Q4 Wrapped
2023 was a tough year for the whole startup ecosystem. Rising interest rates, changing market expectations around growth/profitability, and a sluggish exit market really put a dampener on the euphoria of recent years. Year-on-year, there has been a marked decrease in both the volume of global VC investment and the quantity of VC deals.
In Q4, Europe saw $13.8B invested across 1,750 deals which is significantly lower than in 2021 and 2022, but matched Q4 2020 and exceeded all previous years. AI remained a hot topic, highlighted by some of the quarter’s largest deals, including a $486 million raise by Germany’s Aleph Alpha, focusing on large language models, and a $434 million raise by France’s Mistral AI. The ClimateTech sector also showed strong investment momentum from seed to growth.
Likewise, investment and deal numbers in the APAC region saw significant declines. The final quarter was notably quiet, despite one major $1 billion+ funding round in Singapore (Lazada). In India, despite strong economic indicators, VC investment also slowed amid a globally cautious environment.
Into 2024, we expect to see further difficulties, especially for companies that raised very large funding rounds in 2021 and 2022, likely needing to return to the market. In many cases, these companies haven’t reached the metrics to justify their valuations based on current market multiples. However, early-stage companies should be well-positioned, as evidenced in Europe by the high volume of seed deals coming to market. VC investment in APAC looks to remain subdued through Q1, but we are optimistic that more activity will materialise in the second half of the year, especially as local solutions appear in AI and ClimateTech.
Despite the doom and gloom of 2023, we remained active and continued to invest in companies solving thorny problems across B2B SaaS, HealthTech and FinTech, from late Seed to Series B. In Q4, we invested in Sugar Fit’s Series A to support them on their mission to manage and reverse diabetes in India.
Keep scrolling to find out more about Sugar Fit’s funding round, Q4 highlights, and where to meet us next. ⬇️
👋 Welcome to the MMV portfolio
sugar.fit
Founded in 2018 by Madan Somasundaram and Shivtosh Kumar, India-based sugar.fit is a HealthTech startup that seeks to manage and reverse diabetes through a highly consumer-centric, data-driven digital health experience. sugar.fit uses continuous glucose monitoring technology (CGM), which helps users see real-time impact of various food and lifestyle activities on their blood sugar level to optimize metabolic health. The company’s comprehensive program combines medical experts with deep technology, including coaching, personalized analytics, and integrated devices and testing. We’re thrilled to have led their $11M Series A round, which included participation from Cure.fit, Tanglin Venture Partners, and Endiya Partners.
🗞️ Portfolio news
Accelex
Enabling investors and servicers in alternative assets to quickly and easily acquire, extract, and analyze investment data
Congrats to Accelex on their $15M Series A fundraise led by FactSet. This fresh capital will enable the company to further expand operations, enhance product capabilities, and deliver exceptional client success.
Daye
Raising the standards in gynae health through innovative products and services
Daye was featured in The Guardian for the launch of their STI diagnostic tampon, which uses a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test to check for STIs like chlamydia, gonorrhea, trichomonas, mycoplasma and ureaplasma. The diagnostic tampon enables patient groups — who might be anxious, embarrassed, or unable to go to their physician — to perform a noninvasive test using a tool they have likely used many times before and from the comfort of their homes.
Griffin
UK’s first full-stack BaaS platform with a banking license
Griffin launched Foundations, its early access Banking-as-a-Service programme for UK Fintechs and companies looking to embed financial products into their offerings.
Qritive
Leveraging the power of AI to advance pathology and improve disease care
Qritive announced a significant collaboration with Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute and Research Centre (RGCIRC) in advancing precision medicine within Digital Pathology to elevate the diagnosis precision of prostate biopsies. RGCIRC is a non-profit medical facility and research institute based in Delhi and is one of Asia’s largest cancer treatment centers.
Sikoia
Customer onboarding and verification, made simple
Sikoia launched Affordability Insights, enabling Fintechs and financial institutions to instantly assess customer affordability and budgets with minimal input. Its models create insights and identifies anomalies across bank data, PDF bank statements, and open banking.
💼 Portfolio Jobs
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🎤 Community
In October, we celebrated our 5th anniversary of investing in APAC! It was terrific to have so many portfolio company founders, investors, and members of the VC ecosystem come together in support of what we do. We’re excited for the next five years and well beyond.
We also hosted our annual holiday gathering in December in London — thanks to all who came out and donned their Santa hats!
Throughout Autumn, we hit the conference trail with Alix and Sam making their way to Dublin for SaaStock while Max hit up the Wolves Summit in Vienna, and Yara headed to Rome for Frontiers Health. The four of them also made it to Slush in Helsinki.
🥳 Team News
Vivian joined our team in Singapore as an analyst focusing on investments and portfolio support across APAC. Welcome to the team, Vivian!
Catch the MMV team
During the first quarter, we’ll be attending Deal Street Asia 2024 PE-VC Summit, India FinTech Festival, 4YFN, ViVE 2024, Finovate Europe, Leap, Start Summit, and the Cloud and Cybersecurity Expo. If you’re heading to any of these, be sure to connect with us in person and get to know our team.
🗞️ More about us
To learn more about MMV Europe & APAC, check out our website, follow our blog on Medium, and follow us on LinkedIn.
