2022 VC SurveyJumpspeed Ventures: “What goes up irrationally will come down”
2022 VC Survey
Jumpspeed Ventures: “What goes up irrationally will come down”
Managing Partner at Jumpspeed Ventures Ben Wiener has joined CTech to discuss the VC ecosystem
“Those that raised at huge valuations based primarily on hype or top-line momentum rather than true underlying long-term differentiated value, will likely see a heavy correction in valuation,’ explained Ben Wiener, Managing Partner at Jumpspeed Ventures. Speaking about the state of the VC ecosystem following a turbulent year, he joined CTech to discuss what to expect next year.
“What goes up irrationally will come down; many companies ramped up so quickly fueled by cheap, prevalent capital and based on irrational growth plans, that they will have to shed employees,” he continued. “People forget when they see these large (and unfortunate) layoffs, that many of these jobs were only recently created in the first place.”
Name of fund/funds: Jumpspeed Ventures
Total sum of fund: $20m to date, next fund will be $40m
Partners: Ben Wiener
Notable/select portfolio companies: Breezometer, AutoLeadStar, MDGo, MDI Health, Genetika+, Convizit, Lidwave
You can read the entire interview as part of CTech’s new VC series below. In the second part of our survey, we asked the funds to vote on three startups from their portfolio companies that deserve attention in the coming year.
If 2020 was the year of the pandemic, and 2021 was the year of records, how would you define 2022 in the VC sector?
"A Return to Reality."
Who are the big winners of 2022 and why?
"Breezometer (acquired by Google), Mobileye (achieved re-independence and successful IPO)."
Who are the big losers of 2022 and why?
"Fast-money speculators in crypto."
What do you expect in the VC sector in 2023?
"I don’t prognosticate well about markets."
What global processes will affect the Israeli market?
"I don’t prognosticate well about markets."
How should different companies prepare for the coming year?
"I believe those that solve huge problems with game-changing, highly differentiated, solutions will always be able to raise attention and capital, regardless of overall market conditions."
What will be of the dozens of unicorns born last year?
"The state the obvious: those that raised at huge valuations based primarily on hype or top-line momentum rather than true underlying long-term differentiated value, will likely see a heavy correction in valuation."
What sectors will experience an acceleration in VC investment and which will suffer a slowdown - and why?
"I think investors are starting to return to or become more interested in deep tech."
HR: Do the layoffs, those that have already happened and those that are coming, help to fix in any way the distress experienced by companies over the past 2-3 years?
"Again to restate the obvious, what goes up irrationally will come down; many companies ramped up so quickly fueled by cheap, prevalent capital and based on irrational growth plans, that they will have to shed employees. People forget when they see these large (and unfortunate) layoffs, that many of these jobs were only recently created in the first place."
Lidwave, MDI Health, Alignment Labs - Jumpspeed Ventures’ notable portfolio companies:
"Not in the past year, but these are three that we have made in the recent past that are notable and still largely under the radar:"
Lidwave
LIDAR is struggling to match its hype, largely because all LIDAR companies use one of two existing technologies, Time-of-Flight (ToF) or FMCW, both of which are not working yet at an economic scale. Lidwave, founded by two ex-Hebrew U Applied Physics Ph.D. candidates, has developed LIDAR based on a third type of physics, that is working and shows the promise of near-term commercial stability and scale.
Founders: Yehuda Vidal, CEO
Founding year: 2019
Number of employees: <10
MDI Health
Adverse Drug Events – largely, bad things that happen when multiple medications interact in unforeseen ways – are one of the leading causes of patient death and healthcare cost bloat. MDI Health uses Dr. Dil-Nahlieli’s deep pharmacological experience and knowledge combined with advanced AI, to scan a patient’s cocktail of medications and prevent adverse interactions, illness, or death, and saves costs for healthcare payers. Dorit was formerly the head of Pharmacology at the Ministry of Health and Clalit. Customers already include one of the largest healthcare insurers in the US.
Founders: Avishai Ben Tovim, Dr. Dorit Dil Nahlieli
Founding year: 2019
Number of employees: ~30
Alignment Labs
Alignment Labs has created a Virtual Chief Alignment Officer that engages with employees (today, in Slack or Microsoft Teams), identifies probable areas of misalignment with an employee or team, and provides reporting, analysis, and recommendations on re-alignment to management.
Founders: Yehuda Neeman, Alon Blum
Founding year: 2019
Number of employees: <10
Explanation behind investment:
Stewart Butterfield, CEO of Slack, said in a recent interview that the next frontier of corporate technology is figuring out why employees are misaligned with management objectives and focus on things they aren’t supposed to be focused on.
