November by D’Ornano + Co.: where do we stand in terms of European Unicorns at the end of a tumultuous 2022, lessons on Autonomous Cars from the Mobileye IPO, and why Tech seems to be collapsing?

This is our monthly newsletter dedicated to Tech x Investments.

Dear all,

A lot has happened in the Tech world since last month’s newsletter where I expressed a positive note as regards to the many opportunities for “bold” investors to invest in companies enabling Digitalization, Decarbonization and Sustainability. While I wish to stay on this note as we approach the end of 2022, I would like not to nuance the message, but to express caution within it.

The FTX implosion that unraveled last month will have long-lasting impacts in my view, that go well beyond the Cryptocurrency + Blockchain vertical. What FTX has taught us so far is that the valuation of a company ($32B in the case of FTX per its latest fundraising in January 22) is in no way an indicator of a company’s maturity: though it had attracted well established non-traditional investors, accustomed to financing pre-IPO deals, FTX was clearly still an Early-stage company with a lack of controls and governance, which I think we all agree on at this point. Yes, investing in high-growth and disru…