Pléiade Venture

Bold. Brave. Brilliant. Brazen. The founders we back are all this, and more. They are unreasonable, they are crazy ambitious, obsessed with solving hard, gnarly problems. Problems whose solutions transform lives and impact society. And, it takes a revolutionary founder, and a transformational company to solve these problems, and effect change. We back these transformational companies, and their revolutionary founders early, and remain lifelong partners. How does Blume evaluate early stage startups? In our framework, we look at three criteria to evaluate startups – size of market or opportunity, team quality and finally, investability or probability of the next round of capital. Our approximate weightage for Opportunity : Team : Investability is 40 : 40 : 20. Let us double click on these three criteria. Market size or opportunity: Pick too small a market and even the best team can’t build a large scalable business. The best founders know how to reshape a market opportunity and build solutions to fit the largest of the market opportunities. That said, one has to begin with the aggregate opportunity being very large. For example, are Ola and Uber a ride hailing app or a large scale urban transportation business? The market size expands 5-10x when the latter is applied. At Blume, we try to find a portfolio balance between founders who can chase a large market opportunity domestically or build a tech-led differentiated product for global markets (which increase Founding teams: These are the most important variables for us or even most VCs at our stage. In every decision, once the other two factors are seen as a go, the clincher element in a yes/no decision boils down to the founding team – their expertise in solving for this space, as well as the integrity, mission, passion and persistence that one can gauge at this early stage of business. Investability or probability of next rounds of capital: The reality of how the later stage funding market is shaped to take risky bets in the ecosystem is important to consider while funding, especially in young and concentrated ecosystems like India, and that’s why we attribute 20% weightage to this element in India. We force ourselves to evaluate how much capital may be required to build to exitable scale and how challenging it is to raise that capital. As the funding ecosystem matures, we may shrink weightage of this in the future. Great founders overcome all of this but if we can select such that we have better odds at the starting point, why not? The above framework helps us shortlist but finally, it is a (increasingly improving) trained gut call that ends up building out the portfolio. What is Blume's investment criteria? Blume prefers ventures that have achieved some degree of customer validation, where the product is already launched in market and we are getting customer signups and feedback. We do make exceptions on the above for seasoned operators and second-time founders, but typically with first-time founders, we do not do idea stage or pre-MVP investments. If you are a B2B startup or an ecommerce / consumer transaction play, an annualised revenue rate (or revenues) of $375k (₹3cr) and above is a good milestone to reach out to us. If you are a marketplace startup, then reach out to us when you are nearing or have crossed a monthly GMV of ₹50 lacs a month. If you are a consumer app that isn't monetising yet, then ping us when you near or cross MAUs of 25k / DAUs of 5k. The above are broad guidelines, and not hard rules. We do make exceptions. If in doubt, reach out! How much does Blume invest? We are a seed / pre-Series A fund. While we are fairly flexible on the investment quantum, typically we have seen our investments range across from $1.5 to $3m (₹12 to 24 crs). We do optimise however for a stake of anywhere from 12 to 20%. These stake requirements reflect the depth and extent of support we provide to the startup – from fundraising and hiring to business development etc. We also anticipate the rounds of dilution that every successful startup will undergo, and the desired holding that we need to hold at the point of exit. Does Blume invest in international startups? We invest in startups that are Indian at heart or origin, but are willing to conquer the world market if needed to build scale. About a third of our portfolio is of this nature – taking Indian engineering skills to build products for global markets. Unfortunately, We DO NOT invest in startups that are international and have NO strong Indian connection / founders. We are also strong believers that to invest as a ‘generalist tech VC’ as we are, we need to be more and more focussed on a particular geography. We need to see as much of the available annual pipeline to know that we’ve truly picked 10 great founders / startups to invest in. We have no such advantage when we are looking outside the country; which is why we stay away from the temptation of looking at pipeline from international markets. What kind of sectors does Blume invest in? With our new Fund, our fourth since inception, we are looking to invest about 60-65% of the new fund in domestic-heavy sectors such as healthcare, financial services, commerce and brands, jobs and education, and digital media and gaming. The other 35-40% of the fund will focus on SaaS, and DeepTech (including CleanTech, manufacturing, blockchain) companies, typically in B2B, that can innovate and engineer with local talent pools, and yet scale globally. Does Blume have a preference between B2B and B2C? We like both. India is a consumer market that is poised to explode, as people move to the digital economy to spend an increasingly larger share of their wallet’s purchasing power. That makes it attractive to build a strong consumer