Northzone’s Post

Amazing news for the AI for Science European ecosystem. The field of AI for Materials is truly going mainstream! #AI #MaterialScience #Innovation #Startup #Sustainability #CarbonCapture #FutureOfMaterials #AIResearch #GreenTech #DeepTech #Entrepreneurship #TechInvestors #ScienceAndTech

We're excited to emerge from stealth and announce our $30M Seed financing round. A huge thank you to our incredible investor group including Hoxton Ventures, Basis Set, Lightspeed, Northzone, LocalGlobe, Touring Capital, Giant Ventures, FJ Labs, Zero Prime Ventures & Tiferes Ventures who all share and back our vision. We’ve set out on a mission to transform how materials are designed and developed using AI and, in the process, tackle some of society’s most critical challenges. We recognise that the need for such developments could not be greater and have assembled a world-class team motivated by this very fact. To further accelerate our impact, we're immensely grateful to have the support of Prof. Geoff Hinton who has joined our advisory board. We are also excited to announce our partnership with Yann LeCun and the Meta FAIR team to develop advanced materials for carbon capture - a critical piece of the climate puzzle. We're just getting started, but you can learn more about our work in the full press release on our site. #AI #machinelearning #climatechange #sustainability

Such an interesting report by Yoram Wijngaarde and the Dealroom.co team “ Impact Startup 2023”. One of the key things that caught my attention is the fact that climate tech is one of the fastest growing markets in Venture Capital in general. 🚀 Carbon tracking & offsets grew more than 300x in the last 5 years - that’s insane! 🚀 Carbon Capture and Storage grew around 80x in the last 5 years ! 🚀 climate tech in general has more than 100 billion of funding between 22-2023. 🚀 interesting to see Fusion comparing to quantum computing both are tough tech and starting to interest the VC ecosystem but still with modest growth multiples. 🚀 amazing to see that even with all hype around generative AI, carbon tech grew faster but got a bit less funding. #venturecapital #impactinvesting #climatetech #sustainability #carbonremoval

【Flourishing Deep Tech VC - High risk and High return?】 Investing in deep tech is a thrilling ride with high risks and high returns. While traditional tech companies see an average value of 13% at exit, deep tech companies secure funding valued at 11-15% of their exit value. Investors across the world are savvy about the risks, adjusting with lower valuations especially in the last few years. On the other hand, deep-tech focused funds perform quite comparably with respect to traditional VC funds, with an average weighted IRR of 26% as compared to 21% of traditional VCs over the past 5 years. In 2023, a whopping $315Bn was poured into tech companies globally (Mainly in US 🇺🇸 and China 🇨🇳). Deep tech investments tend to take 25-40% longer between funding rounds, but they're still attractive because of moderate valuations and low premiums. Despite the higher risks, deep tech's unique benefits—like disruptive potential and major ecosystem influence—keep pulling in more VCs. Many of these groundbreaking technologies haven't hit the mainstream yet, so the investment scene isn't overcrowded with competitors. Our research, along with PitchBook data, confirms that deep tech's moderate valuations make it a standout choice compared to other tech sectors. It's a promising space that balances risk and reward in a compelling way. Access to Full Article: https://lnkd.in/gRMneMzE #DeepTech #VC #Investment Alex Lin Ibrahim S. Takashi Ogawa

CuspAI isn't just designing materials; they're redefining the game. Pioneering #AI, their platform acts as a material search engine on steroids! Imagine specifying the exact properties you need, and CuspAI rapidly generates and evaluates novel structures with the potential to revolutionize everything from carbon capture to clean energy storage. This transformative approach, led by the visionary duo of AI luminary Professor Max Welling and seasoned chemist Dr Chad Edwards, is poised to propel sustainable solutions forward. A Force of Innovation: It's a powerhouse of expertise! Their Cambridge and Amsterdam-based team merges cutting-edge #AI with deep chemistry knowledge. Notably, their partnership with Meta underlines a commitment to open science, prioritizing the discovery of materials crucial for combating climate change. Together, they're fast-tracking efficient carbon capture technologies, marking a significant step towards a greener future. Investment in a Sustainable Future! They are backed by investors like Hoxton Ventures and Lightspeed, and their dedication to using #AI for societal good positions them as leaders in precision materials design. Industry leaders like Charles Seely (Hoxton Ventures) and Paul Murphy (Venture Partners) have lauded CuspAI's innovative approach and exceptional team. Hussein Kanji of Hoxton Ventures further emphasizes the transformative potential of AI and CuspAI's role in spearheading this revolution. The seed funding round also saw contributions from LocalGlobe, Northzone, Touring Capital, Giant Ventures, FJ Labs, Tiferes Ventures, Zero Prime Ventures, and notable angel investors like Mehdi Ghissassi and Dorothy Chou from Google DeepMind. CuspAI's story is just beginning. How do you think AI will change how we design materials to help the environment? #AI #MaterialsScience #Vsourz #Vectors #Sustainability #CleanEnergy #CuspAI #ClimateChange

