Sourcery (3/21-3/25)
Yuga Labs + The Slap ~ Ramp, Jeeves, Capitolis, Worldcoin, Digits, Ribbon, Tea, Kale, Players Health, Alife, COR, Nectar, Radish Health, Astronomer, RapidAPI, Island, CommerceIQ, Blidz, WeLoveNoCode..
We can’t stop thinking about Yuga Labs, owner of Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), CryptoPunks and Meebits, raising a cute $450M seed round at $4B val to propel the NFT collection into the metaverse. And to top it off they’re also launching an ultra-exclusive capsule collection with Supreme x Yeezy Gap (jk).
Of all the commentary out there, the emerging Three Cartoon Avatars podcast featuring @ZakKukoff, @LoganBartlett & @NikitaBier had a provocative conversation around rationalizing the current value, the probability of launching a successful game, and the hard risks of expanding the elitist, highly profitable, NFT collections beyond their min $17K-$250k+ digital assets. Highlights from their episode can be found here.
And as for ‘The Slap’, we have no comment at this time but are in shock & enjoying the memes.
Follow us on Twitter Linkedin for just the top deals recap
@MollySOShea @MarissaCohen @Kirsten_Stainer
. . .
Last Week (3/21-3/25):
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 Yuga Labs, Ramp, Jeeves, Capitolis, Worldcoin, Digits, Ponto, Wealth, Ribbon, Tea, Kale, Players Health, Alife, Recora, COR, Nectar, Radish Health, Grafana Labs, Astronomer, RapidAPI, Island, CommerceIQ, Hex, Firstbase, Tome, Kargo, Dorian, ShopThing, Zestworld, Blidz, Boom & Bucket, WeLoveNoCode, Waitroom, Hackstack.AI, TemperPack, Span.io, Apollo Agriculture, Beep, Climate X, Lune, FlyLogix; Activision Blizzard, BB&B, NextMind, Anaplan, FTX, Cruise, QuikReturn, 42, Sony, Netflix, Apple, Autodesk, Lightricks; Justworks
👀 Everyone’s buying up gaming studios, peek at M&A & PE: Activision Blizzard, Netflix, Sony, FTX..
Final numbers on Top 2021 VC Exits by Market Performance Since Public Debut at the bottom.
🥳 Katie Haun’s $1.5B first-time fund Haun Ventures, sets records for a solo GP fund and female-led fund. Incredible. (Bain Capital Crypto feeling the burn)
Deals
Sources: TS, Pro Rata, FinSMEs, Pitchbook, StrictlyVC
Fintech:
- Yuga Labs, creator of the Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT project, raised $450m at a $4b valuation. Andreessen Horowitz led, confirming an Axios report from last month, alongside LionTree, Sound Ventures, Thrive Capital, FTX and MoonPay. http://axios.link/XTLx
- Ramp, a New York-based corporate card and spending management platform, raised $200 million in funding led by Founders Fund and was joined by investors including Stripe, Iconiq Capital, Thrive Capital, and others.
- Jeeves, a New York-based expense management platform for startups, raised $180m in Series C funding at a $2.1b valuation. Tencent led, and was joined by GIC, Stanford University, Andreessen Horowitz, CRV, SVB, FT Partners, Clocktower Ventures, Urban Innovation Fund, Haven Ventures, Gaingels and Spike Ventures. http://axios.link/AJHL
- Policygenius, a New York-based online insurance marketplace, raised $125m in Series E funding from Brighthouse Financial, Global Atlantic Financial Group, iA Financial Group, Lincoln Financial, Pacific Life and insiders KKR, Norwest Ventures Partners and Revolution Ventures. http://axios.link/o7fn
- Capitolis, a New York-based SaaS for helping banks pool trading resources, raised $110m in Series D funding at a $1.6b valuation co-led by Canapi Ventures, 9Yards Capital and SVB Capital. http://axios.link/1axB
- TokenEx, an Oklahoma City, Okla.-based cloud tokenization provider, raised $100 million in Series B funding from K1 Investment Management.
- Worldcoin, the cryptocurrency startup, raised $100 million in funding through a private coin sale from investors including Andreessen Horowitz and Khosla Ventures.
