We had the opportunity to attend Collision Conference in Toronto this year, and we wanted to share some key takeaways with you. Collision is North America’s fastest-growing tech conference which was held from June 20th to June 23rd, 2022, in the city of Toronto, Canada. The event included tech experts, some of the world’s best speakers and market leaders.
Across the board, despite a significant slowdown in funding, there is an incredible amount of innovation happening in the tech sector. DeepTech fields such as AI, AR/VR and autonomous vehicles continue to move forward pushed by new and existing startups. Corporate funds are replacing part of the slack in VC funding.
1. The Tech sector has incredible innovations coming down the pipeline, especially in the field of AI.
2. Although hardware companies were underrepresented, the ones present showed great promise and an array of future applications.
3. From an investment side, although many investors are aware of a major slowdown in funding, this is the best time to find the future winners in the DeepTech arena.
4. Building on the last point, this is a great time for early-stage investment, as many fantastic companies will emerge out of the current struggle and competition.
Many founders who receive a Non-Binding Offer consider it a big achievement. Especially after months or years of development, a potential acquirer looks like a sign that hard work is bearing fruit. But being excited sometimes may lead founders to make mistakes.
A successful deep-tech M&A transaction requires more than just buying and selling — it requires unique insights that no ‘typical’ advisor should have access to. The success of such a complex deal hinges on knowing how new technologies relate to other technologies, IP, and current & future market trends.
Many founders underestimate how different deep tech fundraising really is. Deep tech funding rounds don’t follow the same rules as software funding rounds. These rounds take more time, they are larger, and are validation-driven due to long-lasting R&D cycles and capital intensity. Imagine that each round answers the question, then what question would it be?