A new big city for big fundraising?
Necessary Nuggets
Happy Wednesday! If you’re new here, welcome to Necessary Nuggets, your one-stop pre-seed shop. We deliver updates from Necessary Ventures and helpful tidbits on our little corner of the world. Every edition is also on our blog.
Jobortunities 🚨
✨NEW FEATURED ROLE✨
Magrathea: A climate tech startup making waves by making carbon neutral magnesium metal from seawater and brine.
Infinite Machine: Envisioning the future of transportation beyond cars and into the realm of personal electric vehicles. Its first product, P1, is the ultimate tool for city navigation.
Reach out with any questions! All 142 open job postings are listed here.
Market Stirrings 🚩
Here's what the week looked like in pre-seed:
$16.8M
Total Amount Raised
8
Total Funding Rounds
$2.1M
Average Dollars per Round
$10.5M-$21.0M
Estimated Valuation Range
Data aggregated from proprietary research and Crunchbase; valuation estimate based on 10-20% ownership stake.
HEADING IN A NEW DIRECTION
So far in 2024, only energy, hardware, and medical devices industries saw net growth in headcount according to data from Carta. SaaS and Fintech headcounts stayed flat, while other industries saw more employees departing than entering. One stat worth pointing out from the below chart is all industries that experienced growth last year have less growth in 2024.
Good Reads 📖
For the rushed reader …
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has released final regulations for electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) vehicles, marking the first new aircraft category to be created since helicopters were introduced in 1940.
Eclipse, an early-stage venture capital firm focused on industrial innovation, has expanded its reach beyond Silicon Valley into New York’s “Silicon Alley.”
Dow Jones (publisher of the Wall Street Journal) and the New York Post have filed a lawsuit against Perplexity AI, alleging copyright infringement.
For the less rushed reader …
REGULATION SO FLY: The FAA went powerlifting, and it liked it. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has released final regulations for electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) vehicles, marking the creation of a new aircraft category since helicopters were introduced in 1940. These "powered-lift" vehicles, designed for air taxis, cargo delivery, and rescue operations, will require specific pilot training and operational guidelines to ensure safety. The rules aim to address industry concerns over previous regulations deemed too strict while facilitating the integration of innovative aviation technologies. With several startups poised to launch commercial services in the coming years, like Joby Aviation, Archer, and Wisk, the FAA's framework is seen as essential for the future of Advanced Air Mobility in the U.S. If you think Advanced Air Mobility sounds like it means flying wheelchairs, me too – but we’ll have to wait a bit longer for those.
MOVING DAY: Another firm is taking a bite of the Big Apple. Eclipse, an early-stage venture capital firm focused on industrial innovation, has expanded its reach beyond Silicon Valley into New York’s “Silicon Alley.” Founded in 2015, Eclipse has primarily operated in Silicon Valley but is now looking to engage with the growing East Coast startup ecosystem with a new office in the Soho neighborhood. New York is rapidly emerging as a vibrant startup hub, and it even surpassed SF in new early-stage startups last year. One recent headline perfectly embodies this sentiment: “New York's Silicon Alley nips at the heels of its West Coast rival.” Eclipse plans to deploy its $720 million early-stage fund and $510 million growth fund to support innovative companies on the East Coast. Is Silicon Valley living up to its geographical name, sinking low and making way for a mountain beside it?
PERPLEXED: Another day, another migr(AI)ne. Dow Jones (publisher of the Wall Street Journal) and the New York Post have filed a lawsuit against Perplexity AI, alleging copyright infringement. This lawsuit highlights the ongoing tension between publishers and tech companies regarding the use of copyrighted material in AI systems. The complaint claims that Perplexity’s "answer machine" processes and sometimes reproduces their news articles, which threatens the publishers' advertising and subscription-based business models. After Perplexity did not respond to previous efforts to negotiate a licensing agreement, the publishers are seeking to prevent the company from using their content and to have any related databases destroyed. Are there even enough lawyers out there to cover all the AI lawsuits? Or do we need AI agents on the defense?
Fire Up the Pre-Seeds🔥
It was a big week for pre-seed raises. Sit down and get comfortable for this exciting list:
health tech
Biological Lattice Industries - Biomaterials get a BLIssful boost. Biological Lattice Industries (BLI) raised $1.8 million led by Uni.Fund. BLI is building automated tools for biomaterials, streamlining the entire process from design and fabrication to testing. The tech would have broad applications in healthtech, such as human biology emulation and medical devices.
fintech
The Arena - Creators creating $$$. The Arena raised $2 million led by Blizzard. With already 200,000+ registered users, the Arena is developing a crypto platform that enables creators to monetize their content more effectively.
SaaS
River Platform Company - Live and in person. River Platform Company raised $1.6 million led by Blockwall and Blue Wire Capital. River Platform Company is creating a platform to enable in-person communities around the world.
FullyRamped - Pitch perfect, but no musical. FullyRamped raised $2.3 million led by BoxGroup, MaC Venture Capital, and NOMO Ventures. FullyRamped is developing an AI tool that allows anyone to practice their sales pitch on AI prospects, modeled like the ideal customer.
artificial intelligence
Kynismos AI - A world without indecisiveness. Kynismos AI raised $50k in funding. Kynismos AI is creating a guardian (AI)ngel. The startup is building a personal AI that will help with decision-making in daily life, providing personalized insights without weaponizing information.
Outro🚪
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Thanks for reading, and see you next week!
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