Today Salt Security, a startup that helps companies protect APIs, announced that it has closed a $20 million Series A. The Palo Alto-based company secured the new funds from Tenaya Capital, bringing its total capital raised to around $30 million.

The Salt round caught TechCrunch’s eye as it fits reasonably well into a growing trend of API-powered and focused startups raising capital in recent months. On the back of Plaid’s epic exit, and the continued success of Twilio, APIs appear to be a lucrative way for startups to build attractive revenue tallies that entice both investors and acquirers alike.

Notably Salt Security offers its API security service — the startup helps customers defend against API “attacks,” and find API-related “vulnerabilities,” per its website — as a SaaS application; the company did tell TechCrunch that it can also “integrate via API with other solutions in a customer’s environment,” for what it’s worth. Regardless, as Salt is a startup focused on the API economy, we wanted to note its funding event.

To get a handle on how the company managed to raise during a purportedly difficult time to attract new capital, TechCrunch dug in a little bit. Read on for growth notes, and some details on whether more startups are using APIs to power their businesses.

Growth

The short answer regarding how Salt managed to secure capital is growth, as far as TechCrunch can surmise: According to the firm, Salt “almost doubled [its] revenue in the first half of 2020 from the end of 2019 despite COVID-19 in addition to retaining our existing customers.” As the firm just raised a Series A, its 2019 end-of-year revenue tally likely wasn’t huge, but the company’s pace of topline expansion is precisely what private investors like to bet on.

Even better, Salt shared with TechCrunch that its gross margins have “significantly improved to over 90%” in response to a question regarding changes in the startup’s gross margin profile over the last 18 months. Salt also cited sharp demand for its product from larger companies in its notes to this publication.

But it’s smaller companies that we’re more interested in, given our API startup focus. TechCrunch asked Salt if it is seeing API-powered business models becoming more popular among growing tech companies. Via email, the startup said that it has “seen an increase in the use of third party APIs and more companies are opening new APIs for partners to share data” and that APIs are “definitely a growing business model not only for startups but also for established companies looking to innovate and grow their business.”

Good to know that we weren’t out to lunch when we noted the trend.

Wrapping, while researching Salt for this post TechCrunch noticed that the company’s website details an all-male leadership team. We raised the matter to the startup, which responded saying that “diversity and inclusion are core to [its] culture,” and that it views the matter as “critical to a healthy, productive, creative and growing team.” Salt also said that it has “plans to double in size by the end of year and this will create many opportunities for growing diversity within our executives and across our entire team.” We’ll take a peek at the same metric the next time we talk to the company.

Source: Tech Crunch Startups | Salt Security closes M Series A to help protect APIs

Looking for a way to get your early-stage startup the massive attention it deserves? Look no further. TechCrunch is highlighting over 30 companies at Disrupt SF. Selected companies will get a video interview with TC editorial that will be shared with the masses. One of the best ways to get in front of thousands of influencers is by exhibiting in Startup Alley during Disrupt 2020. An even better way is to exhibit for free. Take the first step and apply to be a TC Top Pick.

Applying is easy, but earning the TC Top Pick designation — well, not so much. Discerning TechCrunch editors scour every application searching for creative, potential-laden startups that spark the imagination. Each startup that joins the ranks of the TC Top Picks wins an interview on TechCrunch and a free Digital Startup Alley Package. That’s where the massive exposure comes into play. Everyone — investors, tech media, founders, devs, engineers, R&D folks and more — wants to meet and greet those who made the grade.

Ready to take your shot? Here’s what you need to know. You’re eligible to apply if your pre-Series A startup falls into one of the following categories:

Social Impact + Education, Space, Artificial Intelligence + Machine Learning, Biotech + Healthtech, Enterprise + SaaS, Fintech, Mobility, Retail + E-commerce, Robotics, Hardware + IOT, and Security + Privacy.

TechCrunch editors will choose up to three startups in each category. Note the phrase “up to three.” They won’t fill the bucket without ample cause. What do you get with a Digital Startup Package? Plenty. For starters, it lets three people from your company exhibit from anywhere — remember, virtual Disrupt 2020 is a global event with a global audience. That’s huge.

You’ll demo like crazy — scheduling 1:1 video meetings with the previously mentioned masses — investors, media, potential customers, collaborators and the list goes on. Here’s more good news. You’ll have CrunchMatch, our AI-powered networking platform, to help make your networking easier and more efficient. The platform opens weeks ahead of Disrupt, giving you even more time to find and connect with people who can move your business forward.

Thanks to this next perk, the exposure you get as a TC Top Pick will stretch far beyond Disrupt. TechCrunch editors will create a video interview for each Top Pick startup and promote the videos across its social media platforms. It’s a long-term marketing tool you can use to pitch potential investors and clients.