- Finally, a Miami-based accounting and finance automation startup for small businesses raised $95m in Series A equity and debt funding. PeakSpan Capital led the equity tranche, and was joined by Active Capital, 500 FinTech and GTMfund Clear Haven Capital. Clear Haven Capital provided the debt facility. www.finally.com
- Digits, a San Francisco-based finance and accounting platform for small businesses, raised $65 million in Series C funding led by SoftBank and was joined by investors including 20VC Growth, GV, and Benchmark.
- Unstoppable Domains, an S.F.-based blockchain naming system provider, is in talks to raise around $60m at a $1b valuation, per TechCrunch. http://axios.link/euvE
- ChargeAfter, a New York-based BNPL startup, raised $44m in Series B funding. The Phoenix led, and was joined by Citi Ventures, Banco Bradesco and MUFG. http://axios.link/xOhm
- Tomo, an Austin-based mortgage and transaction platform for buyers and real estate agents, raised $40 million in Series A funding led by SVB Capital and was joined by investors including Ribbit Capital, NFX, Zigg Capital, and Telesoft Partners.
- Flock Homes, a Denver-based real estate exchange fund provider, raised $26m in Series A funding. Andreessen Horowitz led, and was joined by 1Sharpe Ventures, Human Capital and insiders Susa Ventures, Primary Venture Partners and BoxGroup. http://axios.link/cKLU
- MetaMagnet, a blockchain gaming platform operator built on the Terra blockchain, C2X, raised $25 million in funding through a private coin sale led by FTX Ventures, Jump Crypto, and Animoca Brands and was joined by investors including Hashed, Terra, Transcend Fund, Galaxy Interactive, Skybound, Blockchain Coinvestors, DeFiance Capital, Play Ventures, Crypto.com, Infinity Ventures Crypto, Unanimous Capital, Bowei, and others.
- Upshot, a blockchain-based protocol providing NFT appraisals, raised $22 million in Series A2 funding led by Polychain Capital and was joined by investors including Framework Ventures, CoinFund, Blockchain Capital, Slow Ventures, Mechanism Capital, and Delphi Digital, and others.
- Ponto, an S.F.-based blockchain payments startup, raised $20m in seed funding. General Catalyst, Polychain and NOMO VC led and were joined by LocalGlobe, 186 Ventures, 468 Capital, BoxGroup, EchoVC, 6th Man, Flori, Alchemy, Table Management and Chapter One. www.ponto.org
- doxo, a Seattle-based bill payment platform, raised $18.5 million in Series C funding led by Jackson Square Ventures and was joined by existing investors.
- Helcim, an Alberta, Canada-based payments company for small business, raised $16 million in Series A funding led by Information Venture Partners and Aquiline Technology Growth and was joined by investors including Generational Platform Partners, Accelerate Fund III, Boris Wertz, Klue CEO Jason Smith, Symend CEO Hanif Joshaghani, and Control HQ CEO Kevin Sandhu.
- CoinRoutes, a Miami-based algorithmic trading platform for digital assets, raised $16 million in Series B funding led by Ayon Capital and was joined by investors including Susquehanna International, Cboe Global Markets, Celsius, CMT Digital, Genesis Global Trading, Galaxy Digital, Arca, Mirana Ventures, GSR Markets, AscendEX, Dash Investment Foundation, and Wave Financial.
- Wealth, a Tempe, AZ-based digital estate planning platform, raised $16 million in seed funding led by Anthos Capital and was joined by Bela Juju Ventures.
- Handle, a San Francisco-based software platform for construction payment compliance, raised $10 million in Series A funding led by Energize Ventures and Ironspring Ventures.
- Ribbon, a DiFei startup focused on crypto derivatives, raised $8.8m led by Paradigm. http://axios.link/VkNJ
- Tea, a Puerto Rico-based developer of an open source software platform on the blockchain, raised $8m in seed funding led by Binance Labs. http://axios.link/01Rs
- Kale, a New York-based payment platform for influencers, raised $3.75M in seed funding led by Forerunner Ventures and was joined by investors including Pear VC and Amber Atherton.
- Haystacks.AI, a New York-based data aggregation and intelligence platform for real estate investors, raised $3 million in funding led by RRE Ventures, Assurant, and Preface Ventures.
