Upcoming Founder & VC Events Happening This Week

Upcoming Events & The Week’s 10 Biggest Funding Rounds

Author

Mariane Bekker
August 11, 2024

Table of Contents

Want to help support my women founders community?

I’m launching my non-profit Women Founders Bay and would love your support. All your donations are tax deductible. Donate today → https://givebutter.com/womenfoundersbay 

Step SF 2024: The AI & Tech Startup Conference [30% off with FOUNDERSBAY coupon]

Thursday August 15 - 9:00AM - 5:00PM

​Join us for a full-day of AI & Tech Startup Festival including Expo Area & Startup Showcases.

Wednesday August 14 - 2:00PM - 3:00PM

Interested in breaking into venture?

​Want to start investing in startups?

​Join Mariane Bekker, Mala Ramakrishnan, and Raymond Lee for a casual chat on investing.

🗓️ Monday, Aug 12

👉 AI B2B and B2C Investors & Networking (4:00 PM - 6:30 PM)
📍 Palo Alto
💬 Come and meet featured investors.
Featured VC: Rajiv Bhat, Pioneer AI Fund

🗓️ Tuesday, Aug 13

👉 Set your company up for success! Formation Tips with SVB, Clerky, & Venturous Counsel (3:00 PM - 5:00 PM)
📍 San Francisco
💬 Join Clerky, Venturous Counsel, and SVB to learn how to navigate one of the most important parts of launching your business: formation.

👉 RAG Hack Night at GitHub (4:00 PM - 9:00 PM)
📍 San Francisco
💬 Join us for another incredibly fun Hack Night at GitHub!

👉 Founders & Funders (5:30 PM - 8:30 PM)
📍 Los Gatos
💬 Our Founders & Funders series of community-driven mixers hosted by Ignite! 🚀 Where early-stage tech founders and investors connect, collaborate on projects, and socialize. 🌟

👉 🧠 GenAI Collective x Headline 💸 How to Pitch Your AI Startup to Investors Panel (6:00 PM - 8:00 PM)
📍 San Francisco
💬 Fundraising is tough, but we've got you covered! Join The GenAI Collective and Headline for a panel and workshop on how to pitch your early-stage AI idea to investors.

👉 JUMPSTARTER Startup Summer Mixer (6:00 PM - 9:00 PM)
📍 Sunnyvale
💬 Join Alibaba Entrepreneurs Fund (AEF) and Alibaba Cloud for an exclusive summer mixer and information session, designed to connect Chinese American entrepreneurs and professionals in the SF Bay Area. Discover opportunities and insights about the JUMPSTARTER for One Earth global pitch competition and the Alibaba Cloud Startup Program.

👉 🧠 GenAI Collective 🧠 Research Roundtable 🧑‍🔬 (6:30 PM - 9:00 PM)
📍 Mountain View
💬 Dive deep into AI research with leading researchers. This isn't just an event; it's a space where the next big ideas are born. Get ready to explore, learn, and grow! 🚀

🗓️ Wednesday, Aug 14

👉 Lunch & Learn: How to Pitch to Investors (12:00 PM - 1:00 PM)
📍 Livermore
💬 Curated by Health Table, this event provides opportunities for health and biotech investors and innovators to discuss breakthroughs, critical needs, and advancements in healthcare and biotechnology.

👉 Let’s Funding Go! 🚀 Ai+Web3 (5:00 PM - 9:00 PM)
📍 San Francisco
💬 Two floors of techno-optimism, showcasing the best builders in Cerebral Valley.

👉 Palo Alto Climate Tech & AI Salon (5:30 PM - 8:30 PM)
📍 Palo Alto
💬 Bridge Ventures and Open Future Forum bring you the San Francisco Climate Tech & AI Salon, bringing together founders, VCs, and LPs.

👉 AI Talk Series: AI Agents (5:30 PM - 8:00 PM) [HOSTED BY ME]
📍 San Mateo
💬 Join us for our second event in the AI Talk Series, in partnership with Founders Creative, Women Founders Bay, and BLOCK71 Silicon Valley.

👉 AI Builders Social | August series (6:00 PM - 8:00 PM)
📍 TBD
💬 🎉 Mix, mingle, and make magic happen at the AI Builders Social! 🍻 This regular monthly event brings together founders, innovators, builders, and just great people.

👉 Women in AI Founders Dinner by Grasshopper Bank, Levy, and Women in AI Club (6:00 PM - 9:00 PM)
📍 San Francisco
💬 Join the Women in AI Club female founders dinner and share your AI journey!

🗓️ Thursday, Aug 15

👉 Morning Tech Brew ☕ (8:00 AM - 10:30 AM)
📍 San Francisco
💬 Join us for this Morning Tech Brew coffee hour, where builders come together, share their journeys, and learn from one another's experiences.

👉 Step SF 2024: The AI & Tech Startup Conference (9:00 AM - 5:00 PM)
📍 San Francisco
💬 Join us for a full day of AI & Tech Startup Festival, including an Expo Area & Startup Showcases.

