Silicon Valley Funding News - Week of August 23, 2021.  Postman Raised $225M Series D

2021 is flying by...  I cannot believe we are only one week away from September.

Among its many indirect impact, Covid-19 has led to a startup boom in the US. The number of applications for new businesses in the US grew 24% last year to 4.3 million, the highest on record. That’s helping to reverse what had been a 40-year decline in US entrepreneurship.

Many banks in Hong Kong were scrambling and worrying for this past week with the potential imposition of an anti-sanctions law and now it's been delayed. This planned legislation has shaken both business and investor confidence for Hong Kong.  If the planned law proceeds, and if financial institutions in Hong Kong implement U.S. sanctions, they may be exposed to legal risk in Hong Kong for doing so.

Tesla (特斯拉 in Chinese) is on a hiring spree in China for data security and government relations staff as Elon seeks to maintain his leading position in the Chinese electric vehicle market amid a crackdown on tech. Cool to see Tesla’s official WeChat HR account.

Saber (leading cross-chain stablecoin exchange on Solana) reached over $500M TVL in less than 30 days of launch.  And now in the top 50 of all DeFi apps.  Saber is one of our portfolio companies 🏎 🏎 🏎 

This week a total of 35 startups raised $1.5164B in funding, 3 M&As:

• $766.1M goes to 13 Enterprise startups
• $86M goes to 3 FinTech startups
• $66M goes to 1 Crypto startup
• $28.2M goes to 2 InsurTech startups
• $75M goes to 1 Real Estate startup
• $25M goes to 1 EdTech startup
• $38.4M goes to 3 Healthcare startups
• $15M goes to 2 Wellness startups
• $75M goes to 1 HR startup
• $160M goes to 1 Transportation startup
• $36.7M goes to 1 Manufacturing startup
• $45M goes to 1 AgTech startup
• $26M goes to 1 Aerospace startup
• $30M goes to 1 Gaming startup
• $30M goes to 1 Logistics startup
• $8M goes to 1 Construction startup
• $6M goes to 1 Cannabis startup