💸 Kirsten Green's Forerunner Ventures Launches $500M 7th Fund
FemWealth Issue #185
Hi FemWealth Friends,
In the Spotlight 💸
Founded and led by Kirsten Green, Forerunner Ventures, a Bay Area VC firm announced its newest early-stage fund with $500 million in capital commitments to “invest in the next wave of category-defining businesses, where creativity unlocks new AI-driven experiences.”
It will invest between $1M - $20M across Seed to Series A, spanning health & wellness, commerce, consumer finance, prosumer, education, social, and marketplaces.
Forerunner has nearly $3 billion in total assets under management.
Read more: [Forunner Ventures] Human Insight in the Age of AI: Announcing Fund VII
FemWealth Favourites ❤️
Startups: Generative AI startup Writer raises $200M at a $1.9B valuation - Co-founded and led by May Habib, Writer is a full-stack generative AI platform for enterprises. The San Francisco startup secured a $200 million Series C round at a $1.9 billion valuation. Premji Invest, Radical Ventures, and Iconiq Growth co-led the round, joined by Salesforce Ventures, Adobe Ventures, B Capital, Citi Ventures, IBM Ventures, Workday Ventures, Accenture, Balderton, Insight Partners, and Vanguard.
Stepful raises $31.5M to address healthcare staffing shortage with AI-powered training - Co-founded by Tressia Hobeika, Stepful offers online training programs for individuals seeking entry-level healthcare positions. The New York startup raised a $31.5 million Series B round led by Oak HC/FT, with additional support from Y Combinator, Reach Capital, AlleyCorp, SemperVirens, Company Ventures, Green Sands, ECMC Group, Intermountain Venture Fund, and Cedar Pine.
LocalStack raises $25M to help developers emulate and test cloud apps locally - Co-founded and co-led by Gerta Sheganaku, LocalStack enables developers to run and test cloud applications on their local machines before live deployment. The Zürich, Switzerland-based startup raised a $25 million Series A round led by Notable Capital, with previous investors CRV and Heavybit also participating.
Germany’s Klim raises $22M to take its regenerative farming platform international - Co-founded by Nina Mannheimer, Klim provides regenerative agriculture software solutions. The Berlin-based startup raised $22 million in Series A funding. BNP Paribas led the round, joined by Earthshot Ventures, Rabobank, AgFunder, Norinchukin Bank, Achmea, Ananda Impact Ventures, and Elevator Ventures.
AI-driven ingredient discovery startup Shiru raises $16M (Axios Pro $) - Founded and led by Jasmin Hume, PhD, Shiru is an ingredient discovery platform. The Alameda, California-based startup secured $16 million in a Series B funding round led by S2G Ventures. CPT Capital, Lux Capital, Nourish Ventures, and Meach Cove Capital also contributed.
Cometa raises $12M Series A to optimize school administration - Co-founded by Valeria Tapia, Cometa is a fintech platform helping private schools in Latin America optimize financial operations. The Mexican startup closed a $12 million Series A led by Reach Capital. Acrew Capital, Kaszek Ventures, Homebrew, and Latitud Ventures also participated in the round.
As demand for lithium explodes, battery recycling startup Tozero sprints to scale with $11.7M seed - Co-founded by Sarah Fleischer and Ksenija Milicevic Neumann, Tozero recycles lithium-ion batteries to recover valuable materials, including lithium, nickel, cobalt, manganese, and graphite. The Munich, Germany-based startup raised a $11.7 million Seed round led by NordicNinja, with additional support from In-Q-Tel, Honda, JGC Group, and existing investors Atlantic Labs, Verve Ventures, and Possible Ventures.
Influur wants to stand out from other influencer marketplaces by promising timely payout - Co-founded by Alessandra Angelini, Valeria Angelini, Paula Coleman, and Fefi Oliveira, Influur is an influencer marketplace that helps brands to track campaigns better and ensures influencers are paid on time. The Miami startup raised a $10 million Series A round co-led by Point 72 Ventures and H20 Capital, with Latin World Entertainment and celebrities like Sofia Vergara also joining.
Copernic Catalysts Closes $8M Seed Prime Led by Breakout Ventures to Scale Its Transformational Catalyst for Sustainable Ammonia Production - Co-founded by Aruna Ramkrishnan, Copernic Catalysts develops catalysts and processes for sustainable chemicals and e-fuels. The US company raised $8 million in Seed funding led by Breakout Ventures, with Innospark Ventures, New Climate Ventures, Impact Science Ventures, Future Ventures, and Engine Ventures also joining.
