Founders Factory

📩 Our final Startup Bulletin of the year is out now - our 2024 Wrap-Up Edition This bumper newsletter features... ...What we've learned about venture building this year (from the likes of Charlie Bullock, Gauthier Van Malderen, Ben Medland, Raluca Ciobancan, Sara Foster, and more) ...our year in numbers (from $$ raised to startup exits) ...the 'Best of the Rest' 2024 wrap-ups & 2025 predictions (ft. Andreessen Horowitz, Atomico, and more) Read the last Startup Bulletin of 2024 here: https://lnkd.in/erjgshBE Simon Lovick | Lee Bernasconi | George Northcott | Laura Moross | Aleezay Malik | Liam Nolan

🌊 Over the past 18 months, Blue Action Accelerator has invested in eight promising startups addressing challenges around the blue economy and climate. From ocean carbon capture to mobile offshore renewable energy, we’ve seen the breadth of challenges that founders are applying their ingenuity to. For (potentially) our final announcement of the year...we’re excited to announce our next three BAA investments: ⭐️ Elateq Founders: Ljiljana Rajić, Roderick Anderson, Marc Littman Elateq uses next generation electrochemistry to remove “forever chemicals” (PFAS) and capture critical metals from waste-water. ⭐️ Dolphin Labs Ocean Founders: Rolle Hogan 🌊⚡️, Michael Kelly, Chris Rauch  Dolphin Labs technology uses ocean waves to generate persistent, renewable electricity to enable remote ocean sensing networks, subsea microgrids, and communications. ⭐️ Metal Light Inc. Founders: Ryan Goethals, James Pikul Metal Light creates sustainable energy from metal via a metal-air generator technology, aimed at delivering on-shore power to the shipping industry, and long-term, to ships at sea. You can read about Blue Action Accelerator, and all of our investments, in Forbes (via Marianne Lehnis): https://lnkd.in/eFUF_mb4 George Northcott | Olivia Brooks | Rupert Hayward | Jeff Stoike | Melissa Halpern | Lee Bernasconi | Simon Lovick | Laura Moross | Marie-Louise Hayward | Katie Morgan-Jones #oceantech #climatetech #startups #climateVC

🔎 2024’s nearly up, but it’s not too late to start thinking about your next role at a tech startup.  Here’s a selection of exciting roles across Founders Factory and our global portfolio 👇 Regeno - financing the regenerative farming transition Location: UK 📍 Tech Lead / CTO: https://lnkd.in/eg6jRQ47 For more info: 🌱 Sven Poppelmann Cresce - personal savings AI agent Location: Italy / Europe 📍 Growth Founders Associate: https://lnkd.in/eeHyuGqb 📍 Founding Engineer: https://lnkd.in/e8gU7wRs For more info: Lapo L. Nila - global healthcare management for NRIs Location: London / Remote 📍 Full Stack Engineer: https://lnkd.in/eKESthFq For more info: Anthony Jacob CoVent - transforming how brands & events connect Location: NYC / Remote 📍 Full Stack Founding Engineer: https://lnkd.in/eAPhxqTs For more info: Andrew Swisher Stealth Startup - circular economy & fintech Location: Milan / Dublin / Remote 📍Full Stack Engineer: https://lnkd.in/e7Q5_seS For more info: Gianmaria Monteleone Tag anyone below who you think might be interested in any of these roles. Raluca Ciobancan | Sara Foster | Olly Betts | Andrea Guzzoni | Alberto W. Mucci | Conny Reh | Nick le Fevre | Maximilian Glintschert | Daniel Schossev Roden | Levi Young | Jacob George #startupjobs #startupopportunities #hiring

