Europe not immune to investment pullback, the case for backing early-stage startups, and more - July 12, 2022

July 12, 2022 [Q2 European startup funding drops 38% from a year earlier]( European startup investment in the second quarter dropped $14 billion from its peak as venture capital moved downstream. Funding to European startups across all stages reached $23.7 billion last quarter—down 38% from the peak of $38 billion a year earlier, Crunchbase data shows. [Why it’s time to invest in early-stage VC]( No matter where you look, it’s a scary time to deploy capital. But that’s exactly when generational opportunities are created, argues guest columnist Marc Schröder of Maschmeyer Group Ventures. [Partners Group buys majority stake in Budderfly]( As energy prices soar and environmental concern grows, startups that help companies manage their energy usage and carbon footprint continue to generate interest from VC and private equity firms. The latest example is Partners Group’s $500 million investment in Shelton, Connecticut-based Budderfly, a startup that provides companies equipment and systems to manage their energy use. [Klarna’s valuation plummets in new fundraise]( Buy now, pay later giant Klarna has raised $800 million in a new round of funding that values the company at $6.7 billion. The new valuation is a significant drop from its last. Klarna was the sixth-highest valued unicorn in the world at its previous valuation, according to [The Crunchbase Unicorn Board](. [Tiger leads in Q2 amid shifting lineup of most active investors]( While global venture investment has fallen considerably from last year’s peak, the most active startup investors of 2021 have remained prolific dealmakers in 2022. Tiger Global Management led the pack as the spendiest lead investor in global venture and growth-stage rounds. SoftBank Vision Fund and Insight Partners nabbed second and third place, respectively. We dive deeper into the data. [Asia funding continues its decline in rocky market]( For the second quarter in a row, the Asia venture market declined—following in lock-step what is going on globally. Funding to startups in the region hit $28.1 billion, a significant decline from the $51.5 billion raised in just the final quarter of last year, according to our analysis. [Top 10 deals: July starts slow with surprising cybersecurity raises]( Maybe companies were reluctant to announce new funding after the July 4th holiday, or maybe it was another indication of a slowing venture market, but July has started off slow—very slow. Only three rounds raised by U.S.-based startups reached nine figures. In fact, you could make the top 10 list this week raising $20 million. That is something that would never have happened last year. [How to overcome sales objections]( Hearing “no” over and over again can take a toll on anyone, and as a salesperson, you’re probably used to hearing “no” in all its forms. So, how do you overcome sales objections? In this article, we’ll discuss everything you need to know to overcome sales objections, share tips on how you can respond to prospects, and help you build a solid sales objection strategy. [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 [Top VCs in Asia with 10+ portfolio companies]( Investors 1163 [Acquisitions of security companies in the past 2 years]( Acquisitions 785 [Mobile payment companies funded in the last year]( Companies 247 [More Featured Searches and Lists]( [Check out our Crunchbase solutions here]( – prospecting tools made for everyone Recent Investments [Klarna]( [$800M]( / [Venture Round]( Klarna is an e-commerce payment solutions platform for merchants and shoppers. Categories: E-Commerce • FinTech • Payments • Shopping Founders: [Johens Jacobsson]( [Niklas Adalberth]( [Sebastian Siemiatkowski]( Investors: [Bestseller Group]( [Canada Pension Plan Investment Board]( [Commonwealth Bank of Australia]( [+ 6 more]( [Coalition]( [$250M]( / [Series F]( Coalition is a cyber insurance and security company that helps businesses manage and mitigate cyber risks. Categories: Cyber Security • Information Technology • Insurance • Risk Management Founders: [John Hering]( [Joshua Motta]( Investors: [Allianz X]( (Lead), [Kinetic Partners]( (Lead), [Valor Equity Partners]( (Lead) [Nurix Therapeutics]( [$40M]( / [Post-IPO Equity]( Nurix Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical company that focuses on the development and discovery of small molecule drugs. Categories: Biotechnology • Health Care • Life Science • Therapeutics Founders: [Arthur Weiss]( [John Kuriyan]( [Michael Rape]( More Fundings Company Amount / Round Lead Investor [AgriAku]( $35M / [Series A]( [Alpha JWC Ventures]( [DEUNA]( $30M / [Series A]( [Activant Capital]( [Kadmos]( 29M EUR / [Series A]( [Blossom Capital]( [011h]( 25M EUR / [Series A]( [Redalpine]( [Vegrow]( 2.0B INR / [Series B]( [Prosus Ventures]( [Moving Analytics]( $20M / [Series A]( [Seae Ventures]( [All Recent Funding Activity]( Recent Acquisitions [Budderfly]( Pending acquisition by [Partners Group]( for $500M More Acquisitions Company Acquired By Amount [ViaCyte]( [Vertex Pharmaceuticals]( $320M [All Recent Acquisition Activity]( #{Rails.configuration.daily.cb_url} Discover innovative companies and the people behind them. [Follow Us on Crunchbase]( [View Jobs on LinkedIn]( [Follow Us on Twitter]( [Like Us on Facebook]( 564 Market St, San Francisco, CA 94104 © 2022 Crunchbase Inc. All rights reserved. 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