Early-round unicorns minted at breakneck pace, the tech giants pausing hiring, and more - July 26, 2022

July 26, 2022 [Early-round unicorns still happening despite market pullback]( Even with a drop in venture funding and slashed valuations, early-stage companies are still being minted as unicorns at a breakneck pace. Last year saw a record 109 companies reach unicorn status after an early-stage funding round. There has been almost no drop in that record pace so far this year. [Not quite layoffs, these tech companies have still ‘paused hiring’]( From Meta to Microsoft to Apple, these tech companies have said they’ll slow down or put a freeze on hiring amid the market downturn. We take a look. [Inside BAI Capital’s $700M fund for startups in China]( China-based venture firm BAI Capital announced a new $700 million fund aimed at claiming a slice of the country’s startup ecosystem. This is the first time BAI Capital has closed a fund in U.S. dollars. It’s also the first time the firm grew its fund through external limited partnerships. The funding will go toward technology in automation, SaaS products, the retail sector, Web3 and the metaverse. [4 founder tips for building resilience and staying sane]( Harry Hurst, co-founder and co-CEO of Pipe, shares four key principles to help keep your company growing, protect the entire team’s mental health, and build a company where everyone loves to work. [Web3 startup Aptos locks up $150M from FTX Ventures, Jump Crypto]( In further evidence of investors’ insatiable appetite for all things Web3, Aptos Labs closed a $150 million Series A. The round comes just four months after the company closed a $200 million investment from Tiger Global, Coinbase Ventures and FTX Ventures, and valued the company at $1 billion. [UK leads with 3 companies to join Emerging Unicorn Board]( Meet the 12 companies joining our Emerging Unicorn Board in June. Fintech takes center stage with data and analytics in a supporting role. We also shine a spotlight on startups’ advances in health care, e-commerce and edtech. [Ernest Owusu on what it takes to climb the sales ladder]( Ernest Owusu is the Sr. Director of Sales Development at [6Sense]( and a thought leader for BDRs looking to improve their sales game. We chatted with Owusu about his unconventional journey from professional football to sales, new sales strategies and tactics, and advice for professionals looking to launch their careers in sales. [Crunchbase Raises $50M Series D]( [With this funding, Crunchbase will advance its powerful account-based prospecting platform to help more deal-makers build pipeline and grow revenue efficiently]( [LEARN MORE]( Crunchbase Pro: Searches and Lists Name Type Entries [Music and audio companies with $30M+ funding]( Companies 181 [Recently funded baby startups]( Companies 30 [Top investors in robots (by CB Rank)]( Investors 3042 [More Featured Searches and Lists]( [Check out our Crunchbase solutions here]( – prospecting tools made for everyone Recent Investments [Fi.Money]( [3.5B INR]( / [Series C]( Fi.Money is a neobank that provides a financial app with a zero-balance savings account. Categories: Financial Services • FinTech • Information Technology • Mobile Payments Founders: [Sujith Narayanan]( [Sumit Gwalani]( Investors: [Alpha Wave Global]( (Lead) [Shares]( [$40M]( / [Series B]( Shares is a social investment platform that allows anyone to invest without minimums. Categories: Finance • Financial Services • FinTech • Information Technology Founders: [Benjamin Chemla]( [François Ruty]( [Harjas Singh]( Investors: [Valar Ventures]( (Lead) [Altruistiq]( [15M GBP]( / [Seed Round]( Altruistiq provides a platform that enables enterprises to automate sustainability data measurement, management, and exchange. Categories: CleanTech • GreenTech • Software • Sustainability Founders: [Saif Hameed]( Investors: [Molten Ventures]( (Lead), [Greg Jackson]( [Ian Cheshire]( [+ 3 more]( More Fundings Company Amount / Round Lead Investor [Health Note]( $17M / [Series A]( [SignalFire]( [Cartona]( $12M / [Series A]( [Silicon Badia]( [Boxlight]( $5.0M / [Post-IPO Equity]( - [Ensurge Micropower]( 48M NOK / [Post-IPO Debt]( - [Better Opinions]( 200M INR / [Seed Round]( - [ChefKart]( 156M INR / [Seed Round]( [Blume Ventures]( [Ensurge Micropower]( 8.5M NOK / [Post-IPO Equity]( - [KedaiSayur]( Unknown / [Series A]( [Kejora-SBI Orbit]( [All Recent Funding Activity]( Recent Acquisitions [Penta]( Pending acquisition by [Qonto]( for Unknown #{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. [Privacy Policy]( | [Terms of Service]( [Unsubscribe]( from Crunchbase Daily.