Startups Raise Over $408M and $48B in M&A
October 26, 2023's biggest news in the private markets.
Censys, a six-year-old startup based in Ann Arbor, Mi., that provides customers with security insights about critical internet-connected infrastructure, raised a $50 million Series C round co-led by Decibel Partners, GV, Greylock, and Intel Capital, with Ascension Ventures and Four Rivers Partners V also investing. The company has raised a total of $128.1 million.
Pony.ai, a seven-year-old, Chinese autonomous vehicle startup that is now headquartered in Fremont, Ca., has raised $100 million from Neom, Saudi Arabia’s futuristic city and development project. As part of the deal, the two are planning a joint venture to deploy autonomous vehicles and smart infrastructure in Neom and elsewhere in the Middle East North Africa region.
Quantum Systems, an eight-year-old German startup that produces multi-sensor data collection drones for government agencies and commercial customers, raised a $67.4 round million Series B round co-led by HV Capital and DTCP, with additional participation from Project A, Thiel Capital, ScaleUp Fonds Bayern, Omnes Capital, and Airbus Ventures. The company has raised over $100 million.
YouTrip, a five-year-old Singapore startup that allows users to pay for goods and services in over 150 currencies, raised a $50 million Series B round led by Lightspeed. The company has raised a total of $100 million.
Moreh, a three-year-old, Santa Clara- and Seoul-based startup whose AI software tool optimizes and creates AI models, has raised $22 million in Series B funding that brings its total backing to $30 million. Advanced Micro Devices and the Korean telco KT were among the investors.
OnsiteIQ, a six-year-old New York startup that provides real estate developers with tools to monitor their projects from anywhere in the world, raised a $14 million Series B round led by Vertical Venture Partners, with RET Ventures and Interplay VC also stepping up.
Sage, a startup whose platform allows residents of senior communities and their caregivers to connect with care teams, raised a $15 million Series A round led by Maveron, with previous investors Distributed Ventures, ANIMO Ventures, and Goldcrest Capital also contributing.
Sky Labs, an eight-year-old South Korean startup that has developed an AI-powered ring-type blood pressure monitor, raised a $15.3 million Series C round led by Korea Development Bank and including K2 Investment Partners, Devsisters Ventures, SJG Partners, and OpenWater Investment. The company has raised a total of $40.5 million.
Ctrl Alt, a three-year-old London startup that helps financial institutions and fintechs offer fractionalized investments in property and green energy, raised a $2.7 million seed round co-led by Forward Partners and Middlegame Ventures, with Enterprise Ireland and Algorand Ventures also pitching in.
FarmInsect, a three-year-old Munich startup that is promoting the use of insects as a sustainable option for livestock feed, raised an $8.5 million Series A round led by Sandwater and joined by Minderoo Foundation.
Flashpoint Therapeutics, a Chicago startup that is developing nanotechnology-enabled therapeutics for cancer and other diseases, raised a $10 million seed round led by Beta Lab, with CS Venture Opportunities Fund also chipping in.
Gozen, a San Francisco startup that is developing a new form of lab-grown leather, raised a $3.3 million seed round led by Happiness Capital, with Accelr8, Astor Management, and SOSV also taking part.
Ignition, a two-year-old San Francisco startup that is attempting to unify a number of product launch steps into a single platform, raised an $8 million seed round led by Audacious Ventures, with additional funds provided by Altman Capital.
Lunr, a Minneapolis startup that provides inventory financing for emerging retail brands, raised a $6 million round. Mairs & Power Venture Capital led the deal.
Node, a one-year-old San Francisco startup that has developed a single sign-on product that consumers can use across multiple merchants, raised a $2.75 million seed round. Neotribe Ventures was the deal lead.
Pair Team, a four-year-old San Francisco startup that provides in-person and virtual clinical and mental health care to underserved communities in partnership with local health centers and community-based organizations, raised a $9 million Series A round led by Next Ventures, with PTX Capital, Create Health Ventures, OCA Ventures, CHCF Innovation Fund, Kapor Capital, and Augment Ventures also piling on.
Palladium Energy, a four-year-old startup based in Jacksonville, FL, that originates, develops, and finances renewable energy projects, raised a $10 million round. Ultra Capital was the deal lead.
RadiantGraph, a startup that says it uses using machine learning and artificial intelligence to drive consumer engagement for health plans, raised a $5 million seed round co-led by True Ventures and XYZ Ventures, with Remus Capital also participating.
VisionAI, a two-year-old German startup that helps SMBs use tools like cross-selling to build their online stores, raised a $5.3 million seed round. HV Capital was the lead investor.
Wareclouds, a three-year-old logistics startup based in Santiago, Chile, that connects households with storage space to SMBs and e-commerce companies looking to store their inventory near last-mile delivery, raised a $2 million round led by 2048 Ventures, with Chile Global Ventures also contributing.
Yourco, a two-year-old Indianapolis startup that has developed an SMS- and intranet-based product for deskless workers that does not require downloads, passwords, internet access, or data plans, raised a $2 million seed round led by Ground Game Ventures, with Allos Ventures, Start Something Ventures, Elevate Ventures, and Flywheel Fund also weighing in. The company has raised a total of $2.5 million.
UK’s competition regulator extended its deadline to review Adobe’s $20B acquisition of cloud-based designer platform Figma by eight weeks to February 2024.
$8.5B UFC-owner Endeavor Group Holdings is reviewing strategic options; PE firm Silver Lake is working on a proposal to take the talent and media company private.
Choice Hotels requested the board of US budget hotel operator Wyndham Hotels and Resorts to engage in merger talks after it rejected Choice’s $7.8B acquisition offer.
Bain Capital is exploring options including a sale of Rocket Software, which could be valued at $5B or more, including debt.
Buyout shop Alpine Investors will extend its ownership of HVAC, plumbing and electrical services leader Apex Service Partners in a $3.4B continuation fund transaction.
Chilean mining giant Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile will acquire Australia’s Azure Minerals for $1B.
Stellantis is nearing a deal worth over $1B to acquire a 20% stake in Chinese EV company Zhejiang Leapmotor Technologies.
KKR is nearing a deal to invest $400M into Malaysian sub-sea cable company OMS Group.
Shenandoah Telecommunications Company will acquire telecom Horizon Acquisition Parent for $385M in cash and stock.
Accenture will acquire marketing group Stagwell’s healthcare marketing agency and pharmaceutical commercialization platform ConcentricLife for $245M.
Neom, Saudi Arabia's futuristic city and development project, invested $100M in autonomous vehicle startup Pony.ai.