Does your early-stage startup deserve massive attention? Take advantage of this massive opportunity to keep your startup on track and moving forward. Apply to be a TC Top Pick today.

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Source: Tech Crunch Startups | Founders: Land a video interview with TC

Pale Blue Dot, a newly outed European venture capital firm focused on climate tech, announced this week the first closing of its debut fund at €53 million.

Targeting pre-seed and seed stage startups, the firm says it will consider software and technology investments with a strong positive climate impact. Current areas of focus include food/agriculture, industry, fashion/apparel, energy and transportation, with plans to back up to 40 companies out of fund one.

Founding partners Hampus Jakobsson, Heidi Lindvall and Joel Larsson are stalwarts of the Nordic tech ecosystem and beyond: Jakobsson co-founded TAT (The Astonishing Tribe), which was sold to Blackberry in 2012, and is a prominent angel investor in Europe, most recently a venture partner at BlueYard Capital . Lindvall is the former head of accelerator and investment team at Fast Track Malmö, with a background in human rights and media. Larsson was previously managing director at Fast Track Malmö, with a technical background and prior fund management experience.

I put questions to all three, delving deeper into Pale Blue Dot’s remit and the firm’s investment thesis. We also discussed the macro trends that warrant a fund specializing in climate tech and why Europe is poised to become a leader in the space.

Pale Blue Dot is a new VC fund specializing in climate tech, but in a sense — and to varying degrees — isn’t every venture capital fund a climate tech fund these days?

Heidi Lindvall: We think all funds should be “planet-positive” and working for a better world, but it will take time until it is a focus. Still, most funds look at a potential positive impact late in their assessment and will not decline the deal if the startups wouldn’t be significantly pulling the world in a good direction.

Hampus Jakobsson: Focus has both upsides and downsides.

The negative part with being niche is that we won’t do investments in amazing people or startups that we don’t think are “climate-contributing enough” or that the founders aren’t doing it in a genuine way (as the risk of them to paying attention to the impact might lead them to become a noncontributing company).

Source: Tech Crunch Startups | European VC firm Pale Blue Dot plans to fund 40 ‘planet-positive’ startups

Early-stage founders have about a zillion questions and face a battalion of challenges to get their businesses up and running. That’s why we created TechCrunch Early Stage, a two-day, virtual and highly interactive conference that takes place July 21-22.

At TC Early Stage, early founders — from pre-seed through Series A — can choose from more than 50 breakout sessions on topics spanning the startup ecosystem. Notable experts from the startup world will lead topics ranging from fundraising strategies and building a team to marketing and operations — and much more.

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The importance of IP hygiene to investors and in financings

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Intellectual property (IP) hygiene is the process of safeguarding IP rights by ensuring that all valuable technology development activities protect your invention. Perkins Coie partners Michael Glenn (Patent Prosecution) and Matt Oshinsky (Emerging Companies Venture Capital) will discuss how simple, but often overlooked, measures to maintain IP hygiene can add value during an equity financing and to your enterprise.

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Source: Tech Crunch Startups | New sessions announced at TC Early Stage from Dell, Perkins Coie and SVB

Way back in 2018, Aerones detailed its plans to use large, industrial drones to clean wind turbines. The company had already raised $3.6 million to date and moved from Latvia to the San Francisco Bay Area. But things change fast in the world of startups — and sometimes that requires a rethink.

Aerones will remain in the wind turbine-cleaning business, but its methods are changing pretty dramatically. That includes a move from the aforementioned drones to a ground-based robotic system. The system utilizes a computerized winch system and a robotic arm, coupled with a small fleet of ground-based robots.

The Y Combinator-backed startup describes the system thusly:

The computerized winch system ensures the robotic arm can perform a range of inspection and maintenance tasks, including close-up photography, laser scanning of the leading edge surface, lightning conductivity tests, blade cleaning, drainage hole cleaning, and the coating of protective materials. The system enables a two-man crew to service multiple turbines every day, even performing some services at night and low in temperatures.

The company, understandably, says the new system is “more stable and effective” than the drone version. It has already piloted the system in the U.S. and Europe. All of that makes sense, but is a bit of a letdown for those seeking credible use cases for industrial drones.

Image Credits: Aerones

The shift in focus also comes with a new seed round, this time $1.6 million from existing investors YC and Sensum Group, and new participants, including Change Ventures. The additional funds will go toward further development of the new robotic system, as well as a further expansion into the U.S. market.

Source: Tech Crunch Startups | Aerones abandons industrial drones to focus on ground-based robotics as it raises .6M

The domestic stock market is advancing today on the back of some better-than-anticipated economic recovery data in the United States. While retail spending is still lower compared to the year-ago period, gains in May from April were better than anticipated.

