With backing from NATO Innovation Fund, OTB Ventures will invest $185 million into European deep tech

Not a day goes by without some confirmation that ​​deep tech is on the rise in Europe — and that public and private capital investors are here for it. Latest case in point, OTB Ventures, which closed a $185 million fund to invest in deep tech in Europe that it will mostly deploy at the … Read more

Zacua Ventures has launched a new $56 million fund dedicated to construction tech

The construction sector is known for its slow embrace of technology. But a new venture capital firm, funded by some heavyweight legacy construction companies, is out to change that. Zacua Ventures has launched its inaugural $56 million fund targeting early-stage construction technology startups, backed by 19 of the construction sector’s biggest corporations. The limited partner … Read more

COTU Ventures launches $54M fund for pre-seed and seed startups in MENA

Dubai-based early-stage venture capital firm COTU Ventures is announcing that it has raised $54 million for its inaugural fund to support startups in the Middle East from pre-seed to seed stages. With a final close achieved last year, COTU Ventures, which identifies and backs founders from the inception to post-product launch, invests between $500,000 to … Read more

PayPal Ventures’ first AI investment, a credit-based dating app and Robinhood’s good week

Welcome to TechCrunch Fintech (formerly The Interchange)! This week, we’re looking at a new finance-based dating app, Robinhood’s earnings results and the startup in which PayPal Ventures made its first investment. Let’s dive in! To get a roundup of TechCrunch’s biggest and most important fintech stories delivered to your inbox every Sunday at 7:30 a.m. … Read more

Keith Rabois dishes on his surprising return to Khosla Ventures, after leaving the firm in 2019 for Founders Fund

Earlier today, Forbes reported that venture capitalist, operator and entrepreneur Keith Rabois is returning to Khosla Ventures (“KV”), the Silicon Valley outfit where he cut his teeth as a full-time VC before joining Founders Fund (“FF”) in 2019, teaming up with former Stanford classmate Peter Thiel in the process. The move came as a surprise … Read more

Salesforce Ventures and Female Founders Fund back Kenyan climate-tech Amini in $4M seed round

Amini, a Kenya-based climate-tech startup bridging the environmental data gap in Africa, has raised $4 million seed funding in a round led by Salesforce Ventures and the Female Founders Fund. Climate-tech VC Satgana also participated alongside other investors, including Pale Blue Dot and Superorganism, who had previously backed the startup in its $2 million pre-seed … Read more

FEBE Ventures launches $75 million second fund

FEBE Ventures’ name stands for “for entrepreneurs by entrepreneurs,” and true to form, it is continuing to support seed-stage startups with the launch of its second fund. Targeting $75 million, Fund II is 2.5 times larger than FEBE’s first fund and 90% has already been committed. As part of the launch, FEBE Ventures also announced … Read more

Saviu Ventures’ second fund reaches €12 million first close to back Francophone Africa startups

Saviu Ventures, a VC firm targeting startups in Francophone Africa, has made an initial close of €12 million for its second fund with the backing of private investors, including French and Kenyan family offices. The VC firm aims to close the fund at between €30 million and €50 million to primarily invest in startups within … Read more

Cybersecurity investor Ballistic Ventures seeks $300M for new fund

Ballistic Ventures, a venture capital firm dedicated to funding and incubating cybersecurity startups, is looking to raise as much as $300 million for a new fund, according to a regulatory filing. The San Francisco-based VC firm Wednesday filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to raise $300 million for its second fund — over … Read more

Shekel Mobility, a B2B marketplace for auto dealers in Africa, raises $7M led by Ventures Platform and MaC VC

The World Economic Forum states that Africa has an average annual demand for 2.4 million cars and 300,000 commercial vehicles. This demand is increasing because of a continent-wide increase in disposable income, strong middle-class growth and rapid urbanization. But while most cars meeting this demand are used, car ownership in Africa is less than 45 … Read more