May sees an uptick in new unicorns

Who were the top U.S. investors for May? June 8, 2023 Hi, {NAME}. No, there weren’t a ton of new startups joining [The Crunchbase Unicorn Board]( in May, but there were more than the month before and we’ll take it. Plus, it’s a strange and shifting environment among top U.S. investors. We highlight a few leaders from last month. 🦄 [These 10 companies became unicorns in May]( Ten companies joined [The Crunchbase Unicorn Board]( in May 2023 — double the count for April 2023 but still significantly down from 34 new unicorns in May 2022. See who the newcomers were. 💰 [Gaingels and Soma Capital lead as top U.S. investors for May]( Investors seemed wary of pulling out their checkbooks too often last month. Only five venture firms — excluding accelerators — made a half-dozen investments or more. 🤚 [Will the recent crackdown on crypto impact venture?]( It’s been quite a turbulent couple of days for crypto, as U.S. regulators sued the two biggest exchanges in the world, [Binance]( and [Coinbase](. The charges brought against both companies by the [Securities and Exchange Commission]( explicitly show the regulator is getting very serious about bringing crypto under its jurisdiction and that of federal securities laws. Related list: [Funding To VC-Backed Crypto Startups By Quarter]( 🎓 [Stanford, Harvard, MIT still turn out the most funded founders]( The pandemic changed many things about how Americans build and fund startups, but the same three universities still churn out the most founders of funded companies. [Per Crunchbase data]( roughly a quarter of U.S. seed or pre-seed investment in the past three years went to companies founded by [Stanford]( [Harvard]( or [MIT]( alumni. Related list: [Seed-Funding For Founders Who Attended Stanford, Harvard And MIT]( ⏱️ [It’s taking longer for startups to go from A to B]( Typically it’s been a quick hop from Series A to Series B for startup founders, often less than two years. But as venture funding contracts, the lag time between rounds is getting longer. We chart out the median and average fundraising time spans since 2012. ❓ [Reader survey: What’s your outlook for the second half of 2023?]( We’re approaching the halfway point of 2023, and few predictions from the beginning of the year have fully panned out. That said, we want to hear from you, our readers, about what you expect from the rest of a year that has thus far defied expectations. Let us know in this quick survey. [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]( Recent Investments [Universal Music Group]( [750M EUR]( / [Post-IPO Debt]( Universal Music Group is a music-based entertainment company that offers music recording, publishing, and merchandising services worldwide. Categories: Media and Entertainment • Music • Publishing [Day One Biopharmaceuticals]( [$150M]( / [Post-IPO Equity]( Day One Biopharmaceuticals develops targeted therapies to treat people with life-threatening diseases. Categories: Biopharma • Biotechnology • Health Care • Pharmaceutical Founders: [Julie Papanek Grant]( [Samuel Blackman]( [Mondee]( [$52M]( / [Post-IPO Secondary]( Mondee is a travel technology company that offers platform technology services to connect travel suppliers with Mondee affiliates. Categories: Big Data • Leisure • Marketplace • Software • Travel Founders: [Prasad Gundumogula]( More Fundings Company Amount / Round Lead Investor [Instabase]( $45M / [Series C]( [Tribe Capital]( [Ecovative Design]( $30M / [Series E]( [Viking Global Investors]( [Arbe]( $23M / [Post-IPO Equity]( [Special Situations Funds]( [Yuvo]( $20M / [Series A]( [Mastry Ventures]( [Sourcemap]( $20M / [Series B]( [Energize Ventures]( [River]( 1.2B INR / [Series B]( [Al-Futtaim Group]( [MatrixSpace]( $10M / [Series A]( [Raptor Group]( [All Recent Funding Activity]( Recent Acquisitions [Immedis]( Pending acquisition by [UKG]( for 550M EUR More Acquisitions Company Acquired By Amount [Telge Energi]( [Fortum]( 450M SEK [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.