The American stock market, ready to trade higher on any scrap of good news — even news predicated on economic weakness and the need for continued intervention — shot north, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index rising 2.3% to 9,947.5 and the SaaS-focused BVP Nasdaq Emerging Cloud Index (EMCLOUD) rising 1.6% to 1,719.2.

From Bessemer, a venture capital firm that invests in cloud startups, here’s some data on today’s SaaS market:

• Median enterprise value/annualized revenue multiple for public SaaS/cloud companies: 12.6x
• Median forward enterprise value/annualized revenue multiple for public SaaS/cloud companies: 10.5x
• Median “efficiency” (revenue growth plus FCF Margin): 37.8%
• Median revenue growth: 31%
• Media gross margin: 73.6%

We’re marking this moment in time, just days after the Nasdaq Composite index crossed the 10,000 point mark, as it’s a useful yardstick for us to use in the future. Today, the above median results were enough to push EMCLOUD back to within a fraction of a point of its all-time highs.

What surprised me in this data is that the resulting revenue multiples haven’t gone completely bonkers; I expected more extreme figures going into preparing this post.

In fairness, by looking at median results instead of average results, we’re skewing the multiples a bit. Here’s the same data, with average results on top and the previously mentioned medians down below:

Image Credits: BVP

Source: Tech Crunch Startups | As SaaS stocks retrace highs, a glance at today’s cloud fundamentals

Amid shelter-in-place, grocery delivery has had a huge spike in popularity, leading investors to take a look at services that approach the market differently than incumbents like Instacart. Jupiter is a grocery delivery and meal planning startup that’s approaching the market with an eye toward convenience and automation.

The startup is announcing that they’ve raised $2.8 million in a seed round led by Khosla Ventures and NFX. The team raised the funding long before the world of shelter-in-place became a reality for the millions in the Bay Area — where the startup offers its services — but heightened attention on grocery delivery and meal planning has brought a new slew of customers to the startup, CEO Chad Munroe tells TechCrunch.

“People depend on us more now,” he says. “In shelter-in-place, a lot of people are cooking more and meal-planning more and we automate that experience for them.”

Jupiter sports major differences with the traditional grocery delivery startup like Instacart. The biggest one is that Jupiter partners with food suppliers directly and maintains its own central warehouse hub where orders are fulfilled. This simplifies a few things and complicates a lot of others, but ultimately reduces the number of variable inputs for Jupiter when groceries are being ordered. The main issue here is that it obviously makes scaling to new geographies a more capital-intensive process when you have to get a warehouse up-and-running. The startup is currently operating only across the Bay Area out of a Bay View warehouse facility.

The service costs $45 per month, but as with other food delivery startups, most of your costs are baked into the margins on the items you order, which seem to cost quite a bit more than you’d pay at a Whole Foods. The pricing definitely pits the startup toward a more affluent clientele, one that’s okay with a $2.39 avocado and a $6.05 gallon of milk.

Jupiter has organized its service a bit around providing a more streamlined experience for customers that falls in line with the premium price point. Rather than a delivery order going to the first contractor to take a look at the job, households are generally served by the same person every week — someone that can learn a family’s preferences over time. Some of Jupiter’s customers actually opt to have their groceries delivered directly into their house, dropped off inside or stocked into their fridge and pantry. The whole focus is convenience and stripping the logistic management process away from consumers, allowing them to just keep pulling food out of their fridge.

Munroe says one of the things customers like most about the service is that it’s a “hands-off experience.”

All of these differentiations add up to a “luxury” Instacart, but Jupiter’s long-term ambitions are organized around optimizing grocery delivery to get rid of the ordering process altogether. The startup’s autopilot initiative gives user’s a grocery cart worth of goods based on past preferences and recommendations from the startup. Users can make changes before their orders are fulfilled, but the goal for Jupiter is to hone the system over time so that they don’t have to.

For a company that operates their own inventory, there’s obviously huge upside for this. Jupiter can adjust these automatic recommendations based on what they have in stock or what sort of deals they’ve worked out with suppliers. Munroe also points out that fully automating their customers’ preferences would put them on the road to zero food waste, an environmental goal as well as an economic one. Jupiter isn’t just sending users milk, eggs and bread, the startup is also helping automate the creation of meal plans for users, determining what’s on the menu for dinner each night they’re dining in. Going forward, the startup is piloting some experiences where they partner directly with restaurants and local businesses to sell prepared meals and baked goods that are ordered and delivered through Jupiter’s systems.

Source: Tech Crunch Startups | Jupiter wants to put grocery delivery on autopilot