3 states where VC funding thrived in 2022, and are SPACs back? - January 26, 2023

January 26, 2023 [Venture funding thrived in these 3 states last year]( While the holy trinity of venture funding — California, New York and Massachusetts — saw massive declines in funding during 2022, some states actually realized significant gains last year, according to Crunchbase data. We highlight the standouts. [These were Europe’s leading investors in 2022, by stage]( The slowdown in 2022 for Europe was less drastic than other regions, down 25% while North America was down 36% by year end. So who were the most active investors in European startups last year? [Are SPACs back? Freightos gives it a shot]( After a serious drought in public listings during 2022, Israel-based Freightos has readied its debut via SPAC. The company aims to make booking large freight transport as streamlined as booking a flight. We talked with Freightos CEO Zvi Schreiber about the company’s plans. [Blockchain platform QuickNode scores $60M]( QuickNode has raised $60 million in a Series B round led by 10T Holdings. The funding follows the company’s $35 million Series A over a year ago and gives it a reported $800 million valuation. [Companies that raised money in 2021 are more likely to see layoffs]( Can we predict layoffs? With data, maybe. A dive into Crunchbase layoff data for 2021 and 2022 reveals a pattern: After companies raise massive rounds, layoffs follow the next year. That doesn’t bode well for 2023, with more than 30,000 tech workers laid off so far in January. [Do the best startups really get funded during bad times?]( Venture capitalists keep saying it: Great companies will find the funding they need during the downturns. But is that really true? We ran a quick search of Crunchbase’s funding data between mid-2007 and mid-2009 to find the answer. Crunchbase Pro: Searches and Lists Name Type Entries [Investments in pet companies in the last year]( Funding Rounds 146 [Big data and analytics acquisitions in the past year]( Acquisitions 966 [$50M+ investments in artificial intelligence companies in the past year]( Funding Rounds 252 [More Featured Searches and Lists]( [Check out our Crunchbase solutions here]( – prospecting tools made for everyone Recent Investments [Resolution Life]( [$1.0B]( / [Corporate Round]( Resolution Life is a global life insurance group focusing on the acquisition and management of portfolios of life insurance policies. Categories: Financial Services • Insurance • Life Insurance Founders: [Clive Cowdery]( Investors: [Nippon Life Insurance Company of Japan]( (Lead) [Tranch]( [$100M]( / [Seed Round]( Tranch is a B2B buy-now pay-later (BNPL) platform enabling business to be paid upfront and offer their customers flexible payment options. Categories: B2B • Financial Services • FinTech • Payments Founders: [Beau Allison]( [Philip Kelvin]( Investors: [FoundersX Ventures]( (Lead), [Soma Capital]( (Lead), [Global Founders Capital]( [+ 1 more]( [QuickNode]( [$60M]( / [Series B]( QuickNode is a Blockchain Development Platform that helps build and scale web3 applications faster. Categories: Blockchain • Developer Tools • Ethereum • Internet Founders: [Alexander Nabutovsky]( [Auston Bunsen]( [Dmitry Shklovsky]( [Manuel Kreutz]( Investors: [10T Holdings]( (Lead), [Protocol Labs]( [QED Investors]( [+ 2 more]( More Fundings Company Amount / Round Lead Investor [Forward Networks]( $50M / [Series D]( [MSD Partners]( [Scythe]( $42M / [Series B]( [Energy Impact Partners]( [Komprise]( $37M / [Series D]( - [DevZero]( $21M / [Series A]( [Anthos Capital]( [Vartana]( $12M / [Series A]( [Mayfield Fund]( [Landeed]( $8.3M / [Seed Round]( [Bayhouse Capital]( [Gramophone]( 93M INR / [Corporate Round]( [Info Edge]( [Tranch]( Unknown / [Debt Financing]( - [All Recent Funding Activity]( Recent Acquisitions [Advance Energy Partners]( Pending acquisition by [Matador Resources Company]( for $1.6B More Acquisitions Company Acquired By Amount [L'Osteria]( [McWin Partners]( 400M EUR [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 © 2023 Crunchbase Inc. All rights reserved. [Privacy Policy]( | [Terms of Service]( [Unsubscribe]( from Crunchbase Daily.