14 Companies Raise Over $1.14B, Investors Raise Nearly $15B for New Funds, and $2.8B in M&A
October 4, 2023's biggest news in the private markets.
Anduril Industries, the defense technology startup founded by serial entrepreneur Palmer Luckey, is reportedly in talks to raise $400 million to $500 million in funding from investors in a deal that could take the form of a convertible note, according to Bloomberg, which says the six-year-old outfit is seeking a valuation of roughly $10 billion.
Electric Hydrogen, a three-year-old startup based in Natick, Ma., that is developing electrolyzer technologies to enable clean hydrogen to replace fossil fuels, raised a $380 million Series C round at a $1 billion valuation. The deal was led by Fortescue, Fifth Wall, and Energy Impact Partners, with BP Ventures, Oman Investment Authority, Temasek, Microsoft's Climate Innovation Fund, and the United Airlines Sustainable Flight Fund also contributing. The company has raised over $600 million.
Stampli, an eight-year-old startup based in Tel Aviv and Mountain View, Ca., that uses AI to automate accounts payable processes for its clients, raised a $61 million Series D round led by Blackstone, with previous investors Insight Partners, SignalFire, and Bloomberg Beta also contributing. The company has raised a total of $148 million.
Amperon, a six-year-old Houston startup that provides analytics to help clients optimize their energy use and minimize their carbon footprint, raised a $20 million Series B round led by Energize Capital, with D.E. Shaw, Veriten, Ørsted, and previous investor HSBC Asset Management also stepping up. The company has raised a total of $30 million.
Automata, an eight-year-old London startup that has developed hardware and software to run lab workflows from the cloud, raised a $40 million round led by Dimension, with Octopus Ventures, Hummingbird, Isomer Capital, Possible Ventures, Aldea Ventures, and A.P. Moller Holding also taking part. The company has raised a total of $97 million.
Frec, a two-year-old San Francisco startup whose direct-indexing platform helps high-net-worth individuals to invest across different asset classes without the need for a financial advisor, raised $26.4 million in seed and Series A funding. Greylock was the lead, while Social Leverage also anted up.
Kafene, a four-year-old New York startup that provides point-of-sale financing for purchases of furniture, appliances, electronics, tires, and other goods, raised a $12.6 million Series B extension round, increasing the total size of the round to $30.8 million. Third Prime was the deal lead.
Pulumi, a six-year-old Seattle startup whose tools make it easier for teams to use code to provision and manage cloud infrastructure, raised a $41 million Series C round led by Madrona, with additional participation from NEA, Tola Capital, and Strike Capital. The company has raised a total of $99 million.
Reserv, a startup based in Weston, Ct., that says it uses AI to help insurance agents and insurance companies with claims processing, raised a $20 million Series A round. Altai Ventures and Bain Capital Ventures co-led the transaction.
Stitch, a four-year-old Cape Town startup that provides payment services primarily for enterprise businesses in South Africa, raised a $25 million Series A extension round, increasing the total size of the round to $46 million. The deal was led by Ribbit Capital and included previous investors PayPal Ventures, CRE Ventures, and The Raba Partnership. The company has raised a total of $52 million.
Creednz, a three-year-old Israeli startup whose platform protects corporate finance departments against payment fraud, raised a $7 million round led by Blumberg Capital, with Elron Ventures and Moneta VC also pitching in.
Induced AI, a months-old, Mumbai-based AI-based native browser robotic process automation platform that says it lets users combine browsing and web tools to automate enterprise workflows of all kinds, has raised $2.3 million in seed funding. Sam Altman, Peak XV, and Daniel Gross and Nat Friedman’s AI Grant are among backers of the startup, whose two founders are teenagers.
Muir AI, a one-year-old Seattle startup that is using AI to reduce emissions within its clients' supply chains, raised a $3.25 million seed round led by Base10 Partners, with previous investors Madrona Venture Labs and Soma Capital also investing.
Qobra, a three-year-old Paris startup whose platform helps businesses manage sales compensation, raised a $10.5 million Series A funding round led by Singular, with additional funds provided by Revenue Syndicate and previous investor Breega.
Skype founder Niklas Zennström's Atomico has raised $1.1 billion across its new venture and growth funds, just short of its $1.35 billion goal. The firm, whose hits include Klarna, now boasts $5 billion under management.
Greylock Partners yesterday unveiled a $1 billion early-stage fund — its 17th — and Greylock Edge, a three-month program to "support founders developing ideas into companies with early revenue and product market fit."
Krafton India has launched a gaming incubator in the South Asian nation as it seeks to expand the local ecosystem and support the domestic talent looking to enter the fast-growing gaming market. Called Krafton India Gaming Incubator, the program aims to support six to 10 teams annually, with the total duration ranging from six months to a year. Selected participants will get guidance, mentorship, access to Krafton’s resources and financial support, typically between $50,000 and $150,000, depending on their needs, the company said today.
Energy transition Infrastructure investment specialist Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners raised $749M for its Quinbrook Renewables Impact Fund, substantially exceeding its $604M target.
French VC HCVC closed its Fund II at $75M to back pre-seed and seed companies in North America and Europe.
Brookfield Asset Management raised $12B for its largest-ever PE fund, BCP VI.
PNC Financial Services' banking unit acquired a portfolio of capital commitments from Signature Bridge Bank worth $16.6B in an agreement with the FDIC as receiver.
Billionaire Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting expanded its stake in lithium miner Albemarle’s $4.2B acquisition target Liontown Resources and now owns 14.67% of the lithium producer Liontown; Rineheart needs a 15% stake to block the deal.
PE firms Blackstone, EQT and THL Partners are competing against large US industrial automation firms to acquire German power electronics firm EA Elektro-Automatik, which could be valued at $1.5B-$2B, including debt.
Eli Lilly will acquire Point Biopharma Global for $1.4B, gaining access to targeted cancer therapies.
BP is exploring a $1B, 49% stake sale in its US oil and gas pipeline network.
Brookfield Asset Management will acquire the renewables division of the Banks Group, an operator of UK onshore wind farms, in a deal worth ~$1B.
Asset manager Rithm Capital will acquire Australian share registry company Computershare’s US mortgage services arm for $720M.
BlackRock is in position to acquire a minority stake in a $628M gas grid unit of Italian multi-utility Iren.
PE firm Vista Equity Partners acquired a $250M majority stake in enterprise software provider TRG Screen.
Krispy Kreme is exploring options for its Insomnia Cookies unit, including a potential sale.
French technology company Vantiva will buy US network infrastructure provider CommScope's Home Networks division in exchange for a 25% stake in Vantiva.
Novartis is considering selling part of radiopharmaceuticals company Advanced Accelerator Applications.