- Prime Protocol, a decentralized prime brokerage that will work on multiple blockchains at once, raised $2.75m co-led by Arrington Capital, Jump and Framework. http://axios.link/7qkU
- Workorder, a Santa Monica, Calif.-based estimating solutions construction startup, raised $1.1 million in pre-seed funding from investors including UBMB and Mucker Capital.
. . .
Care:
- Podimetrics, a Somerville, Mass.-based SmartMat creator focused on preventing diabetic foot complications, raised $45 million in Series C funding led by D1 Capital Partners and was joined by investors including Medtech Convergence Fund, Polaris Partners, Scientific Health Development, and others.
- Players Health, a Minneapolis-based digital risk management platform for kids sports, raised $28m from SiriusPoint, Mastry Ventures, RPM Ventures, EOS Venture Partners and Will Ventures. www.playershealth.com
- Alife Health, a San Francisco-based fertility tech company building A.I. tools for IVF, raised $22 million in Series A funding co-led by Deena Shakir at Lux Capital and was joined by investors including Rebecca Kaden at Union Square Ventures and Anarghya Vardhana at Maveron.
- Recora, a New York-based healthcare platform focused on cardiac rehabilitation, raised $20 million in Series A funding led by SignalFire and was joined by investors including Valor Equity Partners and Pear VC.
- COR, an in-home blood testing startup focused on nutrition and wellness, raised $12m in Series A funding. Khosla Ventures and Founders Fund co-led, and were joined by West Ventures and Bellamack Partners. www.thecor.com
- Nectar, a New York-based allergy care platform, raised $8 million in seed funding led by Juxtapose and Obvious Ventures.
- Radish Health, a New York-based healthcare platform for municipal governments and midsize businesses, raised $4 million in seed funding led by Tusk Venture Partners and was joined by investors including MaC Venture Capital, Global Founders Capital, and The Fund.
- Applied XL, a New York-based information detection company that tracks the health of people, places, and the planet, raised $3.5 million in seed funding led by Hearst Ventures and was joined by investors including Boston Globe Media Partners and STAT.
. . .
Enterprise & Consumer:
- Grafana Labs, a New York-based open observability platform, is raising Series D funding at a $5b valuation, up from the $3b it secured last year. Existing backers include Coatue, Sequoia Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Lead Edge Capital and GIC. http://axios.link/pQkt
- Astronomer, a Cincinnati-based data orchestration platform developer for business analytics, raised $213 million in Series C funding led by Insight Partners and was joined by investors including Meritech Capital, Salesforce Ventures, J.P. Morgan, K5 Global, Sutter Hill Ventures, Venrock, and Sierra Ventures.
- RapidAPI, a San Francisco-based API management and connection provider, raised $150 million in Series D funding led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and was joined by investors including Citi Ventures, Qumra, Andreessen Horowitz, M12, Viola Growth, Green Bay, and Grove Ventures.
- Tarana Wireless, a Milpitas, Calif.-based fixed wireless access company, raised $170m at a $1b valuation co-led by Axon Capital, Khosla Ventures and Prime Movers Lab. http://axios.link/xk4e
- Island, a Dallas, Texas-based designer of a work-focused browser, raised $115 million in Series B funding led by Insight Partners and was joined by investors including Stripes and Sequoia Capital.
- CommerceIQ, a Palo Alto, Calif.-based retail ecommerce management platform, raised $115 million in Series D funding led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and was joined by investors including Insight Partners,Trinity Ventures, Shasta Ventures, and Madrona Venture Group.
- Bionic, a Palo Alto, Calif.-based application security management platform, raised $65 million in Series B funding led by Insight Partners and was joined by investors including Cyberstarts and Battery Ventures.
- Hydrow, a Boston-based at-home connected rower, raised $55 million in Series D funding led by Constitution Capital and was joined by investors including L Catterton, RX3 Ventures, Liberty Street, Activant Capital, and Sandbridge Capital.
- Hex, a San Francisco-based platform for collaborative data science and analytics, raised $52 million in Series B funding led by Andreessen Horowitz and was joined by investors including Snowflake, Databricks, Redpoint, and Amplify Partners.
