly €1 million from red.es to support a research and development initiative in artificial intelligence. French battery startup <a href="https://verkor.com/en/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Verkor</a> has announced securing over $2.15 billion in funding to construct its gigafactory in Dunkirk, with a substantial portion raised through a capital increase involving investors like infrastructure funds and insurers. This funding package comprises 850 million euros in capital, marking it as the largest-ever fundraise for a French tech startup, as stated by a French government source. Additionally, it includes 600 million euros in loans provided by the European Investment Bank (EIB) and 650 million euros in state subsidies, pending approval from the European Commission. Notable contributors to this increase in funding include Fonds Strategique de Participations (FSP), an alliance of seven French insurance companies specializing in innovative industrial players, and maritime transport group CMA CGM, alongside existing shareholders like Renault and Bpifrance.&nbsp;Oslo-based startup <a href="https://www.databutton.io/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Databutton</a>, has successfully secured $5.1 million in a Seed funding round to advance its mission of democratizing AI-based assistants, chatbots, and automation technologies. The $5.1 million Seed round was backed by Skyfall Ventures in Oslo and Maki .vc in Helsinki. Swiss climate tech startup <a href="https://viboo.io/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">viboo</a> has recently concluded a seed funding round, amassing €1.7 million in investment. Notable contributors to the funding round include High-Tech Gründerfonds, Swisscom Ventures, and Rainmaking Impact.&nbsp;<a href="https://colibritd.com/en/home-ziad-test-english/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">ColibriTD</a>, a Paris-based startup in the burgeoning Quantum-as-a-Service sector, has secured €1 million in a Seed funding round. The funding round was spearheaded by Earlybird Venture Capital's Earlybird-X fund, in conjunction with a consortium of undisclosed angel investors. <a href="http://www.swaplanguage.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Swap Language</a>, headquartered in Aarhus, Denmark, and specializing in language training, has unveiled the successful closure of a €2 million Seed funding round. The round was prominently led by Mediahuis Ventures in Amsterdam and Sparkmind .VC in Helsinki. Swap Language's strategic intent is to employ these funds for expanding its services into the German market, where it has already initiated a pilot program. The company also has plans to incorporate additional languages into its platform. <a href="https://www.caravelo.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 112, 192);">Caravelo</a>, a travel-tech company headquartered in Barcelona, has disclosed its successful Series A funding round, amassing €3.5 million in investment. The round was spearheaded by Samaipata, a European early-stage founder's fund, with active participation from Adara Ventures, based in Luxembourg, and various existing investors.&nbsp;Munich-based defense AI firm <a href="https://helsing.ai/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Helsing</a> has successfully raised €209 million in a Series B funding round, establishing itself as Europe's most well-funded defense technology startup and a prominent player in the AI industry. General Catalyst leads this round, with strategic investment support from Swedish group Saab, further strengthening their existing partnership.Amsterdam-based startup <a href="https://www.tapelectric.app/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 112, 192);">Tap Electric</a> has raised €1 million in seed funding, with leading investors including LUMO Labs, Shamrock Ventures, and Fair Capital Partners Impact Investing.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fipto.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Fipto</a>, a French treasury management fintech, has raised €15 million in seed funding. Fipto offers a global B2B payments and treasury management solution, allowing companies to manage corporate treasuries and make instant international payments in fiat and digital currencies using blockchain technology. The funding round was led by Serena and Motier Ventures.&nbsp;------Startups and Investors get access to centralized fundraising and collaborative investing platform - SignUp to&nbsp;<a href="http://www.newnex.io/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.newnex.io</a> <a href="https://84a13b27.sibforms.com/serve/MUIFAJLXWUgzlkRFsFcHmvIpYdZ1_9DUGjeKE3zehFFqWH269FWfW2K48Q7myR5ePMF9vuLMObFtwPB-0VECOSH0gBn7sv0oqZ38zuaaD7D1ttmvVEia2La5HCymyuKunXW5OvitV0GuCfOESxJwprPMUkSYYPsrkilz_pAvSdYC4XFaTAOyXy9SohRKlQ5sFwJTREn46gRvKWVk" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Subscribe to Newnex Newsletter</a>

European Startups recently funded - Newnex Weekly

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