Sourcery (3/28-4/1)
Elon Musk ~ Blockchain.com, LayerZero Labs, Collectors Holdings, Modern Treasury, Mosaic, Battlebound, Swaypay, Outgo, Brightline, VideaHealth, AmplifyMD, Docker, Chief, Builder.ai, Hadrian, Yami...
Oh hi lol
Elon Musk shocked the tech world Monday morning by taking a 9.2% stake in his favorite communication platform, Twitter. This now makes him the largest shareholder beating out Vanguard, Morgan Stanley and Blackrock. And because of this, he sent his cult-following platform and adjacent Elon-influenced assets values up.
Shares of Twitter closed up 27.1%, marking the largest intraday pop since its 2013 first day of trade as a public company nine years ago.
Cryptocurrency dogecoin, which Tesla accepts as payment, spiked 10% shortly after the news broke. (however, I’m still down bad)
Taking a step back, this is uh, *nervous laugh* fun? Every corner of what were once traditional financial asset classes have been completely turned upside down in the last couple of years by new communities, institutions and individuals. We’re now playing a different game. Day traders pumped up AMC through r/wallstreetbets… then recently AMC bought a large stake in a gold mine... Elon pumped up dogecoin… Tiger Global’s VC fund led an aggressive charge and absolutely ruined growth stage companies with hyper-inflated valuations and normalized it for Coatue and D1 to follow suit, only to be clobbered on the public side so far down 35% in ‘22 (private fund performance N/A, but they’re cutting back on their late-stage arb and are likely soon about to decimate early-stage)... And a slew of entrepreneur billionaires couldn’t resist temptation of further economic disruption, like Ryan Cohen of Chewy and RC Investments who became an activist investor with large gains from GameStop’s and has his eyes set on Bed Bath & Beyond. A win for capitalism? Maybe. More content for streaming? Absolutely. But can someone please reverse climate change next?
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@MollySOShea @MarissaCohen @Kirsten_Stainer
. . .
Last Week (3/28-4/1):
Relevant deals include the 60+ deals across stages below.
I've categorized the deals below into four categories, Fintech, Care, Enterprise & Consumer, and Sustainability, and ordered from later-stage rounds to early-stage rounds. Highlighted deals include Blockchain.com, Cross River, LayerZero Labs, Collectors Holdings, Modern Treasury, Mosaic, Causal, Blur, Qui, Battlebound, Archie, Swaypay, Effectiv, Outgo, Brightline, VideaHealth, AmplifyMD, Reema Health, Docker, Chief, Builder.ai, Hadrian, Yami, Skan.ai, Shoreline.io, Pinecone, Black Crow AI, Cloaked, Sourceful, Arena, Antimatter, OmniML, Pantastic, SudShare, LIV, Sona, BODS, Revvable, OOO, Quintar, Beewise, Emitwise, Treeswift, RenewaFi; Ynsect, HP, ChartHop, Fastly, SHM, Intel; AIG; OnlyFans
Final numbers on US IPO Proceeds & Activity at the bottom.
Deals
Sources: TS, Pro Rata, FinSMEs, Pitchbook, StrictlyVC
Fintech:
- Blockchain.com, a London-based digital assets platform, said it raised an undisclosed amount of funding at around a $14b valuation. Lightspeed Venture Partners led, and was joined by fellow insider Baillie Gifford. http://axios.link/SmEi
- Cross River, a Fort Lee, N.J.-based technology infrastructure provider for financial service companies, raised $620 million in funding led by Eldridge and Andreessen Horowitz and was joined by investors including T. Rowe Price Investment Management, Whale Rock, Hanaco Ventures, and others.
