Chime, the US neobank which had eight million users back in February, is reportedly in talks to raise fresh funding at double its current valuation.
September 17, 2020
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U.S. & Canada
US Neobank Chime Set to More Than Double in Value to $15 Billion
Chime, the US neobank which had eight million users back in February, is reportedly in talks to raise fresh funding at double its current valuation. According to Business Insider, Chime is looking to raise at least $500 million Last valued at $5.8 billion in December 2019, the neobank could jump to a valuation between $12 billion and $15 billion.
Four in five fund managers expect global growth over the next 12 months, the highest level in 17 years, according to BofA's monthly survey. It’s a bull market, according to 58% of participants in the Bank of America Global Research Sep fund manager survey, up from 46% last month and just 25% in May.
Read more on Thinkadvisor.com Image: Champ008 / Shutterstock.com
The Musk Method: Learn From Partners Then Go It Alone
Elon Musk is hailed as an innovator and disruptor who went from knowing next to nothing about building cars to running the world’s most valuable automaker in the space of 16 years.But his record shows he is more of a fast learner who forged alliances with firms that had technology Tesla lacked, hired some of their most talented people, and then powered through the boundaries that limited more risk-averse partners.
Erie Sizes the Pet Beneficiary Life Insurance Market
Insurers define health insurance for cats, dogs and other non-human animals as a form of property and casualty insurance. Life insurers do not pay death benefits directly to non-human animals. Many consumers are eager to insure their love for their furry companions. Erie Insurance has a bit of data on the size of the market for death benefits for pets.
Read more on Thinkadvisor.com Image: 4 PM production / Shutterstock.com
Stripe is Paying Employees $20,000 If They Leave Big Cities
Stripe is paying employees $20,000 if they relocate from expensive cities such as San Francisco, Seattle and New York, where the company has offices. But workers who make the move will have to take a 10% pay cut.
Read more on CNN.com Image: IM_photo / Shutterstock.com
Volvo Cars, Way Partner to Build Self-Driving Vehicles
Waymo, a unit of Alphabet Inc, and the Volvo Cars Group have agreed to develop a self-driving electric vehicle designed for ride hailing use, as part of a new global partnership, the companies said on Thursday.
The New 'Blank Check' Barons Are Coming For Wall Street
It’s the hot ticket on Wall Street, a symbol that you’ve arrived or can at least persuade investors that you’re on your way: the blank-check company. Few corners of American finance capture the giddiness of today’s stock market quite like the mad rush into these vehicles, formally known as special purpose acquisition companies. Here's a list of the SPAC moguls to watch..
A Low Profile Investor Who Bet on Snowflake Eight Years Ago is Up More than $12 Billion
Sutter Hill Ventures, where Mike Speiser has served as managing director since 2008, owns 20.3% of Snowflake’s outstanding shares, including some that will be distributed to affiliates. Altogether, the firm is sitting on a stake worth about $12.6 billion from its total investment of less than $200 million.
Read more on CNBC.com
Image: courtesy of topionetworks
Federal Reserve Says it Will Keep Interest Rates Near Zero Until 2023
The Federal Reserve concluded its two-day policy meeting on Wednesday by pledging to keep interest rates near zero until 2023, as the central bank looks to continue to support the U.S. economic recovery out of the coronavirus recession. The Fed kept short-term interest rates steady at the 0% to 0.25% range on Wednesday.
Read more on Forbes.com Image: Thomas Barrat / shutterstock.com
The Cloud 100 Rising Stars 2020: Cloud Computing's Next Wave
The Forbes Cloud 100 Rising Stars recognizes 20 startups on the cutting edge of the industry, all with the potential to be among tomorrow’s top private cloud companies. Headlined by a buzzy note-taking app, a newsletter writer’s best friend and several AI standouts, the Class of 2020 is one of the most promising yet.
