Is raising capital getting harder? Web 3 funding explodes, VCs turn up the heat on restaurant tech investment, and more - March 16, 2022

March 16, 2022 [VCs turn up the heat on restaurant tech investment]( Investor appetite continues to grow for “restaurant tech” companies as more restaurateurs digitize their ordering, payment and delivery systems. And next on the menu is the sector’s biggest tech challenge—digitizing the kitchen. [Times are changing as some founders find it harder to raise capital]( With concerns around inflation and ongoing geopolitical disruption, some founders are finding that raising money is taking longer as VCs and their limited partners are skittish over the current macroeconomic environment. It’s a far cry from where things were just six month ago. [Even as market slows, Web3 funding explodes]( Although much of the current talk about venture is around a slowdown, all things Web3 and the decentralized web seem to be immune to that. Two examples just this week: A $450 million round by Switzerland-based blockchain startup ConsenSys and a $200 million “strategic” investment led by a16z for Aptos, founded by ex-Meta employees. [One female VC’s 5 suggestions for closing the investor gender gap]( Only 14 percent of check writers in US VC firms are female, highlighting the significant gap that remains between women and their male counterparts in the industry. Radhika Malik, a principal at Dell Technologies Capital (DTC), offers these five suggestion to address the VC gender gap. [Staffbase raises $115M at unicorn valuation]( Germany-based Staffbase, a provider of employee communications tools, announced that it raised $115 million in a Series E financing round led by General Atlantic that values it at $1.1 billion. [The VC-backed companies and big contractors inside the defense sector]( At over $770 billion for this fiscal year, the U.S. defense budget is nothing if not enormous. And considering a majority goes to private contractors, there’s no shortage of companies vying for a piece. We dive into the vc-backed companies getting jobs in the sector and the big contractors backing startups. [The Sales Signal: Five high-growth companies raise a combined $925M]( In the latest edition of The Sales Signal, a series that analyzes key data signals in Crunchbase that indicate company growth, we look into February’s funding insights to surface five high-growth companies that should be on your radar. [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 [Seed and venture funding in Germany-based companies in the last 6 months]( Funding Rounds 396 [SaaS companies that raised $1M-10M in last year]( Companies 759 [Current female founders who used to work at Google]( People 94 [More Featured Searches and Lists]( [Check out our Crunchbase solutions here]( – prospecting tools made for everyone Recent Investments [ConsenSys]( [$450M]( / [Series D]( ConsenSys builds Ethereum blockchain infrastructure and applications ranging from developer tools to enterprise solutions. Categories: Blockchain • Cryptocurrency • Mobile • Software Founders: [Andrew Keys]( [Joseph Lubin]( Investors: [ParaFi Capital]( (Lead), [Anthos Capital]( [C Ventures]( [+ 8 more]( [Staffbase]( [106M EUR]( / [Series E]( Staffbase offers an internal communications platform that provides better access to company information and digital workplace tools. Categories: Business Information Systems • Collaboration • Human Resources • Information Technology • Virtual Workforce Founders: [Frank Wolf]( [Lutz Gerlach]( [Martin Bohringer]( Investors: [General Atlantic]( (Lead), [Insight Partners]( [Cowbell Cyber]( [$100M]( / [Series B]( Cowbell Cyber provides AI-powered continuous risk assessment and cyber insurance. Categories: Cyber Security • FinTech • Insurance • InsurTech • Risk Management Founders: [Jack Kudale]( [Prab Reddy]( [Rajeev Gupta]( [Trent Cooksley]( Investors: [Anthemis Group]( (Lead), [Avanta Ventures]( [Brewer Lane Ventures]( [+ 10 more]( More Fundings Company Amount / Round Lead Investor [Nutcracker Therapeutics]( $167M / [Series C]( [ARCH Venture Partners]( [Socotra]( $50M / [Series C]( [Insight Partners]( [SupPlant]( $27M / [Venture Round]( [Red Dot Capital Partners]( [Gauntlet]( $24M / [Series B]( [Ribbit Capital]( [UpScalio]( $15M / [Series B]( [Gulf Islamic Investments LLC (GII)]( [inFeedo]( $12M / [Series A]( [Jungle Ventures]( [Genies]( Unknown / [Funding Round]( [Robert Iger]( [UpScalio]( Unknown / [Debt Financing]( - [All Recent Funding Activity]( Recent Acquisitions [Lifemark Health Group]( Pending acquisition by [Shoppers Drug Mart]( for 845M CAD More Acquisitions Company Acquired By Amount [Attivo Networks]( [SentinelOne]( $616M [All Recent Acquisition Activity]( Upcoming Tech Events Accelerator Deadlines Date Accelerator Location Mar 23, 2022 [Aentor]( Faridabad Mar 27, 2022 [MobilityXlab]( Gothenburg [More Upcoming Deadlines]( Don’t see your event? 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