- LayerZero Labs, a protocol to connect decentralized apps across multiple blockchains, raised $135m. Sequoia Capital, FTX Ventures and Andreessen Horowitz co-led, and were joined by Coinbase Ventures, PayPal Ventures, Tiger Global and Uniswap Labs. http://axios.link/LwBy
- Collectors Holdings, a Santa Ana, Calif.-based sports card appraiser and marketplace, raised $100m at a $4.3b valuation from existing investors Nat Turner, D1 Capital Partners, Cohen Private Ventures and TCG Capital Management. http://axios.link/hUCa
- Modern Treasury, a San Francisco-based payments software platform, raised $50 million in its second close of its Series C from investors including SVB Capital, Salesforce Ventures, Artisanal Ventures, and NewView Capital.
- Home365, a San Jose, Calif.-based real estate investing and property management platform, raised $26m in Series B funding led by Viola Growth. www.home365.co
- Yonder, a London-based credit card provider, raised £20 million ($26 million) in funding led by Northzone and LocalGlobe.
- Mosaic, a San Diego-based strategic finance startup, raised $25m in Series B funding. Founders Fund led, and was joined by General Catalyst, XYZ VC, Fifth Down Capital and Friends & Family Capital. www.mosaic.tech
- Causal, a London-based spreadsheet startup, raised $20m in Series A funding co-led by Accel and Coatue, with Sam Bankman-Fried also participating. http://axios.link/Pj7d
- TransFICC, a London-based e-trading platform, raised $17 million in Series A extension funding led by AlbionVC and was joined by investors including Citi, HSBC, Illuminate Financial, ING Ventures, and Main Incubator.
- FinPay, a King of Prussia, Pa.-based patient financial management startup, raised $15m. PeakSpan Capital led, and was joined by Montreux Growth Partners. www.finpay.com
- Blur, an NFT marketplace for professional traders, raised $11m in seed funding. Paradigm led, and was joined by eGirl Capital, 0xMaki and LedgerStatus, among others http://axios.link/IBAG
- January, a New York-based debt resolution platform, raised $10m. Brewer Lane Ventures led, and was joined by IA Ventures, Third Prime Capital, Tribe Capital and Reciprocal Ventures. http://axios.link/vtLw
- Equi, a remote-based alternative investment platform operator, raised $10 million in seed funding from investors including Foundation Capital, Hustle Fund, Montage Ventures, F7 Ventures, Gaingels, and Calm Ventures.
- Kadmos, a Berlin-based salary payments platform for migrant workers, raised €8.3M ($9.17 million) in funding led by Addition and was joined by investors including Atlantic Labs and others.
- Jia Finance, a Wilmington, Del.-based online residential mortgage platform for foreign investors, raised $5 million in seed funding led by TTV Capital and was joined by investors including Stanford Angels and others.
- Wert, a payments gateway that enables direct NFT purchases with credit cards, raised $5m in seed funding led by Tagus Capital led, and was joined by Digital Horizon. www.wert.io
- Battlebound, an LA-based play-to-earn gaming startup, raised $4.8m in seed funding. Andreessen Horowitz led, and was joined by Play Ventures and Dapper Labs. http://axios.link/7VTM
- Archie, a New York-based freelance payroll platform, raised $4.5 million in seed funding from investors including B Capital Group, Mac Ventures, Worklife Ventures, Day One Ventures, Hof VC, Dash Fund, founder of Behance Scott Belsky, the founders of Cameo, Blank Street, Ramp, BloomTech, Eight Sleep, and others.
- Swaypay, a Chicago-based payment plug-in earning shoppers cashback via social media, raised $4.2 million in seed funding. Anthemis and BBG Ventures and were joined by investors including Revolution, Tribe Capital, Not Boring Capital, and Centre Street Partners.
- Effectiv, a San Francisco-based fraud and risk management platform, raised $4 million in seed funding led by Accel and was joined by REV and others.
- Dapio, a British cashless payment solution, raised $3.4m co-led by Flutterwave and TechStars. http://axios.link/6fLY
- Outgo, a Seattle-based banking solution for freight carriers, raised $3.4 million in funding led by Neo and PSL Ventures and was joined by investors including Bezos Expeditions, Convoy CEO Dan Lewis, Uber Eats Founder Jason Droege, Simon Data CEO Jason Davis, and others.