👉 StartX Investor Mixer (11:00 AM - 1:00 PM)
📍 Palo Alto
💬 Have individual conversations with founders & investors and mingle with the cohort in a free format.

👉 Founders at Work: Siolta Therapeutics (12:00 PM - 1:00 PM)
📍 San Carlos
💬 Join us for a Founders at Work Fireside Chat featuring Siolta Therapeutics’ Founder and CEO, Nikole Kimes, and Chief Scientific Officer, Ricardo Valladares.

👉 Pioneer Bio/Health Happy Hour (5:00 PM - 8:00 PM)
📍 San Francisco
💬 Join us for a happy hour with scientists, entrepreneurs, and investors!

👉 GenAI Salon (5:00 PM - 8:00 PM)
📍 San Francisco
💬 Join us for our first-ever GenAI Salon with Shreya Shankar. Discuss challenges in deploying GenAI models and share best practices.

👉 Applied AI In Health (5:30 PM - 8:30 PM)
📍 San Francisco
💬 🏃‍♀️🧠 Applied AI In Health: Where athletes, innovators, and investors converge.

👉 Healthcare x GenAI Lightning Talks (5:30 PM - 8:30 PM)
📍 San Francisco
💬 Join us for an evening of Lightning Talks focused on Healthcare and Generative AI with fellow founders, engineers, researchers, clinicians, and investors. 🧠

👉 AI Symposium in Healthcare Life Sciences (5:30 PM - 8:30 PM)
📍 Palo Alto
💬 The AI Symposium connects experts, industry leaders, and venture capitalists with founders to enhance collaboration and propel growth in AI infrastructure.

👉 🧠 GenAI Collective 🧠 SF Demo Showcase 🚀 (6:00 PM - 9:00 PM)
📍 San Francisco
💬 Join the Bay Area’s most brilliant creators for a night of mind-blowing demos that push the boundaries of innovation. 😮

👉 AI Salon: Let's Get Canceled! (6:30 PM - 9:30 PM)
📍 San Francisco
💬 The AI Salon is a vibrant community focused on small group discussions about the sociological, economic, cultural, and philosophical impacts of AI developments. Join us for diverse viewpoints and in-depth dialogue.

👉 Spicy CMO Podcast: Headspace, ClickUp, Krispy Krunchy Foods & Cantaloupe (6:30 PM - 8:30 PM)
📍 San Francisco
💬 A 4-CMO panel featuring leaders of $150M-$600M companies. Join 100+ marketing, sales, and tech friends in the audience.

👉 AI Agent Founder Dinner (6:30 PM - 8:30 PM)
📍 San Francisco
💬 AI Agent startups are a unique breed. This monthly dinner is to get to know each other and discuss the challenges and opportunities in building AI Agents on the Internet.

🗓️ Friday, Aug 16

👉 Pitch & Run SF 8a Friday Runs! (8:00 AM - 9:00 AM)
📍 San Francisco
💬 Founders, tech operators, investors, angels, runners—join Pitch and Run SF Friday mornings!

👉 Devtools Founder Breakfast (9:30 AM - 11:00 AM)
📍 San Francisco
💬 Meet fellow early-stage founders building developer products. Share pains, struggles, wins, and support each other!

🗓️ Saturday, Aug 17

👉 Founders Running Club (9:30 AM - 11:30 AM)
📍 San Francisco
💬 Run 5-10km at your conversational pace. After the run, meet for non-alcoholic beer/coffee nearby.

👉 Democratize Intelligence: SWE-Bench Hackathon (1:00 PM - 9:00 PM)
📍 San Francisco
💬 An Ultra-Hackathon to push the limits of Open-Source Code Generation.

👉 Founder Face-Off: Trivia Night & Happy Hour (7:00 PM - 9:00 PM)
📍 San Francisco
💬 Calling all startup warriors! Join us for Founder Trivia Night & Happy Hour in SF—test your tech knowledge!

Book a Personal LinkedIn Branding Strategy Session with me

In the last year, I grew my LinkedIn following from 2k to 11k. I’m offering a 1×1 session where we'll optimize your LinkedIn profile, create a compelling content strategy, and start growing your followers.

I'll give you personalized advice to identify your target audience, attract opportunities and clients, and become a thought leader.

Understanding Pre-Seed and Seed Funding Trends in 2024

By Mariane Bekker

In 2024, getting pre-seed funding is tougher because investors now want to see early signs of success and revenue, which were once needed only later on. Startups at this stage need to show that their ideas work, develop their products, and prove they have market interest before they can get investment. While pre-seed valuations are still around $5.7 million, there are fewer deals being made, making it more competitive to secure funds.

On the other hand, seed stage valuations have soared to near-record highs in Q2 2024, showing that investors are feeling positive about early-stage companies with great potential. This means it’s crucial for founders to stay updated on these trends. Our upcoming virtual event will give you the latest insights and tips on navigating the current funding landscape, helping you understand how to attract investment and succeed in today’s market.

