7 Startups Raise Over $118M, Investors Raise $2.3B for New Funds, and $31.5B in M&A
October 10, 2023's biggest news in the private markets.
Saronic, a startup developing autonomous ships for defense, has raised $55 million in a Series A round led by Caffeinated Capital with participation from 8VC, Andreessen Horowitz, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Point72 Ventures, Silent Ventures, Overmatch Ventures, Ensemble VC, Cubit Capital and the U.S. Innovative Technology Fund. Saronic CEO Dino Mavrookas, a former Navy SEAL, launched the company last year with the goal of building autonomous surface ships for the Navy and U.S.-aligned defense customers.
HarfangLab, a five-year-old Paris startup that offers cloud-agnostic open endpoint detection and response in order to prevent cyberattacks, raised a $26.3 million Series A round round. Crédit Mutuel Innovation was the deal lead, with MassMutual Ventures (CMI) and previous investor Elaia also taking part.
Lottie, a two-year-old London startup that operates a online marketplace for people seeking home care as well as providers, raised a $21 million Series A round led by Accel, with previous investor General Catalyst also chipping in. The company has raised a total of $31.4 million.
The Circle, a six-year-old Italian startup that is growing lettuce and herbs through aquaponic production methods, raised a $2.2 million round. Opes Italia and Sparviero Holding were the co-leads. The company has raised a total of $3.8 million.
Ostium Labs, a one-year-old UK startup that is building a decentralized non-custodial exchange for real-world assets, raised a $3.5 million seed round co-led by General Catalyst and LocalGlobe and including SIG, DeFi Alliance, Vessel Capital, and Balaji Srinivasan.
Wandafish, a two-year-old Tel Aviv startup that is creating bluefin tuna through cultivating cells to generate animal proteins, raised a $7 million round. Aqua-Spark was the deal lead, while previous investors The Kitchen Hub, Peregrine Ventures, LLC, PICO Venture Partners, MOREVC, and CPT Capital also contributed. The company has raised a total of $10 million.
Zest Equity, a UAE-based startup that digitizes private market dealings, including inviting investors to fundraising rounds and sharing sensitive information, has raised $3.8 million seed funding led by Middle East Venture Partners, with participation from the Dubai Future District Fund, and DASH Ventures. This latest round brings the total funding raised by the startup to $5.7 million.
Appian Capital Advisory, a mining-focused PE firm, raised $2B for its Fund III to focus on middle-market investments in the mining industry.
Investment firm Accolade Partners raised $325M for Accolade Empowerment Fund II to invest in venture and growth-equity funds run by minority and female managers.
Australian regulators gave conditional approval to PE firm Brookfield’s $12B takeover of Australia’s largest energy producer Origin Energy.
An order from EU regulators to Illumina to sell cancer detection test maker Grail, which the US life sciences company acquired for $7.1B in 2021 without EU approval, could come as early as next week.
Billionaire Schaeffler family’s Bavarian car parts maker Schaeffler offered to acquire rival auto group Vitesco in a $3.8B deal.
HSBC agreed to buy Citigroup’s $3.6B AUM retail wealth management portfolio in mainland China.
A unit of insurer Prosperity Life Group will buy National Western Life Group in a $1.9B deal.
CMB will acquire a combined 26% stake in Belgian shipping enterprise Euronav from oil tanker owner Frontline and Norwegian shipping billionaire John Fredriksen in a $1.1B stake sale.
A consortium led by Singapore state investor GIC and another group headed by sovereign fund Indonesia Investment Authority are among final bidders for a 35%, $750M stake in state-owned toll operator PT Jasa Marga’s Transjawa Tol.
Cipriani, the operator of celebrity-packed restaurants and clubs, is seeking to raise as much as $526M for global expansion.
Uniper is looking to sell its German district heating business, which could be valued at $316M-$421M.
The Nolet Group, the maker of Ketel One vodka, launched a management-backed offer to buy Dutch gin and spirits maker Lucas Bols for $285M.