Techless, Slync, and more

Your weekly update on Christian-related startups, founders, and VC

February 28, 2023

Good Morning!

Welcome to this week's edition of Faith Factor, your weekly summary of Christian-related startup and VC news.

Startup of the Week: Techless

Founded by Chris Kaspar in 2019, Techless is a consumer electronics startup that makes the Wisephone, a smartphone designed to minimize social media and other distractions. The Wisephone is built on rebranded models from mainstream manufacturers, but its software shares little in common with Android or iOS. Instead of having many advanced capabilities and a nearly endless supply of apps, the Wisephone only offers a few options: maps, calculator, clock, camera, messages, and phone. Through it, Techless seeks to provide the best alternative for those seeking a device that is more practical than a flip phone but less distracting than a typical smartphone. With over $2 million in VC and angel funding so far, Techless will be an interesting company to follow as they continue to grow.

Faith-Based News

Startups

  • None this week

VC/PE

  • None this week

Incubators and Competitions

  • (Repeat) Southern Adventist University School of Business will host a conference for Christian entrepreneurs, called Hyve Creators 2023, from March 2-5. The free three-day conference will include workshops, keynotes, and more, headlined by a pitch competition (link)

  • Applications close on March 1 for Praxis' 2023 Future Founders Program. The program awards six emerging leaders (18-25 years old) with an all-expenses-paid trip to their annual conference (link)

Impact News

Startups

  • Future Gaïa, a developer of vertical agriculture systems, raised EUR 11 million in funding to help them scale (link)

  • Here Not There Labs, which enables the creation of self-owned, self-governed online communities through their platform Towns, raised a $25.5 million Series A led by Andreessen Horowitz (link)

  • Slync, a logistics software startup that aims to improve global logistic networks, raised $24 million in new funding (link)

  • Source.ag, which develops AI-based software models designed to help greenhouse agriculture, raised a $23 million Series A led by Astanor Ventures (link)

  • FreshToHome, which offers an online grocery and meat delivery service to help make fresh and healthy food more available and affordable in the Middle East and Asia, raised a $104 million Series D led by Amazon (link)

Around the Network

Select Articles

  • A Gathering of Praxis Fellows (link)

Select Podcasts

  • Making and Measuring Impact with Shundrawn Thomas (link)

Job Boards

All Levels

See you next week!