Here are the key 2024 metrics you need to know:

🌱 Pre-Seed Stage:

• Median Deal Size: $1M
• Median Pre-Money Valuation: $5.7 million
• Median Age of the Company: 1.2 years at the time of the round.

🌱 Seed Stage:

• Median Deal Size: Reached a record high at $3.1 million
• Median Seed Pre-Money Valuation: $14.8 million
• Median Age of Company: 2.7 years at the time of the round.

These statistics underscore the resilience of early-stage startups.

The Week 10 Biggest Funding Rounds

The week saw the second-biggest raise of the year!

  1. Anduril Industries

    • Sector: Defense

    • Funding: $1.5B

    • Details: Costa Mesa-based Anduril Industries secured a $1.5 billion Series F, valuing the company at $14 billion, up from $8.5 billion in 2022. Co-led by Founders Fund and Sands Capital, the funds will support the development of Arsenal-1, a massive production facility for autonomous military systems. This round continues the trend of increased investment in defense tech, with startups in the sector raising $2.5 billion so far in 2024.

  2. Groq

    • Sector: Semiconductor

    • Funding: $640M

    • Details: Groq, an AI semiconductor and software startup from Mountain View, raised $640 million in a Series D round led by BlackRock, valuing the company at $2.8 billion. This new valuation nearly triples its previous one from 2021. Founded in 2016, Groq focuses on optimizing AI performance and reducing computing power demands. The company has now raised a total of $1 billion.

  3. Abnormal Security

    • Sector: Cybersecurity

    • Funding: $250M

    • Details: Abnormal Security, based in San Francisco, closed a $250 million Series D round led by Wellington Management, raising its valuation to $5.1 billion. The company, founded in 2018, leverages AI to enhance email and application security. Abnormal has now raised nearly $546 million and recently surpassed $200 million in annual recurring revenue. The round comes as cybersecurity startups experience a resurgence in funding, with $4.4 billion invested in Q2 2024.

  4. Flyr

    • Sector: Travel

    • Funding: $225M

    • Details: Santa Monica-based Flyr, a travel industry software developer, raised $225 million in equity and $70 million in debt, led by WestCap. The equity round values the company at $900 million. Founded in 2013, Flyr has raised $482 million to date.

  5. IDRx

    • Sector: Biotech

    • Funding: $120M

    • Details: IDRx, a Plymouth-based biotech startup focusing on precision therapies for cancer, raised $120 million in a Series B round led by Commodore Capital, RA Capital Management, and Blackstone. Founded in 2022, the company has now raised $242 million.

  6. DevRev

    • Sector: Artificial Intelligence

    • Funding: $100M

    • Details: Palo Alto-based DevRev, which develops AI tools for customer support, raised $100 million from Khosla Ventures and others, bringing its valuation to $1.15 billion. Founded in 2020, DevRev has raised a total of $150 million.

  7. Shinobi Therapeutics

    • Sector: Biotech

    • Funding: $68M

    • Details: Shinobi Therapeutics, based in South San Francisco, raised a $68 million Series A extension from Mitsubishi UFJ Capital and Yosemite. The biotech company, founded in 2023, focuses on developing immune evasive iPS cell therapies and has raised $119 million so far.

  8. MBX Biosciences

    • Sector: Biotech

    • Funding: $64M

    • Details: Carmel, Indiana-based MBX Biosciences secured $63.5 million in a Series C round led by Deep Track Capital. The clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, founded in 2019, develops precision peptide therapies for metabolic disorders and has raised over $238 million to date.

  9. Muon Space

    • Sector: Space

    • Funding: $57M

    • Details: Muon Space, a Mountain View-based startup that designs low-earth orbit satellite constellations, raised $56.7 million in a Series B round led by Activate Capital. Founded in 2021, the company has raised nearly $92 million so far.

  10. Red Queen Therapeutics

    • Sector: Biotech

    • Funding: $55M

    • Details: Cambridge-based Red Queen Therapeutics emerged from stealth with a $55 million Series A round led by Apple Tree Partners. The biotech startup focuses on developing antiviral treatments.

Source: Crunchbase

Romance, Love & Longevity for the Modern World

In today's fast-paced, technology-driven world, maintaining lasting love and romance can feel more challenging than ever. How can couples keep their relationships strong and passionate amidst the stresses of modern life? In this enlightening talk, renowned relationship expert Dr. John Gray will share powerful insights on nurturing romance, deepening intimacy, and building relationships that stand the test of time.

Whether you're single, dating, or in a long-term partnership, you'll gain valuable tools to create and sustain the loving relationship you desire. Don't miss this opportunity to learn from the world's leading experts on love and communication between the sexes.

CEO, Founders Bay

Hi! I'm Mariane Bekker, General Partner at Progressive Ventures and a tech executive with over a decade of experience building high-performing engineering teams at leading startups such as New Relic and Mindbody. I've led engineering through 5 acquisitions and 1 IPO. 

I’m the founder of Women Founders Bay, a community of tech female founders on a mission to increase funding going to women. Donate today →