Sourcery (4/12-4/16)
Better, Clearcover, The Zebra, Ramp, Chili Piper, Level, sunday, Orum, Benchling, Tempo, Tend, Medable, Papa, Cohere, Tomorrow, Vericred, Legacy, Getlabs, Epic Games, Scale AI, Veriff, Seeq, Slice...
Last Week (4/12-4/16):
Relevant deals include the 60+ deals across stages below.
I've categorized the deals below into four categories, Fintech,Care, Future of Work, and Sustainability, and ordered from later-stage rounds to early-stage rounds. Highlighted deals include Better, Zeta, Clearcover, The Zebra, Ramp, Consensys, Chili Piper, Level, sunday, Orum, Benchling, Tempo, Tend, Medable, Outschool, Papa, Cohere Health, Tomorrow Health, Vericred, Legacy, GetLabs, Epic Games, Scale AI, Astranis, Degreed, Gumgum, Veriff, Seeq, Slice, Bigeye, Pearpop, Hallow, Meroxa, Co-Star, Atrium, Pico, Deeplite, Realworld, Hazel Technologies, dcbel, Encamp; Nuance Communications, VMWare, TrillerNet, The Block; The Honest Co., DarkTrace, UI Path, DiDi Chuxing, Impossible Foods, Cue Health, Squarespace; Grab, Babylon
Final numbers on Coinbase’s Choppy First Day at the bottom.
Deals
Sources: TS, Pro Rata, FinSMEs, Pitchbook, StrictlyVC
Fintech:
- Better, a New York-based mortgage lender, has been valued at $6 billion after SoftBank acquired about $500 million in shares from existing investors. Read more.
- Zeta, a San Francisco-based banking tech startup, is in talks to raise about $250 million in Series D funding, per TechCrunch. SoftBank Vision Fund 2 is in talks to lead the deal.
- Clearcover, a Chicago-based car insurance startup, raised $200 million in Series D funding. Eldridge led the round and was joined by investors including American Family Ventures, Cox Enterprises, and OMERS Ventures.
- The Zebra, an Austin-based maker of an insurance comparison site, raised $150 million in Series D funding, valuing it at over $1 billion. Investors included Weatherford Capital and Accel.
- Ramp, a New York-based corporate card startup, raised $115 million in funding. D1 Capital Partners led the round and was joined by investors including Stripe, Goldman Sachs, Founders Fund, Coatue Management, Thrive Capital, Redpoint Ventures, Box Group, Neo, and Contrary Capital.
- ConsenSys, a New York-based blockchain company, raised $65 million. Investors included J.P. Morgan, Mastercard, and UBS.
- Routable, a San Francisco-based way to send business-to-business payments, raised $30 million in Series B funding. Sam Altman, CEO of Open AI, and Jack Altman, CEO of Lattice, led the round. They were joined by investors including Flexport.
- Chili Piper, a San Francisco-based routing and scheduling solution for revenue teams, raised a $33 million. Tiger Global led the round and was joined by investors including Base10 Partners and Gradient Ventures.
- Level, a New York-based maker of financial products for employers, raised $27 million in Series A funding. Khosla Ventures and Lightspeed Venture Partners led the round and was joined by investors including Operator Collective, First Round Capital, and Homebrew.
- sunday, an Atlanta-based app for paying in restaurants, raised $24 million in seed funding. Coatue and New Wave led the round.
- Hatch, a San francisco-based fintech, raised $20 million in funding. Investors include Kleiner Perkins, Foundation Capital, and SVB.
- Orum, a New York-based maker of financial infrastructure, raised a $21 million in Series A led by Bain Capital Ventures and was joined by investors including Inspired Capital, Homebrew, Acrew, Primary, Clocktower, and Box Group.
- Doorstead, a San Francisco-based property management tech company, raised $12.5 million in Series A funding. Madrona Venture Group led the round.
. . .
Care:
- Benchling, a San Francisco-based life sciences R&D cloud company, raised $200 million in Series E funding. Sequoia Capital Global Equities led the round and was joined by investors including Altimeter Capital, Byers Capital, and Elad Gil.
- Tempo, a San Francisco-based fitness system, raised $220 million in Series C funding. SoftBank Vision Fund 2 led the round and was joined by investors including STEADFAST Capital Ventures, DCM, General Catalyst, Norwest Venture Partners, and Bling Capital.
