Reddit prices IPO at top end of expected range | AI M&A still lags despite the hype | Fintech's funding illustrates VCs' interest in Latin America
March 21, 2024
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The Lead
Reddit prices IPO at top end of expected range
(Noam Galai/Getty Images)
Reddit has priced shares at $34, at the top end of its target range for its initial public offering. This would give the company a valuation of around $6.4 billion, below the $10 billion valuation it hit in fundraising rounds in 2021.
Full Story: CNBC (3/20),  The Wall Street Journal (3/20) 
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Spartan Drill Tools Gets a Jump-Start in Grand Junction
North American drill tool manufacturer, Spartan Drill Tools, expands in Grand Junction, CO and is accepted into the Rural Jump-Start Program. Through the program, the company can receive significant tax breaks and cash grants for up to 8 years. See how they've grown in the Grand Junction area.
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Today In Startups
AI M&A still lags despite the hype
(Getty Images)
Funding for AI startups remains robust but merger and acquisition activity for such companies hasn't materialized, shows Crunchbase data. M&A for venture-backed AI startups fell 31% year-over-year in 2023 and only 39 deals happened last quarter, the slowest quarterly pace since the start of 2019, data shows.
Full Story: Crunchbase (3/19) 
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Venture capital investors are increasing their exposure to the startup market in Latin America, according to data from PitchBook. In 2023, venture funds focused on Latin America brought in $2 billion, a sharp increase from the prior year. One example of interest in the region is Addi, a buy now, pay later startup that announced $36 million in equity funding and $50 million in debt financing.
Full Story: Bloomberg (3/19) 
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Venture funding for startups working on nuclear fusion surged in 2021, although the momentum slowed after the market shift in 2022. However, VCs are still showing interest in the technology that could provide a solution to future energy demand, according to PitchBook. "[T]he industry has been reinvigorated by the US Department of Energy's grants program for fusion startups," writes Rosie Bradbury of Pitchbook.
Full Story: PitchBook (3/18) 
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Make Your Startup Better
Startups that can grow very quickly tend to focus on getting hiring right early on, says Index Ventures partner Martin Mignot. "In the early days, it's a lot about hiring," Mignot says, "[a]nd then, as your team grows and you have more execs, it's a lot more about exec alignment."
Full Story: Crunchbase (3/18) 
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When investors can be a hindrance to IPOs
(Pixabay)
Many venture deals allow the investor to block an initial public offering if they don't agree with the timing or price, says Lowenstein Sandler partner Eric Weiner. "The last capital raise, if you are not above that, the last investor basically needs to want the IPO or it doesn't happen," says Insight Partners managing director Ryan Hinkle.
Full Story: TechCrunch (tiered subscription model) (3/18) 
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With more software shoppers demanding instant gratification and near-immediate returns on investment, a new category of software-as-a-service startups will be created to address the shift, writes Touring Capital general partner Priya Saiprasad. "This reality and the emergence of generative AI safety concerns will give way to more startups tackling security, compliance and identity management," Saiprasad writes.
Full Story: Crunchbase (3/18) 
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SmartBreak: Question of the Day
Scholars in 1345 blamed what event on a solar eclipse paired with the conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn?
VoteBubonic plague
VoteStart of the Hundred Years' War
VoteA major Asiatic earthquake
VoteThe darkened skies over Europe for 3 years
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Priya Saiprasad, general partner of Touring Capital, writing in Crunchbase
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