23 Companies Raise Over $570M, VC's Raise $150M, & Salesforce Acquires Airkit.ai
September 22, 2023's biggest news in the private markets.
CMR Surgical, a nine-year-old startup based in Cambridge, UK, that sells robotics systems to hospitals which help surgeons perform operations to treat cancer and bowel disease, raised a $165 million round at the same $3 billion valuation as its last round of $600 million in 2021. Backers include previous investors SoftBank, Tencent, Ally Bridge Group, Cambridge Innovation Capital, Escala Capital, LGT, Lightrock, RPMI Railpen, and Watrium.
Curve, an eight-year-old London startup whose app connects a consumer's existing credit and debit cards, raised a $71.3 million Series C extension round. Backers include previous investors Britannia, IDC Ventures, Cercano Management, Cohen Circle, and Outward VC.
Openly, a two-year-old Boston startup that distributes home insurance products exclusively through independent agents, raised a $100 million Series D round led by Eden Global Partners, with Gradient Ventures, Clocktower Technology Ventures, and Trinity Capital also participating. The company has raised a total of $238 million.
Bolttech, a three-year-old Singapore startup backed by Hong Kong billionaire Richard Li that operates as a digital insurance exchange, allowing businesses to purchase insurance coverage for their customers for products ranging from health to gadgets, raised $50 million in additional Series B funds, increasing the total size of the round to $246 million. LeapFrog Investments, a Temasek-backed private equity firm, was the deal lead. The company hjas raised a total of $493 million.
Diligent, an Austin-based maker of hospital service robots, is announcing a $25 million raise led by Canaan. True Ventures, DNX Ventures, Next Coast and Northwestern Medicine Innovation also joined the round.
Fuze, an Abu Dhabi startup founded in December that seeks to enable banks, fintechs, and enterprises to offer regulated digital assets products to customers through native apps, raised a $14 million seed round led by Further Ventures, with Liberty City Ventures also taking part.
KYP.ai, a five-year-old startup based in Cologne, Germany, that claims to use generative AI to improve office productivity, raised an $18.6 million Series A round led by OTB Ventures, with previous investors 42CAP and Tola Capital also pitching in.
Mesh, a three-year-old San Francisco startup that is developing a service to help customers transfer and manage digital assets like crypto, raised a $22 million Series A round led by Money Forward, with additional participation from Galaxy, Samsung Next, Streamlined Ventures, SNR.VC, Hike VC, Heitner Group, Valon Capital, Florida Funders, Altair Capital, and Network VC. The company has raised a total of $36 million.
Vivante Health, a seven-year-old Chicago startup that provides a platform for patients with chronic gut conditions to consult with experts, raised a $31 million Series B round led by Mercato Ventures, with Health Catalyst Capital and previous investors 7wireVentures, Intermountain Ventures, Distributed Ventures, Human Capital, and SemperVirens also joining in.
Authentic, a one-year-old New York startup that helps its clients establish captive insurance programs, raised a $5.5 million seed round led by Slow Ventures, with additional funds supplied by Altai Ventures, MGV, Upper90, Clocktower, Commerce Ventures, Mischief Ventures, and Core Innovation Capital.
CoinScan, a crypto startup that offers traders free analytics, charting, and safety features, raised a $6.3 million round from DraftKings’ top shareholder Shalom MecKenzie and Playtech CEO Mor Weize.
Estate Media, a one-year-old Los Angeles startup co-founded by Million Dollar Listing's Josh Flagg that intends to produce a digital series and podcasts about the real estate industry, raised a $1.65 million round led by Adam Weitsman, the billionaire CEO of Upstate Shredding.
Flash.co, an Indian startup that has created a shopping email ID that allows power shoppers to accumulate coupons and apply them regardless of the apps they use, raised a $6.7 million pre-Series A round. Blume Ventures and PeerCapital co-led the deal, with additional capital provided by previous investors White Venture Capital and Emphasis Ventures. The company has raided a total of $12.5 million.
HealNow, a five-year-old New York startup whose payment platform enables patients to schedule delivery or curbside pickup of over-the-counter items and pay for prescriptions online, raised a $5.5 million seed round led by Bonfire Ventures, with Walkabout Ventures, Remarkable Ventures, Alabama Futures Fund, and Impulsum Ventures also stepping up.
Kayhan Space, a four-year-old Boulder startup that is developing space traffic management software, raised a $7 million seed extension co-led by EVE Atlas and Space Capital and including Initialized Capital, Overline Ventures, and Alumni Ventures.
LawVu, an eight-year-old New Zealand startup that helps in-house lawyers track their legal spend and workload, raised an $8.9 million round. Movac was the deal lead. The company has raised a total of $32.6 million.
Medeloop, a two-year-old Palo Alto startup that says it uses AI to simplify grant applications, data collection, harmonization, biomarker and trend identification, and manuscript submissions, raised an $8 million seed round led by General Catalyst, with Maven Ventures, the Ovo Fund, and NV Investments also chipping in.
Openvolt, a Dublin startup founded this year that has developed an API to make smart meter data more accessible for companies and landlords interested in reducing their carbon footprint, raised a $1.6 million pre-seed round led by Cavalry Ventures, with Ãœbermorgen Ventures also participating.
qbiq, a five-year-old Tel Aviv startup that uses generative AI to create space plans and 3D virtual tours, raised a $10 million seed round led by JLL Spark Global Ventures, with 10D, Ocean Azul, Randomforest, and M-FUND also anteing up.
Spectarium, a Finnish startup that is developing a cross-platform action RPG, raised a $5.3 million seed round led by BITKRAFT Ventures and including Delphi Digital and Framework Ventures.
Vero Technologies, a three-year-old New York startup that has developed a platform to help banks offer wholesale financing, raised a $8.5 million Series A round led by BankTech Ventures, with Sopra Steria Ventures, Arcadia Funds, Antler Global, AAF, and the Independent Community Bankers Association also investing.
The Brazilian pharmaceutical company Eurofarma this week announced the launching of Eurofarma Ventures, a corporate venture capital arm that will invest up to $100 million in biotech startups.
Trailhead Capital, a Boulder, Co.-based venture firm that invests in early-stage startups whose tech helps expand regenerative agriculture practices and products, has closed its inaugural fund with approximately $50 million in capital commitments, according to the Rockefeller Foundation, which is among its backers.
Salesforce has announced plans to acquire Airkit.ai, a low-code platform that helps e-commerce companies build AI-powered customer service agents. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Founded in 2017, Redwood City, Ca.-based Airkit was created by Adam Evans and Stephen Ehikian, who sold a previous big data startup called RelateIQ to Salesforce for $390 million in 2014.