Social Leverage Letter | Issue #61

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UPFRONT

Cybersecurity

 Venture Capital funding for cybersecurity startups increased 37.5 percent year over year in the last quarter, with pre-money valuations increasing from $12M to $13.5M. Notably, with the exception of seed-stage investments, the valuation of cybersecurity firms has fallen across all other investment stages, according to data from DataTribe and Pitchbook. In addition, Q3 2022 saw 33 seed-stage investments versus 24 from the same period in the prior year.

Aerospace & Defense

Venture capital firms have invested $7B in U.S. aerospace and defense startups, and are expected to surpass the $7.B invested last year. Rising threats from China and Russia, and the recession-proof nature of the industry are driving the investment boom according to Pitchbook.

"A pullback like we’re experiencing now can actually have positive effects for seed investors: founders who want funding are forced to grow responsibly and focus on business fundamentals, like their path to profitability. Less hype will make it easier to separate the winners from the ones that won’t ultimately survive. It can be counter-intuitive, but the best times to build and invest are often when we’re most feeling the pinch."

The Crypto Story

There was a moment not so long ago when I thought, “What if I’ve had this crypto thing all wrong?” I’m a doubting normie who, if I’m being honest, hasn’t always understood this alternate universe that’s been percolating and expanding for more than a decade now. If you’re a disciple, this new dimension is the future. If you’re a skeptic, this upside-down world is just a modern Ponzi scheme that’s going to end badly—and the recent “crypto winter” is evidence of its long-overdue ending. But crypto has dug itself into finance, into technology, and into our heads. And if crypto isn’t going away, we’d better attempt to understand it." ~ Joel Weber, Editor, Bloomberg Businessweek

Prefect founder and CEO Jeremiah Lowin discusses execution, the power of storytelling, artificial intelligence, and more on this insightful episode of Infinite Loops. 

WATCHING

Garry Tan shows you how to reprogram your mindset by integrating your shadow and how to use Postel’s Law as a guide for living your life.

DEAL SPOTLIGHT

Highlighting interesting seed rounds from around the globe:

Apex Space Lands $7.5M Seed Round led by A16Z

The Los Angeles based company is transforming satellite bus manufacturing – the part of the spacecraft that hosts the payload – in response to a massive increase in demand.

With the cost of launch declining drastically, an ever increasing number of new commercial and government payloads are operational. These payloads require platforms known as satellite buses to operate. The buses comprise the various systems needed for space operations.

Apex’s first product, the Aries satellite bus, is a 103kg platform capable of handling payloads as large as 94kg. The Aries platform comes off-the-shelf, or can be configured to meet the mission needs of companies operating in low earth orbit.

This $7.5M seed round will enable the company to ramp up hiring and production timelines. The seed round was led by Andreessen Horowitz, with participation from XYZ, J2, Lux Capital, and Village Global.

WEB3 ROUNDUP

News on blockchain/web3:

JOB BOARD

Explore openings at our portfolio companies: 

Featured Jobs:

Check out all of our portfolio companies at Social Leverage.

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Affiliate Disclosure: Social Leverage Group, LLC ("SLG"), Social Leverage Capital Fund I, LP ("SLC"), Social Leverage Capital Fund II, LP ("SLCII"), Social Leverage Capital Fund III, LP ("SLCIII") and Social Leverage Capital Fund IV, LP ("SLCIV") are all distinct entities from Social Leverage, LLC ("SL"). Social Leverage is not a registered investment advisor. SLC, SLCII, SLCIII, SLCIV, SLG and SL have used the logo and branding of Social Leverage with the permission of Social Leverage Group, LLC.