💸 Hélène Huby's The Exploration Company Secures $160M in Series B
FemWealth Issue #186
Hi FemWealth Friends,
In the Spotlight 💸
Founded and led by Hélène Huby, The Exploration Company is developing a cargo delivery space capsule. The Germany and France-based spacetech startup secured $160 million in Series B funding co-led by Balderton Capital and Plural. Bessemer Venture Partners, NGP Capital, French Tech Souveraineté, and DeepTech & Climate Fonds also joined, alongside existing investors EQT Ventures, Red River West, Cherry Ventures, Promus Ventures, and Omnes Real Tech Fund.
This is the largest funding round ever for a European space company.
Read more: The Exploration Company raises $160M to build Europe’s answer to SpaceX Dragon
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Startups: Anthropic raises another $4B from Amazon, makes AWS its ‘primary’ training partner - Co-founded by Daniela Amodei, AI company Anthropic raised $4 billion from Amazon. The US company raised a total of $13.7 billion in venture capital.
Sequoia, General Catalyst, GV Back AI Startup for Salespeople (Bloomberg $) - Co-founded by Avanika Naraya, Rox builds intelligent agents for salespeople. The San Francisco startup raised $50 million in Seed and Series A from Sequoia Capital, General Catalyst, and GV.
Vitara Raises $50M to Advance Womb-Like Technology for Premature Babies - Led by Kim Rodriguez, Vitara Biomedical is developing technology to transform neonatal care. The US-based medtech company secured $50 million in Series B funding, led by Sands Capital with participation from Google Ventures (GV), First Spark Ventures, Flerie, and Khosla Ventures.
OneRail’s software helps solve the last-mile delivery problem - Co-founded by Lisa Catania, OneRail is an omnichannel fulfillment solution provider. The Orlando, Florida-based startup raised $42 million in Series C funding led by Aliment Capital. eGateway Capital, Florida Opportunity Fund, and existing investors Arsenal Growth Equity, Piva Capital, Bullpen Capital, and others also contributed.
Climate tech startup Vaulted Deep raises funds to inject carbon waste down wells - Co-founded and led by Julia Reichelstein, Vaulted Deep is a biomass carbon removal and storage company. The US-based climate tech startup raised $32.3 million in Series A funding led by Prelude Ventures, with additional support from Fall Line Capital, Rethink Impact, and existing investors Lowercarbon Capital, Earthshot Ventures, and WovenEarth Ventures.
Revv Secures $20M to Transform Auto Repair with AI Technology - Co-founded by Rashmi Sinha, Revv provides AI solutions for the auto repair industry. The New York City-based company raised $20 million in a round led by Left Lane Capital, with support from Soma Capital, 1984, and Agalé Ventures.
Menopause startup Alloy raises $16 million (Fortune $) - Co-founded and co-led by Monica Molenaar and Anne Fulenwider, Alloy is a menopause care startup that provides online treatment and relief. The New York-based company raised $16 million in a Series A round led by Kairos HQ, joined by PACE Healthcare Capital, Emmeline Ventures, and Amboy Street Ventures.
Stablecoin company Noble raises $15 million in Series A from Paradigm - Co-founded and led by Jelena Djuric, Noble is an asset issuance platform for stablecoins. It raised $15 million in a Series A round led by Paradigm.
AI data platform builder Citizen Health raises $14.5M, inks CZI partnership on rare disease - Co-founded by Nasha Fitter, Citizen Health is an AI-driven consumer health platform for patients with rare and complex conditions. The US startup raised $15.5 million in a Seed round led by Transformation Capital, with additional support from Wavemaker 360, and angel investors.
Arcade, visual storytelling platform, raises $14 million Series A led by Kleiner Perkins (Fortune $) - Co-founded and led by Caroline Clark, Arcade is an interactive platform that enables teams to create product demos. The San Francisco-based startup raised $14 million in a Series A round led by Kleiner Perkins, with Upfront Ventures and Foundation Capital also joining.
