Newly launched early-stage venture capital fund Regeneration.VC has closed its $45 million inaugural fund focused on circular and regenerative materials and reuse technologies.
This is the first fund of General Partners Dan Fishman and Michael Smith. Participating limited partners include North American and European family offices, foundations and institutional investors. Strategic advisors include actor Leonardo DiCaprio and circular economy pioneer William McDonough.
Regeneration.VC invests in three core themes: design (packaging and materials), use (products and brands) and reuse (reverse logistics and marketplaces).
"Sustainability continues to attract a spotlight,” DiCaprio said in a statement. "We need forward-thinking approaches that perform measurably better for our planet. It's time for people to feel good about their purchases and for businesses to meet that challenge — every bite of food, every T-shirt, every product counts. I am excited to help Regeneration.VC supercharge these solutions and begin to reverse the climate emergency."
In other L.A.-area startup news:
- Marina del Rey-based Web3 technology company Cosmic Wire has acquired Dubai-based ArtsGalore for $31.5 million. ArtsGalore specializes in fine art and one-of-a-kind custom automotives and develops NFTs inspired by its collection for the metaverse. ArtsGalore founder Mohamedali Rashid joins Cosmic Wire as chief revenue officer.
- Wave Sports + Entertainment, a sports and entertainment company with more than 110 million followers, has partnered with Snap Inc. to launch Gym Heroes Mini, the first social fitness experience on Snapchat. Gym Heroes Mini offers three 30-minute original workouts daily curated by fitness experts.
Funding
- Collectors Holdings Inc., a Santa Ana company that specializes in the authentication and management of collectibles, has raised $100 million in new funding at a $4.3 billion valuation. The new financing comes as the company launches its new corporate branding and website, Collectors.com. The company said its new website unifies the company's brands and showcases its suite of authentication and grading services, marketplace and auction platforms and collectibles research tools.
- Yami, an L.A. direct-to-consumer marketplace for Asian food, products and household goods, has raised $50 million in a Series B round co-led by Altos Ventures and Balsam Bay Partners with participation from J.P. Morgan and Series A lead investor GGV Capital. Yami is using this funding to speed up delivery times, broaden product offerings, enhance vendor support on the platform and invest in technology to strengthen the supply chain to meet growing demand.
- Newport Coast-based VivoSense Inc., which is developing digital clinical measures from wearable sensor data, has closed a $25 million Series A financing round. Investors include Debiopharm Innovation Fund and the Perceptive Xontogeny Venture. The company said its technology aims to help advance patient-focused drug development and precision medicine for patients with cancer, Alzheimer’s, rare disease and other therapeutic indications.
- Audio-visual mental health app SoundMind has raised $800,000 in its pre-seed funding round led by Dr. Venus Nicolino. Concurrent with this investment, Dr. Nicolino, who holds a Ph.D. in clinical psychology, joins the company's board.
