💸 Hande Cilingir's Insider Raises New Round at $2B Valuation
FemWealth Issue #112
Happy Sunday, FemWealth Friends!
In the Spotlight 💸
Co-founded by Hande Cilingir, Turkey-founded and Singapore-headquartered Insider, an AI-driven platform that predicts future consumer behaviors and creates individualized predictions based on historical data, raised $105 million from Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) and Istanbul-based buyout firm Esas Private Equity. The new round brings its total funding to $274 million at a valuation of almost $2 billion.
The company, with offices in London, Singapore, Tokyo, and other cities across the globe, has over 1,200 clients, including Singapore Airlines, Estée Lauder, Toyota, Samsung, New Balance, and IKEA.
Insider is one of the few woman-founded, women-led B2B SaaS unicorns in the world.
Read more: Singapore’s AI-Based Marketing Unicorn Raises $105 Million To Finance M&A
FemWealth Favourites ❤️
Startups: Anthropic raises $450M to build next-gen AI assistants - AI startup co-founded by OpenAI veteran Daniela Amodei (President) raised $450 million in a Series C funding round led by Spark Capital, with participation from Google, Salesforce Ventures, Zoom Ventures, Sound Ventures, and other undisclosed VC.
NextRoll, a digital marketing firm focused on AI, raises $50M debt round - Led by CEO Roli Saxena, NextRoll is a San Francisco-based marketing technology company developing AI and machine learning-powered software. It secured $50 million in debt financing with an option for future equity from Capital IP. Previous investors include Accel, Foundation Capital, IVP, Merus Capital, Western Technology Investment, Floodgate Fund, and True Ventures.
Episode Six raises $48M to streamline payment processes - Co-founded by Chermaine Hu, Episode Six’s platform is designed to facilitate various payment processes while reducing costs. It raised $48 million in a Series C funding round led by Avenir with participation from Anthos Capital.
Odyssey Raises $15M in Series A Funding - Emily McAteer is the co-founder and CEO of Odyssey, a US-based startup that provides renewable energy companies and financiers with a tool suite to scale project development across the project lifecycle. It raised $15M in Series A funding led by Union Square Ventures, with participation from Equal Ventures, Twelve Below, Transition, Equator, MCJ Collective, Abstract Ventures, Founder Collective, and Climate Capital.
Meet the tiny, wireless sleep apnea diagnostic wearable headed for the US - Founded by Esther Rodriguez-Villegas, director of Imperial College London’s Wearable Technologies Lab, Acurable gained FDA clearance for a wireless diagnostic device for remote detection of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). The UK-based medtech startup also announced it raised an €11 million Series A round (~$11.8M) in October 2023. Alma Mundi Ventures, Kindred Capital, and KHP Ventures are among the investors.
Volition wants to be DigiKey for industrial parts - Co-founded by Natalie Klapper (Head of Product), Volition supplies mechanical and industrial engineering components. The company raised a $11 million round co-led by Newark Venture Partners and Quiet Capital.
Nanushka raises €10 million in capital to fund expansion - The Hungarian ready-to-wear label, founded in 2006 by designer Sandra Sandor and renowned for the sustainability of its collections, finalised a financing deal worth €10 million with Swiss investment firm SIG-i Capital AG, to support its new expansion phase.
Nue.io Raises $9 Million in Seed Extension to Help Companies Respond to a Dynamic Economy with Innovative Pricing, Sales, and Finance Tools - Co-founded by Tina Kung (CTO), the California-based quote-to-revenue platform, raised $9m in seed extension funding. Bluefish Ventures and Penny Jar Capital co-led the round, joined by NJP Ventures, Operator Stack, Information Venture Partners, and NextWorld Capital.
BBy device turns breast milk into powder, helps NICU nurses avoid lengthy ‘milk shift’ - Co-founded by bioengineer and food scientist Blanca Rosa Aguilar Uscanga, Ph.D., the New York-based startup announced a $3 million seed round led by Pioneer Fund, with participation from Y Combinator, 7G Bioventures, and Cathexis Ventures.
Plenty’s new wealth-building app targets couples blending finances - Co-founded and led by Emily Luk, Plenty helps couples discuss, manage and invest their money together. The US-based company raised $2.75 million in pre-seed capital from investors, including Phenomenal Ventures, Xtripe Angels, and Inovia Capital.
