Startup valuations stopped getting cheaper. This week’s Chart of the Week updates Kingscrowd’s equity crowdfunding revenue multiple benchmark for 2026, looking at companies that disclosed both valuation and at least $50,000 in annual revenue. The median revenue multiple for companies that raised between June 2025 and June 2026 was 20.5x, slightly above last year’s 20.1x median. The good news: companies generating more than $1 million in annual revenue had a much more reasonable median multiple of 8.4x. Revenue multiples are not the whole diligence process, but they are a useful starting point for spotting deals where the price may already be working against investors.

Healthcare real estate has emerged as one of the most resilient areas of private investing, supported by long-term demographic trends and growing demand for outpatient care.

Join Kingscrowd CEO Chris Lustrino and Zeus Companies Founder Dr. Steven Kaufman on Tuesday, July 21 at 2 PM ET as they discuss how healthcare developments are evaluated, what separates successful projects from the rest, and why disciplined underwriting has helped projects navigate even the most challenging market environments.

Can recycling the “unrecyclable” become a profitable business?

This week on Inside Startup Investing, Chris Lustrino speaks with TerraCycle CEO Tom Szaky about how the company recycles hard-to-process waste streams that most local systems reject. The conversation covers TerraCycle’s brand-funded recycling programs, global operations, profitability, dividend history, and acquisition strategy in the specialty recycling market.

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By Léa Bouhelier-Gautreau \ Deal Report

Brief: Airthium is a deep-tech industrial electrification company developing containerized high-temperature heat pumps for factories that still rely on fossil-fueled boilers. Its hybrid system connects to existing steam networks and works alongside gas boilers, allowing industrial customers to use electric heat when economically attractive without disrupting uptime or replacing legacy infrastructure. Targeting manufacturers, chemical producers, food and beverage plants, paper mills, and pharmaceutical facilities, Airthium aims to reduce gas dependence, carbon exposure, and energy cost volatility.

Léa’s Quick Take: 

I find deep-tech companies to be the most exciting ones. They invent breakthrough technologies and ultimately have the most lasting impact. I have invested in many deep-tech startups myself, and yes, in Airthium back in 2023.

What drew me in first was the mission. Electrifying industrial heating means reducing carbon emissions while simultaneously helping manufacturers save money. It's one of those rare climate solutions that doesn't even have to be sold as a climate solution to win customers. The economics can speak for themselves.

The company also had a clear moat while still facing some competition. And that's actually a good sign. It means there's a real market need, with multiple teams trying to solve the same problem. The good news is that the opportunity is large enough for several winners. More importantly, it's still largely untapped.

Since then, the team has pivoted to a heat-as-a-service model. This could significantly improve the type of returns I'm looking for. Instead of asking customers to invest millions in upfront capital expenditures, Airthium would install the system and customers would simply pay from the savings they generate. Because the projects would be financed by external project finance lenders, the company wouldn't need to keep raising equity solely to manufacture and deploy new systems. That's a much more scalable model if executed well.

The biggest risk today is still technical. What I like about Airthium's co-founder and COO, Franck Lahaye, is that he has always been transparent about it. The technology still has to be proven, and commercialization remains too far away to even be the main discussion. Technical risk brings capital risk. It means more funding rounds, more dilution risk, and more uncertainty. But that's also why the potential returns can be so high. Airthium is one of those companies that, in its most bullish scenario, could expand into several high-value markets, including long-duration energy storage, and eventually become a multi-billion-dollar company. That's a low-probability outcome, but not an unrealistic one.

The timeline should also be factored into the risk. Most deep-tech startups require patient capital. Personally, I don't have a specific investment horizon, as long as the returns are proportional to the time I waited. Here's another point worth keeping in mind. Because deep-tech companies often take years to reach an exit, many provide earlier liquidity by buying back shares from early investors during later financing rounds, such as a Series B. In equity crowdfunding, this can even be encouraged by institutional investors who want to simplify the cap table and reduce litigation risk. It's certainly not guaranteed, but it's a realistic path to liquidity that many retail investors overlook.

So who is this deal for? Deep-tech investing requires a particular kind of optimism. Not blind faith, but the conviction that while success is incredibly difficult, the technology, market, and team make the path achievable. Disciplined optimists like me will recognize in Airthium the kind of investment that reminds us why we fell in love with startup investing in the first place.

Farm to Pet

By Léa Bouhelier-Gautreau

To go along with today's Chart of the Week, here's an example of a company being fair to investors. The pet treat business has a valuation of $24 million for $5.2 million in revenue, for a revenue multiple of 4.6x. So reasonable it's worth taking a look, and maybe a bite.

Boba POPS

By Teddy Lyons

A boozy popping boba pearl sounds like a gimmick until you see the numbers: $2.8M in revenue last year (3.6x growth), 70% gross margins, and distribution across 75 national chains including Publix, Total Wine, and Albertsons. Worth a look.

That's a wrap on this week's issue!

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