Investor interest in adtech waning

Another nonacquisition acquisition

August 8, 2024 Hi, Agen. Despite raising billions of dollars annually in the past, it seems 2024 is just not the adtech startup sector’s year. While a few standouts actually got some funding, such as The Brandtech Group, for the most part the sector isn’t seeing much investor interest. Plus, Google joins Microsoft in the AI regulatory dance with its nonacquisition of Character.ai. 🐢 Adtech funding on pace for slowest year in a decade Once upon a time, investors couldn’t get enough of adtech startups, with billions of dollars pouring into the industry. However, that time has come and gone, and now U.S. advertising-focused startups are unlikely to raise even $1 billion total this year as investors seem in full retreat. Related Crunchbase Pro lists: • US Advertising- And Marketing-Related Startup Funding • Advertising- And Marketing-Related US 2024 Funding Rounds Of $10M+ 🚫 When an acquisition is not an acquisition Google seems set to follow Microsoft’s footsteps bringing onboard everything related to an AI startup without actually saying it is buying the startup itself — all in a likely effort to avoid regulators. 🌎 Global funding settles in July Venture funding in July was slightly down month over month, but up more than 20% year over year. Healthcare and biotech companies led with AI close on its heels; each sector represented around 25% of all global funding in the month. 💪 Abnormal hits $5.1B valuation as cyber funding remains strong Cybersecurity startup Abnormal Security locked up a $250 million Series D at an eye-popping $5.1 billion valuation as fundraising in cyber remains hot after a cool 2023. Related Crunchbase Pro list: Cybersecurity Funding Enrich your CRM with Crunchbase Data ✨ Power your tools with our flexible API. Unlock firmographics, financials, insights, and predictions with API packages that scale with you.  WATCH A DEMO Recent Investments Abnormal Security $250M / Series D Abnormal Security is an email security company that protects enterprises and organizations from targeted email attacks. Categories: Artificial Intelligence (AI) • Cyber Security • Email • Information Technology • Network Security Founders: Evan Reiser, Sanjay Jeyakumar Investors: Wellington Management (Lead), CrowdStrike Falcon Fund, Greylock + 2 more Octane $50M / Series E Octane is a financial technology company that focuses on providing financing solutions for recreational purchases. Categories: Credit • Financial Services • FinTech • Lending Founders: Andre Gregori, Daniel Petkevich, Jason Guss, Mark Davidson, Mark Garro, Michael Fanfant Investors: Valar Ventures (Lead), Upper90 KNIME $30M / Venture Round KNIME provides a platform for end-to-end data science and analytics. Categories: Analytics • Artificial Intelligence (AI) • Big Data • Information Technology • Machine Learning Founders: Michael Berthold Investors: Invus (Lead) More Fundings Company Amount / Round Lead Investor EtherealX $5.0M / Seed Round YourNest Venture Capital IppoPay 200M INR / Angel Round Mithun Sacheti The Zebra $2.1M / Venture Round - All Recent Funding Activity Recent Acquisitions NCR Voyix Digital Banking Business Pending acquisition by Veritas Capital for $2.5B More Acquisitions Company Acquired By Amount FGS Global Kohlberg Kravis Roberts $775M All Recent Acquisition Activity Discover innovative companies and the people behind them. 564 Market St, San Francisco, CA 94104 © 2024 Crunchbase Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms of Service Unsubscribe from Crunchbase Daily.