Cisco’s ex-CEO raises $175M to take on his old company

Asia VC funding falls sharply, (but probably not where you think) August 2, 2023 Hi, {NAME}. If you heard that venture dollars to Asia are down significantly, you might assume that’s largely due to a decline in funding to startups in China, with U.S.-Sino relations remaining testy and American venture firms pulling back their spending there. But that’s not the case, [Crunchbase]( data shows. While China’s venture market seems to have steadied, other Asian nations — including its largest, India — saw large funding drops in Q2. 🌏 [India, Israel lead the way in Asian venture market drop]( Earlier this year India surpassed China as the world’s most populous nation, but its startup industry is headed in the other direction, especially compared to its neighbor. Funding to startups based in India plummeted 72% in Q2, [Crunchbase]( data shows. 🦷 [Investors sink teeth into orthodontics startups]( A good smile is worth a million bucks, right? More like $1.4 billion. That’s the amount that venture investors have spent backing about a dozen orthodontics-related startups, including a fresh $80 million round to a maker of personalized 3D-printed braces announced today. Related Crunchbase Pro list: [Orthodontics-Related Companies That Recently Raised Funding]( 💻 [Cisco’s ex-CEO just raised $175M for his new startup]( [John Chambers]( the former longtime CEO of networking giant [Cisco]( has raised $175 million for his new networking startup, which aims to take on his former employer with simpler, more modern networking technology. 🪖 [NATO closes $1.1B fund to back defense tech startups]( Silicon Valley is notoriously squeamish about backing defense tech startups. [NATO]( not so much. As the war in Ukraine continues to rage, the military alliance said this week that it had closed on a new 1 billion euro fund to back startups in 23 of its member countries that are working on defense and security tech. Related Crunchbase Pro list: [Venture Funding To National Security Startups 2022-23]( 💚 [The cleantech VCs still spending big]( Climate-focused startup investment is dominated by a handful of VCs, and [Crunchbase]( data shows that even as [overall venture funding has fallen]( many of these investors have only gotten more active. We look at the biggest spenders in climate tech, and what sorts of companies they’re backing. 💰 [July’s largest U.S. startup deals]( Summer can be slow, especially for those raising venture funding. But last month saw some pretty big rounds — thanks in large part to biotech, which dominated the list. The rest of the largest rounds were spread around industries, including financial services, compliance and, of course, an apparel company founded by [Kim Kardashian](. 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