Startups Raise Over $735M, Investors Raise $4.5B for New Funds, and $9.5B in M&A
October 25, 2023's biggest news in the private markets.
Adlumin, a seven-year-old startup based in Washington, DC, that has built a security platform for SMBs, raised a $70 million Series B round led by SYN Ventures, with additional participation from First In Ventures, Washington Harbour Partners, and BankTech Ventures.
Aiolos Bio, a startup founded this year based in San Francisco and London that is developing a new asthma drug, raised a $245 million Series A round co-led by Atlas Venture, Bain Capital Life Sciences, Forbion, and Sofinnova Investments, with additional funds coming from RA Capital Management.
HqO, a five-year-old Boston startup whose software allows building owners to measure how employees use their buildings, raised a $50 million Series D round led by Koch Real Estate Investments, with previous investors Accomplice, Insight Partners, and Related also taking part. The company has raised a total of $200+ million. Forbes has more here.
Rebellions, a three-year-old Seoul startup that is developing AI chips, is reportedly in the market to raise a $100 million Series B round at a $500 million valuation.
Aleph, a two-year-old Dubai startup whose platform enables finance and operations teams to reconcile financial data from different systems, raised a $16.7 million led by Bain Capital Ventures, with previous investors Y Combinator, Khosla Ventures, and Picus Capital also stepping up.
Blockaid, an Israeli startup that offers a security layer that can scan every transaction from a wallet or interact with a decentralized app or a smart contract and is compatible with any blockchain network, raised a $27 million Series A round co-led by Ribbit Capital and Variant, with Cyberstarts, Sequoia Capital, and Greylock also contributing. The company has raised a total of $33 million.
Daiz, an eight-year-old Japanese startup that is manufacturing plant-based meat, raised a $47.4 million Series C round. Investors included Mitsubishi UFJ Capital, Roquette, Miyoshi Oil & Fat, and Kagoshima Bank. The company has raised a total of $87.5 million.
Husk Power Systems, a 15-year-old company based in Fort Collins, Co., that supplies mini grids to help electrify communities in rural Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, raised a $43 million Series D round co-led by STOA Infra & Energy, US International Development Finance Corporation, and Proparco, with previous investors Shell Ventures, Swedfund, and FMO also participating. It also raised $60 million in debt.
Noodle Cat Games, a one-year-old startup based in Salt Lake City, Ut., that is developing an action RPG video game, raised a $12 million Series A round led by Hiro Capital and including Makers Fund, KRAFTON, and Sony Innovation Fund. The company has raised a total of $16.1 million.
Oxolo, a three-year-old Hamburg startup that uses generative AI to create personalized videos for advertising, e-commerce, e-learning, and e-health, raised a $13.8 million Series A round. DN Capital led the transaction.
PhaseV, an Israeli startup that uses machine learning to optimize clinical trial design and analysis, raised a $15 million round. Viola Ventures and Exor Ventures co-led the deal, with LionBird also pitching in.
Ternary, a three-year-old San Francisco startup that helps companies manage how much they’re spending on cloud resources across multiple public cloud providers, raised a $12 million Series A round led by Jump Capital, with Fin Capital, RiverPark Ventures, Great Oaks Venture Capital, and Gaingels also anteing up. The company has raised a total of approximately $20 million.
Zordi, a three-year-old Boston startup that develops autonomous greenhouses that use AI and robotics to optimize crop care, raised a $20 million round led by Khosla Ventures.
Cube.Exchange, a Melbourne startup that has built a cryptocurrency trading platform, raised a $9 million seed round. Backers included Asymmetry Technologies, Susquehanna Private Equity Investments, Everstake, Foundation Capital, Big Brain Holdings, Third Kind Venture Capital, Arche Fund, and WW Ventures.
Finerio Connect, a five-year-old Mexico City startup that provides an open finance platform for personalized financial products and services, raised a $6.5 million round led by Third Prime, with Visa, Bancolombia Ventures, Krealo, Alaya Capital, Gaingels, Plug and Play, and Winklevoss Capital also weighing in.
Flash Pack, a two-year-old London startup that organizes boutique trips for solo travelers in their 30s and 40s, raised a $6.2 million round led by JamJar Investments, with participation from previous investor PPF Group.
Prism Data, a New York startup that has developed an underwriting platform for financial institutions and fintechs, raised a $5 million seed round led by Obvious Ventures, with Citi Impact Fund and Core Innovation Capital also joining in.
Ternary, a three-year-old San Francisco startup that helps companies manage their cloud software spend, raised a $12 million Series A round led by Jump Capital, with Fin Capital, RiverPark Ventures, Great Oaks Venture Capital, and Gaingels also anteing up. The company has raised a total of approximately $20 million.
Tofu, a San Francisco startup founded this year that uses generative AI to help B2B marketing teams create campaigns and source leads, raised a $5 million round led by Index Ventures and including SignalFire, Stage 2 Capital, and Liquid 2 Ventures.
Triple-A, a six-year-old, Singapore-based digital currency payments startup, announced today it has raised a $10 million Series A from returning investors Peak XV (former Sequoia India and Southeast Asia) with additional backing from the MENA-focused venture firm Shorooq Partners, alongside undisclosed repeat backers. This round comes about a year after Triple-A’s $4 million seed round, bringing its total raised so far to $14 million.
Twelve Labs, a two-year-old San Francisco startup that is developing AI models to understand videos, raised a $10 million strategic round. Investors included Nvidia, Intel, and Samsung. The company has raised a total of $27 million.
OrbiMed Advisors, the New York-based investment firm, has raised more than $4.3 billion to invest in healthcare at a time when many startups are struggling to secure funding. The outfit tells the WSJ it raised roughly $1.86 billion for its ninth venture-capital vehicle, $1.71 billion for its fourth royalties and credit pool, and a $751 million Asia fund, its fifth fund focused on the region.
Wellington Management, the Boston-based investment management firm, yesterday announced the final close of its first early-stage venture fund, Wellington Venture Investments I, with $150 million in capital commitments.
The Bank of Montreal is exploring a sale of a portfolio of recreational vehicle loans with a face value of at least $5B.
Poland picked France's Vinci Airports and Australian IFM Global Infrastructure Fund as preferred investors in a planned aviation hub for Central and Eastern Europe; they may invest up to $1.9B.
French sporting goods retailer Decathlon is exploring a minority stake sale in its $1B China business.
Arthur J Gallagher will acquire Cadence Bank’s insurance brokerage business for $904M.
Macquarie Asset Management will acquire a majority stake in fiber internet business SwyftFiber through a ~$275M structured equity investment.
Chicago-based Madison Industries will acquire Canada-based CAE’s healthcare business for $226M.
European real estate services and technology group Emeria will acquire Chestertons, one of the UK’s oldest estate agents, for ~$122M.
Italian furniture group Poltronesofà will acquire sofa and flooring retailer ScS in a $121M deal.