Meet October’s new unicorns

​​ Plus, how to approach an investor for the first time November 9, 2023 Hi, {NAME}. While nine companies joined [The Crunchbase Unicorn Board]( in October, the majority of the existing unicorn companies that raised additional funding last month did so through extension rounds that came with no increase in value, an analysis of [Crunchbase]( data shows. And interestingly, [zero companies joined from Silicon Valley](. 🦄 [Cyber leads new unicorn count for October]( Two of the nine new unicorns that joined the [Unicorn Board]( last month focus on cybersecurity, while a single company was in the generative AI category — a startup based in Beijing that is less than a year old. Let’s take a look. Related Crunchbase Pro list: [The Crunchbase Private Unicorn Company List]( ⚡️ [Quantum startup locks up $100M from Microsoft, others]( The $100 million deal includes a strategic collaboration that will pair the Vancouver-based startup’s scalable and unified quantum computing and networking with [Microsoft]( [Azure]( cloud platform. Related Crunchbase Pro list: [Quantum Computing Funding]( 👋 [How to approach an investor for the first time]( [Alex Menn]( partner at [Begin Capital]( says that his fund alone receives about 10,000 pitches a year from startup founders looking for funding. Menn shares advice for how to break from the crowd to find and pitch potential investors. 🤖 [The robots are still rising, albeit with less funding]( Relatively speaking, robotics remains a popular sector for venture dealmaking, [Crunchbase data shows](. While total funding is lower, the percentage of venture capital going to startups in the space hasn’t changed much since the peak, with investors backing concepts that include grocery e-commerce automation and a robot vacuum that doesn’t require you to first remove toys, clutter and other obstacles from the floor. Related Crunchbase Pro list: [2023 Robotics Funding]( 📉 [Quantitative benchmarking: A competitive edge for entrepreneurs]( Why should entrepreneurs move from qualitative and focus on quantitative benchmarking? Startup adviser [Itay Sagie]( delves into three critical pain points startup founders might face when conducting competitive analysis and benchmarking. 💰 [Funding may be slow, but these investors got busy]( Startup investment continues to be spotty, with October [dipping below the already-subdued monthly averages]( we’ve seen this year. But some investors are picking up the pace a bit. We look at the 10 most active U.S. startup investors last month. [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 [Black Ore Technologies]( [$60M]( / [Seed Round]( Black Ore Technologies is a AI-driven financial services company. Categories: Finance • Information Technology • Software Investors: [Andreessen Horowitz]( (Lead), [Oak HC/FT]( (Lead), [Founders Fund]( [+ 12 more]( [Philips]( [$45M]( / [Grant]( Philips is a technology company that operates in various fields, including healthcare, consumer electronics, lighting, and home appliances. Categories: B2B • Consumer Electronics • Electronics • Lighting • Wellness Founders: [Frederik Philips]( [Gerard Philips]( Investors: [Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation]( (Lead) [Risk Ledger]( [6.2M GBP]( / [Series A]( Risk Ledger is a vendor risk management platform that helps improve the security of the global supply chain ecosystem. Categories: Cyber Security • Network Security • Procurement • Risk Management • Supply Chain Management Founders: [Daniel Saul]( [Haydn Brooks]( Investors: [Mercia Ventures]( (Lead), [Episode 1]( [Firstminute Capital]( [+ 3 more]( More Fundings Company Amount / Round Lead Investor [Needed]( $14M / [Series A]( [The Craftory]( [Vaaree]( $4.0M / [Seed Round]( [Surge]( [OnFinance AI]( $1.1M / [Seed Round]( [Indian Angel Network]( [All Recent Funding Activity]( Recent Acquisitions [Cloud Light Technology]( Pending acquisition by [Lumentum]( for $750M More Acquisitions Company Acquired By Amount [Mountz Torque]( [Snap-on]( $40M [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.