Happy New Year!
The Augment team is excited to partner with entrepreneurs to build and grow new businesses that transform how we live, work, and play across the world.
Spotlight: Nikhil Bahadur
Nikhil joined us this month as a Principal and brings a diverse experience in finance and entrepreneurship. To get to know him better, here’s a quick Q&A. You can find more on his background here.What is One Technology You Cannot Live Without?: 1Password – I don’t know any of my passwords. It’s liberating mentally, seamless to use and more secure.How Have You Survived COVID-19?: My son’s daycare (thankful it opened in August) and a mix of pizza, Peloton and wine (in no particular order).
Favorite Hobbies?: I’ve been playing tennis for over 30 years and could play every day if it were an option.
Star Trek or Star Wars?: I’m going to cheat and choose both. Original Star Wars but new Star Trek.
If You Could Time Travel, Where Would You Go?: I’d pay a visit to Siddartha Gautama in the 4th/5th century BCE. I have a few questions for him.
In the News
Aperia Technologies | Aperia Technologies Wins EPA Clean Air Excellence Award | Business WireMercatus | Mercatus Wins Private Equity Award | The Drawdown
2021 VC Trends
Technological Disruption in Agriculture: Over $4 billion was invested in the AgTech sector in 2020. Technology to improve yields, aid farm management, and analyze nutrient and carbon content are key areas of focus. Augment is active in this space with our Fund II investment, Cloud Agronomics.
Move Over IPO: With interest rates low, there is still strong interest in taking companies public, even with growing concerns over high valuations. With recent regulatory changes by the SEC, we expect to see more direct listings, which are an attractive alternative to IPOs or SPACs.
Growth in Alternative VC Markets: Silicon Valley’s share of deals has been declining since 2006 and is projected to fall below 20% in 2021 for the first time. Funds in secondary and tertiary markets, like Ann Arbor, have been gaining traction and deal flow.