SpaceX collects cash, Musk's Twitter bet veers into the red, and Sequoia sends out a 'crucible moment' memo

You win some, you lose some. According to MarketWatch analysis, Twitter’s stock today fell below the average weight priced where Elon Musk bought it, turning what was a $1.1 billion profit as of late April into a $40 million loss. More here.

A group of 42 Democratic lawmakers urged Google CEO Sundar Pichai in a letter today to stop collecting and keeping unnecessary or non-aggregated location data that could be used to identify people seeking abortions. The letter comes ahead of the anticipated reversal of Roe v. Wade, a looming prospect that has raised fears location data or search histories could be used against people seeking abortions or those who offer them in states where they are illegal to obtain. CNBC has more here.

"When are we going to do something?"

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Sequoia Capital, the storied, 50-year-old venture firm, has become known over the years for using sweeping memos to warn the founders in its portfolio about market shifts after the shift has become somewhat obvious.

Still, while it’s tempting to poke fun at these missives — its “R.I.P Good Times” in 2008 and its “Black Swan” memo in March of 2020 have become legendary — many teams are wondering right now how long the current downturn could last, so it’s not surprising that the outfit has put together a new and very thorough presentation, telling the many founders with ties to the firm not to expect a quick bounce back.

Indeed, a 52-slide presentation first published by The Information makes clear the firm does not believe that — as during the outset of the pandemic, when markets froze, then quickly warmed — the abrupt shift the startup world is currently experiencing will be followed by an “equally swift V-shaped recovery.”

Reads the presentation, “We expect the market downturn to impact consumer behavior, labor markets, supply chains and more. It will be a longer recovery and while we can’t predict how long, we can advise you on ways to prepare and get through to the other side.”

In one key slide, the firm notes what startups have already been told by a wide variety of other VCs and the broader market itself, which is that investors’ focus is shifting to companies with profitability.

Writes the firm: “With the cost of capital (both debt and equity) rising, the market is signaling a strong preference for companies who can generate cash today.”

In another slide, Sequoia takes shots at some of the firms that have been investing aggressively in startups in recent years, even as Sequoia has itself grown its assets under management considerably during the same period. (Sequoia Capital China alone was said to be raising four new funds totaling $8 billion in March, according to an earlier report in The Information.)

Reads the slide: “[U]nlike prior periods, sources of cheap capital are not coming to save the day. Crossover hedge funds, which have been very active private investing over the last few years and have been one of the lowest cost sources of capital, are tending to their wounds in their public portfolios, which have been hit hard.”

Sequoia isn’t wrong. We reported earlier this month that Tiger Global, the most active investor in the first quarter of this year, is slowing its roll for a variety of reasons, including that it has already nearly depleted the $12.7 billion fund it announced in March. The Financial Times separately reported that, as of early May, the 21-year-old outfit had seen losses of about $17 billion during this year’s tech stock sell-off.

More here.

Anduril, the five-year-old, Orange County, Ca.-based company that was founded by Palmer Luckey and which brings together AI, robotics, computer vision, cybersecurity and networking technologies to build both software and hardware-based defense systems, is raising up to $1.2 billion in fresh funding, according to documents the startup has filed in Delaware. TechCrunch has more here.

Clear Street, a four-year-old New York startup that is building a prime brokerage platform for institutional investors, fintechs, market makers, and professional traders, raised a $165 million Series B led by Prysm Capital, with additional capital provided by NextGen Venture Partners, Walleye Capital, Belvedere, NEAR Foundation, McLaren Strategic Ventures, and Validus Growth Investors. The company has raised almost $300 million. More here.

Cribl, a five-year-old San Francisco startup that makes sure that apps behave by monitoring everything from mobile and web clients to backend infrastructure, raised a $150 million Series D round led by Tiger Global, with previous investors IVP, CRV, Redpoint Ventures, Sequoia, and Greylock also contributing to the deal. The company has raised a total of $402.2 million. TechCrunch has more here.

Flowcarbon, a year-old, New York-based blockchain-enabled carbon credit trading platform cofounded by WeWork founder Adam Neumann, has raised $70 million in its first major funding round, it tells Reuters. The company says it lets project developers sell their carbon credits through tokens (digital assets stored and traded using the blockchain Celo), allowing them to access cheaper funding and scale their projects more quickly. Andreessen Horowitz led the startup's round, joined by General Catalyst and Samsung Next. The outfit also raised through the sale of a token - the Goddess Nature Token - backed by a parcel of certified carbon credits from nature-based projects over the last five years. More here and here.