- Tend, a New York-based dentistry startup, raised $125 million in Series C funding. Addition led, and was joined by insiders Redpoint Ventures, GV, Juxtapose and Zigg Capital. www.hellotend.com
- Medable, a Palo Alto, Calif.-based startup focused on digital clinical trials, raised $78 million. Sapphire Ventures led the round and was joined by investors including Obvious Ventures, GSR Ventures, PPD, and Streamlined Ventures.
- Outschool, a San Francisco-based marketplace for k-12 education, raised $75 million in Series C funding, valuing it at $1.3 billion. Tiger Global Management and Coatue led the round and were joined by investors including Lightspeed Ventures, Union Square Ventures, and Reach Capital.
- Papa, a Miami-based care platform for older adults and families, raised $60 million in Series C funding. Tiger Global Management led the round.
- THM, a San Francisco-based marketplace for connecting healthcare payors and providers, raised $30 million in Series C funding led by Artis Ventures. www.transparenthealthmarketplace.com
- Cohere Health, a Boston-based provider of digital health authorization solutions, raised $36 million in Series B funding. Polaris Partners led, and was joined by Longitude Capital, Deerfield Management and insiders Flare Capital Partners and Define Ventures.www.coherehealth.com
- Tomorrow Health, a New York-based platform for home healthcare, raised $25 million in Series A funding. Andreessen Horowitz led the round and was joined by investors including Obvious Ventures and BoxGroup.
- Vericred, a New York-based platform for quote-to-card experiences in health insurance and benefits, raised $23 million in Series B funding. Aquiline Technology Growth led, and was joined by Echo Health Ventures, MassMutual Ventures, Guardian Strategic Ventures and insiders Riverside Acceleration Capital, FCA Venture Partners and First Health Capital Partners.www.vericred.com
- Amira Learning, a Seattle-based learning startup, raised $11 million. Authentic Ventures II led the round and was joined by investors including Vertical Ventures, Owl Ventures, and Rethink Education.
- Legacy, a Boston-based digital fertility clinic for men, raised $10 million in Series A funding. FirstMark Capital led the round and was joined by investors including Bain Capital Ventures, Section 32, Y Combinator, TQ Ventures, and Tribe Capital.
- Wage, a San Francisco-based payroll data sharing company, raised $5 million in funding. Gradient Ventures led the round and was joined by investors including 8VC, Pear Ventures, Bloomberg Beta, and CoFound Partners.
- Getlabs, a Santa Monica, Calif.-based lab appointment startup, raised $3 million in seed funding. PivotNorth Capital led the round and was joined by investors including Tusk Venture Partners, Rosecliff Ventures, Liquid 2 Ventures, CityLight Capital, and Karlin Asset Management.
. . .
Future of Work:
- Epic Games, the Cary, N.C.-based maker of Fortnite, raised $1 billion in new funding at a $28.7 billion valuation, including $200 million from Sony. Other backers include Appaloosa, Baillie Gifford, Fidelity, GIC, T. Rowe Price Ontario Teachers’, BlackRock, Park West, KKR, AllianceBernstein, Altimeter, Franklin Templeton and Luxor Capital.http://axios.link/WF4s
- Scale AI, a San Francisco-based data labeling platform, raised $325 million in Series E funding at a valuation north of $7 billion. Dragoneer, Greenoaks Capital and Tiger Global co-led, and were joined by Wellington Management, Durable Capital Partners and insiders Coatue, Index Ventures, Founders Fund and YC.http://axios.link/vzfl
- Astranis, a San Francisco-based space startup, raised a $250 million in Series C funding. BlackRock led the round and was joined by investors including Baillie Gifford, Fidelity, Koch Strategic Platforms, Andreessen Horowitz, and Venrock.
- Signifyd, a San Jose, Calif.-based digital fraud commerce protection company, raised $205 million in Series E funding. Owl Rock Capital led the round and was joined by investors including FIS, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, and Neuberger Berman Investment Advisers.
- Degreed, a Pleasanton, Calif.-based maker of software for the human resource departments, raised $153 million valuing it at over $1.4 billion. Sapphire Ventures and Riverwood Capital led the round.