Read more on Forbes.com Image: Blackboard / shutterstock.com
The following capital raises were reported yesterday and this morning:
Canexia Health announced a new financing round from PacBridge Capital Partners (HK) Limited to accelerate its roadmap to make cancer testing for treatment selection and monitoring accessible to all cancer patients. Businesswire
JupiterOne, which says it makes it easier for companies to spot security issues and maintain compliance, just secured $19 million in its Series A, led by Bain Capital Ventures and with participation from Rain Capital and its parent company LifeOmic. Techcrunch.com
Social Capital Hedosophia has filed plans confidentially with the SEC to raise $500 million for its newest blank-check company. It will be the fourth special SPAC to be raised by the outfit, which is headed up by Chamath Palihapitiya and Ian Osborne. Techcrunch.com
Hungry Harvest, a Baltimore, MD-based delivery company offering rescued produce, closed a $13.7m Series A round led by Creadev with participation from existing and new investors. Finsmes.com
Seeqc, an Elmsford, N.Y.-based Digital Quantum Computing company, secured $22.4m in Series A funding. The round was led by the EQT Ventures fund with participation from FAM AB. Finsmes.com
Humatics, a Waltham, Mass.-based microlocation technology company, secured $30m in Series B funding, led by Blackhorn Ventures with participation from Tenfore Holdings, Fontinalis Partners, Airbus Ventures, Lockheed Martin Ventures, and Presidio Ventures. Finsmes.com
Ready, a New Orleans-based on-demand healthcare service that brings medical care directly to patients in their homes, raised $54m in funding from GV, Deerfield Management Company, City Light Capital, Town Hall Ventures, Frist Cressey Ventures... Finsmes.com
Sun Genomics, a San Diego, CA-based direct-to-consumer custom probiotics and gut health company, closed a $9.25m Series A funding round led by Pangaea Ventures with participation from Orion Fund. Finsmes.com
Air, a NY-based provider of a cloud collaboration tool for visual work, raised $12M in Series A funding, led by Tiger Global with participation from Lerer Hippeau, WndrCo, Slack Ventures, Red Sea Ventures, and Advancit Capital. Finsmes.com
ApplyBoard, a Kitchener, Ontario-based online platform that empowers students around the world to access the best education, raised C$70M (US$55M) in Series C extension from ETS, Index Ventures, Blue Cloud Ventures, Harmonic Growth Partners, and others. Finsmes.com
PWNHealth, a New York, NY-based provider of healthcare diagnostic testing enablement solutions, received undisclosed investment led by Spectrum Equity, with participation from the Blue Venture Fund, Blue Cross Blue Shield Association and Sandbox. Finsmes.com
Endorsify, a video-based social network platform located in Los Angeles and New York, completed a funding round of an undisclosed amount, led by Third Kind Venture Capital with participation from Comcast, Nex3, Quake Capital, Innovation Works, and angel investors. Finsmes.com
Narrator, which uses an 11-column ordering model rather than standard star schema to organise data for modelling and analysis, has picked up a Series A round of $6.2 million, led by Initialized Capital along with continued investment from Flybridge Capital Partners and Y Combinator. Techcrunch.com
Veem, the fast-growing global payments network built for businesses, announced the closing of a $31M capital raise, led by Truist Ventures, the corporate venture capital division of Truist Financial Corporation. VCNewsdaily.com
Graphite Bio, a next-gen gene editing company focused on targeted DNA integration to precisely insert genetic payloads to treat a variety of severe diseases, announced a $45 million Series A financing led by Versant Ventures, together with Samsara BioCapital. VCAOnline.com
GoExpedi, a Houston, TX-based e-commerce, supply chain and analytics company for industrial and energy MRO, closed a $25m Series C funding led by Top Tier Capital Partners. Finsmes.com
GoTab, Inc., an Arlington, Va.-based Mobile POS and contactless ordering and payment platform for hospitality, raised $6m in funding. Finsmes.com
CoreMap, which has developed biological sensing which may unlock patient specific treatment for persistent Artificial Fibrilation issues announced it has completed a $10.5 million Series A financing led by Qure Ventures. VCAOnline.com
Base, a NYC-based at-home lab testing and digital tracking app provider, announced its brand launch and $1m pre-seed funding. The round was led by Brooklyn Bridge Ventures, Lakehouse, AmplifyHer Ventures, K50 and angels. Finsmes.com