- Datagen, a Tel Aviv-based data-as-code company for computer vision A.I., raised $50 million in Series B funding led by Scale Venture Partners and was joined by investors including TLV Partners, Viola Ventures, and Spider Capital.
- Firstbase, an Aberdeen, Scotland and New York-based remote infrastructure for teams provider, raised $50 million in Series B funding led by Kleiner Perkins and was joined by investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Alpaca VC, and Forum Ventures.
- Theta Lake, a Santa Barbara, Calif.-based security and compliance platform for collaboration, raised $50 million in Series B funding led by Battery Ventures and was joined by investors including RingCentral Ventures, Salesforce Ventures, Zoom Video Communications, LightSpeed Venture Partners, Neotribe Ventures, and Cisco Investments.
- Glia, a New York based-based digital customer service platform, raised $45 million in Series D funding led by Insight Partners and was joined by investors including Wildcat Capital and Management RingCentral Ventures.
- WorkRamp, a San Francisco-based learning platform for businesses and their employees, raised $40 million in Series C funding. Salesforce Ventures, Slack Fund, and Susa Ventures co-led the round and were joined by investors including Lattice CEO Jack Altman, OMERS Ventures, GTMfund, PeopleTech Angels, and UpHonest Capital.
- Spectro Cloud, a Santa Clara, Calif.-based Kubernetes management platform, raised $40m in Series B funding. Stripes led, and was joined by Sierra Ventures, Boldstart Ventures, WestWave Capital, T-Mobile Ventures and Alter Venture Partners. www.spectrocloud.com
- Tome, a San Francisco-based platform for developing and sharing ideas in the workplace and beyond, raised $32.3 million in funding from Greylock, Coatue, and other angel investors.
- Triple Whale, a Columbus, Ohio-based operating system for Shopify brands, raised $27.7m in new Series A funding from Elephant VC and NFX. www.mytriplewhale.com
- Gamefam, a Los Angeles-based game publisher and developer on Roblox, raised $25 million in Series A funding led by Konvoy Ventures and was joined by investors including Play Ventures, Makers Fund, Bessemer Venture Partners, and Galaxy Interactive.
- Kargo, a San Francisco-based supply chain company that pairs hardware and software, raised $25 million in Series A funding led by Sozo Ventures and was joined by investors including Founders Fund, Activant, Human Capital, Strike Capital, Lineage Ventures, and Flexport.
- ForAllSecure, a Pittsburgh, Pa.-based software security testing cybersecurity company, raised $21 million in Series B funding co-led by Koch Disruptive Technologies and New Enterprise Associates.
- Nucleus Security, a Sarasota, Fla.-based vulnerability management and process automation company, raised $20 million in Series B funding led by Lead Edge Capital and was joined by Arthur Ventures.
- Plotlogic, an Australian provider of hyperspectral imaging for mines, raised US$18m in Series A funding. Innovation Endeavors led, and was joined by BHP Ventures, Touchdown Ventures, DCVC, Baidu Ventures and Grids Ventures. http://axios.link/f6PX
- Salad, a Salt Lake City-based cloud computing platform, raised $17 million in Series A funding led by Left Lane Capital and Origin Ventures and was joined by investors including Kickstart Seed Fund, Royal Street Ventures, and Carthona Capital.
- Ursa Space, an Ithaca, N.Y.-based satellite intelligence infrastructure company, raised $16 million in Series C funding led by Dorilton Ventures and was joined by investors including Razor’s Edge Ventures, RRE Ventures, Paladin Capital Group, and others.
- Decentriq, a Swiss clean data rooms platform, raised $15m in Series A funding. Eclipse Ventures led, and was joined by Atlantic Labs, btov Partners and Paladin Capital Group. http://axios.link/V9FL
- The Routing Co., a Seattle-based provider of on-demand routing tech for public transit agencies, raised $15m in Series A funding. Tom Steyer's Galvanize led, and was joined by SYSTEMIQ. http://axios.link/MuJu
- Dorian, a San Francisco-based gaming platform for female and diverse creators, raised $14 million in Series A funding led by The Raine Group and was joined by investors including March Gaming, London Venture Partners, VGames, Gaingels, and Graham & Walker.
