Black-founded startups see steep drop in VC funding, how to survive down rounds, and more - June 17, 2022

June 17, 2022 [VC funding to Black-founded startups slows dramatically]( Venture funding to Black-founded startups in the U.S. was $324 million in the second quarter of this year—a steep drop from prior quarters, when investment to those companies had just started to show hopeful signs of progress. [Surviving down rounds]( Founders spin a vision to attract investment dollars, then race to turn that vision into reality. But what if the tide goes out faster than you expected? Russ Wilcox, partner at Pillar VC, provides a crash course on down rounds. [Spotify slows hiring amid recession worries]( Music streaming service Spotify said it will slow down hiring by 25%. It’s the latest company to scale back hiring amid turmoil in the public markets and a possible recession. Along with fewer new hires, companies have rescinded job offers, and nearly 100 U.S.-based tech companies have laid off staff, according to a [Crunchbase News tally](. [SoftBank’s Vision Fund deals show slowing pace, smaller rounds]( When SoftBank announced last month it will take a more conservative approach to selecting investments, it was another warning shot that the high times of 2021 are over for venture capital. However, SoftBank was slowing its investing even before the declaration—at least in terms of the size of the rounds it participated in, if not the number, according to Crunchbase data. [Deal terms favor investors as funding game changes]( Last year at this time, venture dollars flowed freely and startup founders could pretty much name their own terms and prices on deals. But amid a broad funding pullback, deal terms have shifted to being more favorable for investors, who have much more sway on everything from valuations to liquidity preferences. [What’s going on with tech layoffs? Late-stage startups hit hardest]( In the brutal sweep of layoffs hitting U.S.-based tech companies this year, late-stage startups have fared the worst, according to a Crunchbase News analysis of [aggregated layoff data](. We share other insights from the recent layoff trend. [The Lead List: 16 hot companies to sell to in June]( In May, 16 high-growth startups closed on fresh funding and were added to the Crunchbase Emerging Unicorn Board. In the latest edition of The Lead List, we’ll take a look at these newly minted emerging unicorns and equip you with all the information you need to sell to them in June. Limited-Time Promo Close out the quarter strong with Crunchbase Pro - now 20% off with code CLOSEOUTQ2 [Redeem Offer]( [Crunchbase ROI Calculator]( [See the number of new accounts Crunchbase can add to your funnel with our advanced prospecting ROI calculator powered by Crunchbase data.]( [Calculate]( Crunchbase Pro: Searches and Lists Name Type Entries [Female founded companies that have raised a Series A in the last year]( Funding Rounds 595 [U.S.-based Furniture Startups]( Funding Rounds 158 [Companies acquired by Uber]( Acquisitions 13 [More Featured Searches and Lists]( [Check out our Crunchbase solutions here]( – prospecting tools made for everyone Recent Investments [Overair]( [$145M]( / [Series B]( Overair designs, develops, and manufactures electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. Categories: Aerospace • Air Transportation • Electric Vehicle • Manufacturing Founders: [Abraham Karem]( [Ben Tigner]( Investors: [Hanwha Systems]( (Lead) [PayCargo]( [$130M]( / [Series C]( PayCargo is an online payment settlement system for the Global Freight Maritime industry. Categories: FinTech • Payments • Software Founders: [Juan Dieppa]( [Sergio Lemme]( Investors: [Blackstone Group]( (Lead) [DataStax]( [$115M]( / [Private Equity Round]( DataStax helps enterprises mobilize real-time data through an open data stack. Categories: Big Data • Cloud Data Services • Database • Enterprise Software • Open Source Founders: [Jonathan Ellis]( [Matt Pfeil]( Investors: [Goldman Sachs Asset Management]( (Lead), [Crosslink Capital]( [EDBI]( [+ 3 more]( More Fundings Company Amount / Round Lead Investor [Aidoc]( $110M / [Series D]( [Alpha Intelligence Capital]( [airSlate]( $52M / [Series C]( [G Squared]( [Narmi]( $35M / [Series B]( [Greycroft]( [Canadian Solar]( 136M BRL / [Post-IPO Debt]( [Banco do Nordeste do Brasil]( [Chain.io]( $11M / [Series A]( [Fontinalis Partners]( [Plobal Apps]( $8.5M / [Seed Round]( [Bessemer Venture Partners]( [Matillion]( Unknown / [Venture Round]( [Snowflake Ventures]( [All Recent Funding Activity]( Recent Acquisitions [LifeWorks]( Pending acquisition by [Telus Health]( for 2.9B CAD More Acquisitions Company Acquired By Amount [M.I.Tech]( [Boston Scientific]( 291B KRW [All Recent Acquisition Activity]( Upcoming Tech Events Accelerator Deadlines Date Accelerator Location Jul 12, 2022 [Conscious Venture Lab]( Baltimore Aug 31, 2022 [EY Startup Academy]( Frankfurt [More Upcoming Deadlines]( Don’t see your event? 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