Mainspring Energy, a twelve-year-old startup based in Menlo Park, Ca., whose linear generators help its clients reduce their carbon footprint, raised $150 million in the first stage of its Series E funding. The deal was led by Lightrock, with additional participation from Khosla Ventures, Bill Gates, Fine Structure Ventures, Princeville Capital, and Lineage Ventures. The company has raised a total of $328 million. More here.

Monte Carlo, a three-year-old San Francisco startup in the "data observability" space that helps its enterprise clients monitor their applications, raised a $135 million Series D funding at a $1.6 billion valuation. IVP led the deal. Previous investors -- which include Salesforce Ventures, Redpoint, IVP, ICONIQ Growth, GIC, GGV Capital, and Accel -- also chipped in. The company has raised a total of $236 million. TechCrunch has more here.

Nowports, a 4.5-year-old, Monterey, Mexico-based digital freight forwarder (it uses digital tools that improve communication and efficiencies in the shipping process), has raised $150 million in Series C funding led by SoftBank Latin America Fund. The round comes just six months after the outfit -- a Y Combinator alum -- announced $60 million in Series B funding led by Tiger Global Management. TechCrunch has more here.

Semperis, a nine-year-old startup based in Hoboken, N.J., that provides additional security for users of Microsoft's Active Directory app, has raised more than $200 million in Series C funding led by KKR, with additional funding from Ten Eleven Ventures, Paladin Capital Group, Atrium Health Strategic Fund, Tech Pioneers Fund,and Insight Partners. Reuters has more here.

SpaceX, the 20-year-old, Hawthorne, Ca.-based space manufacturer led by Elon Musk, has raised at least $1.5 billion in its latest funding round, according to WSJ. The financing reportedly values SpaceX at around $125 billion. Last year, the company was valued at $100 billion, according to researcher PitchBook. More here.

Stoa USA, a four-year-old startup based in Scottsdale, Aa., whose FlipOS app platform enables consumers to partner with professional investors to quickly purchase, renovate, and sell single-family homes, raised a $50 million round from Zeev Ventures. The company has raised a total of $250 million, per Crunchbase data. FinLedger has more here.

Cayaba Care, a two-year-old startup based in Philadelphia that works with local providers and obstetricians to offer home-based or virtual support services for pregnant patients, raised a $12 million Series A funding co-led by Seae Ventures and Kapor Capital, with additional participation from Wellington Partners, Citi Impact Fund, and Rhia Ventures. The company has raised a total of $15.2 million. MobiHealthNews has more here.

ChargeLab, a six-year-old Toronto startup that builds software to operate and optimize EV charging equipment for fleets and commercial customers, raised a $15 million Series A round led by King River Capital; ABB E-Mobility, Construct Capital, Root Ventures, Highline Beta, Third Sphere, and Maple VC also chipped in. The company has raised a total of $20.4 million. TechCrunch has more here.

ClickOH, a three-year-old e-commerce logistics and delivery startup based in Córdoba, Argentina, that says it enables sellers to track shipments in real-time via a dashboard with key indicators and traceability, raised a $25 million Series A round led by Tiger Global, . Other backers in the round include JAM Fund, Flexport, FundersClub, and Vast VC. TechCrunch has more here.

Everstream Analytics, a 22-year-old startup based in San Marcos, Ca., that provides predictive insights and risk assessments for its clients' supply chains, raised a $24 million Series A round from Morgan Stanley Investment Management, Columbia Capital, StepStone Group, and DHL. The company has raised a total of $29 million. TechCrunch has more here.

EXO Freight, a one-year-old startup based in Royal Oak, Mi., that has built a digital marketplace for truck shipments, raised a $15 million Series A at a $66.5 million post-money valuation. Left Lane Capital led the deal, while Detroit Venture Partners, 1984.vc, Y Combinator, I2BF Global Investments, and Lancaster Investments also participated. The company has raised a total of $16.5 million. FreightWaves has more here.

Lunar Outpost, a five-year-old startup based in Golden, Co., that is focused on building rovers and instruments to explore the moon and mine its resources, raised $12 million in seed funding from lead Explorer 1 Fund as well as Type One Ventures, Space Capital, Promus Ventures, and Cathexis Ventures. Axios has more here.

Moka.care, a three-year-old, Paris-based company focused on mental well-being in the workplace, has raised $16 million in Series A funding led by Left Lane Capital, with participation from earlier backer Singular, among others. TechCrunch has more here.

