23 Companies Raise Over $820M, PGA For Sale, & New Gamestop CEO
September 29, 2023's biggest news in the private markets.
AlphaSense, a 15-year-old New York company that uses AI to collect market intelligence for clients such as Google and Microsoft, and J.P. Morgan, raised a $150 million Series E round at a $2.5 billion valuation, a 39% increase in valuation from the $100 million Series D extension round just five months ago. The deal lead was Bond, with additional participation from CapitalG, Viking Global, BAM Elevate, and Goldman Sachs.
Character.AI, a two-year-old startup based in Menlo Park, Ca., that develops chatbots that impersonate people or things, is reportedly in the market to raise "hundreds of millions of dollars" at a $5+ billion valuation, a 5x valuation jump from its last round.
Harbinger Health, a five-year-old startup based in Cambridge, Ma., that is developing a suite of liquid biopsy tests to detect cancer, raised a $140 million Series B round from Flagship Pioneering (which incubated the company), Pictet, Partners Investment, and Catalyst.
Nord Security, an 11-year-old company based in Vilnius, Lithuania, that operates a VPN service, password manager, and cloud storage service, raised a $100 million round at a $3 billion valuation, nearly double its assigned value of $1.6 billion when it raised a $100 million infusion last year. Warburg Pincus led the transaction.
Transfr, a startup creating VR tools for training and career development, today announced that it raised $40 million in a Series C round led by ABS Capital with participation from JPMorgan Chase Impact Finance, Advisory, Lumos Capital Group, Akkadian Ventures, Spring Tide Capital, Firework Ventures and Album. The round brings Transfr’s total raised to $90 million.
Apron, a one-year-old London startup that helps small business owners sort, pay, and reconcile invoices, raised a $15 million Series A round led by Index Ventures, with Bessemer Venture Partners and Visionaries Club also anteing up.
Atlas Materials, a two-year-old London startup that enables the processing of low-grade nickel for use in electric vehicle batteries, raised a $27 million Series A round. Investors included Grantham Environmental Trust and Voyager Ventures. The company has raised a total of $33 million.
Canvs AI, an eight-year-old New York startup that uses AI to analyze customer surveys and social media and online comments for brands like CVS, Disney, and Netflix, raised a $15 million round led by Fulcrum Equity Partners and including Engage.
League One Volleyball, a three-year-old Los Angeles startup that is launching a professional volleyball league, raised a $35 million Series B round led by Left Lane Capital, with additional funds provided by Ares Management Funds, as well as skier Lindsey Vonn, comedian Amy Schumer, and NBA star Jason Tatum. The company has raised a total of $57.1 million.
Midi Health, a two-year-old startup based in Los Altos, Ca., that has built a virtual clinic delivering insurance-covered care for women experiencing perimenopause and menopause, raised a $25 million Series A round led by GV, with previous investors Felicis, Semper Virens, Icon, 25M, and Operator Collective also taking part. The company has raised a total of $40 million.
PortX, a one-year-old startup based on Mercer Island, Wa., that sells embedded banking-as-a-service to community banks, credit unions, and fintech companies, raised a $16.5 million Series B round co-led by FUSE and Curql, with BankTech Ventures, EJF Capital, and the Btech Consortium also pitching in. The company has raised a total of $26.5 million.
TravelLocal.com, a UK startup that develops sustainable travel itineraries with the help of local experts, raised a $10.3 million Series B round led by Puma Private Equity, with participation from existing investors Active Partners and Gresham House Ventures.
Aug X Labs, a one-year-old New York startup that uses AI to create videos from content such as prompts, scripts, narrations, or recordings, raised a $3.1 million round led by Unlock Venture Partners, with Dropbox Ventures, Flying Fish Ventures, and Hyde Park Venture Partners also joining in.
Boisson, a two-year-old New York startup that makes non-alcoholic beverages, raised a $5 million round. Convivialité Ventures and Connect Ventures co-led the deal.
Breezit, a Los Angeles startup that plans to use AI to help engaged couples plan their weddings, raised a $2 million pre-seed round led by Practica Capital led the round.
Cognota, a seven-year-old Toronto startup that makes corporate training software for clients such as General Mills, Americo, EY, and Comerica Bank, raised a $5.5 million Series A round led by Grotech Ventures, with IDEA Fund Partners, BDC Capital, Generation Ventures, CEAS Investments, and Tyton Partners also piling on. The company has raised a total of $12.6 million.
Eturnity, a Swiss company that helps solar installers sell, design, and install projects while keeping in contact with manufacturers and distributors, raised an $8.7 million round from Junction Growth Investors and Alantra.
Fhenix, a Tel Aviv startup founded this year that is building a confidential smart contract platform using fully homomorphic encryption, raised a $7 million seed round co-led by Multicoin Capital and Collider Ventures and joined by Node Capital, Bankless, HackVC, TaneLabs, Metaplanet, and Robot Ventures.
Invoke AI, an Atlanta startup founded this year that has created an open-source generative AI platform for artists and creative teams, raised a $3.75 million seed round led by Storm Ventures, with SignalFire and Universe Software also stepping up.
Novo, a Berlin startup that is building technology designed to automate and speed up the process of decarbonizing buildings, raised a $1.1 million pre-seed round co-led by Citizen Capital and 2bX, with Antler also contributing.
Rayon, a two-year-old Paris startup that has developed a browser-based design tool for architects and designers, raised a $4.2 million seed round co-led by Northzone and existing investor Foundamental. The company has raised a total of $6.2 million.
Scentian Bio, a startup based in Auckland, New Zealand, that's building biosensors with potential applications ranging from food quality control to tuberculosis testing, raised a $2.1 million seed round co-led by Finistere Ventures and Toyota Ventures and including Icehouse Ventures and Our Crowd.
UnitX, a five-year-old startup based in San Jose, Ca., that is building AI vision systems for the manufacturing industry, raised a $5 million round from SE Ventures and Schneider Electric.
Ryan Cohen, the billionaire founder of Chewy and GameStop's largest investor, has taken over GameStop's CEO spot; Cohen, who owns 12.1% of the company, was already its executive chair.
Afield but interesting: Ari Emanuel’s Endeavor Group, Fenway Sports Group, and KKR cofounder Henry Kravis are among a syndicate of U.S. investors currently exploring investing in the PGA Tour -- and providing a possible alternative transaction to a pending deal with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.