DCM Newsletter — Q2 2023
DCM Firm News
DCM Atlas completed first round of program
In early June, DCM Atlas, DCM Japan’s 5-month seed investment program, which invests around $300K of JKISS (SAFE-equivalent note in Japan) at post ~$4M cap in each company, graduated its first class of the program. The class had the opportunity to travel to the United States during their final week to present their progress to the DCM global team in the Bay Area. Entrepreneurs can apply for the program via the DCM Atlas website.
Hurst Lin ranked #40 on The Midas List 2023
DCM China’s Hurst Lin was recognized for his 8th year on The Midas list. Produced by Forbes and TrueBridge Capital Partners, The Midas List ranks the world’s venture capital investors by their portfolio companies that have gone public or been acquired for at least $200 million over the past five years, or that have at least doubled their private valuation since initial investment to $400M or more over the same period.
DCM recognized in 36 Krypton Venture Capital Research Institute List
DCM was awarded the 2023 Most Popular Venture Capital Institution for Entrepreneurs in 36 Krypton’s annual list.
US
Plenty named as a Fast Company World Changing Idea
Plenty was named a finalist in Fast Company’s 2023 World Changing Ideas award as an innovation that could change the way we eat. The award recognizes businesses and organizations that are developing creative solutions to the most pressing issues of our time. DCM led the company’s Series A round in July 2016.
EvenUp raised $50M at $325M valuation
Market leader in AI-driven support for personal injury lawyers, EvenUp, raised a $50M Series B funding round, led by Bessemer Venture Partners with participation from Bain Capital Ventures and previous investors including DCM, SignalFire and Clio Ventures. DCM first invested in EvenUp’s Seed round in 2020.
Chia submitted registration to U.S. SEC for proposed IPO
Blockchain and smart-contract platform, Chia, submitted a confidential draft registration to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for a proposed IPO. DCM participated in the Seed round for Chia in 2017.
China
Hurst Lin commented on U.S. investments in Chinese tech
DCM China’s Hurst Lin provided predictions on U.S.-based investments in Chinese technology to Crunchbase in reaction to political headwinds and strained tensions between the U.S. and China. Hurst shared his opinion that only time will tell how the investing cycle will play out.
Yaoshibang Officially Lists on Hong Kong Stock Exchange
On June 28, Yaoshibang, which has become the largest digital comprehensive service platform for the out-of-hospital pharmaceutical industry in China, was officially listed on the main board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, stock code: 9885.HK, with an issue price of HK$20 per share and a total market value of over HK$13 billion. DCM first led Yaoshibang’s Series C round and has since increased its holdings. Before the IPO, DCM held 8.65% of the shares of Yaoshibang, and was the main institutional investor.
BentoML Raises $9M Seed Round and Launched BentoCloud
BentoML, the platform for software developers to build, ship and scale AI applications, announced they have raised $9M in Seed funding, led by DCM with participation from Bow Capital. The company has announced the launch of BentoCloud, their first cloud product, which allows developers to bring AI-powered products to market 10x faster.
FlowGPT announced winners of Prompt Hackathon and product updates
AI prompt creator platform, FlowGPT, announced the winners of their Prompt Hackathon event, the first ever prompt contest designed to unleash the power of AI with user creativity, along with updated platform features. DCM participated in FlowGPT’s Pre-seed round in 2023.
Urtopia launched The Chord in Europe
Urtopia, the Hong Kong-based electric bicycle specialist, launched its newest bike, The Chord, into the European market. The Chord is designed for commuters and features a built in 20-lux headlight, an intuitive handlebar-mounted display, and comfortable ergonomics. Alongside Lightspeed China Partners, DCM led the Seed round for Urtopia in February 2022.
Japan
Magic Moment announced Moment Playbook
Sales engagement platform, Magic Moment, launched a new product feature, Moment Playbook. Moment Playbook utilizes ChatGPT’s API to help sales teams efficiently build relationships with customers and implement best practices for sales operations. DCM led Magic Moment’s Seed funding in 2019.
10x raised JPY1.5bn in debt financing
10X, creator of “Stailer”, the all-in-one platform for supermarkets, drugstores and other chain stores, raised 1.5 billion yen in debt financing from Shizuoka Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Mitsubishi UFJ Bank, Yamanashi Chuo Bank, Fivot, SDF Capital, Yoii and more. DCM led 10x’s Series A round in 2018.
CADDi introduces CADDi DRAWER
Global supply chain company, CADDi, launched a drawing data utilization cloud service that allows users to search for drawings by similarity or keyword through analyzing and accumulating drawing data. DCM participated in CADDi’s Series B funding round in December 2018.
Global
Moove partnered with Reliance General Insurance
Mobility fintech firm, Moove, announced partnership with Reliance General Insurance to provide comprehensive health insurance coverage to Moove customers and their families in India. DCM participated in the Series A round for Moove in 2021.