- HomeX, a Chicago-based home services platform, raised $90 million. New Mountain Capital led the round.
- HqO, a Boston-based operating system for commercial office buildings, raised $60 million in Series C funding. Investors included Accomplice, Insight Partners, JLL Spark, Navitas Capital, DivcoWest, Allegion Ventures, and The Pagliuca Family Office.
- GumGum, a Santa Monica, Calif.-based contextual advertising firm, raised $75 million from Goldman Sachs Growth. www.gumgum.com
- Veriff, a New York and Estonian identity verification startup, raised $69 million in Series B funding co-led by Accel and IVP. www.veriff.com
- Seeq Corporation, a Seattle-based manufacturing and Industrial Internet of Things analytics software maker, raised $50 million in Series C funding. Insight Partners led the round and was joined by investors including Altira Group, Chevron Technology Ventures, Cisco Investments, Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures, and Second Avenue Partners.
- Upstack, a New York-based provider of colocation procurement SaaS, raised $50 million from Berkshire Partners. http://axios.link/VfjW
- Slice, a New York-based maker of software for pizzerias, raised $40 million in Series D funding. Cross Creek led the round and was joined by investors including KKR, GGV Capital, Primary Ventures, and 01 Advisors.
-SafeGuard Cyber, a Charlottesville, Va.-based provider of digital risk protection SaaS, raised $45 million in equity and debt. NightDragon led, and was joined by Cisco Investments and insider Allegis Cyber. www.safeguardcyber.com
- Density, a San Francisco-based space analytics and people counting company, raised $25 million in funding from existing investors. Investors included Kleiner Perkins, 01 Advisors, Upfront Ventures, Founders Fund, Ludlow Ventures, Launch, Disruptive, LPC Ventures, Alex Rodriguez, Julia and Kevin Hartz, and Cyan and Scott Banister.
- Cart.com, a Houston-based e-commerce services provider, raised $25 million in Series A funding. Mercury Fund and Arsenal Growth led the round.
- Itential, an Atlanta-based provider of network and cloud automation solutions, raised $20 million in Series B funding from Elsewhere Partners. www.itential.com
- Virtualitics, a Pasadena, Cauliflower-based (hahah will not provide source) data analytics software company, raised $18 million in Series B funding. North Sound Ventures led the round.
- BigEye (fka Toro), a data quality automation startup, raised $17 million in Series A funding. Sequoia Capital led, and was joined by Costanoa Ventures. http://axios.link/QWJe
- Pearpop, a social collaboration marketplace for creatives, raised $16 million from Seven Seven Six, Bessemer Venture Partners, Slow Ventures, Sound Ventures, Atelier Ventures, Chapter One Ventures and a slew of celebs. http://axios.link/WmLa
-Hallow, a Catholic meditation and prayer app, raised $12 million in Series A funding led by General Catalyst. www.hallow.com
- Meroxa, a San Francisco-based maker of a data pipeline platform, raised $15 million in Series A funding. Drive Capital led the round and was joined by investors including Root, Amplify, and Hustle Fund.
- Co-Star, the maker of an astrology app, raised $15 million in Series A funding, Axios reports. Spark Capital led, and was joined by Maveron and Female Founders Fund. http://axios.link/UmQn
- Atrium, a San Francisco-based data platform for sales teams, raised $13.5 million in seed funding from Bonfire Ventures, CRV and Bullpen Capital.http://axios.link/ErCq
- Saltbox, an Atlanta-based co-warehousing startup, raised $10.6 million in Series A funding. Playground Global led the round and was joined by investors including XYZ Venture Capital and Wilshire Lane Partners.
- Pico, a New York-based startup for online creators to manage customer data, raised $6.5 million. Ann Lai at Bullpen Capital led the round and was joined by investors including Precursor Ventures, Stripe, BloombergBeta, and Village Global.
- Deeplite, a Montreal-based ML edge deployment startup, raised US$6 million in seed funding. PJC led, and was joined by Innospark Ventures, Differential Ventures, Smart Global Holdings, Somel Investments, BDC Capital and Desjardins Capital. http://axios.link/fSk6
- Torch, a Chicago-based digital freight network focused on short-haul trips, raised $3.5 million in seed funding. Maersk Growth led the round and was joined by investors including Schematic Ventures, Bluestein Ventures, Anorak Ventures, Supply Chain Ventures, and SaaS Ventures.
