Sourcery (5/25-5/29)
VC Deal Stage Funnel; Tia, SpaceX, Marqeta, Bluecore, Statespace, Alamanac, Census, Apeel Sciences, Greyparrot.
Last Week (5/25-5/29):
New to Sourcery? Welcome!
A continuation of increased deal announcements last week, it seems that deals in progress at the start of COVID are now ready to be seen by the world. Relevant deals include the 50+ deals across stages below. Highlighted deals include: Tia, SpaceX, Marqeta, Bluecore, Statespace, Alamanac, Census, Apeel Sciences, Greyparrot.
I've categorized the deals below into three categories, Care, Future of Work and Sustainability, and ordered from later-stage rounds to early-stage rounds.
Final numbers on LP Liquidity Visibility, PPP Distribution, Unicorn HQs & Fund NAV Change at the bottom. (like the way bottom, like you’ll have to “View Entire Message” bottom)
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Of particular notice, there are less but still a good amount of sub-$10M Seed rounds announced than usual, and relatively few Series A announcements (only 7 deals or ~13% of this batch), most of the funding activity occurs in Seed or post-Series B. The notable absence of Series A may correlate to the hardest hurdle in funding for startups, the Seed to Series A transition, where growth, retention and product-market fit are critical to getting the eyes of competitive funding. Want to dig further? Check out CB Insights VC Funnel data from 2018 or Crunchbase's Seed to Early Stage Trends.
With funding churn for Seed-Series A (52%) amplified by COVID's restriction on opportunities, Crunchbase recently published an update of Global Venture Funding Through the Pandemic. Looking beyond just last week to the entire last 4 months, Seed funding is down 32% and early-stage funding down 26%. But given that Seed has the largest data lag, it is expected to fully recover. And for early-stage funding, there is a bigger pullback as larger Series A and B rounds are announced in news cycles.
Deals
Sources: TS, Pro Rata, FinSMEs, Pitchbook
Care:
- Insitro, a “machine-learning driven” drug discovery startup, raised $143 million in Series B funding. Andreessen Horowitz led, and was joined by T. Rowe Price, BlackRock, Casdin Capital, HOF Capital, WuXi AppTec, and return backers Arch Venture Partners, Foresite Capital, GV, Third Rock Ventures, Two Sigma Ventures, and Alexandria Venture Investments. http://axios.link/uTsG
- AbCellera, a Vancouver-based maker of an antibody discovery engine, raised $105 million in Series B funding. OrbiMed and current investor DCVC Bio led the round, and were joined by investors including Viking Global Investors, Peter Thiel, Founders Fund, Eli Lilly and Company, University of Minnesota, and Presight Capital.
- Ascus Biosciences, a San Diego, Calif.-based deep science animal health and nutrition company, raised $46 million in Series B funding. Temasek led the round, and was joined by investors including Anterra Capital, Formation 8 and Cavallo Ventures.
- Higi, a Chicago-based consumer health engagement company, raised $30 million in Series B funding. Babylon led the round.
- Medwing, a German job matching platform for healthcare workers, raised €28 million ($30 million) in Series B funding. Cathay Innovation led the round and was joined by investors including Northzone, Cherry Ventures, and Atlantic Labs.
- Oncology Analytics, an Atlanta, Ga.-based data analytics platform for oncology, raised $28 million in Series C funding. Baird Capital led the round and joins existing investors Oak HC/FT, McKesson Ventures, and The Blue Venture Fund.
- Tia, a New York-based women’s health startup, raised $24.3 million in Series A funding. Emily Melton, a managing partner at early-stage venture capital firm Threshold Ventures, led the round. Other investors include Define Ventures, ACME and Torch Capital. Read more.
- Bright.md, a Portland, Ore.-based healthcare automation company, raised $16.7 million in Series C funding. B Capital, Seven Peaks Ventures and Concord Health Partners co-led the round.
- Siren, a five-year-old, San Francisco-based company that’s building smart, washable fabric wearables, including to help diabetes sufferers monitor their foot health, has raised $11.8 million in Series B funding. Anathem Ventures led the round, joined by Khosla Ventures, DCM and Founders Fund. TechCrunch has more here.
- Cariloop, a Dallas-based provider of care coaching services, raised $6 million in Series A funding. Patterson Thoma Family Office led the round and was joined by investors including Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Seed Fund, ACAP Health, KCRise Fund, MPK Equity Partners and Patrick McGee.
- Thriva, a London-based provider of at-home blood tests, raised £4 million in new Series A funding. Target Global led, and was joined by Guinness Asset Management and Pembroke VCT. http://axios.link/AGX4
- Stork Club, a San Francisco-based maternity care platform, raised $2.7 million in seed funding from Bowery Capital, Slow Ventures, Arianna Simpson (Partner at Andreessen Horowitz) and Kevin Mahaffey (Co-founder of Lookout).
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Future of Work:
- The valuation of Monday.com, an Israeli productivity startup, jumped to $2.7 billion, per Bloomberg citing sources, following trading in secondary markets. It represents a 42% increase. Read more.