Aidoc, a NYC-based provider of AI solutions for radiologists, raised an additional $20m as part of its Series B extension round. Square Peg Capital made the additional investment. Finsmes.com
Signifier Medical Technologies, a sleep disordered breathing solutions company, closed an ~ $10M Series C funding round. The round was led by Alan Howard with participation from James Blair. Finsmes.com
Mobilize, a San Francisco, CA-based “get stuff done” community software provider, closed a $6m Series A funding round led by Sorenson Ventures with participation from Kickstart. Finsmes.com
Wisdom Gaming Group, a Minneapolis-based digital media company specializing in esports experiences, secured $3m in Series A funding led by Excelsior Ventures Fund. Finsmes.com
Stemson Therapeutics announced a $7.5 million seed financing led by Allergan Aesthetics and Fortunis Capital to advance development of its therapeutic solution to cure hair loss. VCNewsdaily.com
U.S. & Canada
Deals of the Day: M&A and Strategic Investments
Pure Storage, the public enterprise data storage company, today announced that it has acquired Portworx, a well-funded startup that provides a cloud-native storage and data-management platform based on Kubernetes, for $370 million in cash. Techcrunch.com
Carlyle Group Inc CG.O will acquire a majority stake in sanitizing machine maker Victory Innovations, the private equity firm said on Wednesday, betting that cleanliness will remain a top priority long after a COVID-19 vaccine is available. Reuters.com
Illumina IncILMN.O, a gene sequencing company, is in late talks to buy cancer testing startup Grail Inc, Bloomberg News reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Grail could fetch more than the $6 billion valuation. Reuters.com
Accel-KKR, a leading tech-focused investment firm, announced that it has closed on a carve-out acquisition of the Shipper TMS portion of the Supply Chain Optimization software business portfolio owned by Wabtec Corporation. VCAOnline.com
Cyndx International News - Europe & Asia
Electric Vehicle Charge Network Chargepoint Nears Deal to Go Public
ChargePoint Inc, one of the world's oldest and largest electric vehicle charging networks, is nearing a deal to go public through a reverse merger with Switchback Energy Acquisition Corp SBE.N, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.
Read more on UK.Reuters.com Image: JL IIMAGES / Shutterstock.com
Atlassian Launches a $50M Venture Fund to Invest in its Ecosystem
Atlassian today announced the launch of Atlassian Ventures, a new $50 million fund that will invest into startups — and even more established companies — that are building products in the overall Atlassian ecosystem.
Read more on Techcrunch.com Image: Michael Vi / Shutterstock.com
BP Drops a Cluster Bomb on Big Oil
With a single stroke of the pen, BP has written the obituary of the global petroleum industry. The Anglo-Persian Oil Company that once fuelled the British Empire and long defined Big Oil has confirmed what the technology fraternity has been saying for the last five years. Bells do not toll any louder than this.
Read more on Telegraph.co.uk
Image: Tommy Lee Walker / Shutterstock.com
India Likely to Impose Sweeping Ban on Cryptocurrency Trading
India is looking to introduce a law to ban trade in cryptocurrencies, as the authorities see a legal framework as being more effective after the Supreme Court overturned the government’s curb on the virtual asset class. The move comes at a time when the nation’s crypto exchanges are at a nascent stage, primarily due to regulatory uncertainties.
Ardian Raises $2.4 Billion For New European PE Fund
Ardian has raised 2 billion euros ($2.4 billion) for a new European buyout fund as the French private equity firm expands its investments in midsize companies. The Ardian Expansion Fund V, the largest yet created for the firm’s mid-cap buyout strategy, will focus on companies valued at 50 million euros to 350 million euros, according to Francois Jerphagnon, head of Ardian’s Expansion unit.
More consolidation in the thin-margin food delivery space: Delivery Hero has announced it’s buying the LatinAm operations of Glovo, a Spanish on-demand delivery app. The German company said today that it’s paying up to €230 million to take over eight markets, including a €60 million performance-based earn-out.
Read more on Techcrunch.com
Image: Pavelskyi Vladyslav / Shutterstock.com
Formula 1's Most Mysterious M&A: More Clues on Williams' New Owner
On Saturday 15th of September, representatives of Williams Racing’s new owner, Dorilton Capital LLC, attended the Tuscan Grand Prix in Mugello, Italy. However, we still remain unclear on who Williams’ new owner really is. Here's what Forbes knows...