- Unleash, an Oslo-based open source feature management platform, raised $14 million in Series A funding led by Spark Capital and was joined by investors including Frontline Ventures, firstminute capital, Alliance Venture, and Arkwright X.
- Clear Skye, an Emeryville, Calif.-based identity governance and security startup, raised $14m in Series A funding. Storm Ventures and Toba Capital co-led, and were joined by Point Field Partners and Inner Loop Capital. http://axios.link/DTk9
- Brew, a Tel Aviv-based marketing platform, raised $12 million in seed funding led by Aleph and MizMaa and was joined by Gefen Capital.
- Learn In, a Salt Lake City, Utah-based upskilling platform for companies, raised $10 million in Series A funding led by Firework Ventures and was joined by investors including Kickstart Fund, GSV Ventures, and Album Ventures.
- ShopThing, a New York/Toronto-based shopping marketplace focused on luxury products, raised $10 million in Series A funding led by Origin Ventures and was joined by investors including Pritzker Group and Interplay.
- Zestworld, a newsletter service for creator-owned comics, raised $9.4m in Series A funding led by General Catalyst. http://axios.link/0FLu
- CloudFrame, a Princeton, N.J.-based software company freeing mainframe apps from COBOL, raised $7 million in Series A funding led by Eldridge and was joined by angel investors including Henry Kravis and individual members of New York Angels.
-Native Pet, a St. Louis-based pet supplement and nutrition company, raised $6m in Series A funding led by CAVU Venture Partners. www.nativepet.com
- Blidz, a Helsinki-based social shopping app, raised 6m co-led by General Catalyst and Peak. http://axios.link/mPM6
- Boom & Bucket, an Austin-based online marketplace platform for contractors to buy and sell used heavy equipment, raised $5.5 million in seed funding. Human Capital and Brick and Mortar Ventures co-led the round and were joined by investors including 8VC, Global Founders Capital, Streamlined Ventures, Quiet Capital, and MaC Venture Capital.
- LAGO, a New York-based minted art display developer, raised $4.2 million in pre-seed funding from angels including James Ho, Ian Rogers, Jehan Chu, Mike Dudas, Tim Kang, Patricio Worthalter, Stani Kulechov, 888, Mariano Conti, Jimmy McNeal, and Sandeep Nailwal.
- Better & Better, a New York-based company selling vitamin-infused products, raised $4 million in funding led by Fifth Quarter Ventures and was joined by investors including Dreamer’s Fund, Azure Capital, Alpaca Ventures, and others.
- Applied XL, a New York-based computational journalism startup, raised $3.5m in seed funding from backers like Tuesday Capital and Correlation Ventures. http://axios.link/DkYv
- Third Time Entertainment, an Orlando, Fla.-based games studio, raised $3.5 million in seed funding led by LVP and was joined by investors including Reciprocal Ventures, Coinbase Ventures, 6th Man Ventures, Folius Ventures, Big Brain Holdings, and Maven Capital.
- Ramped, a San Francisco-based job application and recruitment platform, raised $3.1 million in seed funding from investors including Hustle Fund, Northwestern Mutual Future Ventures, Workplay Ventures, Vastly Viable Ventures, Eudemian Ventures, ETF@JFFLabs, Graph Ventures, and Operate VC.
- WeLoveNoCode, a San Francisco-based no-code marketplace, raised $3 million in funding led by Mantis Venture Capital and was joined by investors including Liquid2, CapitalX, and Abe Burns.
- Waitroom, a streaming platform for host-led live broadcasts, raised $3 million in seed funding, per Axios Pro's Kerry Flynn. Craft Ventures led, and was joined by Ari Emmanuel. http://axios.link/MnZt
. . .
Sustainability:
- TemperPack, a Richmond, Va.-based thermal insulation manufacturer for cold chain packaging, raised $140 million in funding led by the Sustainable Investing business within Goldman Sachs Asset Management and was joined by investors including Grosvenor Food & AgTech, Harbert Management Corporation, Tao Capital Partners, Revolution Growth, SJF Ventures, and Arborview Capital.
- Span.IO, a San Francisco-based creator of electrical panels homes and chargers for cars, raised $90 million in Series B funding led by Fifth Wall Climate Tech and Wellington Management and was joined by investors including Angeleno Group, Robert Downey Jr.'s FootPrint Coalition, Van Jones’ Obsidian Investment Partners, A/O PropTech, and others.
