The past month saw a 355% year-on-year increase. A total of 1,203 companies raised funding, with the Artificial Intelligence industry gaining notable traction.
Below are our observations for November 2021, including year-on-year and month-to-month comparisons as well as leading industries and companies most deserving of attention.
General Overview
This November, the total number of companies that raised funding was 1,203, compared to 507 in November of last year. The total funding raised was $45.67 billion, with a 355% year-on-year increase; last year, November clocked in at $10.04 billion.
The record-breaking number of companies and funding continues to prove that we find ourselves in the “Golden Era of Venture.”
Leading Countries
*based on the number of companies that raised funding (not total funding)
1. USA — with 635 companies and $29.67B in cumulative investment (312% year-on-year increase vs. Nov. '20)
2. UK — with 98 companies and $2.81B in cumulative investment (280% year-on-year increase vs. Nov. '20)
3. India — with 62 companies and $1.26B in cumulative investment (245% year-on-year increase vs. Nov. '20)
4. Canada — with 48 companies and $1.32B in cumulative investment (an unbelievable 1,743% year-on-year increase vs. Nov. '20); moved one place up from last month
5. Germany — with 40 companies and $1.63B in cumulative investment (208% year-on-year increase vs. Nov. '20); moved one place down since last month
Honorable mention: Israel — with 30 companies and $1.39B in cumulative investment (429% year-on-year increase vs. Nov. '20), which is more than both Germany and Canada individually.
Conclusion: While the leading countries haven’t changed in the past months, November marks the first time each country accumulated more than one billion dollars in funding.
Leading Industries
1. Fintech
147 companies accumulated $6.63B in investment (vs. $8.02B last month) and saw a 597% year-on-year growth.
The top 3 biggest funding rounds are attributed to Capital on Tap (a fintech company that provides small and medium-sized businesses with credit cards) - $614.5M (total funding: $892.2M), Digital Currency Group (builds and supports bitcoin and blockchain companies by leveraging insights, network, and access to capital) - $600M (total funding: $1.3B) and GRIID (a vertically-integrated bitcoin self-mining company that owns and operates a growing portfolio of bitcoin mining facilities) - $525M (total funding: $525M).
2. AI
139 companies accumulated $4.12B in investment (vs. $2.97B last month) and saw a 194% year-on-year growth.
The top 3 biggest funding rounds are attributed to Socure (a predictive analytics platform for consumer digital identity verification) - $450M (total funding: $646.9M), Cerebras Systems (the developer of a wafer-sized AI chip with 2.6 trillion transistors) - $250M (total funding: $720M) and Collibra (an end-to-end Data Intelligence platform to accelerate digital business transformation) - $250M (total funding: $596.5M).
3. Ecommerce
107 companies accumulated $9.66B in investment (vs. $3.02B last month) and saw an astonishing 898% year-on-year growth.
The top 3 biggest funding rounds are attributed to Heyday (a digital marketplace space built for sellers to accelerate consumer product brands) - $555M (total funding: $800M), Faire (a marketplace platform helping retailers buy unique wholesale merchandise, and brands reach local retailers) - $400M (total funding: $1096M) and Spinny (a tech-powered used car buying platform enabling trustworthy and hassle-free transactions) - $280M (total funding: $510.5M).
Conclusion: The top 3 industries remain the same, with Fintech slowing down while AI strengthens its position and is on track to be #1 next month.
Startups to Watch
A subscription-based e-learning platform that educates women on personal finance and investing, Female Invest has now secured $4.5M in funding. It has members in 60+ countries and is driven by a goal to close the financial gender gap. The company was founded in 2019 and is headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark.
With $17.2M in funding, the fantasy game provides a gambling platform where anyone can find their favorite apps and musicians. As an online prediction money marketplace, it allows people to play games that ask players to calculate which celebrity will be trending on social media, which business will have a higher stock price or which cryptocurrency will be worth more. VersusGame was founded in 2016 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.
Specializing in providing disabled women with e-tailer adaptive undergarments, the company has raised $0.5M in funding. It focuses on empowering and amplifying disabled voices, helping to shape an inclusive future. Intimately was founded in 2018 and is headquartered in Paris, France.
Monthly Highlights
Female-oriented Fintech startups that educate women on financial literacy and investing — and generally empower them to be more in control of their financial well-being — are a swiftly growing trend (Female Invest with $4.5M in funding, Jefa with $2M in funding).
Similarly, inclusivity-focused startups that help shape a future of equal opportunity and empowerment are consistently gaining traction (Intimately with $0.5M in funding; Mogul received an undisclosed funding amount).
Finally, German electric vehicle charging companies have received substantial venture support this past month (IONITY with $786.9M in funding, Qwello with $57.9M in funding).