Ex-Duolingo execs raise $13M for a startup that’s making it easier to access a college education - Co-founded by Gina Gotthilf, Outsmart Education aims to make college education more affordable and accessible. The US company closed a $13 million Seed round led by Khosla Ventures, with participation from Karman Ventures, Latitud Ventures, Lightspeed Ventures, and angel investors.
TRACT Secures $11.2 Million in New Funding to Accelerate Growth and Empower Sustainable Agriculture - Led by Allison Kopf, Tract is a SaaS platform focused on enhancing sustainability in agricultural supply chains. The Amsterdam-based company raised $11.2 million from Archer Daniels Midland Company, Cargill, Louis Dreyfus Company, Olam, The Working Capital, and Rabo Investments.
Flipturn Raises $11 Million Series A to Revolutionize EV Fleet Charging and Management - Co-founded and led by Katie Siegel, Flipturn provides an EV charger and fleet management platform. The New York City company raised $11 million in a Series A round led by CRV and joined by Accel.
Freya Biosciences Receives $10.4M Strategic Investment from Gates Foundation for Women’s Reproductive Health - Led by Colleen Acosta, PhD, Freya Biosciences is a biotech company focused on women’s health. The Copenhagen-based company secured a $10.4 million strategic investment from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and $1.4 million in additional funding from EIFO (Export and Investment Fund of Denmark).
Crown Affair Secures $9M In Series B Funding Round Led By True Beauty Ventures - Founded and led by Dianna Cohen, Crown Affair is a haircare brand that aims to empower people to redefine their relationship with their hair through products, guidance, and community. The New York City-based startup raised $9 million in a Series B funding round led by True Beauty Ventures, with contributions from existing investors Selva, Sidekick, and Stage 1.
Rewards startup Kalder raises $7M seed (Axios Pro $) - Founded and led by Gökçe Güven, Kalder is a white-label rewards platform for brands. The New York City-based startup raised $7 million in Seed funding. Javelin Venture Partners led the round, joined by 8VC, Human Capital, Gingerbread Capital, Formus Capital, and angel investors.
Little Journey Raises £6M Series A to Scale Digital Health Platform Reducing Children’s Hospital Anxiety - Co-founded by Sophie Copley, Little Journey provides personalized psychological support for pediatric care. The UK healthtech startup secured £6 million in Series A funding led by Par Equity, with participation from Mercia Ventures, Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund, Octopus Ventures, Calm/Storm Ventures, and angel investors.
Stockholm-based Kodiak Hub raises €6 million to advance procurement data utilisation - Founded and led by Malin Schmidt, Kodiak Hub is a supplier relationship management platform for global procurement and sourcing teams. The Stockholm-based startup raised €6 million in a round led by Oxx.
Workbrew makes open source package manager Homebrew enterprise-friendly - Co-founded by Vanessa Gennarelli, Workbrew is a software delivery platform for enterprises. The US startup raised $5 million in a round led by Heavybit, joined by Essence VC, and Operator Collective.
Team-GPT raises $4.5M to offer suite of AI tools to companies - Co-founded by Katya Vaptsarova and Maria Valchanova, Team-GPT provides a suite of AI tools that companies can integrate into their workplace systems. The Bulgarian startup secured a $4.5 million Seed round led by True Ventures, with participation from Pact and angel investors.
Apothékary grabs Shiseido investment, launches at Ulta.com (Axios Pro $) - Founded and led by Shizu Okusa, Apothékary makes herbal remedies. The US brand raised around $3 million from beauty giant Shiseido.
Heim Health raises €2.65M for at-home healthcare - Founded by Kelly Klifa and Sasha Tory, Heim Health provides on-demand, at-home clinical care. The London, UK-based healthcare startup secured €2.65 million in Seed funding. Heal Capital led the round, joined by Form Ventures, Portfolio Ventures, and Houghton Street Ventures.
