Welcome to the Refinery Ventures Newsletter! We’re excited to bring you a recap of Carta’s 2024 State of the Market report with a focus on AI investment. You’ll also find updates on our team and portfolio companies. Enjoy this month’s edition!
Carta’s 2024 State of the Market Report
Carta’s 2024 State of the Market report came out this week and includes a lot of fascinating views into the current market landscape. One section that we found particularly interesting was the data around AI Startup valuations. Artificial Intelligence has swept through the venture landscape and there is a lot of institutional excitement, as you can see, in investing into the space. We have seen a lot of fascinating AI opportunities, and are thrilled about several of the AI opportunities we have backed already, like PictureHealth, Champion and Portal26. We are excited about the technology as well as the people who are running those companies!
We are thrilled about the incredible intersection of AI and hypergrowth leadership that we’re witnessing. As AI continues to reshape the business landscape, we recognize that harnessing its full potential requires a stellar bench of hypergrowth leaders – an area where we excel. The rapid advancements in AI technology are creating unprecedented opportunities for innovation and growth, but it’s the visionary leaders who can effectively integrate these tools that will drive true transformation. Our expertise in identifying and nurturing hypergrowth talent positions us uniquely to capitalize on this AI revolution, ensuring that our portfolio companies are not just adopting AI, but leveraging it to redefine industries and achieve exponential growth.
AI Investment Soars Across All Venture Stages
In 2024, AI companies dominated venture funding, securing a significant share across all stages, from Priced Seed to Series E+. With AI companies raising $5.8B at Series B alone, the data highlights AI’s transformative impact and growing appeal to investors.
Seed Round Valuations
AI companies continue to outpace non-AI counterparts in seed rounds, with median pre-money valuations rising 42% to $17.9M in 2024. Additionally, AI startups raised 21% more cash per round, underscoring their dominance in early-stage funding.
Series A Round Valuations
With median pre-money valuations hitting $51.9M in 2024, AI companies lead Non-AI by a 30% premium. Cash raised per round also reflects this trend, with AI startups securing 20% more funding at $12M compared to others.
Series B Round Valuations
In 2024, AI companies achieved median pre-money valuations of $143M, a 50% premium over non-AI counterparts. Funding per round followed suit, with AI startups raising 28% more at $25.6M on average.
Welcoming our Spring 2025 Interns!
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News Across the Portfolio
Julian LaNeve Featured in Forbes
Astronomer CTO, Julian LaNeve, recently discussed their unified data orchestration business model with Forbes.
New VP of Business Development
Fuad Peisakhov has joined the Edgybees team as the Vice President of Business Development. Fuad has extensive experience in military mapping and geospatial intelligence.
Trishan Arul Presented at JPM
CEO Trishan Arul shares oncology biotech investor insights at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference.
New Chief AI Officer
Portal26 welcomed Pakshi Rajan as the new Chief AI Officer. With his experience in large enterprise software and at Portal26, Pakshi is uniquely positioned to drive their AI strategy forward.
Top Tech Company in Ohio to Watch in 2025
Redi was named one of the Top Tech Companies in Ohio to Watch in 2025 by Purpose Jobs.
Unity Award at Visa Europe’s Supplier Forum
TealBook won the Unity Award as a Diversity Champion at Visa Europe’s Inaugural Supplier Forum.
Tobin Fisher and Armen Keuleyan featured on “The Drone Geek”
Vantage Robotics CEO Tobin Fisher and VP of Commercial Sales and Marketing Armen Keuleyan were guests on “The Drone Geek” podcast.
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