- DFlow, a protocol for decentralized order flow markets, raised $2 million in seed funding co-led by Multicoin Capital and Framework Ventures and was joined by investors including Cumberland, Parataxis Capital, and PetRock Capital.
. . .
Care:
- ConcertAI, a Cambridge, Mass.-based data solutions company for life sciences and health care, raised $150 million in Series C funding from Sixth Street Partners.
- Brightline, a Palo Alto, Calif.-based virtual behavioral-health service to children and their families, raised $105 million in funding led by KKR and was joined by investors including GV, Optum Ventures, Oak HC/FT Partners, Threshold Ventures, and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts.
- Apploi, a New York-based healthcare staffing startup, raised $25m in Series B funding. m]x[v Capital led, and was joined by Defy VC and Underscore. http://axios.link/ahSK
- VideaHealth, a Boston-based dental diagnostic A.I. solution, raised $20 million in Series A funding led by Spark Capital and was joined by investors including Zetta Venture Partners and Pillar VC.
- AmplifyMD, a San Francisco-based telemedicine platform connecting medical institutions with doctors, raised $17.6 million in Series A funding led by F-Prime and was joined by investors including Forerunner Ventures and Greylock.
- Reema Health, a Minneapolis, Minn.-based health technology platform, raised $8 million in funding led by MaC Venture Capital and DNA Capital.
- Nurse-1-1, a Boston-based healthcare marketing company, raised $2.3 million in seed funding led by Argon Ventures and was joined by investors including York IE and Hyperplane.
. . .
Enterprise & Consumer:
- Docker, a Palo Alto, Calif.-based application development provider of tools, content, and services for developers, raised $105 million in Series C funding led by Bain Capital Ventures and was joined by investors including Atlassian Ventures, Citi Ventures, Vertex Ventures, Four Rivers, Benchmark Capital, Insight Partners, and Tribe Capital.
- Chief, a New York-based women’s networking group, raised $100 million in Series B funding led by CapitalG and was joined by investors including General Catalyst, GGV Capital, and Inspired, according to New York Times.
- Builder.ai, a London-based app development platform for people to order apps for businesses and entrepreneurs, raised $100 million in Series C funding led by Insight Partners and was joined by investors including IFC, Jeffrey Katzenberg’s WndrCo., and others.
- Hadrian, a Hawthorne, Calif.-based space startup focused on aerospace and defense manufacturing through autonomous production, raised $90 million in Series A funding led by Lux Capital and a Series A-Prime led by a16z and were joined by investors including Lachy Groom, Caffeinated Capital, Founders Fund, Construct Capital, and 137 Ventures.
- Celona, a Cupertino, Calif.-based private mobile network provider, raised $60 million in Series C funding led by DigitalBridge Ventures and was joined by investors including Lightspeed Venture Partners, Norwest Venture Partners, NTTVC, Qual-comm Ventures, and Cervin Ventures.
- Cyera, an Israeli cloud data security startup, raised $60m. Sequoia Capital led, and was joined by Accel and Cyberstarts. http://axios.link/wbqY
- HackerRank, a Mountain View, Calif.-based hiring platform for developers, raised $60 million in Series D funding led by Susquehanna Growth Equity and was joined by investors including JMI, Khosla Ventures, Randstad Innovation Fund, and Recruit Holdings.
- Dispatch, a Bloomington, Minn.-based B2B last-mile delivery platform, raised $50m in Series C funding led by PeakSpan Capital. www.dispatchit.com
- Yami, a Brea, Calif.-based marketplace for Asian food products and household goods in North America, raised $50 million in Series B funding. Altos Ventures and Balsam Bay Partners co-led the round and were joined by investors including J.P. Morgan and GGV Capital.