- Apollo Agriculture, a Kenyan startup that uses satellite imagery data to rate farmer credtworthiness, raised $40m. SoftBank led, and was joined by Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Yara Growth Ventures, Endeavor Catalyst, CDC, and existing investors including Anthemis Exponential Ventures, Flourish Ventures, Leaps by Bayer, SBI, Breyer Capital and TO Ventures Food. http://axios.link/5rTF
- Beep, a Lake Nona, Fla.-based autonomous EV shuttle startup, raised $25m in Series A-1 funding. ABS Capital led, and was joined by Intel Capital, Blue Lagoon Capital, TDF Ventures and Hidden Creek Management. www.ridebeep.com
- Climate X, a London-based climate risk analytics provider, raised $5.4 million in seed funding led by CommerzVentures and A/O PropTech and was joined by investors including Voyagers Climate Tech Fund, Blue Impact Ventures, Deloitte and angel investors including David Rowan, Kat Borlongan, and Renaud Visage.
- Lune, a London-based company that calculates its customers’ emissions when shopping, traveling, and shipping, raised $4 million in funding led by Crane Venture Partners and was joined by 15 other angel investors.
- Flylogix, a provider of drones that measure methane offshore, raised £3m from BP Ventures. http://axios.link/vvad
- Gama, a French developer of a solar sail spacecraft, raised $2m from French Public Investment Bank and CNES. http://axios.link/8Vyw
Acquisitions & PE:
- Microsoft's proposed $68.8b takeover of Activision Blizzard includes multibillion dollar termination fees, including if the deal is blocked by regulators, the companies disclosed. http://axios.link/CnlS
- Apollo Global Management increased its loan to SoftBank to $5.1b from $4b, per Bloomberg, secured by holdings in SoftBank Vision Fund 2. http://axios.link/Isu9
- Bed Bath & Beyond (Nasdaq: BBBY) has reached an agreement with RC Ventures, the investment firm of Chewy co-founder and GameStop chair Ryan Cohen. It includes three new directors chosen by RC Ventures, which recently acquired a 9.8% stake in the retailer and asked it to explore strategic alternatives, including a spinoff of its baby brand. http://axios.link/DZfR
- Snap (NYSE: SNAP) agreed to buy is NextMind, a Paris-based neurotech startup that had raised around $13m from backers like Nordic Makers and Sisu Game Ventures. http://axios.link/p8ev
- Thoma Bravo acquired Anaplan, a San Francisco-based business management software platform, for $10.7 billion.
- FTX Ventures invested $100m into banking app Dave (Nasdaq: DAVE), and also struck a strategic partnership. http://axios.link/G0ln
- FTX acquired Good Luck Games, the Olympia, Wash.-based creator of Storybook Brawl. http://axios.link/OCqt
- Clearlake Capital and Motive Partners agreed to acquire BETA+, the London Stock Exchange’s wealth management technology, from the London Stock Exchange. The deal was valued at $1.1 billion, per Reuters.
- General Motors acquired Cruise, a San Francisco-based self-driving car startup, from SoftBank Vision Fund for $2.1 billion.
- Veho acquired QuikReturn, a New York-based package delivery service helping customers return their online purchases. Financial terms were not disclosed.
- Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF) is in advanced talks for a minority stake in London-based management and talent company 42, whose client roster includes "Succession" creator Jesse Armstrong and "Downton Abbey" creator Julian Fellowes. http://axios.link/Qzx8
- Luminar (Nasdaq: LAZR) agreed to buy Freedom Photonics, a Santa Barbara, Calif.-based high-performance laser manufacturer, for around $42m in stock. http://axios.link/ezr6
- Sony Interactive Entertainment agreed to buy Montreal-based game developer Haven Entertainment Studios. http://axios.link/2VSv
- Netflix (Nasdaq: NFLX) bought Boss Fight Entertainment, an Allen, Texas-based mobile gaming studio. http://axios.link/UeIG
- Switch (NYSE: SWCH), a Las Vegas-based data center operator, is exploring strategic options including a possible sale, per Bloomberg. Company shares rose on the news, giving it a $4.37b market cap. http://axios.link/r4XG
- Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) reportedly paid around $150m to buy Credit Kudos, a London-based open banking startup that had raised around $10m from firms like Albion Ventures. http://axios.link/Gu8O
- Breyer Capital acquired a minority stake in Sandbox AQ, a Palo Alto, Calif.-based company focused on quantum A.I. solutions for financial services, health care, computer security, the U.S. government, and other sectors
- Autodesk agreed to acquire The Wild, a Beaverton, Ore.-based extended reality platform for architecture and design teams. Financial terms were not disclosed.