Former iZettler’s set out to give the data game a Twirl, spin in $2.5 million in pre-seed round - Co-founded by Rebecka Storm, Twirl is a Swedish data infrastructure platform. It raised $ 2.6 million in a pre-seed round led by Creandum and joined by Cocoa Ventures.
Mobile-First Learning Platform Opus Raises $2 Million Funding Round Led by Gutter Capital - Co-founded and led by Rachael Nemeth, Opus is a mobile-first learning platform for frontline workers. It raised a $2 million funding round led by Gutter Capital and joined by Metrodora Ventures, with participation from existing investors.
SureImpact Raises 2M in Seed Funding - Founded and led by Sheri Chaney Jones, the US-based company enables mission-driven organizations to manage, measure and communicate their social impact. It raised a $2 million seed round led by Rev1 Ventures and joined by angel investors, including Queen City Angels.
Dr. Vivien Karl raises €1,5 Million (in German) - Co-founded by Pharmacist Dr. Vivien Karl and Marketer Julia Huhnholz, the company is developing an intimate care product. Dieter von Holtzbrinck Ventures, Tina Müller, and better ventures participated in the startup’s pre-Seed round.
VC: Unlocking the trillion-dollar female economy
“Women should no longer be thought of as a niche. In fact, they’re one of the most significant growth markets we’ve ever seen.” - Monique Woodard, the founder and managing director of Cake Ventures
Startup radar: VCs on femtech startups worth watching - Features US-based startups that investors think will transform women’s health. | Also read, Driving a Paradigm Shift in Women’s Health Care
Women’s & Family Health: Startup Bobbie Proves There’s Profit In Baby Formula Despite The Dominance Of Industry Giants - The US-based company, co-founded by Laura Modi (CEO) and Sarah Hardy (COO), announced that its annual revenue has grown to $100 million in its most recent fiscal year.
Intrinsic Adds $15M to Build a Next-Gen Women’s Health Platform Business - The New York-based company aims to build consumer health products by acquiring and accelerating eCommerce native brands.
Generation Prime launches to make fertility services more accessible in Asia - Aiming to make IVF and other fertility services more accessible to patients in Asia, Generation Prime launched its first two clinics in Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur. The company raised seed funding led by Recharge Capital (which incubated it) with participation from Thiel Capital, Shamrock Holdings, the Disney family’s investment vehicle, and Blue Lion Global.
Economy: More US Women Are Working Than Ever, Reversing Pandemic Slump (Bloomberg $) - In the US, the workforce participation rate for women ages 25-54 hit a record 77.5% in April.
Business & Fashion: Chanel CEO on ‘staying ahead of the curve’ after 2022 sales rise 17% (Vogue Business $) - One year into her tenure as global CEO of Chanel, Leena Nair outlines the brand’s strategy.
What I’m Reflecting On 💭
‘Follow Your Passions’ Advice Keeps Women From STEM Fields, Says Research - New research published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology finds that when students and adults were advised to follow their passions, women were more likely to choose stereotypically feminine fields, such as healthcare or the arts.
The gender confidence gap in investing - Per the Federal Reserve’s Economic Well-Being Survey, men in the US are far more confident than women in investing their retirement money. This disparity exists across all education levels.
AI Is Steeped in Big Tech’s ‘Digital Colonialism’
“Nobody in Silicon Valley stays up worrying about the unbanked Black women in a rural part of Timbuktu […] I want, in an ideal world, a civilized system where corporations will take accountability and responsibility and make sure that the systems they’re putting out are as accurate and as fair and just for everybody.” - Abeba Birhane, Senior Fellow in Trustworthy AI, Mozilla
Digital Culture Is Literally Reshaping Women’s Faces
“Machines learn which faces and traits conform to science-glazed “magic” ratios and present us with the latest aesthetic standards to reach. Inevitably, they require costly interventions or more aesthetic labor.” - Elise Hu, author of Flawless: Lessons in Looks and Culture from the K-Beauty Capital
Thank you for reading FemWealth! 🥰 If you enjoyed this issue, please share it with a friend.
Have a wonderful Sunday,
Anamaria
Founder & Writer of FemWealth