Jun 6, 2024
Venture Capital
Vilya, a two-year-old startup from Seattle focused on leveraging machine learning and AI to develop macrocyclic drugs, has secured $71 million in Series A funding. ARCH Venture Partners led the round, with contributions from NVentures, Menlo Ventures, Madrona, Lifeforce Capital, and Altitude Life Science Ventures.
Nium, an eight-year-old startup based in San Francisco providing global payment services for businesses, raised $50 million at a valuation of $1.4 billion, which is 30% lower than its previous valuation. The round was led by an undisclosed Southeast Asian sovereign wealth fund, with participation from BOND, NewView Capital, and Tribe Capital.
Eko Health, an 11-year-old company in San Francisco that develops digital stethoscopes and AI-powered software to enhance the detection of heart and lung diseases, raised $41 million in a Series D round. Artis Ventures, Highland Capital Partners, NTTVC, and Questa Capital participated in the funding.
Fhenix, a Tel Aviv startup founded just a year ago, raised $15 million in Series A funding to advance its technology that allows encrypted data to be processed without decryption, enhancing privacy and security for blockchain applications. Hack VC led the round, with participation from Dao5, Amber Group, Primitive Ventures, GSR, Collider Ventures, and Stake Capital. The company has raised a total of $22 million.
M^0, a startup that has developed a stablecoin protocol backed by a diversified basket of assets to maintain its value, raised $35 million in Series A funding. Bain Capital Crypto led the round, with Galaxy Ventures, Wintermute Ventures, GSR, Caladan, and SCB 10X also investing. The company’s total funding now stands at $57.5 million.
Neural Concept, a six-year-old startup from Lausanne, Switzerland, developing AI-driven software for 3D product design for industries like automotive, aerospace, and energy, raised $27 million. The round was led by Forestay Capital, with participation from D.E. Shaw and existing investors Alven, CNB Capital, HTGF, and Aster Group.
Plancraft, a four-year-old Hamburg startup providing software for craftsmen and the construction industry to digitize task management and reduce administrative work, raised $13 million in Series A funding led by Creandum.
re, a three-year-old Berlin startup offering financing options and automated cash flow monitoring tools for SaaS businesses and service companies, raised $14.6 million in Series A funding. Entrée Capital led the round, with contributions from previous investors Felix Capital and Project A.
Stacklet, a four-year-old Arlington, VA startup that automates cloud cost management, compliance, and security policies, raised $14.5 million in a Series B round led by SineWave Ventures. Other investors included Strait Capital, Uncorrelated Ventures, Capital One Ventures, Foundation Capital, and Relentless VC, bringing the company’s total funding to $36.5 million.
Understory, a 12-year-old company based in Madison, WI, specializing in climate-focused insurance for industries vulnerable to severe weather, raised $15 million in Series A funding co-led by True Ventures and Prelude Ventures.
Windborne, a nine-year-old startup designing and operating atmospheric sensing balloons equipped with AI to improve weather forecasting, raised $15 million in Series A funding led by Khosla Ventures, with previous investors Footwork VC, Pear VC, and Convective Capital also participating. The company has raised a total of $25 million.
Alinia AI, a Barcelona startup founded just a year ago to ensure generative AI deployments adhere to company policies and regulatory requirements, raised $2.4 million in a pre-seed round co-led by Speedinvest and Precursor, with additional investment from KFund.
Aperture Finance, a three-year-old Mountain View, CA startup enabling crypto holders to create and manage financial strategies using a chat-based interface, raised $6.7 million in Series A funding at a $250 million valuation. The round was co-led by Skyland Ventures, Blockchain Founders Fund, and Krypital Group, with participation from Alchemy, SNZ, Stratified Capital, Tide, Cipholio, ViaBTC, CatcherVC, and Double Peak.
Axena Health, a one-year-old Newton, MA startup developing medical devices for treating female pelvic health issues, raised $9.4 million in Series A funding. The round included investments from Cross-Border Impact Ventures and previous investors AXA IM Alts, KOFA Healthcare, and Avestria Ventures.
Everclear, a San Francisco startup facilitating global liquidity settlement across different blockchain platforms, raised $5 million in a round led by Pantera Capital.
