💸 Co-led by Effie Epstein, Sound Ventures Launches Oversubscribed AI Fund
FemWealth Issue #109
Happy Sunday, FemWealth Friends!
In the Spotlight 💸
Co-led by General Partner Effie Epstein, LA-based VC firm Sound Ventures launched its oversubscribed AI Fund at nearly $240M.
Sound Ventures AI Fund aims to invest in category-defining artificial intelligence businesses at the foundation model layer. The fund’s current portfolio includes OpenAI, Anthropic, and StabilityAI.
“We have been investing in artificial intelligence for the past decade, and we believe that this moment in history will dictate the trajectory of this technology. Our team is well-positioned to continue investing in, and supporting, exceptional founders that are thoughtfully shaping the future through artificial intelligence.” - Effie Epstein, General Partner at Sound Ventures.
Sound Ventures manages over $1B in assets across multiple funds. The firm’s prior investments include Airbnb, Uber, Flexport, Brex, GitLab, Airtable, Affirm, Forethought, and You.com.
FemWealth Favourites ❤️
ARTHEx Biotech Announces Closing of €42 M Series B Financing to Advance ATX-01, its Novel Treatment for Myotonic Dystrophy Type 1 (DM1) - Dr. Beatriz Llamusí is a co-founder and CSO of the Spanish clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing innovative medicines through the modulation of microRNAs. Columbus Venture Partners led the round, with participation from the European Innovation Council (EIC), Hadean Ventures, Sound Bioventures, and existing investors Invivo Capital, AdBio Partners, and the Centre for the Development of Industrial Technology (CDTI) through its Innvierte program.
Embr Labs Secures $35 Million to Fund Market Expansion - Led by Elizabeth Gazda, Embr Labs developed a wearable to treat the symptoms of menopause. The US-based company raised $35 million via intellectual property (IP)-based debt financing.
ODAIA wins $25m funding to boost commercial insights platform for pharma - The Toronto-based life sciences commercialization startup, co-founded by Helen Kontozopoulos, raised US $25m in Series B funding, co-led by Threshold Ventures and Monograph Capital.
Kinnos Secures $15M to Expand Colorizing Disinfection Platform - The startup co-founded by Katherine Jin (CTO), developed a novel technology that colorizes mission-critical disinfectants to help prevent the spread of surface-borne pathogens to patients, families, and staff.
Ceremonia Raises $10M in Series A Led by Sandbridge Capital - Founded and led by Babba Rivera, the Latinx clean hair care raised $10 million to support its recent expansion.
Finnish startup receives €7.5M seed to detoxify the chemical industry with algae-based solutions - Founded by Mari Granström, Origin by Ocean is a platform-based algae refining company that aims to reduce the environmental impact of the chemical industry by offering sustainable, algae-based alternatives to traditional oil-based solutions. The seed round included investors Voima Ventures, and Lifeline Ventures, along with Batofin and Security Trading.
Mental health therapeutics startup HelloBetter raises €7m for further US expansion - Co-founded by Dr. Elena Heber (Chief Clinical Officer) and Dr. Hanne Horvath (Chief Commercial Officer), the German digital therapeutics startup for tackling mental health issues raised a €7m extension to its Series A led by MassMutual Ventures.
Green-Got is a neobank for climate-conscious customers - Co-founded by Maud Caillaux (CMO), the French startup is building an alternative to the traditional bank account with a focus on climate change. It secured a $5.5 million (€5 million) funding round led by Pale Blue Dot, which also included its customers’ contribution of nearly €2 million via an equity crowdfunding campaign.
Pluto Biosciences Raises $3.7M to Revolutionize Biological Data Interpretation and Accelerate Life Sciences Discoveries -Founded and led by Dr. Rani Powers, the US-based startup enables life sciences organizations to manage their projects and share data securely with collaborators. Silverton Partners led the company’s seed round.
Barcelona-based Keybotic bags €3 million for its robot dog Keyper - Irene Gomez Alemany is co-founder and CEO of the Spanish startup building robotic dogs for industrial inspections.
Sourse secures $2.4 million in seed funding as VCs look to ‘snackable skin care’ - Founded and led by Jenne Moore, the chocolate supplements brand raised $2.4 million in seed funding from New Theory Ventures, H Ventures, JAWS Ventures, Satori Capital, Short List Capital, Harlo Capital, and LDR Ventures.