- Skan.ai, a Menlo Park, Calif.-based process intelligence platform, raised $40 million in Series B funding led by Dell Technologies Capital and was joined by investors including GSR Ventures, Liberty Global Ventures, Cathay Innovation, Zetta Venture Partners, Citi Ventures, and Firebolt Ventures.
- Shoreline.io, a Redwood City, Calif.-based automation and control provider for cloud operations, raised $35 million in Series B funding led by Insight Partners and was joined by Dawn Capital.
- Athennian, a Calgary-based legal entity management software, raised $33 Million in Series B funding led by Centana Growth Partners and was joined by investors including Arthur Ventures, Touchdown Ventures, and others.
- BoostUp.ai, a Santa Clara, Calif.-based revenue operations and intelligence platform, raised $29 million in Series B funding led by NGP Capital and was joined by investors including Canaan, Emergent Ventures, and BGV Ventures.
- Pinecone, a San Mateo, Calif.-based similarity search platform, raised $28m in Series A funding. Menlo Ventures led, and was joined by Tiger Global and insider Wing VC. http://axios.link/nNlJ
- Prizeout, a New York-based ad tech focused on digital gift cards, raised $25m in Series B funding from Precept Capital, Mark Cuban, Continental Investment Partners, Astralis Capital, RiverPark Ventures and Anchor Capital. www.prizeout.com
- Black Crow AI, a New York-based machine learning infrastructure company, raised $25 million in Series A funding led by Imaginary Ventures and was joined by investors including Left Lane, Good Friends, Interplay, Red Antler, and other angel investors.
- Cloaked, a Boston-based consumer-based privacy company, raised $25 million in Series A funding co-led by Lux Capital and Human Capital.
- Pixxel, a Bangalore, India and Palo Alto, Calif.-based hyperspectral satellite developer, raised $25 million in Series A funding led by Radical Ventures and was joined by investors including co-founder of Relativity Space Jordan Noone, Seraphim Space Investment Trust, Lightspeed Partners, Blume Ventures, and Sparta LLC.
- Dagger, a San Francisco-based devops platform that delivers applications to the cloud, raised $20 million in Series A funding led by Redpoint Ventures and was joined by investors including Y Combinator, former Github CEO Nat Friedman, former Google Cloud CTO Brian Stevens, founder and CEO of solo.io Idit Levine, creator of Prometheus Julius Volz, former Reddit CEO Ellen Pao, and Bitnami co-founder Daniel Lopez.
- Wing Security, an Israeli SaaS security startup, raised $20m in Series A funding. S-Capital led, and was joined by GGV Capital, Harmony Partners and Silicon Valley CISO Investments Group. http://axios.link/YC6T
- Electric, a New York-based I.T. solutions provider, raised $20 million in Series D-1 funding from investors including Harmonic Growth Partners, GGV Capital, Bessemer Venture Partners, Greenspring Associates, and others.
- Sourceful, a Manchester, U.K.-based business sourcing platform, raised $20 million in Series A funding led by Index Ventures and was joined by investors including Coatue and Eka Ventures.
- Kooply, a Tel Aviv-based mobile gaming platform, raised $18 million in seed funding. TPY Capital, M12, and Playtika co-led the round and were joined by investors including Aleph Venture Partners, Entrée Capital, Glilot Capital Partners, and Samsung Next.
- Bonsai, a Toronto-based e-commerce platform, raised $22 million CAD ($17.7 million) in Series A funding led by Framework Venture Partners and was joined by investors including Next Play Capital and Alumni Ventures Group.
- Arena, an SF-based customer engagement communications startup, raised $13.6m in Series A funding. CRV led, and was joined by Craft Ventures, Artisanal Ventures and Vela Partners. www.arena.im
- Antimatter, a SaaS customer data security startup, raised $12m in Series A funding. NEA led, and was joined by General Catalyst and Union Labs. http://axios.link/jZZG
- Latitud, a “startup OS” platform for Latin America, raised $11.5m in seed funding co-led by Andreessen Horowitz and NFX. http://axios.link/q6nJ
- Airhouse, a San Francisco-based e-commerce operations platform, raised $11 million in Series A funding led by DNX Ventures and was joined by investors including Elizabeth Street Ventures, Gaingels, James Beshara, RemoteNative Ventures, Trajectory Capital, Flexport, Easypost, and others.