- Realworld, a New York-based platform focused on Gen-Zs, raised $3.4 million in seed funding. Fitz Gate Ventures led the round and was joined by investors including Bezos Expeditions, Knightsgate Ventures, The Helm, Great Oaks VC, Copper Wire Ventures, AmplifyHer Ventures, Underdog Labs, Human Ventures, and Techstars.
- illumy, a San Ramon-based communications platform, raised $2.2 million. Chai Angels participated.
. . .
Sustainability:
- Hazel Technologies, a Chicago-based startup focused on mitigating food waste, raised $70 million in Series C funding. Pontifax AgTech and Temasek co-led, and were joined by S2G Ventures, Pangea Ventures, Rhapsody Venture Partners, Asahi Kasai Ventures, Jordan Park Group and the Jeremy and Hannelore Grantham Foundation.www.hazeltechnologies.com
- dcbel, a Montreal-based producer of smart home energy appliances, raised $40 million. Investors include Coatue, Real Ventures, WTI, and Narrative Fund.
- Encamp, an Indianapolis-based software platform for environmental, health, and safety (EHS) compliance data management and reporting automation, raised $12 million in Series B funding. OpenView led the round and was joined by investors including High Alpha Capital, Allos Ventures, and IU Ventures.
- Persefoni, a Tempe, Ariz.-based carbon accounting and management platform, raised $9.7 million in Series A funding. Rice Investment Group led the round and was joined by investors including NGP ETP and Sallyport Investments.
- Carbo Culture, a US-Finnish carbon removal startup, raised $6.2 million in seed funding. True Ventures and Cherry Ventures led the round.
- EcoCart, a San Francisco-based climate and sustainability-focused e-commerce enablement startup, raised $3 million in seed funding. Base10 Partners' Chris Zeoli led the round and was joined by investors including Sugar Capital,Jamie Sutton (creator of Shopify Plus), Ben Jabbaway (Founder of Privy).
Acquisitions & PE:
- Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) agreed to buy Massachusetts-based AI and speech recognition company Nuance Communications (Nasdaq: NUAN) for around $19.7 billion (including debt assumption). This is Microsoft's second-largest acquisition, behind the $26.2 billion deal for LinkedIn in 2016, and may reflect Redmond confidence that most tech antitrust eyes are pointed 800 miles south.Microsoft will pay$56 per share, a 23% premium to Friday's closing price. Other recent reports have Microsoft kicking the M&A tires on both Discord and Pinterest. "Buying Nuance could expand Microsoft's capabilities in voice software. Microsoft already has tools that developers can use to enable applications to transcribe speech into written words, and it incorporates speech recognition into its own products, such as the Bing search engine and the Teams communication app." — Alex Sherman, CNBC
- Dell Technologies (NYSE: DELL) agreed to spin off its 81% stake in cloud computing software company VMware (NYSE: VNW), in a tax-free deal that could generate upwards of $9.7 billion for Dell. http://axios.link/xP44
- Dell also is seeking a buyer for business software maker Boomi, which could fetch around $3 billion, per Bloomberg.
- L Catterton will acquire West Marine, a Wastonville, Calif.-based marine equipment company, from Monomoy Capital Partners. Financial terms weren't disclosed.
- TrillerNet, Triller’s parent company, acquired FITE, a live-event a streaming platform for sports and entertainment, and Amplify.ai, a customer engagement company. Financial terms weren't disclosed.
- The Block, a cryptocurrency-focused media startup, has bought out its non-employee shareholders, including VCs who had invested just over $4 million, per Axios. http://axios.link/7WV0
. . .