Mi Alma, the Online Support Platform for Grievers, Closes $1.5M Pre-Seed Funding Round - Co-founded by Jordan Arogeti, the platform reimagines how we support those experiencing grief and loss. The US-based startup raised a $1.5 million pre-seed funding round.
SuperDuperSecret Co. Raises Over $1m to Revolutionize Classic Games with 10-Player Battle Royale Twist - Co-founded and led by Jazzlyn O’Reilly, the startup raised over $1 million in an oversubscribed pre-seed funding round from investors, including Round 13 Digital Asset Fund, Merit Circle, Polygon Ventures, Solana Foundation, LD Capital, Overwolf, Big Brain Holdings, and angels. O’Reilly is the first Latina founder to raise over $1 million in VC funding in the gaming industry.
“It’s astonishing that the number of funded female and minority founders in the gaming space is still so small in 2023, especially considering how diverse the consumers of games are; 48% percent of gamers identify as female (…) I can only hope that news like this can help encourage others who don’t as often see people like themselves represented in this space, to take the leap and build companies of their own, and to not be afraid to pursue funding to achieve their vision. It’s not just a matter of numbers; the industry needs diverse founders in order to create truly innovative content for the world’s 3 billion gamers.” - Jazzlyn O’Reilly
Swiss travel tech Viatu lands $1M funding to streamline travel planning for users - The company, co-founded by Bárbara Büchel (Chief Impact Officer), specialises in multi-day sustainable adventures. Ndoto LLC. led the company’s seed funding round.
FuturePlus secures £750K funding to assist businesses in reporting on sustainability and ESG - Founded by Alexandra Smith, the London-based sustainability management and ESG reporting platform completed an up-round of funding. The tools and services offered by the company include carbon footprint calculations, supply chain monitoring, stakeholder engagement, and reporting automation.
Pimentae Raises Over £500K in Pre-Seed Funding - Launched by Alice Parmiter and Wynter Karo, the London-based tequila brand has closed a $628,000 Pre-seed funding round.
Amorai Raises Pre-Seed Funding - Founded and led by former Tinder CEO Renate Nyborg, the AI-based GenZ relationship coaching app raised an undisclosed amount in pre-seed funding. AI Fund led the round, which included angel investors such as Megan Jones Bell and Eileen Burbidge.
VC & PE: Horizon Capital’s Ukraine-focused Fund IV exceeds target size, raising over $250m at its Interim Closing; becomes CEE's first 2X Flagship Fund and 1 of 10 globally - Led by Founding Partner and CEO Lenna Koszarny, HCGF IV will provide growth capital to back visionary entrepreneurs in Ukraine and Moldova. The fund will apply a gender lens to its investment strategy. LPs include the International Finance Corporation, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, a.o.
BRIGHTSPARK SEEKS TO RECREATE ITS “HOME RUN” EXITS OF THINK DYNAMICS, RADIAN6 AS IT LAUNCHES $120-MILLION FUND - The Canadian firm led by Managing Partner Sophie Forest, raised $60 million CAD, holding the first close of its latest fund with a target size of $120 million CAD.
VentureWave laps up Funderbeam as it leads a $40 million investment deal - a ‘game-changer’ for venture markets - Funderbeam, founded and led by Kaidi Ruusalepp, jointly established an entity with Venture Wave to provide venture deal execution and secondary investment opportunity to angel and institutional investors.
Gigascale Capital launches to invest in early-stage climate startups - Co-founded by Victoria Beasley (ex-Prelude Ventures), Evaline Tsai (ex-Fine Structure Ventures), and Mike Schroepfer (ex-Meta CTO), the US-based VC firm will back climate-focused companies with the potential to reach massive gigaton or gigawatt scale.
Women’s Health: Consumer women’s health Intrinsic notches $15M (Axios Pro) - The New York-based women’s health and wellness brand raised $15m in equity and debt to acquire, build, and grow brands that serve women. FCA Venture Partners and MAP Investco co-led the equity funding round and were joined by Define Ventures, Link Ventures, and Redesign Health.
Tech: AMD CEO Lisa Su: We’re putting A.I. into every aspect of our product portfolio - AMD President and CEO Lisa Su discusses the company’s AI strategy and innovation in the computer industry.
Leading In The Age Of AI: Angela Ahrendts On How Creativity Will Set Future Business Leaders Apart
“We [humans] need to be an incredible complement to AI and, with it, bring in new minds and new ways of thinking.” - Angela Ahrendts, former SVP of Apple Retail and former CEO of Burberry
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Have a lovely Sunday and an excellent week ahead!
Anamaria
Founder & Writer of FemWealth