Jun 21, 2024
Venture Capital
CesiumAstro, a seven-year-old Austin-based startup specializing in advanced communication systems for aerospace applications, including satellites and unmanned aerial vehicles, secured a $65 million Series B+ round. The round was led by Trousdale Ventures, with participation from the Development Bank of Japan, Quanta Computer, Kleiner Perkins, Lavrock Ventures, L3Harris Technologies, InMotion Ventures, Matter Venture Partners, MESH Ventures, and Assembly Ventures.
Daydream, a one-year-old San Francisco startup founded by former StitchFix and The Yes executive Julie Bornstein, is building an e-commerce search engine to enhance online shopping experiences with personalized and efficient product searches. The company raised a $50 million seed round co-led by Forerunner Ventures and Index Ventures, with additional contributions from GV and True Ventures.
HeyGen, a four-year-old Los Angeles startup that allows users to generate videos using AI-created avatars capable of lip-syncing to provided audio, making video content creation easier for businesses, raised $60 million at a $500 million post-money valuation. The round was led by Benchmark, with participation from Conviction, Thrive Capital, and Bond Capital. The company has raised a total of $74 million to date.
Insightec, a 25-year-old Israeli company developing non-invasive medical devices using focused ultrasound technology to treat conditions such as essential tremor and Parkinson’s disease, raised $150 million at a $375 million valuation. The round was co-led by Fidelity, Nexus Neurotech Ventures, and Ally Bridge Group, with participation from Baillie Gifford, Catalio Capital Management, Fayez Sarofim, and Gilmartin Capital. The Koch family, which owns a 40% stake in the company, did not participate.
Poolside, a Paris-based startup building a platform that enables developers to write code using AI, is raising over $400 million at a $2 billion post-money valuation. Bain Capital Ventures and DST are rumored to be the potential leads for the round.
Revolut, a nine-year-old London fintech company backed by SoftBank, which offers international money transfers, currency exchange, budgeting tools, cryptocurrency trading, and stock trading, is planning to sell $500 million of existing shares at a valuation exceeding $40 billion.
Semperis, a nine-year-old Hoboken, NJ-based startup that provides cybersecurity software focused on protecting and managing Active Directory environments, raised $125 million in equity and debt from J.P. Morgan and Hercules Capital.
Vecna Robotics, a six-year-old Waltham, MA-based startup that develops autonomous mobile robots and software to optimize warehouse and distribution center operations, raised a $100 million Series C round. The round was led by Tiger Global Management, with participation from Proficio Capital Partners and IMPULSE.
Zepto, a three-year-old Mumbai-based startup that has raised $665 million in a new funding round, more than doubling its valuation to $3.6 billion from $1.4 billion in less than a year. The highly oversubscribed Series F round was co-led by Glade Brook, Nexus, and StepStone Group, with participation from Avenir, Lightspeed, Avra (former YC Continuity exec Anu Hariharan’s new fund), and existing backers Goodwater, Lachy Groom, and Contrary.
Amplify Life Insurance, a five-year-old San Francisco startup providing a digital platform for tax-efficient life insurance policies, raised a $20 million Series B round. Crosslink Capital and Anthemis co-led the round, with participation from Moneta Ventures, Evolution Ventures, and previous investors Greycroft, Munich Re Ventures, and Foxe Capital.
C12, a four-year-old Paris-based startup focused on developing quantum computers using carbon nanotube technology for more efficient quantum processing units, raised $19.4 million. Investors included Varsity Capital, EIC Fund, Verve Ventures, and previous investors 360 Capital, Bpifrance, and BNP Paribas Développement.
Decagon AI, a San Francisco startup developing AI-powered customer service agents for human-like interactions to improve customer support, raised a total of $35 million. The seed round was led by Andreessen Horowitz, and the Series A round was led by Accel, with participation from A* and Elad Gil.
GrayMatter, a four-year-old Gardena, CA-based startup developing AI-powered robotic systems for automating surface treatment tasks such as sanding, grinding, and polishing, raised a $45 million Series B round led by Wellington Management, with participation from NGP Capital, Euclidean Capital, Advance Venture Partners, SQN Venture Partners, 3M Ventures, B Capital, Bow Capital, Calibrate Ventures, OCA Ventures, and Swift Ventures.
Gynger, a three-year-old New York startup providing a “buy now, pay later” service for startups to finance their technology purchases, raised a $20 million Series A round led by PayPal Ventures, with participation from Gradient Ventures, Velvet Sea Ventures, BAG Ventures, and Deciens Capital. The company has raised a total of $31.7 million.
Hero, a Paris-based startup providing a payment and financing platform to help businesses manage their cash flow with flexible payment terms and financing options, raised a $12.2 million round led by Valar Ventures.
Humata Health, a Winter Park, FL-based startup using AI and automation to streamline the prior authorization process in healthcare, raised a $25 million round co-led by Blue Venture Fund and LRVHealth, with participation from Optum Ventures, .406 Ventures, Highmark Ventures, and VentureforGood.
PointFive, an Israeli startup providing AI-powered tools to help companies continuously optimize their cloud costs, raised a $16 million seed round led by Index Ventures, with participation from Entree Capital, Sheva Capital, and Vesey Ventures.