Read more on Forbes.com
Image: Ev.Safronov / Shutterstock.com
Vanmoof Raises $40M as eBike Sales Surge
Electric bikes have been gaining momentum for a few years, with Deloitte predictingin 2019 that ebikes would continue to surge in popularity. Reports now suggest the global ebike market could be worth $46 billion by 2026 — up from less than $8 billion in 2018. VanMoof has managed to secure another $40 million in funding just four months after raising $13.5 million.
The following capital raises were reported yesterday and this morning:
Gojo & Company, Inc. announced the successful additional close of its ongoing Series D financing of USD 19 million. TGVest Capital, Baillie Gifford, Future Venture Capital (CVC of East Japan Bank) invested in the round. Venturbeat.com
Outfunnel, a startup that has built software to help companies “bridge the gap between marketing and sales functions,” has quietly raised €1.1 million in funding. The pre-seed round was led by Paua Ventures. Techcrunch.com
Kbox Global, the U.K. startup that turns underused commercial kitchen space into takeout delivery hubs — therefore helping existing kitchens generate much-needed revenue — has raised £12 million in new funding. The round is led by Balderton Capital. Techcrunch.com
Antaios, a Grenoble, France-based developer of SOT-MRAM technology (Spin-Orbit Torque Magnetic Random-Access Memory), secured $11m in funding from Innovacom, Sofimac Innovation, Applied Ventures, LLC, as well as Bpifrance and other bank partners. Finsmes.com
Aidoc, a 4-year-old Israel-based startup providing artificial intelligence tools for radiologists, has secured an additional $20 million for its Series B funding led by Square Peg Capital. Crunchbase.com
Remato, an Estonian tech company whose software platform helps manage construction workers, their tasks, equipment and projects, raised €450K from their clients as well as notable angels. Eu-startups.com
Factris, an Amsterdam, The Netherlands-based fintech company that buys unpaid invoices from businesses, providing instant capital, closed a €5M Series A equity funding, led by AB Ventures. Finsmes.com
Bayes, which develops analytical tools for esports teams and tournaments and esports data to customers has raised $6 million to provide data on the esports industry. The money came from Pohlad Family investment group, Fertitta Capital, and the Sony Innovation Fund. Venturebeat.com
Infarm, a Berlin-based urban farming network, said Thursday that it has raised $170 million in Series C funding that was led by impact investing firm LGT Lightstone. Crunchbase.com
Finnish startup HappySignals, an Employee Experience Management Platform provider, has announced the successful closure of a €4.7 million series A funding round led by Nauta Capital, with Vendep Capital also participating. Eu-startups.com
European + Asian
Deals of the Day: M&A and Strategic Investments
Germany’s Synlab, which is owned by buyout fund Cinven, has put its environmental business up for sale to streamline the laboratory services group ahead of a planned stock market listing next year, people close to the matter said. Cinven bought Synlab in 2015 for 1.7 billion euros ($2 billion). Reuters.com
Norwegian company Kahoot has acquired Danish startup Actimo, which provides a platform for businesses to train and engage with employees. The purchase is being made with a combination of cash and shares, and works out to a total enterprise value of between $26 million and $33 million. Techcrunch.com
Germany's Deutsche BoerseDB1Gn.DE, on a mission to make acquisitions, said on Thursday that it would buy a majority stake in fintech Quantitative Brokers for an undisclosed sum. Reuters.com
British clothing retailer NextNXT.L is looking for small acquisition opportunities thrown up by the coronavirus pandemic, its boss said on Thursday. Reuters.com
EQTEQTAB.ST has agreed to buy Italian online real estate classifieds group Casa.it from Oakley Capital, the Swedish private equity group said on Thursday, marking its second acquisition in the sector in a week. Reuters.com
Iberdrola has bought Japan-based renewables developer Acacia and signed a joint venture deal with Macquarie to develop an offshore wind farm portfolio, the Spanish energy company said on Thursday. Reuters.com
Making the News
The following stories have made financial news:
Britain’s accounting regulator said on Thursday it has fined Deloitte a record 15 million pounds ($19.4 million) for its audit of software firm Autonomy that contained “serious and serial failures”. Reuters.com
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