VC funding starts to dip as investors show new caution, the 10 biggest deals of the week, and more - March 14, 2022

March 14, 2022 [Startup funding dips as investors show new caution]( Global venture funding fell by $10 billion, or 17 percent, last month compared to January but is still up significantly year over year. Most impacted: Early- and late-stage funding, which each showed double-digit percentage drops, suggesting some amount of caution has started to creep into startup investing. [Fintech startups rule among 10 biggest deal-getters of the week]( Funding announcements returned closer to normalcy last week and private investors affirmed they just can’t get enough of fintech, which was the top sector for VC investment in 2021. Last week, half of the companies on our list of the 10 biggest VC funding recipients in the U.S., including the top two, were related to financial services. [Rihanna’s lingerie brand is reportedly eyeing an IPO]( Savage X Fenty, the lingerie company founded by Rihanna, is reportedly working with banks on an IPO that could value it at $3 billion. That would be significant for a few reasons, among them that most VC-backed companies have put their IPO plans this year on pause amid market volatility. The brand is also one of several underwear startups that have received sizable venture backing, Crunchbase data shows. [Big-name investors stay active despite questions in the market]( Even as talk persisted of a slowdown in venture dollars going to startups and valuations being cut, the likes of Tiger Global, Insight Partners, Andreessen Horowitz and Lightspeed Venture Partners all announced more deals in U.S.-based startups in February than they did in January. [How early-stage investor Initialized spots future unicorns]( We sit down with Garry Tan, a co-founder at early-stage investment firm Initialized Capital, to discuss the firm’s successful track record of investing early in now-leading unicorns including Coinbase, Cruise and Instacart, and how Tan’s past career at Y Combinator influences his investment approach. [What other startup execs can learn from Elizabeth Holmes’ trial]( If you’re an executive at a company that’s under investigation, it’s important to engage your own legal counsel—even if you don’t initially seem to be the target of the probe, writes guest author and attorney Mike Warren. For a high-profile example, look no further than Theranos’ Elizabeth Holmes. [SaaS sales: Your guide to success]( Software as a service, or SaaS, has rapidly taken off in recent years—and with its increasing popularity, comes a different sales approach. Learn the basics of SaaS sales and discover a few tips you can use to improve your SaaS sales game. [Enhance Your Sales Team’s Prospecting]( [Crunchbase Enterprise is an all-in-one prospecting solution. Download this product overview sheet to learn how to close more deals without the headache.]( [Download Now]( Crunchbase Pro: Searches and Lists Name Type Entries [Female investors]( Investors 12400 [Female founded fashion startups]( Companies 967 [Fintech companies acquired in the last year]( Acquisitions 284 [More Featured Searches and Lists]( [Check out our Crunchbase solutions here]( – prospecting tools made for everyone Recent Investments [Typeform]( [$135M]( / [Series C]( Typeform provides online forms that power brand interactions with professional-looking forms. Categories: Consumer Research • SaaS • Software • UX Design Founders: [David Okuniev]( [Robert Muñoz]( Investors: [Sofina]( (Lead), [Connect Ventures]( [General Atlantic]( [+ 6 more]( [Kuku FM]( [$20M]( / [Series B]( Kuku FM is a vernacular podcasting platform that creates and distributes exclusive premium audio content in the form of audiobooks. Categories: Apps • Audio • Digital Entertainment • Podcast • Software Founders: [Lal Chand Bisu]( [Vikas Goyal]( [Vinod Kumar Meena]( Investors: [Krafton]( (Lead), [3one4 Capital]( [Founder Bank Capital]( [+ 3 more]( [Kristal.AI]( [$6.3M]( / [Series B]( Kristal.AI develops a digital private wealth platform designed to make premium investments available to the masses. Categories: Banking • Financial Services • FinTech • Wealth Management Founders: [Asheesh Chanda]( [Vineeth Narasimhan]( [Vivek Mohindra]( Investors: [sudhanshu sanadhya]( More Fundings Company Amount / Round Lead Investor [AiFi]( $65M / [Series B]( - [Diamond Age]( $50M / [Series A]( [Prime Movers Lab]( [Nice Healthcare]( $30M / [Series A]( [DNA Capital]( [100ms]( $20M / [Series A]( [Alpha Wave Incubation]( [SmithRx]( $20M / [Series B]( [Venrock]( [Igloo]( $19M / [Series B]( [Cathay Innovation]( [Topsort]( $8.0M / [Seed Round]( - [All Recent Funding Activity]( Recent Acquisitions [Umanis]( Pending acquisition by [CGI]( for 310M EUR More Acquisitions Company Acquired By Amount [Grilla Grills]( [American Outdoor Brands]( $27M [All Recent Acquisition Activity]( Upcoming Tech Events [Brand Growth Summit 2022]( March 16 - 16, 2022 Brand Growth Summit 2022 is a virtual event for modern marketers, brands, and growth leaders. 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