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  • Djibouti bets on e-mobility, Ramp secures $478m in funding... This week in VC

Djibouti bets on e-mobility, Ramp secures $478m in funding... This week in VC

Your weekly Venture Capital recap is here!

Quick News

  • a16z promotes Jennifer Li to GP to invest in Infrastructure with $1.25 bn of the massive $7.20 bn the firm recently raised. Jennifer is the 27th GP at a16z and the 4th GP on the Infrastructure team. She achieves this feat while still in her early 30s.

  • US based Lazard partners with French VC Elaia creating Lazard Elaia Capital; ¾ owned by Lazard and ¼ by Elaia. This partnership could see Lazard clients investing up to €1 bn with tickets ranging between €30-40 m.

State of Venture Capital

2023 vs 2024 worldwide investment amount January - April (running count)

1 Country 1 Investment

Each week we randomly generate 1 country and highlight 1 recent VC deal.

This week’s country is: Djibouti

Dodai - $3.95 m Series A: Producer of e-motorcycles for rental on a short-term basis. The company offers cost-effective scooters specifically aimed at enabling mobility gig workers and commuters on the African continent. The round saw investment participation from Musashi Precision Industries, Nissay Capital and Inclusion Japan with the goal of selling 5,000 e-motorcycles by the end of 2024.

Investments from Around The World

Seed

Allen Control Systems (USA) - $12m: Iron dome defence for drones

Specialized in creating autonomous defence systems, specifically autonomous turrets for passive drone detection, fire control via software and training data generation. The company raised $12m from Craft Ventures, Rally Ventures and Forum Ventures.

——

OnePay (Colombia) - $1.3m: Chat-based payments for South America

Solution that makes the collection of payments easier by allowing customers, friends and family to make payments via chat bot on WhatsApp. The 6-person company raised $1.3m from QAPU Ventures, Broom Ventures and other undisclosed investors.

Series A

Clazar (USA) - $10m: Marketplace for SaaS companies

Go-to-market platform designed for SaaS companies to sell their software and receive offers from buyers. The platform enables co-selling between companies and their partnership ecosystem to increase pipeline. The company raised $10m from Ridge Ventures, Ensemble VC, the General Partnership, Saurabh Gupta and Twin VC.

——

Finmid (Germany) - $38m: Turning marketplaces & platforms into lenders

Lending infrastructure provider helping companies with B2B buyers and sellers remove short-term financial obstacles through deferred payments for buyers and instant payouts for sellers. The company raised $38m from Blossom Capital, Earlybird VC and Maximilian Tayenthal.

Series B

Sports Illustrated Tickets (USA) - $20m: Marketplace for ticket reservations

Ticket reservation platform with no fees designed for fans to gain access to face-value tickets for concerts, sports events and more. Sellers can list their reservation for fans to lock in face-value tickets. The company raised $20m from Ava Labs and Trinity Capital BDC.

Series C 

Two Chairs (USA) - $72m: Making it easier to find the right therapist

Mental health platform specializing in pairing patients with their ideal therapists thanks to a research-backed process. Patients dive into a 45-minute initial discovery session to align goals with a therapist’s specialties. The company raised $72m from Amplo, Fifth Down Capital and other undisclosed investors.

Series D

Ramp (USA) - $478m: Helping companies spend less

All-in-one financial operations platform designed for companies to spend less thanks to automated expense management, corporate card and spend management, accounting management and automation. The company raised a massive $478m from Sands Capital, Khosla Ventures, Founders Fund, Sequoia Capital, Greylock, Thrive Capital, 8VC, Lux Capital, Definition and General Catalyst.

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