🧬 What did the deep tech sector look like in 2024? Once considered risky and capital intensive by VCs, deep tech came to the fore this year. From the AI giants like OpenAI, Mistral AI, and Wayve achieving multi-billion dollar valuations; to the skyrocketing demand for semiconductors that made NVIDIA the most valuable company in the world; or the number of lab-developed, scientific breakthroughs that starting showing they could solve challenges from climate to health to industrial decarbonisation. We continued expanding our investments in deep tech  📍 Our new Rio Tinto Mining Tech Accelerator sought companies transforming and decarbonising the mining industry 📍 Our new Nature Tech Accelerator, backed by the Government of Western Australia, sought breakthrough technologies that could transform how we protect and conserve nature and biodiversity 📍 We confirmed plans for a new Deep Tech Venture Studio in Singapore, backed by Enterprise Singapore, to back some of the most promising deep tech and scientific talent in the APAC region, and to bring top international deep tech talent to Singapore   Acquisitions were firmly back on the agenda as Big Tech companies showed clear interest in groundbreaking startups ⭐️ Landvault, the 3D world & metaverse builder, were acquired by Infinite Reality for $450M ⭐️ Versed AI, who use AI to identify and mitigate supply chain risk, were acquired by Exiger (the supply chain management market leader) 2024 saw technological and scientific breakthroughs across our portfolio 🧲 Matnex, who use AI and quantum to accelerate the discovery of new materials, developed a new rare-earth free magnet ✈️ Apian (Creator Fund) announced trials with the NHS to transport blood samples by drone across London between hospitals Fundraising demonstrated VC confidence in a range of deep technologies 💸 ️Dronamics received a €10M EIC grant, bringing their total raised to over $75M. They’re poised to commence commercial drone flights in early 2025 💸 ️Xapien announced their $10M Series A, as they use AI and LLMs to accelerate due diligence into minutes 💸 ️Endolith announced $5.1M in seed funding, as they combine hardware and software to increase copper recovery from mining ores 💸 ️Calvin Risk closed $4M in seed funding, building out their platform to help companies monitor and navigate AI risk 💸 ️Baseimmune (Creator Fund) raised $14M in Series A funding, as they apply proprietary AI to predict future pathogen mutations to generate novel vaccines 💸 Marqo (Creator Fund) closed their $12.5M Series A, deploying AI to help companies make best use of vast quantities of unstructured data Stay up to date with our latest updates and breakthroughs in deep tech: https://lnkd.in/dw8yYA9B Olivia Brooks | Jack Kennedy | Claire Mongeau | George Northcott | henry lane fox | Louis Warner | Marian Gazdik | Rupert Hayward | Lee Bernasconi | Simon Lovick | Jamie Macfarlane #deeptech #ai #hardware #materialscience #healthtech

🇮🇹 Last week, Founders Factory and Hoxton Ventures brought together some of Milan's most influential tech leaders and startup founders. With top funds (2100 Ventures, Italian Founders Fund, 360 Capital, Alchimia Investments) to top startups (Factanza Media, DataSpark), the evening involved lively discussion on: ⭐️ Where the next billion-dollar businesses will emerge from Italy's dynamic startup ecosystem ⭐️ How Italian diaspora founders are successfully scaling global companies internationally ⭐️ The evolution of AI from buzzword to foundational technology across industries, highlighting some of the exceptional work being done by the likes of Peptone (a joint portfolio company of Founders Factory & Hoxton) ⭐️ How legacy Italian institutions and families are actively backing the next generation of tech Thank you to the hosts Edoardo Gentili, Payton Dobbs, and Fabio Ardossi, and all those who joined from across the ecosystem. Stay up-to-date with future events like this in Milan and elsewhere: https://lnkd.in/dw8yYA9B Andrea Guzzoni | Alberto W. Mucci | Elena Vittone | Giulio Brugnaro | Maddalena Z. | Vittoria Anastasia Valentini | Olly Betts #techintaly #fintech #ai