Venture capital in the scorching hot fields of biotech and AI is making headlines with record-breaking funding rounds in 2021. We can see from the data that AI and biotech industries are the darlings of the VC world this year, scoring some of the most significant funding deals. Take Tempus Labs and Databricks for example. They have raised eye-popping amounts, $200 million and $1 billion respectively. These are significant numbers that highlight the confidence and aggressive investing strategy VC's have towards technology and innovation. It's clear to see that AI and biotech are not mere buzzwords but sectors with compelling potential. The magnetism and 'cool' factor of these sectors attract not just investment, but some of the most brilliant minds in the world eager to bring their ideas to life. A crucial observation is the prominence of later-stage funding

At Playground Global, we don't invest in science experiments or chase trends. We back the breakthrough technologies and remarkable founders with a clear path to commercialize and scale their technologies and disrupt legacy industries.   Today, we are thrilled to announce that we have raised $410 million in new capital, bringing the firm’s assets under management to more than $1.2 billion. Our first principle underwriting of chemistry, biology, and computation allows us to invest in breakthrough companies across next-gen compute, AI/automation, infrastructure, engineered biology, and decarbonization.   As we look back on 2023, we’ve been blown away by advancements of our portfolio companies, including: 🚀 Relativity Space launched the first 3D-printed rocket to space 🛫 Universal Hydrogen flew the world’s largest hydrogen-powered plane 🦾 Agility Robotics' bipedal robot, Digit, is being tested by Amazon and GXO in their warehouses 🧬 Ultima Genomics gave the world its first look at their UG 100 gene sequencing platform, offering an unprecedented $100 human genome with industrial-scale capacity We can’t wait to see what the new year brings! https://lnkd.in/gpKyHDU9

Renewcast secures €850k with an AI SaaS!🚀 Innovations in the climate tech sector are showing no signs of slowing down, as evidenced by Renewcast, a Rome-based startup that has recently secured €850k in funding from Helen Ventures a Finnish VC firm, Tech4Planet | Polo Nazionale di Trasferimento Tecnologico per la sostenibilità ambientale supported by CDP Venture Capital, Mindtitan and Beamline Fund.💸 Founded in 2020 by Fabio Nicolò and Ugo Mattoni Renewcast's proprietary technology uses expected weather conditions to make short-term and intraday forecasts of wind energy generation. In particular, it is a SaaS AI that is skilled in Deep Learning.🤖 The impact of Renewcast's technology is most evident in the reduction of imbalance costs. With this round, the climate tech startup will be able to expand into new markets and implement new features to its platform.📈 Follow Arcadia to continue to feel the pulse of Italian innovation!

Deeptech bucked the overall downward funding trend in tech last year. European deeptech startups raised more than $20bn in 2023, surpassing 2022’s $18bn figure and making for a record 44% of total capital invested in Europe, according to UK VC Atomico. AI companies like Paris-based Mistral and Germany’s Aleph Alpha raised monster rounds in the last six months, and have largely contributed to the deeptech craze. Many VCs are paying closer attention to pitch decks selling what may be the next scientific or engineering breakthrough. But it’s not all about AI. Deeptech ranges from quantum technologies to space, through energy and robotics. So what ideas are likely to get founders a call with an investor? Sifted asked deeptech VCs for their take.

An interesting report by Dealroom.co “ Impact Startup 2023”. Climate tech is one of the fastest growing markets in Venture Capital in general. 🚀 Carbon tracking & offsets grew more than 300x in the last 5 years! 🚀 Carbon Capture and Storage grew around 80x in the last 5 years ! 🚀 climate tech in general has more than 100 billion of funding between 22-2023. 🚀 interesting to see Fusion comparing to quantum computing both are tough tech and starting to interest the VC ecosystem but still with modest growth multiples. 🚀 amazing to see that even with all hype around generative AI, carbon tech grew faster but got a bit less funding. #venturecapital #impactinvesting #climatetech #sustainability #carbonremoval