Tag: Intelligence Briefings

Sustainability-focussed digital marketplaces are emerging to play a role in helping countries deal with rising global temperatures, carbon emissions and energy transition. With diverse applications from carpooling platforms, energy marketplaces and food waste reduction apps, products are emerging to service every part of our emissions-generating economies. Altogether, impact marketplace funding reached $1.2B in Q3 2022,…

Direct-to-consumer (D2C) ecommerce was one of the hottest trends of 2020 and 2021. A pandemic-fuelled boom in online shopping triggered an influx of funding for D2C startups, particularly at early-stage. A year on, as people are back in physical stores, and a cost of living crisis is sweeping many of the world’s richest countries, and…

We’ve ranked the top 100 energy startups in Europe to watch based on Dealroom Signal. Europe is in an energy crisis and things are going to get worse. Due to the reduction of imports from Russia, electricity prices in Europe have increased by almost 300% in 2022. The average household bill in the UK will…

In Europe, so far in 2022 VC investment in foodtech is down 40% compared to the same time last year. However, business-focused categories are displaying green shoots of growth. B2B foodtech startups, in segments such as Vertical farming, Agritech, B2B marketplaces and Enterprise software have raised more investment this year than last. The share of foodtech…

The current credit scoring model is flawed. Credit scoring is a gatekeeper to wealth, career opportunities and housing in the US (and further afield), but it is a mechanism that also internalizes other obstacles ranging from inherent racial bias to incorrect data. The basic principle behind credit scoring is that by having a track history as…

Successful entrepreneurs and operators can be a great source of capital, not only bringing cash to the table, but also deep sector expertise and connections. Last year, angel investors participated in rounds totally $6.2 billion in foodtech alone. The number of angel rounds has increased 2.1x between 2016 and 2021. This year, both the number…

Energy instability is becoming an increasingly pronounced issue in Europe. While energy marketplaces are just starting to tackle commodities markets (e.g. energy, precious metals, crude oil, etc.), many are gaining value in energy efficiency and clean energy solutions as Winter approaches and utility costs become a bigger concern. Over 70% of energy marketplaces’ value is in…

The Merge is coming tomorrow, after years of waiting! Ethereum will transition from the proof-of-work (PoW) consensus mechanism to Proof-of-Stake (PoS), in what is the biggest event ever in the blockchain and crypto space.  This transition will:  Reduce Ethereum energy consumption by 99.5%  Improve security and decentralization of the network  Open for future scalability of the network One of…

VC investment in Foodtech is down 79% year-over-year, but behind that number, there have been some big winners and losers. We’ve analyzed global VC investment activity in Foodtech in Jan-Aug 2021 and 2022, and identified the fastest growing foodtech hubs. Emerging foodtech hubs such as Kenya, Saudi Arabia, Philippines and Brazil came on top of…

Schools are reopening, but one thing still lagging behind in the curriculum is financial education as two-thirds of the global population is financially illiterate. However, closing the financial illiteracy gap can be improved with the help of dedicated fintech educated-focused startups. Children as young as 3 years old can grasp the basic idea of money and by 7…