- OmniML, a San Jose, Calif.-based machine learning models developer, raised $10 million in seed funding led by GGV Capital and was joined by investors including Qualcomm Ventures, Foothill Ventures, and others.
- Pantastic, a San Francisco-based e-commerce platform for independent brands, raised $10 million in funding led by B Capital Group and was joined by Commerce Ventures.
- Lucra Sports, a San Francisco-based sports betting platform, raised $10 million in Series A funding led by Raptor Group and was joined by investors including SeventySix Capital, Victress Capital, Milwaukee Bucks owner and Avenue Capital founder Marc Lasry, tennis player John Isner, and NFL Wide Receiver Emmanuel Sanders.
- SudShare, a Minneapolis-based laundry service app, raised $10m in seed funding from Headline, Origin Ventures and Starting Line VC. www.sudshare.com
- LIV, a remote-based VR/AR self-recording platform, raised $8.5 million in Series A funding led by BITKRAFT Ventures and was joined by investors including Sony Innovation Fund, Amazon Alexa Fund, Credo Ventures, Samsung Next, Olive Tree Capital, and Maveron partner Dave Wu.
- Sona, a London-based work management platform for deskless employees, raised $7 million in seed funding led by Gradient Ventures and was joined by investors including Monzo founder Tom Blomfield, Speedinvest, and Notion Capital.
- Glimpse, a startup that enables product placement in short-term rentals, raised $6.2m from GSR Ventures, Origin Ventures and YC. http://axios.link/yFBu
- SucceedSmart, a Los Altos, Calif.-based career platform and peer network, raised $6 million in funding led by Storm Ventures and was joined by investors including Tau Ventures and others.
- BODS, a digital fashion startup with garment-fitting technology, raised $5.6m in seed funding. Stellation Capital led, and was joined by Long Journey Ventures and Third Kind VC. http://axios.link/NKOo
- Revvable, an SF-based SaaS for powersports dealerships, raised $5m in seed funding. Tiger Global led, and was joined by Bienville Capital. www.revvable.com
- Out Of Office, a Chicago-based recommendation-based travel app, raised $3.5 million in seed funding led by Hyde Park Venture Partners and was joined by investors including CEO of Cameo Steven Galanis, former Orbitz CPO Chris Brown, former Havenly COO Jessie Dixon, founder and CEO of Havenly Lee Mayer, former Bumble COO Sarah Jones Simmer, CEO and founder of The Points Guy Brian Kelly, Spikeball founder and CEO Chris Ruder, and Brand Foundry Ventures.
- Quintar, a Santa Clara, Calif.-based AR platform for live sports and entertainment, raised $3m. SeventySix Capital led, and was joined by Nreal and SharpLink Gaming. http://axios.link/xOIE
- ShearShare, a Buffalo, N.Y.-based B2B beauty app, raised $2.3 million in seed funding led by Fearless Fund and was joined by investors including Level Up Ventures, 43North, New York Ventures, Gaingels, Chloe Capital, Portfolia, Pipeline Angels, Bacon Family Trust, co-founder of ACV Auctions Jack Greco, Precursor Ventures, Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Seed Fund, Bread & Butter Ventures, and Sachse Family Fund.
. . .
Sustainability:
- Beewise, a Beit Haemek, Israel and Sacramento, Calif.-based climatech robotics company for bees, raised $80M in Series C funding led by Insight Partners and was joined by investors including Fortissimo Capital, Corner Ventures, lool ventures, Atooro Fund, Meitav Dash Investments, and Sanad Abu Dhabi.