Pomelo Care, a three-year-old New York startup providing a virtual maternity care platform to support women throughout pregnancy and the postpartum period with telehealth services, raised a $46 million Series B round co-led by Andreessen Horowitz and First Round Capital, with participation from Stripes, BoxGroup, Operator Partners, and SV Angel.
PQShield, a six-year-old Oxford, UK-based startup developing cryptographic hardware and software to protect data against future quantum computer threats, raised a $37 million Series B round led by previous investor Addition, with participation from Chevron Technology Ventures, Legal & General, and Braavos Capital, as well as prior backer Oxford Science Enterprises.
Qblox, a five-year-old Dutch startup developing control systems for quantum computers, raised a $26 million Series A round co-led by Quantonation and Invest-NL Deep Tech, with participation from QDNL and the European Innovation Council.
Ramify, a four-year-old Paris-based startup offering an online platform for personalized investment strategies, financial advice, and portfolio management services, raised an $11.8 million Series A round led by 13books Capital, with participation from Fidelity International Strategic Ventures and previous investors Crédit Agricole, Newfund, and AG2R.
Speak, a five-year-old AI-powered language learning app, raised $20 million in a Series B extension round led by Buckley Ventures, with participation from the OpenAI Startup Fund, Khosla Ventures, Y Combinator co-founder Paul Graham, and LinkedIn executive chairman Jeff Weiner.
Zencity, a nine-year-old New York startup helping local governments understand and respond to their communities’ needs by analyzing feedback from various sources such as social media, surveys, and other online platforms, raised a $40 million Series C round led by StepStone Group, with participation from previous investor TLV Partners. The company has raised a total of $91 million.
Aikido Technologies, a two-year-old San Francisco startup developing floating wind turbines for generating renewable energy offshore, raised a $4 million seed round led by Azolla Ventures, with participation from Propeller Ventures, Sabanci Climate Ventures, Cisco Foundation, and Anthropocene Ventures.
Bisly, a six-year-old Tallinn-based startup developing smart systems for controlling lighting, heating, and security in commercial and residential buildings to optimize energy use and enhance operational efficiency, raised a $6.7 million Series A round. Investors included Aconterra, SmartCap Green Fund, Pinorena Capital, and Foxway founders Urvo Männama and Paul Padrik.
Forward Earth, a Berlin-based startup focused on simplifying the reporting of various types of environmental data, including carbon data, raised a $2.1 million round led by Speedinvest, with participation from Revent and Lucid Capital. The company also secured $1.3 million from the European Union.
Tandem Health, a Swedish startup founded less than a year ago, develops AI-powered software to assist healthcare providers by automatically generating medical notes from patient interactions. The company raised a $9.5 million seed round led by Northzone, with participation from Amino Collective.
Wordsmith, an Edinburgh-based startup founded in October of last year, provides AI-powered legal assistance tools designed to act as paralegals for employees, helping with legal tasks and document management. The company raised a $5 million seed round co-led by Index Ventures and General Catalyst.
Private Equity
US casino operator Boyd Gaming has expressed interest in taking over its peer, Penn Entertainment, which has a market value of approximately $9 billion, including debt.
UAE renewable energy company Masdar plans to acquire an initial 67% stake in Greece’s Terna Energy at an equity value of about $2.6 billion, with intentions to purchase the remaining shares.
Honeywell has agreed to acquire aerospace and defense technology firm CAES Systems from Advent International for $1.9 billion in an all-cash deal.
UK food supplier Tate & Lyle has agreed to acquire US-based CP Kelco in a transaction valued at $1.8 billion.
BP has agreed to buy out grain trader Bunge’s 50% stake in their Brazilian sugar and ethanol joint venture, BP Bunge Bioenergia, for $1.4 billion.
Private equity firm Apax Partners is considering the sale of Italian IT services firm Lutech for approximately $1.1 billion.
Carlyle has agreed to acquire Energean’s assets in Egypt, Italy, and Croatia for up to $945 million, forming a new Mediterranean-focused oil and gas venture.
State-owned power company China Three Gorges is considering a bid for Brookfield-owned Spanish clean-energy producer Saeta Yield.
European fintech giant Revolut is seeking to sell $500 million worth of existing shares at a valuation of up to $40 billion.
UK supermarket giant Sainsbury’s has agreed to pay UK financial services company NatWest $159 million to offload its banking business.
AB CarVal Investors and Caius Capital, two top investors in Bank of Cyprus, are exploring the sale of their combined 15% stake in the bank.
Everton FC has entered exclusive sale talks with the US-based Friedkin Group.
IPO
Australia-based Mexican fast-food chain Guzman y Gomez saw a 36% increase in its trading debut following its upsized $223 million IPO on the Sydney Stock Exchange.
Investing app Acorns is considering an initial public offering (IPO) within the next few years.
New Funds
Investment firm Aquarian Holdings raised approximately $1.5 billion from SWF Mubadala Capital and other investors to deploy capital across private credit, insurance, real estate, and other sectors.
Charlesbank Capital Partners closed its second technology fund at $1.3 billion.