🇦🇺 Over the last week, 12 startups from our Mining Tech and Nature Tech cohorts have gathered in Perth for the culmination of their Accelerator programs. For startups, this brings to a close four months of expert support from our Operations team and their respective program partners, helping them identify pathways to commercialisation, construct fundraising strategies, and build essential startup foundations. Highlights of the Perth residential week included: ⭐️ Pitching to investors At our Investor Showcase, each of the 12 startups delivered a three-minute pitch to an audience of 100+ investors, corporates (inc. Rio Tinto & other leading mining companies), WA government officials, and other influential industry figures. This was the culmination of weeks of fundraising support and ‘Pitch Ninja’ practice from our CSDO David Hickson ⭐️  Engaging with industry leaders Founders got the chance to meet face-to-face with their program partners (including Rio Tinto and the Government of Western Australia) to outline their business case, and begin exploring next steps towards collaborations, pilots, and contracts. We also welcomed Stephen Dawson, WA Minister for Innovation and Digital Economy, to our program reception. ⭐️ Building relationships with the Founders Factory team & fellow founders This involved formal learning through workshops and masterclasses held by our Perth team and visiting colleagues, as well as chances to socialise and network at evening events ⭐️ Opportunities to speak to customers Our customer roundtable gave startups a chance to meet and problem solve with prospective customers (ranging from industry leaders to government customers) ⭐️ Experiencing Perth’s local culture & tech ecosystem Founders were offered the chance to attend a range of events, including West Tech Coast, Freo Startup Fest, and a trip to Rottnest Island, to understand why Perth is considered one of APAC’s most promising startup hubs. They also got the chance to experience a Welcome to Country, a traditional First Nations ceremony to welcome visitors to their land. A special mention goes out to Tamryn Barker and Charlotta Kemp, our Perth team, for organising and hosting the full program of activities; and to our 12 startups and 17 founders for their fantastic engagement over the course of the week. Applications are open for our next Mining Tech & Nature Tech programs (until January 17th). Find out more & apply here: ➡️ Mining Tech: https://lnkd.in/egDDyVby  ➡️ Nature Tech: https://lnkd.in/eXb6jW-8  ➡️ To refer a startup: https://lnkd.in/e_CYcBhx henry lane fox | George Northcott | Damian Routley | David Hickson | Olivia Brooks | Pekka Santasalo | Les Delaforce | Ben Wyatt | Jack Kennedy | Rohan Silva #miningtech #naturetech #climatetech #deeptech #startups #accelerator

It was a rousing evening of (mostly) friendly competition at the Founders Factory x Snowflake Women in Fintech Pub Quiz last week! Tanmaiyii Rao and I hosted an excellent crew of fintech founders, investors, operators, and builders who really knew their stuff! Big thanks to everyone that came along to face the nerdiest trivia questions ever - from "How much funding did Monzo close in 2024?" to "What does AML stand for?" Stay tuned for more #WomeninTech events in the new year! #WomeninFintech #WomenEntrepreneurs #WomeninVC

⚒️ What have we been working on in our Venture Studio this year? Our Venture Studio generates concepts, validates them through our venture design process, and hires entrepreneurs-in-residence to build them into venture-backable businesses with the support of our Studio team and corporate partners. To date, we’ve spun out over 100 businesses - with notable successes including Tembo (who just raised their £14M Series B), Acre, and Byway. In 2024, we saw the launch of our new Proptech Venture Studio, with Vonovia. Our Italy Venture Studios—with Fastweb and Mediobanca—were up and running this year, spinning out our first two ventures (see below). We also wrapped up our Mission Studio collaboration with Nesta, which has seen us spin out 9 ventures over the past three years (including Furbnow & martee ai). We built and spun out eight new businesses this year. These are: ⭐️ Trustestate—an end-to-end platform for probate administration and management ⭐️ GridShare—crowdinvesting platform to democratise access to newly-constructed solar farms ⭐️ Ogma—first AI-powered tool for speech and language therapists ⭐️ CoVent—event sponsorship marketplace & AI matching tool   ⭐️ Mealia—meal planning & shopping co-pilot ⭐️ Regeno—data management tool to finance the transition to regenerative farming ⭐️ Equis—tech-enabled buyout platform for SMEs ⭐️ Nila—global healthcare management for non-resident Indians to provide remote care We’ve continued working closely with our Studio partners to explore new concepts: 💸 With Aviva—the intersection of AI and insurance, and how agents could transform the whole insurance value chain ⚡️ With Fastweb—a range of concepts from next-gen home/contents insurance, to AI-powered financial savings agents 🔵 With Pico Group—the future of social media and communications, powered by generative AI 🏡 With Vonovia—transforming urban living, from mass-scale decarbonisation (WALLROUND) to transforming rent payments 💶 With Mediobanca—financial products for the super wealthy Are you building in any of these spaces, or interested in finding out more? Get in touch: https://lnkd.in/eWbxan4s Claire Morris | Sahil Sachdev | Jacob George | Ed Harding | Kyling Saw | Jack Howell | Alberto W. Mucci | Giulio Brugnaro | Vittoria Anastasia Valentini | Maddalena Z. | Alex Daish | Daniel Schossev Roden | Conny Reh | Maximilian Glintschert | Sara Foster | Raluca Ciobancan #venturestudio #venturedesign #venturebuilding