- SpaceX, the spaceflight company, has raised $346 million of a targeted $350 million in funding, per an SEC filing. Read more.
- Marqeta, an Oakland-based card issuing platform, raised $150 million in new funding at a $4.3 billion valuation. Coatue Management led, and was joined by Vitruvian Partners. Existing backers include Visa, Goldman Sachs, 83North, Granite Ventures, and Iconiq Capital. http://axios.link/C4cR
- SmartRent, a Scottsdale, Ariz.-based provider of a smart home automation for property owners, raised $60 million in Series C funding. Spark Capital led the round, and was joined by investors including Fifth Wall, Energy Impact Partners, the Amazon Alexa Fund, Bain Capital Ventures, and RET Ventures.
- Synack, a Redwood City, Calif.-based security testing platform, raised $52 million in Series D funding. B Capital Group and C5 Capital co-led the round and were joined by investors including GGV Capital, GV, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Icon Ventures, Intel Capital, Kleiner Perkins, M12 and Singtel Innov8. Read more.
- Bluecore, a New York-based provider of marketing automation tools, raised $50 million in Series D funding. Georgian Partners led, and was joined by FirstMark Capital and Norwest Venture Partners. http://axios.link/d5H2
- Ecwid, a San Diego, CA-based e-commerce solutions company, raised $42m in funding (read here)
- Luminary, a New York-based podcasting platform, raised around $32 million in Series D funding, per SEC filings. Existing backers include NEA. www.luminarypodcasts.com
- Gatsby, a Berkeley, Calif.-based web development platform provider, raised $28m in Series B round of funding (read here)
- Kentik, a San Francisco-based provider of a network intelligence platform, raised $23.5 million in growth funding. Vistara Capital Partners led the round, and was joined by investors including August Capital, Third Point Ventures, DCVC, and Tahoma Ventures.
- By Miles, a by the mile insurtech company, raised £15 million in Series B funding. CommerzVentures led the round and was joined by investors including Octopus Ventures, Insurtech Gateway and JamJar Investments.
- Attest Technologies, a London-based market research platform, raised $15 million in funding. The round was led by a confidential investor with participation from NEA.
- Fundbox, a San Francisco-based B2B payment and credit network, raised $15 million in extended Series C funding from MUFG Innovation Partners. Fundbox has raised nearly $200 million in Series C total.
- Statespace, a New York-based gamer training platform, raised $15 million in Series A funding. Khosla led the round, and was joined by investors including June Fund, FirstMark Capital, Lux, and Expa. Read more.
- Accern, a New York-based AI startup, raised $13 million in Series A funding. Fusion Fund led the round and was joined by investors including Mighty Capital, Allianz Life Ventures, Vectr Fintech Partners and Viaduct Ventures.
- CaptivateIQ, a sales commission automation company, raised $13 million in Series A funding led by Sequoia.
- Stackin’, a Los Angeles-based text-message based financial platform, raised $12.6 million in Series B funding led by Octopus Ventures.
- Baton, a New York-based company focused on automating and managing software implementation, raised $10 million in funding. Investors include Activant Capital, and Global Founders Capital, and Hybris founder Carsten Thoma.
- Almanac, a San Francisco-based cloud-based platform for open-source docs, raised $9 million in seed funding. Floodgate led the round.
- Tugboat Logic, a Burlingame, Calif.-based provider of a virtual security officer platform, raised $8 million in funding. Inovia Capital led the round.
- Looking Glass Factory, a nearly six-year-old, Brooklyn, N.Y.-based developer of 3D holographic display tech, has raised $7.5 million in new funding, shows a new SEC filing first flagged by Axios. Backers include Foundry Group and Uncork Capital. More here.
- Census, a San Francisco-based company syncs organizations’ data warehouses with apps and tools, raised $4.3 million in seed funding. Andreessen Horowitz led the round and was joined by investors including SV Angel, Adam Gross (ex-CEO of Heroku), Ryan Petersen (CEO of Flexport), Fritz Lanman (CEO of ClassPass), Alex MacCaw (CEO of Clearbit), and Max Mullen (Co-Founder of Instacart).
- Datch, a Los Angeles-based “voice-visual” assistant for industrial use, raised $3.2 million in seed funding. Blue Bear Capital led, and was joined by Stage Venture Partners, Tuhua Ventures, Lorimer Ventures, Predictive Venture Partners, and Plug and Play Ventures. http://axios.link/Prol
- Curu, a Denver, Colo.-based solution for lenders to find leads for loans, raised $3 million in seed funding. Vestigo Ventures led the round, and was joined by investors including Harlem Capital, Matchstick Ventures, Carolina Fintech Ventures, Techstars Ventures, Holt Accelerator, Chingona Ventures, and Upscale Fund.
- Hudl, a Lincoln, Neb.-based provider of sports performance analysis solutions, received a growth investment of undisclosed amount (read here)
- Spectrm, an AI marketing platform, raised $3 million in Series A funding from Runa Capital. Read more.
- Warehouse Exchange, a Los Angeles-based on-demand warehouse platform, raised $2.2 million in seed funding. Investors included Xebec Realty.
