The holidays are coming and everyone is busy.
This means it’s quite easy to miss some of the more intriguing rounds that shall be announced. Whatever. We’ve got you covered by taking a look at recently funded startups that are doing all the things from fighting climate change to traveling to the moon to getting longer eyelashes because of artificial intelligence.
Lucrative eyelashes
There are many things we do not know much about. (OK, perhaps I’m talking mainly about the creator of this text.)
The eyelash market is definitely one of those things.
But eyelash extension services are clearly big business – especially when combined with artificial intelligence and robotics. That’s it Lum does. The Oakland, California-based startup has raised Series A funding, bringing its total amount to $30 million.
AI eyelash extension robots from Luum, or Luum Lashit’s exactly what it appears like – an autonomous eyelash extension robot. Luum says that because of the gentleness and precision of such work, the robot is actually safer and more accurate than a human and does not use sharp tools.
The company has already established cooperation with, among others, Ultra beauty (investor) i Nordstromwhich is piloting an eyelash extension service in stores in San Jose.
It’s not shocking that an AI robot can extend eyelashes, but $30 million is a lot of money for eyelashes. On the other hand, everyone has them.
Strengthening plants in the face of climate change
Data from Atlas of water hazards in the WRI aqueduct shows that 25 countries – accounting for about a quarter of the world’s population – face extremely high water shortages every 12 months. In the United States alone, it is estimated that roughly 23% of the land area is water scarce.
As water becomes a scarcer commodity and water-related stress becomes more common, it is necessary that populations strengthen their food supply in some method to compensate.
One startup trying to do just that is Call the plantwhich closed the 48 million series B in the lead Carbyne Capital Partners.
The startup has developed solutions based on phytosterols that are intended to assist plants better adapt to climate change. Phytosterols are natural substances produced by plants in response to water stress, increasing immunity and reducing water dependence.
Elicit solutions will be applied as early-season sprays, helping crops alleviate environmental stress. Farmers who sprayed reported reducing water use by 20% while increasing yields by as much as 10%.
The company will use the recent money for expansion in the USA. Since 2022, it has been collaborating on field trials in the country’s corn belt. The company is able to introduce its product to the market next 12 months and expand its product range to incorporate soybeans and other crops by 2027.
More protein
Staying on food for a while, Plant food closed a $30 million Series B round he co-led The capital of Piva AND Siddhi capital this month.
The San Diego-based global food supply chain company has developed its own agricultural production platform to provide Rubi protein, a protein derived from duckweed, a fast-growing aquatic plant.
The startup claims that its Rubi protein has functional and dietary properties superior to each traditional animal and plant proteins.
While this protein is plant-based and suitable for use in a vegan eating regimen, its properties are more much like animal protein and will be used in baked goods, condiments, meat alternatives and more.
It is also highly sustainable as an eyelash can double its weight every two days.
The company will use the recent investment to expand manufacturing operations at its first industrial facility in West Texas.
Thanks to duckweed’s ability to grow quickly, this plant will be a busy plant in Texas.
Water technique
Since 1970, the demand for water has increased by approx 1.7xwhile supply has decreased by 50%, which is currently predicted by experts 5 billion people may not have clean drinking water by 2050.
That’s obviously a problem – and one water tech startup OceanWell is intended to assist heal. The Los Angeles-based company closed an $11 million Series A this month because it looks to scale its modular deepwater farm solution. The round was attended by, among others: Kubota company.
OceanWell is developing deep sea water farms that can use pressure at depths of 400 meters for reverse osmosis desalination. The farms consist of pods that can produce as much as 1 million gallons of fresh water per day. This technology even provides “ultra clean water” by filtering out salts, bacteria and other substances.
Although traditional desalination processes are energy-intensive, OceanWell claims its farms reduce energy use by as much as 40%.
The company is set on starting a water farm pilot program in California – a state that faces a serious water crisis in the not-too-distant future – with the Las Virgenes Municipal Water District.
Building space
Although many think of rocket launches when describing the recent space economy, it can take greater than just launching objects from Earth to expand space.
Moon Outpost hopes to be one of the startups leading the charge with its lunar mobility offering. The Golden, Colorado-based startup raised a Series A round that it co-led Industrial ventures AND Type one ventures. The amount for the round was not disclosed. In 2022, the company raised a seed round of $12 million.
The company, which makes industrial LTV vehicles and rovers for space exploration, has 4 missions to the Moon, with the first expedition launching this 12 months SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. This mission will include the first operation of a industrial rover on one other planetary body.
The startup, which is also working on a platform for generating oxygen from the Martian atmosphere, also has contracts NASA and US Department of Defense for other missions because it intends to participate in future research and development of space infrastructure.
Reaching the Moon is one thing, getting around it is one other.