proposition in India. And thus our B2C portfolio. We are also now very good at taking our science and engineering skills in software and other areas, and building commercial applications at scale, often for the global market. These constitute the majority of B2B ideas in our portfolio and we like this space a lot. Where do I send my pitch? How do I reach out to Blume? We get anywhere between 4,000 to 5,000 ideas pitched to us annually, across the team, across all formats. This includes referrals, cold mails, DMs on social channels etc. We have given up counting :) We invest in about 10-12 of these per year. As Blume has grown, we've looked at the empirical data and discovered that the vast majority of our investments were referrals from our contacts in the ecosystem. You can count the exceptions to this rule with one hand in every cycle, and still have a few fingers to spare! These referrals come from our own founders we have backed, other founders who know that we will do right by their angel investments and our extensive set of friends, investors and well wishers in the ecosystem. The exceptions, while not impossible, are indeed rare. Ceteris paribus (all things considered), you are better off reaching us through a trusted common friend. In a highly networked startup ecosystem, it is not that hard to reach us through the strongest possible mutual connection. But if that is not possible, do reach out to us cold. Your email will certainly be read, even if it is not always responded to. We have ensured that our internal systems catch every pitch - cold or warm or hot. When writing in cold, a considered and researched mail (much like a quality college application) is the only way to attempt such a reach out. Please check out the team page, find the best person in the Investment team who has invested in and / or covers the sector you're building in. Do check out their social profiles (LinkedIn, Twitter) to access their contact info. Our email ids are not hard to guess as well! Preferably write to one person at a time, in the firm. The above are good principles for you irrespective of which firm you approach / pitch to. Nothing works better than a warm, referred introduction - it always gets the rightful attention. Please note that we have done away with a pitch form, or a common email id. From our experience, we found that the volume of inbound traffic was indeed high, but not always relevant, and thus almost impossible to assign a resource to just monitor these inbound gates.

CE-Ventures is the corporate venture capital platform of Crescent Enterprises, focusing on strategic investments in early- to late-stage high-growth companies and select venture funds globally. The platform was launched in 2017 and initially capitalised with $150 million to be invested by 2020, 50% of which is targeted towards the MENA region. CE-Ventures targets start-ups that offer synergies with Crescent Enterprises’ operations across supply chain management tech, medical tech, enterprise software as a service (SaaS), and niche consumer emerging tech, among others. The platform focuses on wide-ranging emerging technologies pervasive across industry sectors such as artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of things (IoT), and blockchain. CE-Ventures partners with purpose-driven entrepreneurs and start-ups to catalyse disruptive technologies and generate long-term returns. Focus Areas EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES Artificial Intelligence Machine Learning Internet of Things Big data ENERGY-TECH Industrial drones Energy storage Cleantech Upstream oil & gas production ENTERPRISE/SAAS Cybersecurity Software Infrastructure FIN-TECH Payments & Infrastructure Open/Neo Banking Insure-tech MED-TECH Medical devices Biotech Healthcare services SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT TECHNOLOGIES Distribution Trucking & Last mile delivery Warehousing Related technologies ED-TECH Virtual classroom/Immersive learning (AR/VR) Learning management systems Collaborative & social learning Computer-aided assessment FOOD-TECH/AG-TECH Cloud kitchens Food e-commerce Smart Farming & Vertical Farming Drones & Robots

Molten Ventures is Europe’s largest listed tech VC firm. We inject the most visionary companies with energy to help them transform and grow. This energy comes in many forms - capital of course but also knowledge, experience, relationships, and commitment. For our portfolio, for our investors and for our society, we make more possible. We invest in companies for the long term, but we start from early stage, so we have chosen a name that captures that very first change. When a solid becomes a liquid, it becomes Molten. We transformed venture capital In helping our portfolio transform, so too have we. Our public listing and multi-fund model allow us to provide entrepreneurs with a more flexible approach to funding, to back the best teams for as long as they need and give investors the ability to share in the growth of the companies that are inventing the future. We are global The best entrepreneurs will take their companies beyond Europe. We are part of a global community of independent funds that can help them scale across the world. We invest in Europe’s best tech companies Molten Ventures portfolio of investments boasts 67 companies includes exciting early-stage companies like Irish drone delivery company Manna Aero, Cambridge-based quantum computing software company, Riverlane, London-based climate intelligence company, Cervest and Finnish satellite company ICEYE. As a testament to its ability to support companies throughout their lifecycle, Molten’s portfolio also includes European unicorns like Trustpilot, UiPath, Graphcore, Revolut, Cazoo, Ledger and Aircall.

