Who Got Funded? Week 3, 2024

Good morning ☀️

The third week of 2023 was exceptionally busy with exciting funding rounds. From groundbreaking AI innovations to cutting-edge sustainable energy solutions, let's delve into the most fascinating startup stories.

PRE-SEED
Barcelona's Remuner secures €2 million for sales commission optimisation just 3 months after launching

Variable compensation platform Remuner announced that they have closed a €2M pre-seed round led by Silicon Valley-based fund Pear VC, just 3 months after launching! An impressively rapid deal.

The Spanish company has created a no-code platform that automates all aspects of sales commissioning, enabling companies to design customised compensation plans based on data-driven decision.

I find Remuner's proposal quite interesting because I believe managing aspects such as sales commissioning or team incentives is always challenging.

I'm curious to see how this startup evolves. Securing such a significant round of funding in a brief period might indicate that they have already landed a major enterprise customer for their software.

The founders of Remuner are Sergio Gonzalez, Iván Ruz and Matias Haro. You can read more about this deal here.

More pre-seed interesting stories:

• Dubai-based Tumodo raised a $35 million pre-seed round to expand its online business travel platform. You can read more about this deal here.

• Artisan AI, a San Francisco, CA-based AI startup that plans to build human-like digital workers, raised additional funding from a Sequoia scout, which has doubled the valuation from $15m to $30m. That's quite a fascinating concept they're selling. You can read more about this deal here.

• Safary, a San Francisco, CA-based provider of a web3 alternative to Google Analytics, raised $2.4 million in pre-seed funding. You can learn more about this deal here.

SEED
Berlin-based Vyld secures seven-figure seed to launch the world’s first tampon made from seaweed

Vyld, a startup specializing in radically sustainable period products, has successfully closed its seed round, securing a seven-figure sum. The company is pioneering the development of period products that are not only marine biodegradable but also health-friendly, utilizing seaweed as a primary material.

This is an interesting proposal since the environmental impact of tampons is significant. According to Stanford Magazine, in the United States alone, approximately 12 billion pads and 7 billion tampons are discarded each year, significantly contributing to physical waste in landfills and oceans.

Tampon applicators can take over 20 years to break down in marine environments and can be ingested by animals, causing health complications or death.

You can read more about this deal here.

More seed interesting stories:

• Sakana AI, an artificial intelligence startup based in Tokyo, Japan that takes inspiration from the way that animals such as fish and birds work together, today announced it has raised $30 million in seed funding to build smaller and more agile AI models. You can read more about this deal here.

• FA Bio raises £5.3 million to unlock secrets of soil microbes. You can read more about this deal here.

• Runnr.ai, an Utrecht, the Netherlands-based provider of a conversational guest engagement platform for hotels, raised €1 million in funding. You can learn more about this deal here.

SERIES A
Recraft secures $12 million in Series A funding to enhance its professional AI-powered graphic design generator

London-based Recraft secured a $12 million round from investors such as Khosla Ventures, Nat Friedman, Abstract VC, and Basis Set Ventures. And honestly, I believe investing in this area makes a tremendous amount of sense.

I agree with Scott Belsky, Adobe’s Chief Strategy Officer, and his vision about creativity and AI.

In the future, I believe that we won't face technical limitations but rather limitations of creativity. In other words, we won't spend years learning how to code or how to create good designs. Instead, AI will handle these tasks effectively for us, making the real limit our own imagination.

For this reason, I believe there's a significant opportunity for AI tools to dominate and transform industries like graphic design, coding, and other creative sectors.

You can learn more about this deal here.

More Series A interesting stories:

• Tr1X, a San Diego, CA-based biotechnology company focused on engineering cures for immune and inflammatory diseases, raised $75 million in Series A funding. You can read more about this deal here.

• Sway (fka Returnmates), a Los Angeles, CA-based platform for shipping and returns, raised $19.5 million in Series A funding. You can learn more about this deal here.

SERIES B AND LATER
Sweden’s Aira nets €145 million in Series B funding to accelerate clean energy revolution in European heating

Stockholm-based Aira has successfully secured €145 million in a Series B funding round, with remarkable investors including Altor, Kinnevik, and Temasek.

The funds will be utilized to further accelerate the electrification of residential heating in Europe, particularly in Italy, Germany, and the UK. The company aims to serve five million European homes over the next decade.

Aira’s innovative and accessible solution involves transitioning from fossil fuel-based boilers to air source heat pumps. This 2-minute video helps understand how their technology works.

These pumps have the potential to reduce household heating costs by up to 40% and CO2 emissions by 75%, or 100% if powered by fossil-free energy.

You can learn more about this deal here.

More Series B (and later) interesting stories:

• German device-as-a-service startup Everphone powers up with €270 million. You can learn more about this deal here.

• Paris-based EV charging startup Electra secures $330 million. You can read more about this deal here.