A recap of 2022’s highs and (mostly) lows, AI beats Web3, Bradley Tusk’s takeaways, and more - December 20, 2022

December 20, 2022 [What the heck happened? A look back at a wild year in tech]( Remember January 2022? Ah, those were the days. The venture-backed startup world was revving up for another record-breaking year, raising huge rounds and paving the way to successful IPOs. But then caution flags began flying, venture capitalists pulled back, layoffs mounted and lucrative exits became few and far between. Follow along with the Crunchbase News team as we track the major events of a year full of hairpin turns. [AI buzzwords beating those for Web3 in funded startups]( Some business plans are in vogue one season and out the next while others show prolonged staying power; Web3 and the broader crypto space, and AI, respectively. For perspective, we charted out funding rounds for the past six quarters. [Bradley Tusk offers his non-obvious lessons learned in tech for 2022]( A lot happened in tech in 2022, much of it not particularly good. Bradley Tusk, co-founder and managing partner at Tusk Venture Partners, tackles the top debacles and shares what we learned from each. [Redaptive nabs $200M as U.S. races to lower carbon footprint]( San Francisco-based Redaptive, an energy efficiency startup, raised $200 million from the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board shortly after it scrapped plans to go public. We take a look at what the startup offers and what investment in conservation-related companies looks like as we wrap 2022. [Funding falls for startups fighting cancer]( If one thing could stay steady in this ever-fluctuating startup funding scene, you’d think it would be cancer investment. But that’s not how it works. The sharp downturn in startup funding between 2021 and 2022 extends to venture-backed companies working on cancer therapies and diagnostics. [10 biggest rounds: It was a strange week indeed]( It was a weird week. Two of the top four rounds were actually large down rounds and a third came with “restructuring” and layoff news. Not exactly what you expect when startups raise large rounds, but these are strange times indeed. Exclusive End-Of-Year Promo Discover companies in a position to buy right now with Crunchbase Pro - now 20% off with code CLOSE2022. Redeem now to increase your ROI with a single solution. [Redeem Offer]( [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 [Hypergiant ($250M+) venture rounds since 2013]( Funding Rounds 1004 [Art companies with $25M+ funding]( Companies 21 [Founders of exited AI companies]( People 1489 [More Featured Searches and Lists]( [Check out our Crunchbase solutions here]( – prospecting tools made for everyone Recent Investments [Updraft]( [100M GBP]( / [Debt Financing]( Updraft is a lending, credit report, and financial planning app for millennials. Categories: Banking • Financial Services • FinTech Founders: [Aseem Munshi]( [David Yalland]( [Matt Millar]( Investors: [NatWest Bank]( (Lead), [Hampshire Trust Bank]( [Wastequip]( [$45M]( / [Debt Financing]( Wastequip designs and manufactures various waste containers and handling equipment. Categories: Machinery Manufacturing • Recycling • Waste Management [Evelo Biosciences]( [$45M]( / [Post-IPO Debt]( Evelo Biosciences develops oral biologics with systemic therapeutic effects. Categories: Biotechnology • Health Care • Medical • Therapeutics Founders: [David Berry]( [Noubar Afeyan]( Investors: [Horizon Technology Finance]( (Lead) More Fundings Company Amount / Round Lead Investor [Everfuel]( 246M DKK / [Grant]( [European Commission]( [EnginZyme]( 21M EUR / [Series B]( - [RegASK]( $10M / [Series A]( [Monograph Capital]( [Updraft]( 8.0M GBP / [Series A]( [Auluk Investments]( [Kuona]( $6.0M / [Seed Round]( [Cometa]( [Utorg]( $5.0M / [Seed Round]( [Dragonfly]( [Sib Solutions]( 50M SEK / [Venture Round]( [Scania Growth Capital]( [Alchemab Therapeutics]( 1.7M GBP / [Grant]( [Biomedical Catalyst Fund]( [All Recent Funding Activity]( Recent Acquisitions [Maxar Technologies]( Pending acquisition by [Advent International]( for $6.4B More Acquisitions Company Acquired By Amount [Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings]( [L3 Harris Technologies]( $4.7B [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. [Privacy Policy]( | [Terms of Service]( [Unsubscribe]( from Crunchbase Daily.