- Smarter Sorting, an Austin, Boulder, and Los Angeles, Calif.-based consumer goods data and sustainability company, raised $25 million in funding led by G2 Venture Partners.
- Emitwise, a London-based carbon management startup, raised $10m in Series A funding. Xplorer Capital led, and was joined by Outsized Ventures, True Ventures and ArcTern Ventures. www.emitwise.com
- Treeswift, a Philadelphia, Pa.-based data-based forest monitoring system, raised $4.8 million in seed funding led by Pathbreaker Ventures and was joined by investors including Crosslink Capital, TenOneTen Ventures, Contour Venture Partners, Boom Capital Ventures, Yes VC, Susa Ventures, Draft Ventures, Anorak Ventures, S7 Ventures, Awesome People Ventures, Switch Ventures, Convective Capital, and Dorm Room Fund.
- RenewaFi, a New York-based renewable energy marketplace, raised $3 million in funding from investors including First Round Capital, Floating Point, BoxGroup, Powerhouse Ventures, and Arcadia CEO Kiran Bhatraju.
Acquisitions & PE:
- Ynsect, a French insect protein farm startup that’s raised over $370m in VC funding, agreed to buy Lincoln, Neb.-based mealworm producer Jord Producers. http://axios.link/FYTv
- HP agreed to acquire Poly, a San Jose and Santa Cruz, Calif.-based audio and video devices maker, for $1.7 billion.
- ChartHop acquired Gather, a Cleveland, Ohio-based people operations workflow software. Financial terms were not disclosed.
- Fastly acquired Fanout, a Mountain View, Calif.-based API building and streaming platform. Financial terms were not disclosed.
- Pophouse Entertainment, a music investment firm founded by EQT’s Conni Jonsson and ABBA’s Björn Ulvaeus, acquired the song catalog of house music group Swedish House Mafia. This may be the most Swedish deal in history. http://axios.link/7xcK
- TA Associates agreed to acquire TouchTunes, a New York-based in-venue, music and entertainment platform, from funds advised by Searchlight Capital Partners and Newlight Partners. Financial terms were not disclosed.
- Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) confirmed its purchase of Granulate, an Israeli provider of computing workload optimization solutions, for a reported $650m. Granulate had raised over $45m from firms like Red Dot Capital Partners, Dawn Capital, Insight Partners, TLV Partners, and Hetz Ventures.
. . .
IPOs:
- AIG, a New York-based finance and insurance company, filed for an IPO for its life and retirement arm, which will be named Corebridge after going public. A deal could value the life and retirement arm at $29 billion, according to Bloomberg.
. . .
SPACs:
- OnlyFans, a London-based subscription content platform for creators and fans, is weighing going public via a SPAC merger, according to Axios.
Funds:
- Bond, an S.F.-based growth equity firm, raised $2.5b for its third fund, Axios has learned. Go deeper.
- Atomico is raising $600m for its next VC fund and $750m for its next growth fund, per SEC filings. http://axios.link/nR4x
- Gumi Cryptos Capital, a San Francisco-based venture capital firm, raised $110 million for a second fund focused on early-stage developers, projects, DAOs, guilds, apps, games, and protocols.
- Wave Financial, a Los Angeles-based investment management company, raised $100 million for a fund focused on new decentralized finance platforms launched in the Cardano ecosystem.
- Regeneration VC raised $45m for its debut fund focused on decarbonizing consumer goods. http://axios.link/WeHm
Final Numbers
The material presented on Molly O’Shea’s website are my opinions only and are provided for informational purposes and should not be construed as investment advice. It is not a recommendation of, or an offer to sell or solicitation of an offer to buy, any particular security, strategy, or investment product. Any analysis or discussion of investments, sectors or the market generally are based on current information, including from public sources, that I consider reliable, but I do not represent that any research or the information provided is accurate or complete, and it should not be relied on as such. My views and opinions expressed in any website content are current at the time of publication and are subject to change. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
This was a great read. Great article really enjoyed the commentary. Lots of deals going on this week.