- Lightricks acquired Popular Pays, a Chicago-based software company that connects brands with creators, according to Axios. Financial terms were not disclosed.
. . .
IPOs:
- Justworks, a New York-based provider of HR management software that in January postponed a $200m IPO due to market volatility, resurrected the effort with a blank filing. The company, which had sought a $2b valuation, is backed by such firms as Bain Capital Ventures, Index Ventures, Redpoint Ventures, Spark Capital, Thrive Capital, USV and FirstMark Capital. http://axios.link/jIG7
. . .
SPACs:
Nothing to see here
Funds:
- Katie Haun announced that she's raised $1.5 billion for a pair of crypto-focused VC funds, just months after leaving Andreessen Horowitz to hang her own shingle. This is a staggering amount of money for a first-time fundraise, topped by just a few others, let alone one completed in just a few months. It's a stupefying amount of money for a solo GP fund, easily besting all comers. And it's a mind-bending amount of money when that solo GP is a woman, given that venture capital remains dominated by men.
What it says: Limited partners have major FOMO when it comes to crypto.
Many institutional investors, including college endowments and charitable foundations, are using efforts like Haun Ventures to surge from zero to 60. It's also why we've recently seen giant first-time fundraises from groups like Hivemind Capital and Paradigm (plus the ongoing Andreessen Horowitz empire-build).
Haun says she got no LP blowback on not yet having any other investing partners, although she does plan to eventually hire, further reflecting the LP fervor.
Details: The $1.5 billion is split between a $500 million early-stage fund and a $1 billion expansion fund, both of which will have flexibility to invest in multiple crypto strategies.
Haun Ventures isn't yet a registered investment advisor, which would remove limits on liquid investments (i.e., digital tokens), but it will soon begin that process.
Quotable: "We'll invest through all layers of the web3 stack," explains Haun, a former federal prosecutor who sits on the boards of crypto exchange Coinbase and NFT marketplace OpenSea. "I still think there's innovation potential at specialized layer one projects, but think layer two — which deals with scalability on the blockchain — might hold the key for how to solve some issues of the Web 2.0 era, like identity and security."
She adds that the funds also will look at "picks and shovels" companies, including developer tools, end-to-end NFT services and crypto tax software.
Axios also asked Haun for lessons taken from Meta's failed crypto efforts (Libra/Diem), which she had helped champion. She replied that decision-making within the coalition, which included Andreessen Horowitz, proved difficult to manage, but that a number of "amazing projects" have emerged from the wreckage.
- Tiger Global raised $12.7b for its latest private markets fund, including $1.5b from firm employees, per the WSJ. http://axios.link/gZrY
- Iconiq is raising $5.75b for its seventh growth equity fund, per public pension docs. http://axios.link/8jbq
- Bedrock, an Austin, Texas-based VC firm, is raising up to $650m for its fourth fund, per an SEC filing. www.bedrockcap.com
- Macellum Capital Management, a New York-based activist investor, is raising up to $200m for a VC/PE fund that will back companies owned or led by Black or other minority leaders, as first reported by Axios Pro’s Richard Collings. http://axios.link/ndyW
- dao5, a crypto investment fund, raised $125 million in a new fund focused on seed and pre-seed crypto companies and protocols.
- Markd, a Boulder, Colo.-based venture capital firm, raised $100 million for its first fund, focused on early and growth-stage digital startups in the insurance industry.
- Spider Capital, an S.F.-based VC firm, is raising $100m for its third fund, per an SEC filing. www.spidercapital.com
- Qualcomm said it will allocate $100m to invest in metaverse startups. http://axios.link/XC1G
Final Numbers
Data: Pitchbook. Chart: Will Chase/Axios
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