NeuraLight, a 1.5-year-old company with offices in both Austin and Tel Aviv that says it's developing objective and sensitive biomarkers for neurological disorders, just raised $25 million in Series A funding. Koch Disruptive Technologies led the round; it was joined by Breyer Capital, Samsung Next, VSC Ventures, and numerous founders. Geektime has more here.

Nomagic, a five-year-old startup based in Warsaw, Poland, that has built a robotic arm that can identify and pick out an item from an unordered selection and then move or pack it into another place, raised a $22 million round co-led by Khosla Ventures and Almaz Capital; the European Investment Bank and previous investors Hoxton Ventures, Capnamic Ventures, DN Capital, and Manta Ray also chipped in. The company has raised a total of $30.6 million, according to Crunchbase data. TechCrunch has more here.

Parallel Learning, a two-year-old New York startup that provides online special education services, raised a $20 million round led by Tiger Global; Obvious Ventures, Jaws Ventures, and Vine Ventures also contributed. The company has raised a total of $22.8 million. TechCrunch has more here.

Regrow, a six-year-old, Durham, N.H.-based software-as-a-service company that offers farmers scenario-planning tools and calculates the environmental impact assessment of practices that are best-suited for their operations, has raised $38 million in Series B funding. Galvanize Climate Solutions led the round, joined by TIME Ventures and Rethink Impact. Reuters has more here.

Tidelift, a five-year-old startup based in Boston that provides enterprises with a tool to create, track, and manage catalogs of approved open-source components so they can avoid using insecure components in their environments, raised a $27 million Series C led by Dorilton Ventures, with additional funds provided by Kaiser Permanente, Atlassian Ventures, and previous investors General Catalyst and Foundry Group. The company has raised a total of $67 million. VentureBeat has more here.

Zowie, a three-year-old Poland-based maker of an AI-powered chatbot for e-commerce brands, has raised $14 million in Series A funding led by Tiger Global Management, with participation from Gradient Ventures, 10xFounders, Inovo, and entrepreneur-investor Jack Altman. Pymnts has more here.

Bubblehouse, a 20-year-old New York startup that has recreated itself as an NFT marketplace for brands, art, athletics, hospitality, music, fashion, and influencers, raised a $9 million seed round led by Cassius; also participating were Third Kind VC, SV Angel, Kima Ventures, Watertower Ventures, Ocho, Steve Aoki, and David Guetta. The company has raised a total of $13 million. SiliconANGLE has more here.

COAT, a two-year-old London startup that claims to provide European consumers an end-to-end, easy, ethical, fast, and personal paint-buying experience, raised a £3.5 million ($4.4 million) seed round. Pembroke VCT, Seedrs, and Channel 4 Ventures were among the investors. Interiors Monthly has more here.

Doppel, a five-month-old, San Francisco-based real-time, cross-chain monitoring platform for detecting NFT fraud, starting with counterfeits, has raised $5 million in seed funding from pretty much everyone in the crypto sphere. FTX’s venture capital arm led the deal; other backers in the round included Polygon Studios, Solana Ventures, OpenSea Ventures, Dapper Labs, SVAngel, South Park Commons, Script Capital, Spartan Group, Paxos, 6529 Capital, Quiet Capital, AlphaLab Capital and individual investors Balaji Srinivasan and Gokul Rajaram, says the company. TechCrunch has more here.

Fanimal, a three-year-old, Santa Monica, Ca.-based social group ticketing platform, has raised $4 million in its latest round of funding led by Bullpen Capital. Forbes has more here.

Foodsteps, a 1.5-year-old London startup that helps its food industry clients assess their carbon impact, water use, land use, and pollution levels, raised a $4.1 million seed round. Octopus Ventures was the deal lead, while Metaplanet, Ascension, and the Conduit EIS Impact Fund also ponied up. UKTN has more here.

FoondaMate, a two-year-old South African startup that helps students access educational material through Facebook and WhatsApp chatbots, raised a $2 million seed round led by LocalGlobe. TechCrunch has more here.

Fyxt, a five-year-old, Venice, Ca.-based cloud-based operations platform focused on the "triple net lease real estate sector," has raised $4 million in Series A funding led by RET Ventures, with participation from the U.K.-based family office, Reuben Brothers. Commercial Observer has more here.

Moves, a two-year-old Toronto startup that helps gig workers manage their money, raised a $5 million in seed round led by OMERS Ventures, with additional funds provided by Panache Ventures and N49P, per Crunchbase. The company has raised a total of $14.1 million. More here.

