Startups Raise Over $805M, Investors Raise $300M for New Funds, and $43B in M&A
November 2, 2023's biggest news in the private markets.
Chainguard, a two-year-old startup based in Kirkland, WA, that helps customers like Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Snowflake secure their open source software, raised a $61 million Series B round led by Spark Capital, with additional participation from Sequoia Capital, Amplify Partners, Mantis VC, Banana Capital, and K5/JPMC. The company has raised a total of $116 million.
Covera Health, a six-year-old New York startup that uses AI and data analytics to help radiologists improve their accuracy and reduce misdiagnosis, raised a $50 million Series C extension. Previous investor Insight Partners led the transaction.
FusionAuth, a five-year-old startup based in Broomfield, Co., that builds tools that allow engineering and product teams to add registration, login, and user management features to apps, raised a $65 million. Updata Partners was the deal lead.
NEXT Insurance, a seven-year-old Israeli startup that focuses on insuring small- and medium-size U.S. businesses, raised a $265 million round at a $4 billion valuation, which was the same valuation as its previous 2021 round, according to Calcalist. Allstate and Allianz X were the co-leads. The company has raised a total of $1.1 billion.
Tabby, a four-year-old Riyadh startup whose platform offers BNPL services to customers in the Middle East, raised a $200 million Series D round at a $1.5 billion valuation. Investors included Wellington Management and Bluepool Capital as well as previous investors Peak XV Partners, STV, Mubadala, PayPal Ventures, and Arbor Ventures.The company has raised over $950 million in equity and debt.
Engine Biosciences, a nine-year-old startup based in Singapore and Redwood City, Ca., that says it is leveraging machine learning and biology to discover and develop precision oncology medicines, raised a $27 million Series A extension led by Polaris Partners, with Coronet Ventures and SEEDS Capital as well as previous investors ClavystBio, Invus, and EDBI also pitching in. The company has raised a total of $86 million.
Free Market Health, a four-year-old Pittsburgh startup that partners with payers to provide consumers with access to low-price medications, raised a $20 million Series B round led by Questa Capital, with Alta Partners, Highmark Ventures, and 653 Investment Partners also stepping up.
Oro Labs, a three-year-old Palo Alto startup whose platform is designed to orchestrate procurement and supplier management processes across disparate systems and data, raised a $34 million Series B round led by Felicis, with Norwest Venture Partners, B Capital, and XYZ Venture Capital also participating. The company has raised a total of $60 million.
Promise Robotics, a two-year-old Toronto startup that aims to turn standard industrial robots into plug-and-play homebuilding systems, raised a $15 million Series A round led by Horizons Ventures, with Radical Ventures, PSP Investments, United Brotherhood of Carpenters, Relay Ventures, and Alate Partners also taking part.
Vespa.ai, a Norwegian startup spun out of Yahoo last month that uses AI to help clients like Spotify and Yahoo sift through billions of documents for actionable insights, raised a $31 million Series A round from Blossom Capital.
CipherStash, a one-year-old Sydney startup that provides businesses with encryption tools to guard against cyberattacks, raised a $3 million round led by Skip Capital, with SixThirty Ventures also participating.
Connectly, a three-year-old San Francisco startup whose platform helps businesses create messaging campaigns and automate conversations with customers across messaging apps, raised a $7.9 million Series A round led by Volpe Capital and including RX Ventures and DST Global. The company has raised a total of $17.25 million.
Freeplay, a startup based in Boulder, Co., that assists companies in building and testing apps powered by generative AI models, raised a $3.25 million seed round. Conviction Partners and Matchstick Ventures co-led the transaction.
GreenLite, an Austin startup founded this year that helps businesses obtain building permits, raised an $8 million seed round led by Trust Ventures, with LiveOak Ventures and Chicago Ventures also joining in.
Layr, a seven-year-old Atlanta startup that allows small brokers to offer their policyholders an online hub with account management tools, raised a $10 million round led by Cota Capital, with The K Funds, HCSM Ventures, Sandbox Industries, and Flyover Capital also opting in.
Midas Healthcare, a Cleveland startup that has produces a wheeled workstation to help health care professionals manage the safe disposal of excess medications, raised a $2 million round from MCPC Healthcare Investment. The company has raised a total of $3.2 million.
Tupu, a two-year-old Berlin startup that says it is using AI and robotics to expand the farming of mushrooms in urban areas, raised a $3.2 million seed round co-led by FoodLabs and Zubi Capital, with Clear Current Capital, FoodHack, IT-Farm, and CoastCap also opting in.
Village Global has raised $250 million for its third fund focused on seed and pre-seed deals, with a typical first check ranging from $250,000 to $1.5 million. It now has $500 million under management. The firm also announced that Reid Hoffman will serve as Chairman.
Bee Partners, a San Francisco-based seed-stage firm, has closed its fourth fund with $50 million in capital commitments.
PE firm Silver Lake Management is in talks to team up with Abu Dhabi wealth fund Mubadala Investment for a potential takeover bid for UFC-owner Endeavor Group Holdings, which has a market cap of $11.2B.
Nasdaq completed its $10.5B acquisition of software provider Adenza, which will help the company transform into a full-fledged financial services firm.
Australia's Origin Energy received a sweetened best and final takeover bid from a Brookfield consortium that valued the power producer at $10.5B after Origin’s top shareholder rejected the previous offer.
Walt Disney formally began the process of buying Comcast's 33% stake in Hulu that will give Disney full ownership of the streaming platform; Disney expects to pay Comcast ~$8.6B by December 1.
Brookfield Infrastructure Partners will acquire most of bankrupt data center firm Cyxtera Technologies for $775M.
Zillow Group will acquire real estate CRM system Follow Up Boss for $400M with an additional $100M potential cash earnout.
Blackstone’s IQ Student Accommodation business acquired London and Edinburgh student properties for $449M from Downing Students.
Medical device company Inari Medical will acquire artery disease treatment developer LimFlow for up to $415M cash.
Velo3D, a metal 3D printing technology company with a $250M market cap, is exploring strategic options including a potential sale.
Singapore’s Health Management International is purchasing a majority stake in Harley Street Heart & Vascular Centre.
Theme park operators Six Flags Entertainment and Cedar Fair Entertainment are possibly in talks for a potential merger.