For nearly thirty years, RRE Ventures has been a leading venture capital firm in New York with nearly $2.5B under management and +400 portfolio companies. With over 25 IPOs and dozens of trade sales through the years, there is a lot going on at any given time. Recent well-known companies include Datadog, Venmo, Braintree, DCG, Noom, Kindbody, Spring Health, Olo, and BuzzFeed, among many other category-defining businesses. We pride ourselves not only on investing in great entrepreneurs and delivering stellar returns to our LPs but also on being supportive partners to our portfolio companies and active members of the venture community.

SCOR Ventures is the venture investment arm of SCOR Reinsurance, responsible for both investing in and creating partnerships with startups across the insurtech landscape. Since 2017 we have built a global portfolio across three theses: (1) investing in tech-driven underwriting companies (MGAs, carriers) and distributors, (2) software solutions that benefit SCOR and/or our clients, and (3) companies that help people live healthier lives. Our investment scope includes both investments and commercial (re)insurance relationships with startups. We predominantly invest at late Seed / Series A and are interested in a broad range of B2B and B2B2C solutions across MedTech, wellness, wearables, data platforms, and software / AI platforms. What we’re looking for We invest across three thesis areas: Thesis 1: we invest and partner in the ‘Insurers of the Future’: tech-driven underwriting companies (MGAs, carriers) that offer multiple points of digital and business model differentiation across P&C and L&H. We provide direct access to SCOR expertise and our global network to help portfolio companies scale and/or access (re)insurance capacity. With a proven track record of supporting innovative underwriting propositions across multiple lines of business, we understand product development, program structuring, underwriting, pricing and distribution and thus have the capabilities to optimise partnerships between insurtechs and business partners. We predominantly invest at late Seed / Series A. We are class of business agnostic and have partnered with companies across a broad variety of personal and specialty lines. Thesis 2: we invest and partner in software solutions that benefit SCOR and/or our clients. We provide a broad understanding of the interests and pain points of insurers across the world, and the potential to connect companies with insurers through SCOR’s client services initiatives. We predominantly invest later stage vs. Thesis 1 (typically Series A-B) but have occasional appetite for Seed. We prioritise companies: developing data, tools, and methods for obtaining, understanding, pricing and transferring large portfolios of pre-aggregated risks, high-value individual risks such as energy facilities and construction mega-projects, and MGA/coverholder business delivering economically valuable additional services offering a visible outcome which can be used to boost client management or reduce risks. Focus areas include front-end (e.g., underwriting & pricing) policy administration, modelling, risk analytics, and claims developing platforms where insurance has not previously been embedded / distributed, but where SCOR Ventures sees substantial opportunities to close the global protection gap – e.g., marketplaces, “super apps”, b2b fintech, employee benefits working to solve climate and ESG challenges to support the net zero transition and cut emissions for SCOR and SCOR clients. Focus areas include ESG reporting, climate risk analysis and data, carbon offsetting as a solution, circular economy, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) tech, and supply chain transparency. We also see several opportunities in the green insurance product space including solar production or maintenance guarantees, wind input parametric products, solar physical asset damage, cat-bond / ILS and insuring carbon credit projects. Thesis 3: We invest at the intersection of health and technology and partner with companies that help people live healthier lives, deliver in-force or claims outcome improvements, develop new business or add to SCOR’s Knowledge Center capabilities, and assist our clients to transform their offerings. We predominantly invest at late Seed / Series A and are interested in a broad range of