Preql, a months-old, New York-based no-code tool for business users to define and manage metrics, has raised $7 million in seed funding led by Bessemer Venture Partners, with participation from Felicis and numerous founders. TechCrunch has more here.

Protego Trust Bank, a chartered crypto bank based in Seattle, is in talks to raise a round that would value it around $2 billion, according to The Block. The outlet also reports that Protego previously raised a $70 million Series A in 2021 from the investment arms of FTX, Coinbase, Algorand, Avalanche, Cardano, Ripple, and Solana, as well as Digital Currency Group, NYCA Partners, and Reciprocal Ventures. More here.

Quartic.AI, a five-year-old startup based in San Jose, Ca., that enables subject matter experts without extensive data science or programming backgrounds to build manufacturing applications, raised $4.5 million in funding from ZS. The company has raised a total of $14.5 million. More here.

Shellworks, a three-year-old, London-based biotech startup aiming to convince the cosmetic industry to use its petroleum-free, compostable packaging, which “performs like plastic” but breaks down in about a year, has raised $6.2 million in seed funding led by LocalGlobe. TechCrunch has more here.

Singularity Energy, a four-year-old startup based in Somerville, Ma., that uses machine learning to predict spikes and troughs in carbon intensity, allowing customers to time their energy use to reduce their carbon footprints, raised a $4.5 million seed round. The co-leads were Spero Ventures and Energy Impact Partners. The company has raised a total of $4.8 million. TechCrunch has more here.

ThoroughCare, a nine-year-old startup based in Pittsburgh, Pa., that offers a SaaS platform that helps health providers manage patient care, raised $3 million from Cypress Growth Capital in a royalty-based deal. Technically has more here.

SeedInvest takes the pain out of fundraising, allowing founders to spend less time pitching investors and more time building. SeedInvest has a community of more than 600,000 individual investors, who combined have played a role in successful raises for more than 250 startups. Whether you’re raising Seed to Series B, SeedInvest is ready to help you get there. Learn more and apply to raise.

Crane Venture Partners, a seven-year-old, London-based, early-stage venture firm that's focused on software platforms, says it has raised $140 million in capital commitments for its second fund. Tech.eu has more here.

According to Axios, Insight Partners is "beginning to chat up limited partners for its 13th flagship fund, just months after announcing a whopping $20 billion final close for Fund 12." It says expectations are that Insight will seek a first close later this year. We'd talked with one of the firm's co-leads, Deven Parekh, in February about Insight's current fund.

Maveron, the 24-year-old, Seattle-based consumer-focused venture fund cofounded by Dan Levitan and Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, has closed its eighth fund with $225 million in capital commitments. GeekWire has more here.

Standard Crypto,  a three-year-old, Bay Area-based venture firm founded by former Benchmark investor Alok Vasudev and former Lightspeed Venture Partners investor Adam Goldberg, has raised roughly $500 million toward a fund that will invest in both equity and crypto, reports Axios. More here.

Babycare, a seven-year-old, Chinese maker of products for young children, is exploring an IPO in Hong Kong, according to Bloomberg. The Hangzhou-based company has held early discussions with potential advisers, say its sources, and a first-time share sale could happen as soon as 2023 and could raise about $300 million to $500 million. The company was valued at roughly $3 billion in its last round of financing, per Bloomberg's sources. More here.

David Chao, co-founder and partner of the cross-border venture firm DCM, is joining the board of SoftBank Group. Bloomberg has more here.

Akriti Dokania has joined the San Francisco-based venture firm Ridge Ventures as a partner. Dokania previously spent nearly four years as an investor with the European firm Octopus Ventures. She began her career as a software engineer and product manager at Amazon and Microsoft, respectively. 

Paypal laid off 83 employees last month, the company said in a filing. The layoffs affected employees at the digital payment giant’s San Jose office and went into effect on April 13, according to the filing. The Information has more here.

Someone recently stole actor Seth Green's Bored Ape NFT. It was supposed to star in his new show.

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Hundreds of Russian-speaking technologists working in the Bay Area are struggling to rebuild their personal and professional lives after the invasion of Ukraine. Some are from Ukraine. Others are from Belarus or Kazakhstan. Still more are from Russia. 

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NowRx says it uses proprietary software, robotics, and local micro-pharmacies to deliver medications in hours for free. It has also reportedly closed on more than $29 million as of Friday, according to the offering page of SeedInvest, the securities crowdfunding platform. Raise your next round with SeedInvest, and plug into a network of over 600,000 accredited and retail investors. A few could become your next big brand evangelists. Submit your deck here.