Field Materials, a two-year-old Palo Alto startup offering AI-powered software for managing procurement in the construction industry, raised $8.15 million in a seed round co-led by DivcoWest Ventures, Navitas Capital, Zelda Ventures, and Flyer One Ventures, with contributions from existing investors Blumberg Capital, s16vc, and Zacua Ventures.
Forge, a one-year-old Seattle startup developing a platform to help companies procure computer hardware and electronic components, raised $2.1 million in a seed round led by Gradient Ventures, with participation from Y Combinator.
HypeSpectral, a two-year-old Cambridge, MA startup providing real-time intelligence on product safety for agricultural and medical technology companies, raised $8.5 million in Series A funding co-led by RRE Ventures and Kibo Ventures, with additional participation from Correlation Ventures and GC&H Investments.
Inventive, a two-year-old San Francisco startup creating AI-powered embedded software for SaaS products to handle customer data requests and integrate AI-driven insights, raised $6.5 million in a seed round led by Wing VC, with Tokyo Black also participating.
Liminal, a one-year-old Denver startup providing security and privacy tools for enterprises using generative AI, raised $5 million in a seed round led by Fin Capital, with investments from High Alpha, Matchstick Ventures, and Craft Ventures.
Raydiant Oximetry, an eight-year-old San Ramon, CA startup developing noninvasive sensor technology to improve maternal and fetal health during childbirth, raised $7.5 million in a Series A3 extension led by Cross-Border Impact Ventures, with participation from RH Capital, Global Health Impact Fund, VCapital, and the March of Dimes Innovation Fund.
Realm, a Helsinki startup offering an AI-powered knowledge search platform for workplaces, raised $1.8 million in a round led by Lifeline Ventures.
Spike, a two-year-old Lithuanian startup helping healthcare organizations manage and analyze vast amounts of health data using generative AI, raised $3.5 million in a seed round co-led by Practica Capital and TheVentureCity, with additional investment from CEAS Investments, Plug & Play Ventures, Geek Ventures, and Axel Springer Porsche.
Tobiko Data, a San Mateo, CA startup enabling developers to transform, test, and observe data pipelines, raised $17.3 million in Series A funding led by Theory Ventures, with participation from 20Sales. The company’s total funding now stands at $21.8 million.
Zingly, a three-year-old San Francisco startup developing customer service chatbots leveraging generative AI, raised $10 million in a seed round with investments from Dell Technologies Capital, WestWave Capital, Scribble Ventures, Formus Capital, Geekdom Fund, Array Ventures, Firebolt Ventures, and Burst Capital.
Private Equity
Clearlake Capital, a private equity firm, is exploring the sale of Confluence Technologies, a financial SaaS and data management company, valued at over $3 billion including debt.
Glencore is considering selling its approximately 70% stake in the Kazakh mining company Kazzinc, a deal that could be valued at several billion dollars.
The UK's John Wood Group has entered discussions with Dubai-based engineering firm Sidara following Sidara's final $2.03 billion takeover offer.
SAP will acquire the Israeli SaaS company WalkMe in a $1.5 billion cash transaction.
Private capital database provider Preqin is exploring a sale that could fetch at least $1.3 billion.
Authentic Brands will acquire Champion, the sportswear business of HanesBrands, in a $1.2 billion deal.
The FTC lost a bid to block Novant Health’s $320 million acquisition of two hospitals in North Carolina from Community Health Systems.
Discount retailer Dollar Tree is considering a potential sale or spinoff of its struggling Family Dollar business.
IPO
Softbank-backed genetics-testing firm Tempus AI is aiming for a $6.1 billion valuation in its upcoming US IPO.
Indian aluminum producer Novelis has postponed its plans for a $945 million US IPO.
Shares of Saudi health-care group Dr. Soliman Abdel Kader Fakeeh Hospital rose 9.9% in their trading debut following its $763 million IPO, the largest in Riyadh year-to-date.
Perfume retailer Arabian Oud has hired Emirates NBD Capital and SNB Capital to manage its IPO in Saudi Arabia.
New Funds
New York-based StepStone Group has successfully closed a $3.3 billion fund aimed at acquiring stakes in existing venture capital funds from pensions, sovereign wealth investors, family offices, and high-net-worth individuals, according to a report from the Financial Times this morning. This new fund exceeds StepStone Group's previous venture fund by more than 25%, making it the largest in the industry to date.