Finnish startup Serviceform secures €2.45M funding to help European SMEs with website lead generation - Co-founded and led by Iranthi Gomes, Serviceform provides website lead generation for real estate and automotive/car sales. The Finland-based startup raised €2.45 million from Virta Equity, BackingMinds, and Gorilla Capital.
Happy Plant Protein bags €1.8M to disrupt plant protein market with local, low-cost production - Co-founded by Elli Laukkala, Happy Plant Protein is developing vegetable protein made from legume or cereal flours. The Helsinki-based foodtech startup raised €1.8 million in Pre-Seed funding led by Nordic Foodtech VC and joined by Butterfly Ventures. Business Finland also contributed grant funding.
PimpUp wants to become “the e-supermarket for ugly products” (in French, Les Echos $) - Co-founded by Manon Pagnucco and Anaïs Lacombe, PimpUp provides farm-to-home grocery delivery. The Montpellier, France-based startup raised €1.7 million from angel investors.
CDP VC, Pariter and Toscana Next invest 1.5M€ in Eye2Drive - Co-founded and led by Monica Vatteroni, Eye2Drive develops vision sensors for automotive and industrial applications. The Carrara, Italy-based startup raised €1.5 million in a round led by RoboIT, with additional support from Motor Valley Accelerator, Pariter Robotics, and Toscana Next.
Co-founded and led by Mariem Mhadhbi, ValueCo is an ESG market data provider. The Paris-based startup raised €1.5 million in a round led by 115k and joined by investors including Techstars.
Norwegian startup Factiverse wants to fight disinformation with AI - Co-founded by Maria Amelie, Factiverse offers a B2B tool that provides live fact-checking of text, video, and audio. The Norwegian startup raised around $1.45 million in Pre-Seed funding.
MannyAI Raises €1.5 M to reduce overproduction in the fashion industry - Co-founded and led by Shruti Grover, MannyAI provides an inventory management solution for the fashion industry. The UK startup closed €1.26 million in Pre-Seed funding led by Dreamcraft Ventures. Alante Capital, Plug and Play EMEA, Carbon13, Ventures Together, and PDS Ventures also joined the round.
Women’s & Family Health: FertilAI Secures $4.5M to Scale AI-Driven Fertility Treatment Platform - FertilAI is a fertility technology company developing AI-powered clinical decision support tools.
Women’s Sports: Women’s pro volleyball league launching in January announces $100 million in new funding - Co-founded and led by Katlyn Gao, League One Volleyball is a US youth volleyball clubs community that is launching a pro league. The Los Angeles-based sports brand announced $100 million in funding. Atwater Capital led the round, joined by existing investors Ares Management and Left Lane Capital.
VC: Co-founded and led by Joelle Kayden, Accolade Partners, a Washington, D.C. firm, raised $202 million for its third blockchain-focused fund-of-funds. (via Axios Pro)
Healthcare VC firm Initiate has a new $45M and has already founded five startups internally - Co-founded and co-led by Iana Dimkova (ex-GE Ventures) and Jessica Owens (co-founder of Grail, ex-Kleiner Perkins), Initiate Ventures, a San Francisco-based VC firm, raised a $45 million debut fund to invest $500,000 to $3 million in Seed and Series A healthcare and life sciences startups.
‘A climate fund is way too generic,’ says Nucleus Capital - as it launches €40m fund focused on synthetic biology - Co-founded by Dr Isabella Fandrych, Berlin-based Nucleus Capital announced a €40 million fund to back companies rethinking food production or industrial production using synthetic biology.
BSV Ventures closes €15M Fund for Pre-Seed and Seed investments - Co-led by General Partner Sandra Golbreich, BSV Ventures closed a €15 million fund to invest in Pre-Seed and Seed deeptech startups, in the Baltics and the EU.
Tech: How Bluesky, Alternative to X and Facebook, Is Handling Explosive Growth (New York Times $) - Features Jay Graber, CEO of social media platform Bluesky
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Anamaria
Founder & Writer of FemWealth