Naturbeads secures £7.8M Series A round to address micropollution - Co-founded and led by Giovanna Laudisio, Naturbeads develops biodegradable, cellulose microbeads as an alternative to polluting plastic microbeads. The UK startup raised £7.8 million in Series A funding led by Eos Advisory and joined by Progress Tech Transfer, CDP VC, PI-NB, and Paragon Capital Management.
Peptide-infused OneSkin Secures Series A Investment With Participation From Brand Loyalist, Model and Designer Camila Alves McConaughey (WWD $) - Co-founded by Carolina Reis Oliveira, Alessandra Zonari, Mariana Boroni, and Juliana Carvalho, OneSkin is a healthy aging skincare brand. The San Francisco startup raised $7 million in a Series A round led by Selva Ventures, joined by PLUS Capital, Unilever Ventures, Able Partners, SOSV, Meta Planet, and others.
Fort Health Secures $5.5M to Expand Access to Integrated Pediatric Mental Health Care - Founded and led by Natalie Schneider, Fort Health provides online mental health services for children and adolescents. The New York startup raised a $5.5 million round co-led by Twelve Below and Vanterra, with participation from Redesign Health, Blue Venture Fund, and True Wealth Ventures.
Puppygraph speeds up LLMs’ access to graph data insights - Co-founded by Zhenni Wu, PuppyGraph is a graph query engine for entreprise data analytics. The Californian startup raised $5 million in Seed funding led by defy.vc, joined by Eastlink Capital and SV Tech Ventures.
Paris-based Trace For Good bags €3.5M to help companies better manage traceability and compliance data - Co-founded by Léa Gillet and Laura Bréban, Trace for Good provides supply chain traceability and compliance data management. The Paris-based startup raised €3.5 million in funding co-led by Hi Inov and Ankaa Ventures.
German HelloBetter secures €3M to personalise online therapy - Co-founded by Dr. Hanne Horvath, HelloBetter provides prescription digital therapeutics (PDTx) for mental health. The Berlin-based startup raised €3 million in non-dilutive grant and loan funding from Investitionsbank des Landes Brandenburg.
NitroVolt is helping farmers make their own fertilizer using renewable power - Founded and led by Suzanne Zamany Andersen, NitroVolt develops green ammonia for farmers. The Denmark-based company raised €3.5 million ($3.7 million) in Seed funding (including a €750K convertible note). BackingMinds and EIFO led the round, with additional support from the EQT Foundation, Satgana, DivisionQ, and Breakthrough Energy Fellows.
Barcelona-based Biorce secures €3.5 million aiming to transform clinical trials through AI - Co-founded by Clara Bernardes, Biorce is developing an AI model to streamline data accessibility in clinical trials. The Barcelona, Spain-based startup raised €3.5 million from YZR Capital and Mustard Seed Maze, joined by Outsized Ventures, Pathena Family Office, and Plug and Play Tech.
Zeplyn Raises $3M Seed Funding for AI Assistant to Streamline Wealth Management Workflows and Improve Client Experience - Co-founded and led by Era Jain, Zeplyn is an AI assistant for financial advisors. The New York startup raised a $3 million Seed round led by Leo Capital, with additional support from Converge.
Automated design software Workflow secures $3M - Co-founded by Allis Yao, Workflow is an automated design, marketing, and product AI software developer. The London startup raised $3 million in a Pre-Seed round led by Venrex, with additional support from 8VC and scout funds from Sequoia Capital, Octopus Ventures, and Index Ventures.
Dutch biotech startup Phlox Therapeutics raises €1.9M to advance RNA therapies for genetic heart diseases - Co-founded by Eva van Rooij, Phlox Therapeutics is developing RNA therapies for genetic laminopathies. The Netherlands-based biotech raised €1.9 million in funding from ROM Utrecht Region.
VC: Portal Ventures raises oversubscribed $75 million crypto fund backed by Chris Dixon and Marc Andreessen (Fortune $) - Co-led by General Partner Catrina Wang, Portal Ventures, an early-stage crypto VC firm, raised a $75 million second fund.
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Until next Sunday,
Anamaria
Founder & Writer of FemWealth