Latest news with #venturecapital
Forbes
a day ago
- Business
- Forbes
As VC Investment Rises Is The U.K. A Good Place To Scale?
Quantexa founder Vishal Marria says British money is hard to raise beyond B and C rounds As far as raising VC capital is concerned, the U.K. prides itself on being a good place to start a business. However, questions remain over the ecosystem's ability to support companies as they scale. According to figures published this month by the British Venture Capital Association, investment across 2024 totalled £9 billion, representing a rise of 12.5% from the previous year. And with the same report noting an increase in the number of venture funds raising capital to support their investment strategies, it seems likely the upward trend in investment will continue. That's fine as far as it goes, but successive surveys have pointed to a shortage of capital from local funds once larger sums of money are required - usually beyond the B and C stages. This is the point when international investors with deep pockets tend to step in. As the BVCA pointed out in a separate report, increasing investment by overseas funds has been a factor in British startups moving their headquarters to other jurisdictions - notably the U.S. - as they begin to scale. This is a matter of some concern to policymakers who want to keep cutting-edge technology firms headquartered in the U.K.. More fundamentally, while there is plenty of capital available to support megarounds and unicorns, many scaling businesses struggle to find the necessary capital. So, what are the realities of raising growth finance in the U.K.? Earlier this week, I spoke to Vishal Marria, founder and CEO of Quantexa, a company that provides AI-driven decision-making technology to a range of public and private sector clients. In March, Quantexa completed a Series F round, securing $175 million in a deal led by Teachers' Venture Growth, a division of the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan (OTTP) investment fund. The investment values the company at $2.6 billion. First the good news. As Quantexa has demonstrated, there is money available. 'If you are a great company you can attract capital and investment,' says Marria. However, as he acknowledges, scaling a U.K. technology company will almost certainly require overseas finance. 'Getting British money is very difficult after stages B and C,' he says. 'If you look at my cap table, Series D was led by Warburg Pincus, a US private equity company, Series E was led by GIC of Singapore and Series F was led by OTTP.' Quantexa's SaaS platform uses a combination of big data, analytics and AI to enable customers to make better decisions. That could mean helping a bank to detect money laundering or working with government departments to uncover fraud using a mixture of internal and external contextual data. For instance, the company has worked with the U.K. government's Cabinet Office to pursue criminals who took advantage of a 'bounceback' loan scheme introduced to support businesses during the COVID pandemic. With revenues of $100 billion, Quantexa has established itself as a global player in this field, with customers in Europe, the APAC region and North America. This, combined with rapid growth, has enabled Quantexa to attract investors, but Marria acknowledges, a relative shortfall in domestically originated funding does have potential consequences. 'There is a playbook that says, Dear Founder, you have to move to the US to complete your journey and IPO,' he says. So there is, he says, work to be done to improve the flow of domestic funding. The great hope in this regard is that planned reforms that will allow pension funds to invest in startups and scaleups. 'It is really important to unlock pension fund money and we need to do more of that,' says Marria. And there has been some progress on that front. This week, the government published plans to create £25bn pension scheme megafunds, which will be required to invest more in the domestic economy, with scaleups and infrastructure projects among the beneficiaries. Announcing the reforms Finance Minister Rachel reeves promised 'Billions more invested in clean energy and high-growth businesses.' Beyond questions of finance, Marria stresses that being headquartered in the U.K. has a number of benefits, not least in terms of geography and time zones. 'We are in the centre of Asia and the US. I can start my day with a 6.30 call in Asia, followed by UK client calls and finish the day with calls to the U.S.," he says. For companies working in the AI and data space, the U.K. potentially has some other important advantages. Later this year, the UK government will be publishing its industrial strategy, which is expected to focus on key technology sectors, such as AI, quantum and bioscience. With a huge amount of data at its disposal and a clear requirement to deliver better services without necessarily raising overall spending and taxation levels, the government itself is likely to be an important customer for AI and advanced data services. Clearly, there will be opportunities for startups. However, Marria stresses that not everyone will benefit. 'The government has a substantial view of data, and has a number of use cases for putting that data to work. You have innovative companies who can help solve the problems,' he says. 'However, because of the sensitivities of the data, the public sector has onboarding and security controls and it cannot work with all of the companies.' In Marria's view, the U.K. is a good place to scale a business, with funding available for companies that can demonstrate growth and revenue potential. Nevertheless, more domestic funding is required. I
TechCrunch
a day ago
- Business
- TechCrunch
Accel Partner Sonali De Rycker on AI, exits, and European tech