🌎 What did the climate sector look like in 2024? 2024 is on track to be the warmest year on record, with average temperatures expected to exceed 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels for the first time. At the same time, we saw one of the most active years in terms of climate innovation and investment, with some of society’s best scientists and engineers solving some of our most pressing challenges. ✨ Updates from Founders Factory We launched a number of new programmes focused at building solutions around climate and decarbonisation. ➡️ Our new Mining Tech Accelerator, backed by Rio Tinto, saw us make our first six investments to disrupt the mining industry—from increasing metal recovery to treating mining waste, to improving remote discovery ➡️ Our new Nature Tech Accelerator, in partnership with the Government of Western Australia, sought to back startups building resilience around nature, biodiversity, agriculture, and more ➡️ We launched a new Proptech Venture Studio, in partnership with Vonovia (Europe’s largest housing group), to drive the future of urban living (including developing climate-neutral housing). We’re already supporting the build of WALLROUND, a German-based startup helping retrofit and decarbonise private housing. ➡️ We launched our next cohort of Blue Action Accelerator - watch this space for an announcement on our latest investments… ➡️ G-Force (our climate seed investment programme) started investments from its second fund—backing the likes of Ki Hydrogen, Tattva, Good Agriculture, HERlab, and Brightly this year Our Climate portfolio continued to see fundraising success ⭐️ Notpla raised a $25M Series A, as they continued to disrupt the world of plastic packaging through their seaweed-based packaging alternatives ⭐️ DRIFT Energy Ltd closed their $6.2M seed round, as they look to launch a new class of renewable energy (wind-powered vessels that generate green hydrogen) ⭐️ Brineworks raised $2.2M in seed funding for their ocean-based carbon capture technology  ⭐️ Furbnow, the home retrofitting and decarbonisation platform, raised a $1.2M pre-seed ⭐️ GridShare, our first Fastweb Venture Studio business, successfully crowdfunded $900K to fund construction of their first crowd-owned solar farm Olivia Brooks | George Northcott | Louis Warner | Marian Gazdik | Jack Kennedy | Claire Mongeau | Rupert Hayward | Melissa Halpern | Jeff Stoike | Andrea Guzzoni | Conny Reh | Maximilian Glintschert | Simon Lovick | Laura Moross | Katie Morgan-Jones | Marie-Louise Hayward #climatetech #climate #sustainability #startups 

Great to see Tembo and Perlego recognised in Sifted's inaugural list of the 250 Fastest Growing Startups in Europe. Tembo 🏡 ⭐️ Mortgage & savings platform for first-time homebuyers ⭐️ Built by Richard Dana, Eddie Ross, and Geoff Wright in our Venture Studio ⭐️ Recently closed £14M Series B 📚 Perlego ⭐️ E-subscription platform & learning tools for academic textbooks ⭐️ Founded by Gauthier Van Malderen, backed in our Edtech Accelerator ⭐️ Closed $20M in funding earlier this year Check out the full list below 👇