IPOs:
- The Honest Co., the all-natural household products company co-founded by Jessica Alba, filed for an IPO. It plans to list on the Nasdaq (HNST) and reports a $14.5 million net loss for 2020 on $300.5 million in revenue. Honest Co. raised nearly $500 million from firms like L Catterton (37.5% pre-IPO stake), IVP (13.9%), Lightspeed Venture Partners (12.3%), Fidelity (9.3%) and General Catalyst (5.1%). http://axios.link/IHS9
-Darktrace, the British cybersecurity firm, said it plans to go public in London. It’s raised around $240 million from firms like Summit Partners, KKR, TenEleven Ventures, Insight Partners, Invoke Capital and Hoxton Ventures. http://axios.link/TBVt
- The Bountiful Co., a Ronkonkoma, N.Y.-based maker of wellness products under brands like Nature's Bounty and Puritan’s Pride, filed for an IPO. It plans to list on the NYSE (BTFL) and reports $70 million of net income on $2.1 billion in revenue for the year ending Sept. 30, 2020. KKR holds a majority stake, while The Carlyle Group holds a minority position. http://axios.link/gJjj
-KnowBe4, a Clearwater, Fla.-based cybersecurity awareness training company backed by KKR, set IPO terms to 11.8 million shares at $16-$18. It would have a fully diluted market value of $3.1 billion, were it to price in the middle, and plans to list on the Nasdaq (KNBE). The company reports a $2.4 million net loss for 2020 on $175 million in revenue. http://axios.link/PdB9
- UiPath, a VC-backed robotic process automation software company, set IPO terms to 21.3 million shares at $43–$50. It would have a fully diluted market value of $26 billion, were it to price in the middle. The company plans to list on the NYSE (PATH) and reports a $92 million net loss on $607 million in revenue for the fiscal year ending Jan. 31, 2021. http://axios.link/qfVB
- DoubleVerify, a New York-based maker of software to track digital media engagement, plans to raise $340 million through an offering of 13.3 million shares (35% insider sold) valued between $24 to $27. Providence Equity Partners and Tiger Global Management led the round. Read more.
- Didi Chuxing, a Beijing-based ride hailing company, filed confidentially for an IPO in the U.S. A deal could value it between $70 billion to $80 billion, per Bloomberg. Read more.
- Impossible Foods, a Redwood City, Calif.-based maker of plant-based proteins, is planning for an IPO that could value it at $10 billion, per Reuters. Read more.
- Cue Health, a maker of portable health testing solutions, picked Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs to manage an upcoming IPO, per Bloomberg. It's raised over $480 million from firms like ACME Capital, J&J, Decheng Capital, Section 32 and Synergy Ventures. http://axios.link/RPaS
- Squarespace, a New York-based content management platform, is pursuing a direct listing for later this year, rather than an IPO, per Bloomberg. The company recently raised $300 million at a $10 billion valuation from Dragoneer, Tiger Global, D1 Capital Partners, Fidelity, T. Rowe Price, Spruce House and insiders Accel and General Atlantic. http://axios.link/Mh1b
. . .
SPACs:
- Grab, a Singaporean ride hailing company, is expected to reveal a deal to go public via merger with Altimeter Growth, a SPAC. A deal could value it at $34 billion. Read more.
- Babylon, a London-based digital health app, is in talks to go public at between a $3 billion and $4 billion valuation via Alkuri Global Acquisition (Nasdaq: KURI), a SPAC led by ex-Groupon CEO Rich Williams, per Bloomberg. Babylon has raised over $630 million from firms like Vostok New Ventures, Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, Hoxton Ventures, Munich Re Ventures, Centene and Kinnevik.http://axios.link/Qpu0
Funds:
- Starting Line, a Chicago-based VC firm, raised $30 million for its second fund. www.startingline.vc
- Temasekand BlackRock formed Decarbonization Partners, a partnership that will invest in decarbonization solutions. The duo are committing $600 million in initial capital, while the partnership is targeting $1 billion including the commitment.
- Maverick Ventures, a San Francisco-based venture capital firm, closed its third fund cycle with over $600 million.
- TDK Ventures, the corporate venture arm for TDK Corp., closed its second fund with $150 million.
- Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN) launched a $250 million VC fund focused on Indian startups focused on digitizing SMBs. http://axios.link/t9Lg
-Insight Partners raised $1.56 billion for a new fund focused on structured preferred equity investments in tech companies. http://axios.link/c5IR
- Footwork, a new VC firm led by Nikhil Basu Trivedi (ex-Shasta Ventures) and Mike Smith (ex-Stitch Fix) raised $175 million for its debut fund. http://axios.link/TyKl
Final Numbers
Data: FactSet; Chart: Axios Visuals
Go deeper:Coinbase's choppy first day