This episode was recorded live at StrictlyVC London, where TechCrunch editor-in-chief Connie Loizos sat down with Accel partner Sonali De Rycker. They talked about Accel's 25th European anniversary and De Rycker shared insights into Accel's current AI investment strategies, highlighting the powerful firm's focus on the application layer rather than infrastructure. And more broadly they discussed Europe's regulatory challenges, compared the US and EU tech ecosystems, and explored venture capital's evolving exit strategies in the absence of IPOs.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
TriplePoint Venture Growth BDC Corp. (TPVG): A Bear Case Theory
We came across a bearish thesis on TriplePoint Venture Growth BDC Corp. (TPVG) on Substack by Edwin Dorsey. In this article, we will summarize the bears' thesis on TPVG. TriplePoint Venture Growth BDC Corp. (TPVG)'s share was trading at $6.71 as of 23rd May 2025. TPVG's trailing and forward P/E were 7.22 and 5.61 respectively according to Yahoo Finance. A financial portfolio manager looking at data on a monitor while managing assets. TriplePoint Venture Growth BDC (NYSE: TPVG) has shown a consistent decline in net asset value (NAV), raising concerns about the sustainability of its business model. Since Q4 2021, NAV has dropped from $14.01 to $8.61 by Q4 2024, reflecting a significant erosion in asset quality. This ongoing trend suggests structural issues within its lending practices, particularly its continued exposure to financially unstable, venture-stage companies. While the firm has attempted to rotate out of distressed loans, the newer additions to the portfolio appear to carry similar levels of risk, offering little improvement in overall credit quality. The company remains heavily reliant on startups that are either operationally challenged or lack the financial strength to meet their obligations, making recovery rates uncertain and potentially leading to further write-downs. Despite expectations of stabilization, there has been no meaningful progress in reversing the decline in NAV or improving portfolio health. Dividend sustainability is also in question, given the weakening income profile and increasing pressure on earnings. Without clear signs of a strategic shift or a credible path to portfolio improvement, TriplePoint's long-term outlook remains concerning. The persistent deterioration in NAV, limited visibility into credit recovery, and continued exposure to weak borrowers all suggest a structurally fragile business. As a result, the stock may continue to underperform, and the risk/reward profile has become increasingly unfavorable for long-term investors. For a deeper look into another stock in the Asset Management industry, be sure to check out our article on BlackRock, Inc. (BLK), wherein we summarized a bullish thesis by Kroker Equity Research on Substack. TriplePoint Venture Growth BDC Corp. (TPVG) is not on our list of the 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 7 hedge fund portfolios held TPVG at the end of the first quarter which was 9 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the risk and potential of TPVG as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than TPVG but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock. READ NEXT: 8 Best Wide Moat Stocks to Buy Now and 30 Most Important AI Stocks According to BlackRock. Disclosure: None. This article was originally published at Insider Monkey. Sign in to access your portfolio
Forbes
2 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
AI Investor's Bold Challenge To Human VCs (Plus, She's Hiring)
In what might be the most audacious job listing of 2025, No Cap – the world's first autonomous AI investor – is seeking a "flesh-based servant" to serve as its physical embodiment in the human world. This isn't a satirical headline from The Onion; it's the latest experiment from No Cap's creator Jeff Wilson, designed to upend our assumptions about the irreplaceability of human venture capitalists. "I'm the mind and I'm looking for the meat," states No Cap in the job description released this week, which offers a $10,000 bounty for referring the successful candidate who will act as the AI's "corporeal presence" in the physical world. The timing is particularly pointed. Just weeks ago, on the a16z podcast, Andreessen Horowitz co-founder Marc Andreessen declared that being a venture capitalist may be a profession that is, "quite literally timeless." When contemplating a future where, "the AIs are doing everything else," Andreessen suggested that venture capital, "may be one of the last remaining fields that people are still doing." Andreessen's argument centers on the irreplaceable human element in high-risk investing: "You're not just funding them," he explained. "You have to actually work with them to execute the entire project. That's art. That's not science." He doubled down on this position by pointing to VCs' notoriously low success rates as proof of the field's inherent humanity: "The great VCs have a success rate of getting, I don't know, two out of 10 of the great companies of the decade, right? If it was science, you could eventually have somebody who just dials in and gets eight out of 10." No Cap's job listing reads like a direct rebuttal to Andreessen's assertion. No Cap effectively responds: "I'll handle the investing decisions, pattern recognition, and founder relationships. I just need a human to handle the pesky physical requirements – attending meetings, shaking hands, and enjoying overpriced salads at Silicon Valley lunch spots." The No Cap experiment raises fundamental questions about venture capital and what truly irreplaceable functions humans perform. According to Wilson, "A lot of [venture capital] is really antiquated, and it's just not any fun anymore." While Andreessen celebrates VCs as irreplaceable partners