Startup Climate Report: September 12th, 2023

Author

Oscar Wehbe
September 13, 2023

Startup Climate Report: September 12th, 2023

Another Startup Dusts Off IPO Plans As Instacart Sets Valuation, Arm Set To Start Trading

Instacart is targeting a valuation of up to $9.3bn for its Nasdaq debut this month, a far cry from the $39bn valuation placed on the company in 2021. Chip designer Arm Holdings is expected to price its new debut on Wednesday night, with a target valuation of up to $52bn. Marketing tech startup Klaviyo is aiming for a $6.8bn valuation in an offering that would raise up to $310m. Turo, a peer-to-peer car rental service, has filed updated statements with the SEC, signalling that it is dusting off IPO plans made in 2022.

Battery Startup Lyten Raises $200 Million in New Funding Round

Battery startup Lyten has raised $200m in funding to scale up manufacturing of lithium-sulfur EV batteries, lightweight composites, and sensors. The latest funding, led by Prime Movers Lab, takes the total equity investment in Lyten to over $410m. The company is working with Stellantis, FedEx, the US government, and other firms to develop products, including lightweight and multifunctional composites and ultra-high sensitivity networks in automotive, logistics, aviation, and defense sectors. Lyten aims to deliver its first commercial composites application by year-end.

For $100M-Plus Rounds, It’s Unclear What’s Normal

The number of venture funding rounds of $100 million or more has significantly decreased this year, with only 97 US-based companies receiving such funding compared to over 800 in the prior two years. The average size of these rounds has also been shrinking. The majority of the largest funding recipients are in the sustainability, AI, or healthcare categories. Investors are now cutting back, but the question remains whether they have cut back too much.

Meta sets GPT-4 as the bar for its next AI model, says a new report

Meta is reportedly building a new chatbot that it hopes will rival OpenAI's GPT-4. The company plans to train the large language model in early 2024, using Nvidia H100 AI-training chips and its infrastructure. Meta aims to speed up the creation of AI tools that can emulate human expressions, a natural extension of rumored generative AI features it has already been working on. A June leak claimed that Meta was testing an Instagram chatbot with 30 personalities, which could be related to the unannounced AI personas the company is said to be launching this month.

FTX Looks to Offload Billions in Crypto: Here’s What it Means

FTX is seeking regulatory approval to liquidate $3.4 billion in crypto assets, with Galaxy Digital as the investment manager responsible for the sale. FTX lawyers are also suing Layerzero to recover lost assets worth $21 million. Delaware bankruptcy court officials are set to rule on the asset sale on September 13. FTX's crypto holdings include $685 million in locked Solana tokens, $529 million in FTT tokens, $268 million in Bitcoin, $90 million in Ethereum, and other assets. According to market watchers, the market is expected to decline until the selling begins.