The third quarter of 2024 can be defined as slowing down before speeding up. From a new investment perspective, it was abnormally quiet. We completed one new investment, one follow-on investment, and saw one portfolio company raise a significant growth round. We also recognized one exit during the quarter.
Slowing down gave us the opportunity to hone in on key areas within our thesis and identify emerging segments where we desire to increase our investment activity.
We are particularly excited about the AI opportunity that is redefining work. Many seed investors, including ourselves, are facing a paradox in the current market that AI will transform nearly every area of work over the next 10 years but are also facing the tension of large multi-stage investors that are forcing companies to raise too much capital, too early, at too high valuations. Doesn't history tell us how this story ends? This market environment requires us to find companies at their earliest days of formation, even before they start, and forces continued patience, or as Warren Buffett once said, "be fearful when others are greedy."
More highlights on our quarter below👇 including the 2024 Future of Work 100, some of our most recent investments, and funding announcements in the portfolio.
💪🏻 2024 Future of Work 100
We are excited to share our 2024 Future of Work 100, an annual list that recognizes the leading venture-backed startups that are enabling how work gets done in the future. In its second year, the list identifies the importance of WorkTech in the future, the rapid innovation that is happening in the sector, and the excitement from venture capital investors around the world to fuel the next generation of market leaders. The companies recognized on the 2024 Future of Work 100 have raised a cumulative $30 billion in venture capital financing, with a total valuation over $140 billion. The top 10 venture-backed companies on the 2024 Future of Work 100 include: Airtable, Nomi Health, Miro, Deel, Alan, Lyra Health, Rippling, justWorks, Staffbase, Handshake.
We are proud to have two portfolio companies in the top 50 – Nomi Health (#2) and Oyster (#40) – and five portfolio companies in total in the 2024 Future of Work 100 list including Degreed (#76), SmartRecruiters (#80), and TechWolf (#99). More information on the Future of Work 100 can be found at www.futureofwork100.com.
🇺🇸 Oyster Raises $59M Series D
Acadian Ventures portfolio company, Oyster, has raised a $59M Series D led by Silver Lake Waterman. This new round of funding values the company at $1.2 billion. Oyster is the 12th investment in our first fund. When we first invested in early 2021, COVID was peaking and the world was forced to embrace remote work. Today, companies around the world are looking to Oyster to onboard, pay, and manage their global workforce. Spearheaded by the company founders, Tony Jamous and Jack Mardack, Oyster is representative of many of their customers -- building a globally diverse, talent-dense workforce. Congratulations to the entire Oyster team on this milestone. You can read more about Oyster in Techcrunch.
🇰🇪 Workpay Raises Series A
Acadian Ventures portfolio company, Workpay, has raised a $5M Series A led by Norrsken22 with participation from Visa, Plug n Play, and existing investors including Y Combinator. We were thrilled to increase our investment in this round. Workpay is our 29th investment and the 4th investment in our second fund. We wrote about our regional HR+payroll thesis last year, highlighting Workpay as a model for our global investment strategy. When we first invested in Workpay's Seed round in 2022, founders Paul Kimani and Jack Kibigo had an ambitious plan to help African companies modernize human resources while providing increased financial independence to workers. Congratulations to the entire Workpay team on this milestone. You can read more about Workpay in Techcrunch.
🇺🇸 Our Investment in Ezra
We are excited to share a new, yet announced investment in Ezra. The company raised a $1.5M pre-seed round with participation from Better Tomorrow Ventures (BTV) and Storyhouse Ventures. Over 60% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck and most employees in the United States are ill-equipped to deal with everyday emergencies. Ezra makes it simple to reward and retain your most valuable employees through customizable emergency saving accounts. Learn more about Ezra here.
📣 Latest Musings From the Newsletter
A few of Thomas' recent blog posts this past quarter...
Acadian Ventures is an early stage venture capital firm that invests in founders who are leading the work revolution and reimagining how people work in the future. The firm was founded in 2019 and led by Jason Corsello and Thomas Otter, both seasoned operators that have scaled publicly-traded global businesses into market leaders. Acadian Ventures invests globally across North America, Latin America, Europe, and Asia. You can find more information at www.acadianventures.com.
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