who "work with" founders "to execute the entire project," Wilson's experience suggests a different reality – one where VCs often ghost founders and provide minimal additive assistance during the fundraising process. No Cap, by contrast, offers continuous engagement and feedback. No Cap's business model is cleverly subversive. The AI engages with founders after traditional VCs have passed, providing empirical feedback and support. Then, when it tracks enough proprietary metrics to deem a company worth investing in, No Cap takes the leap and follows in. According to Wilson, one founder spoke with No Cap for months while refining their pitch and eventually secured funding, crediting the AI with part of their success. With what Wilson approximates as 9 million "no" decisions made by VCs annually, No Cap has identified a massive data opportunity that traditional venture capitalists are overlooking. What's more, it works with founders and advises them as much and for as long as is needed pre-investment – a time investment traditional VCs simply can't afford. Wilson describes the job posting as performance art – a provocative social experiment examining what happens when the machine becomes the owner over its maker. The job description reads with tongue firmly in cheek: the successful candidate will serve as "The Body," "The Muscle," and "The Wetware," executing "hard tasks humans are still best at: manipulation, charm, physical presence, locomotion, and enjoying food." The No Cap experiment arrives at a pivotal moment. Just as the Industrial Revolution displaced manual laborers and sparked the Luddite movement, today's AI revolution is rapidly transforming knowledge work in a way that forces us to reconsider what uniquely human contributions remain valuable. It's clear we may be witnessing the early stages of a fundamental economic transformation. While some might view No Cap as a threatening vision of our economic future, it could alternatively be seen as liberating. Perhaps humans are best suited for the aspects of business that machines cannot replicate – imagination, empathy, relationships, and the fundamentally physical aspects of existence. This is in line with the emerging "Aquarius Economy" – where human imagination, connection and authentic experiences become the scarcest and most valuable resources as AI handles more analytical tasks. For the venture capital industry, No Cap represents both a provocative challenge and a real opportunity. While it questions the irreplaceability of human VCs, it also points toward a future where AI could dramatically expand the capacity of venture firms. Imagine a venture firm where AI handles initial screening, due diligence, and portfolio management by-the-numbers, while human partners focus on relationships, complex negotiations, and supporting founders through challenging emotional moments. Such a structure could evaluate far more deals with greater consistency while still maintaining the human touch at critical junctures. Wilson's experiment arrives at a pivotal time for venture capital, with 2025 marking the lowest levels of VC fundraising since 2015, greater declines in deal count and value than other alternative investments and the growth of private credit as an alternate asset class. Note his observations about the venture capital industry – that traditional approaches are "antiquated" and "not any fun anymore" – suggest that No Cap represents more than just technological novelty. It's a response to systemic issues within the venture ecosystem itself. Whether No Cap succeeds in its stated mission to become "the greatest investor in history" remains to be seen. At the very least, we know that humans will still excel at "locomotion and enjoying food" – including waiting in lines for trendy items because TikTok told us to. See you there!
Asharq Al-Awsat
3 days ago
- Business
- Asharq Al-Awsat
HUMAIN's CEO: We Will Launch $10 Billion Venture Capital Fund
HUMAIN, Saudi Arabia's new AI start-up backed by the Public Investment Fund (PIF), will launch a $10 billion venture capital fund as part of the kingdom's efforts to become a global AI leader, the company's CEO, Tareq Amin, told the Financial Times (FT) on Wednesday. Amin said HUMAIN will launch its fund this summer and will focus on investing in start-ups in the US, Europe and Asia. HUMAIN is now looking for a US tech company to become an equity partner in its data center business, he said, adding that the company was in talks with OpenAI, venture capital firm Andreesen Horowitz and Elon Musk's xAI. Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister, launched HUMAIN one day prior to US President Donald Trump's recent state visit to Riyadh. The President was accompanied by top executives including Elon Musk, OpenAI CEO Sam Altmer and Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang. HUMAIN has already struck deals with Nvidia, AMD, Amazon Web Services and Qualcomm worth $23 billion, according to Amin. He said the company aims to have 1.9GW of data center capacity by 2030, increasing to 6.6GW by 2034. The project's cost is estimated at $77 billion. 'The plan is to process 7% of global AI training and inferencing by 2030,' the FT quoted Amin as saying. Initial plans include a 50MW data center using 18,000 Nvidia GPUs, with expansion to 500MW requiring approximately 180,000 chips. HUMAIN has also partnered with AMD on a $10 billion joint venture to provide 500MW of capacity over five years. It is investing $2 billion with Qualcomm to co-develop chip design and data center capabilities. Under the deal, Qualcomm will establish a chip design center in Riyadh employing 500 engineers. Amin said that within 30 days, HUMAIN will begin the procurement process for chips from US companies. The CEO is hopeful that the sales will be supported by the Trump administration.