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Sustainability:
- Apeel Sciences, a Santa Barbara, Calif.-based company focused on food waste, raised $250 million in funding. GIC led the round, and was joined by investors including Viking Global Investors, Upfront Ventures, Tao Capital Partners and Rock Creek Group. Oprah Winfrey and Katy Perry also joined.
- Platform Science, a La Jolle-based trucking software maker, raised $42 million in Series B funding. Prologis led the round and was joined by investors including Daimler, 8VC, NewRoad Capital Partners, Schematic Ventures, and Cambridge Capital. Read more.
- Dishcraft Robotics, a “cloud dishwashing” service for corporate kitchens and restaurants, raised $20M Series B led by Grit Ventures with First Round Capital, Baseline Ventures, Fuel Capital and Lemnos participating. Read more on TechCrunch.
- Greeneye Technology, a Tel Aviv-based crop protection company, raised $7 million in seed funding. Jerusalem Venture Partners led the round and was joined by investors including Syngenta Ventures, 2B Angels, One Way venture, Panache Ventures Techstars, and Hyperplane Venture Capital.
- BeeHero, a precision pollination service, raised a $4M Seed from Rabo Food & Agri Innovation Fund, UpWest, iAngels, Plug-N-Play, and J Ventures. Read more on TechCrunch.
- Rise Gardens, a 15-year-old, Chicago-based indoor hydroponic gardening system, has raised $2.6 million in seed funding led by True Ventures. TechCrunch has more here.
- Greyparrot, a London-based recycling efficiency startup, raised £1.8 million in seed funding. Speedinvest led, and was joined by Force Over Mass. http://axios.link/80vf
Exits:
- JDE Peet’s, the Europe-based maker of packaged coffees, is set to raise 2.6 billion euros ($2.6 billion) in an IPO in Amsterdam. It has attracted buyers including George Soros’ Quantum Partners. Read more.
- ZoomInfo Technologies, a Vancouver, Wash.-based platform for sales and marketing, plans to raise $757 million in an offering of 44.5 million shares priced between $16 to $18. It posted revenue of $293 million in 2019 and loss of $78 million. TA Associates and Carlyle back the firm. It plans to list on the Nasdaq as “ZI.” Read more.
- Industrious, a New York-based co-working space operator, has begun interviewing banks for an IPO, per Bloomberg. The company has raised around $220 million from firms like Riverwood Capital, Maplewood Partners, Outlook Ventures, Schechter Private Capital, Alrai Capital, Wells Fargo, Fifth Wall, and Brookfield Property Partners. http://axios.link/ymGg
- The U.S. division of bakery chain Le Pain Quotidien filed for bankruptcy protection and plans to sell its business for $3 million to fast-casual restaurant operator Aurify Brands. Read more.
- Colony Capital hired Moelis & Co. to explore options for its hotel holdings, per Bloomberg. http://axios.link/GuJR
Acquisitions:
- AddSecure agreed to acquire Connexas Group, a vehicle fleet management solution, from Horizon Capital. Financial terms weren't disclosed.
Funds
- Lime Rock New Energy, a Connecticut-based growth equity firm focused on renewable energy tech, is raising $600 million for its debut fund, per an SEC filing. www.lrnewenergy.com
- Alexia Ventures, a new Brazilian early-stage VC firm, is raising up to $80 million for its debut fund, per SEC filings.
- Wedbush Ventures, a Santa Monica, Calif.-based early stage venture firm, has launched to invest in next generation industry defining companies (read here)
- Aquiline Capital Partners closed its fourth private equity fund with over $2 billion in commitments.
- Basis Vectors, which plans to acquire vertically-focused B2B Software as a Service companies, launched with a $50 million fund. Cianna Capital leads the fund.
- Race Capital, a San Francisco based early stage venture fund run by BEA systems, is raising capital. The fund is seeking to raise $125 to $150 million, per a source.
- Natalie Hwang, the former head of Simon Property Group Inc.’s venture capital arm, launched a new firm and is seeking $200 million for a debut fund. Read more.
Final Numbers
Source: Eaton Partners survey of 71 limited partners in alternative investment funds, taken between 5/13/20-5/19/20.
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Final Numbers
Data: U.S. Small Business Administration; Chart: Naema Ahmed/AxiosICYMI: Axios deep dive on U.S. small businessToday: Axios live virtual event on state of small biz
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Final Numbers: Where are the Unicorns Headquartered? TT @ Redpoint
"I pulled the unicorn valuation list and analyzed US startups by state. 63% of current unicorns, startup companies valued at $1B or more, are headquartered in California."
79% of unicorn market capitalization accrues to startups headquartered in California. (Unicorn market cap is the last known valuation of the companies).
If recent history has taught us anything, it’s that valuations can change on a dime. Barring some sudden shift, these data suggest California’s share of significant exit events should at least sustain current levels; and an optimist could argue, further concentrate in California.
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Final Numbers: Expected change in fund NAV from 12/19 to 3/20
Source: Duff & Phelps survey of alternative investment managers