B2B and B2B2C solutions across MedTech, wellness, wearables, data platforms, and software / AI platforms. How we operateIntegrated in the wider SCOR business: Direct access to the entirety of SCOR’s capabilities brings unique added value to our portfolio companies. SCOR’s core business has experts in nearly every country, line of business, and functional area, while SCOR Partners bring a broad range of client services, marketing and product development expertise. Mandate: focused on key markets in North America, EMEA and LATAM, with selective deployment in APAC and Africa. Stage and ownership: We invest Seed to Series B. We typically seek greater than 5% ownership at first investment, which may include a board seat (we have led or co-led half of our investments to date). Our investment is intended to make SCOR a meaningful contributor but leave founders room to manage their cap table. We look for a long-term investment and / or commercial relationship but do not seek a fast exit or to ultimately acquire portfolio companies. Partnership approach: we are active supporters of the companies we work with, assisting with technical input, recruitment, capital optimisation and more. The material growth of many insurtech MGAs and carriers has led to increasing demand for (re)insurance capacity; SCOR is a transparent, long-term partner. Insurtechs in SaaS and services segments, meanwhile, have benefited from SCOR’s long-standing client relationships, while SCOR benefits from bringing knowledge, links, and expertise regarding services with genuine value to our clients. We bring value to our portfolio companies by connecting them with other partner companies, as well as with founders and distribution leads in our network. Why partner with SCOR VenturesWe believe in fewer, deeper relationships over the long term. We are flexible and collaborative in our approach, tailoring a solution to your specific needs, in partnership with other insurers, reinsurers, and investors involved in your company as appropriate. We underwrite most major lines of business and geographies globally. We have a global network including insurance licenses but not a competing retail insurance arm. Insurers are our clients, so working with us does not limit your options to associate with insurers. In selected circumstances, we can offer access to Lloyd’s or SCOR’s insurance licenses in the U.S., Europe, Asia, Brazil, South Africa, and other markets. We look to move quickly with direct access to decision makers, whilst leveraging resources and expertise to ensure our partners can build relationships with the appropriate parts of our organization.

As capital becomes a commodity with more early-stage investors flocking to Africa, what will make us stand out will be our networks, relationships, and reputations. What we look forLarge Markets: A clear market opportunity that is massive and growing, captured through a scalable business model. We aim at reaching sustainable impact across a large audience by addressing deep markets, or investing in market-creating innovations. Scalable Economics: Tech-enabled businesses with proven, highly leverageable and defensible revenues, coupled with the ability to improve unit economics through cost and capital efficiency are able to achieve top-trend growth more easily than less efficient business structures. We are disciplined in ensuring the unit economics of the business we invest in are sustainable and attractive. Strong Agile Teams: We are looking for founders that combine strategic vision and executional capacity. Strong teams tend to be bound by a cohesive, inclusive, all-hands-on deck culture. We are seeking founders and teams guided by a clear value proposition and differentiated position in the market. Repeatable Growth: Solutions with highly replicable growth models and transferable problem-solution sets can most benefit from our growth investment and market expansion facilitation. As African markets are not uniform, we carefully model and test solution-market fit. How much funding will you get? If you are an African founder of a tech enabled startup that is solving a significant African development challenge please apply here. If you have little or no revenues, we will refer you to our Angel Fund for $10k to $100k funding consideration. If you have meaningful revenues with high growth potential, we may invest $50k-$250k.