Using this methodology we identified multiple popular investment themes and zeroed in on five. The first \u2014 cybersecurity \u2014 we tackled in a separate piece<\/a>. Here we delve into the other four: proptech, cancer therapeutics, space tech and robotics.<\/p>\n No. 1: Proptech<\/p>\n Real estate is the world\u2019s most valuable asset class, providing startups a huge and varied addressable market. By one McKinsey & Company<\/a> estimate published<\/a> a few years ago, real estate accounted for a staggering two-thirds of global net worth.<\/p>\n Given the size of the space, actual venture investment tied to real estate and construction looks comparatively meager. Last year, per Crunchbase analysis<\/a>, proptech startup investment totaled just over $10 billion, far below peaks hit several years ago.<\/p>\n Seed investors seem to believe there\u2019s a good case for startup driven growth ahead. In particular, they\u2019re funding a lot of rounds in the $5 million to $10 million range for companies looking to add efficiencies to the planning and building process, streamline rental operations, reduce building power consumption, and more.<\/p>\n To illustrate, below we put together a sample set of 15 companies that closed seed rounds in our target range this year:<\/p>\n<\/p>\n A few standouts include Hint<\/a>, an AI-powered home management system, Optiml<\/a>, a developer of software to support real estate decarbonization, and Krane<\/a>, an AI-enabled construction supply chain platform.\u00a0<\/p>\n No. 2: Cancer treatments<\/p>\n Startup founders don\u2019t need persuasive superpowers to convince investors that cancer is a sufficiently serious area to address. Today, it\u2019s estimated<\/a> that 39% of Americans will be diagnosed with cancer at some point in their lives. Cancer also ranks as the second leading cause of death<\/a>, behind heart disease.\u00a0<\/p>\n Seed-stage companies aren\u2019t expected to bring down numbers in the near term, but as they progress, it\u2019s increasingly plausible. That\u2019s the apparent mindset for investors at this stage, who\u2019ve backed a good-sized number of rounds in the $5 million to $10 million range this year for developers of cancer therapeutics and diagnostics, charted below:<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Three California startups secured $10 million, the largest financing in our sample set. They include: Rybodyn<\/a>, which is working on AI-driven discovery of undetected cancer targets, Vivere Oncotherapies<\/a>, a developer of targeted therapies for solid tumors, and Valius Sciences<\/a>, which is focused on cancer diagnostics.<\/p>\n No. 3: Space and satellite tech<\/p>\n This year\u2019s most attention-getting event in space tech finance was obviously the IPO of sector pioneer SpaceX<\/a>. But while that debut may have dominated headlines, quite a few smaller, earlier, lower-profile deals were also getting done.<\/p>\n Per Crunchbase data, space tech was a popular area for seed financings in the $5 million to $10 million range. To illustrate, below we put together a sample set of nine such companies that raised rounds this year:<\/p>\n<\/p>\n The largest fundraiser in our target range was Lux Aeterna<\/a>, which is focused on developing reusable satellites. Next was InSpacePropulsion Technologies<\/a>, focused, as its name implies, on in-space propulsion systems, followed by Constellation Space<\/a>, developer of an ML-native operations platform for satellite fleets.<\/p>\n No. 4: Robotics<\/p>\n Robotics is a perennial favorite in our seed-funding data dives, including the last one<\/a>, focused on AI. This time, the sector made the ranking again, thanks to a bevy of intriguing seed-stage companies that met our parameters.<\/p>\n Turns out, you can jumpstart some highly ambitious ventures on a $5 million to $10 million seed round. To illustrate, below we aggregated a sample of 18 funded this year:<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Robotics was also the most geographically dispersed sector in our lineup, with startups hailing from Asia, North America, Europe and Australia. A few that stood out include Somnia Lab<\/a>, a developer of what it calls \u201cintimacy robots,\u201d Bubble Robotics<\/a>, a maker of autonomous underwater robots, and Eternal.ag<\/a>, focused on robots for greenhouse harvesting.<\/p>\n Big picture: Midsized seed rounds for outsized ambitions<\/p>\n Overall, seed funding trends reviewed above may tell us more about the kinds of companies investors are willing to bet on than about the sectors attracting interest, which are already well-established.<\/p>\n Clearly, startup investors still believe that small, modestly funded teams with grand missions remain a worthwhile and viable wager. That\u2019s particularly encouraging these days, when the venture and seed financings we most commonly hear about tend to be the largest ones.<\/p>\n That\u2019s not to diss large rounds. Startups that are led by prominent serial entrepreneurs or have established traction hold obvious appeal, even at pricier terms. But for those of us who enjoy rooting for the underdog, it\u2019s encouraging to see lower-profile companies with outsized ambitions are still in the game.<\/p>\n Related Crunchbase lists:\u00a0<\/p>\n Related reading:<\/p>\n
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