7 OCTOBER | LONDON 2024
SEPTEMBER 12TH - 14TH
The O2, LONDON
Future of Capital Allocation
Your weekly newsletter on the fast-evolving world of investing
How AI can help you make better bets
The median deal size in 2023 so far is £15.5 million — but some biotechs are already raking in huge rounds, like Genesis Therapeutics’ £158 million cash infusion from Andreessen Horowitz
The CogX Festival is nearly here. Next week, we’ll host some of the biggest names in AI, VC, entrepreneurship, emerging tech, and more.
🔮 Pack a year’s worth of research and insights into 3 days, with access to the AI & Deep Tech Summit & Industry Transformation Summit
•You'll hear inspiring talks, from Hugging Face co-founder Thomas Wolf’s mediation on democratising NLP to investor Rana el Kaliouby's session on the unprecedented opportunity human-AI collaboration will unlock.
🚀 Accelerate exposure to investment opportunities
•Meet 1,000+ startups at the Expo & book on-site meeting spaces for real-time 1:1s.
📣 10x your network
•Get access to the exclusive Investor and Gold lounges.
—Charlie and the Research & Intelligence Team
🤖 State of play for AI investing
Despite a quarterly funding decline, there was an uptick in deals, billion-dollar valuations and mega-rounds. The average AI deal size is up by a whopping 48% year-on-year.
😊 Well-being hacks VCs swear by
It’s no secret that the startup scene is stressful — but these days, there’s less of a taboo around mental health. From never paying for WiFi on flights to cycling to work, here’s how to stay sane as an investor.
How AI is transforming investing
💰 AI and big data ETFs cash in big
Despite the wider downturn for trend-based investing, the funds attracted £436 million in the six months to the end of June — 53% of what was brought in by all thematic ETFs in Europe.
📊 How to use AI to make better bets
The tech is reshaping how financial data is collected, analysed and used. AI can reduce behavioural biases that affect investment, highlight hidden costs and evaluate competitors’ trading strategies.
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Startups
🛎️ Looking for early-stage funding?
Start here: these are the 10 most active angel networks in Europe by deal count over the last year, from London’s SFC Capital to Prague’s DEPO Ventures.
🚀 How to expand your startup
VCs give their take on how to expand in a volatile market, from hiring with discernment to avoiding copy-pasting their product into new markets. Companies with failed international expansions are less likely to secure follow-on investments, so plan carefully when entering new markets.
Jobs
•Head of Business Development | Scarlet | London | £100-120k
•Business Development Director | Lloyds | London | £85-110k
•Head of Sales | Hertility Health | Remote | £80-110k
•Head of Sales | Volteras | Remote | £120-140k
•Business Development Director | Volt | Berlin | £70-95k
The investment ecosystem
Noteworthy deals
Series A+
•Israeli generative AI startup — and OpenAI competitor — AI21 Labs raised £122.8m in a Series C round led by Walden Catalyst and Samsung Next.
•Ghost, an LA-based B2B marketplace for surplus inventory, raised £24m in a Series B funding round led by Cathay Innovation.
•Berlin fintech Ivy raised £15.8m in a Series A led by Valar Ventures.
Pre-seed & seed
•Bladder health startup Jude raised a £3.3m seed round led by Eka Ventures and Joyance.
•Helskini-based lab analysis startup Measurlabs raised £2m in a seed round led by Venture Friends.
•London startup OneID has secured £1m in a seed round led by ICF Investors to build out its digital ID services.