Innovation

Polymarket: Prediction Market Company Raises $70 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 22, 2024

Prediction market company Polymarket announced that it has raised $70 million of funding across two unannounced rounds: a $45 million Series B led by Founders Fund and existing investors 1confirmation and ParaFi, with participation from Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin, Dragonfly and Eventbrite’s co-founder Kevin Hartz, and a $25 million Series A led by General Catalyst, with participation from Airbnb’s Joe Gebbia, Polychain and other leading investors.

Elegen: DNA Synthesis And Production Company Secures $35 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 22, 2024

Elegen, a leader in next-generation DNA synthesis and production, announced a Series B financing of $35 million led by Triatomic Capital. Also joining the round include strategic investors GSK - which also entered a collaboration and licensing agreement with Elegen to use their proprietary cell-free DNA manufacturing technology in developing GSK’s vaccines and medicines, and John Ballantyne (co-founder of Aldevron). Elegen’s existing investors - including Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) Bio + Health, KdT Ventures, 8VC, Digitalis Ventures, ACVC Partners, Alix Ventures, AME Cloud Ventures and Agilent Technologies - also joined.

Annuity.com: Financial Media Company Raises $15.7 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 22, 2024

Annuity.com, a newly formed fintech and financial media company set to transform the distribution of annuities, announced it has closed on a $15.7 million seed funding round and acquired the domain Annuity.com. And the company will relaunch Annuity.com as an education-focused consumer marketplace for annuities in the summer of 2024.

Nabla Bio: Generative Protein Design Company Closes $26 Million In Series A

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 22, 2024

Generative protein design company Nabla Bio announced the closing of a $26 million Series A funding round, led by Radical Ventures with participation from all existing investors, and strategic collaborations with AstraZeneca, Bristol Myers Squibb Company, and Takeda, worth over $550 million in upfront and milestone payments, plus royalties.

SixPeaks Bio: $110 Million Raised To Develop Therapies For Addressing Healthy Weight Loss

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 22, 2024

Today SixPeaks Bio has emerged from stealth mode with a pipeline of therapies for healthy weight loss, including a potentially best-in-class dual-specific antibody targeting activin type IIA and B receptors. And the company raised $30 million in Series A funding led by founding investor Versant Ventures and a strategic collaboration with AstraZeneca, which will provide additional and non-dilutive financing of up to $80 million over the next two years. As part of the deal, AstraZeneca also has certain exclusive rights to acquire SixPeaks during this period.

Academic Innovation Catalyst Partnering With UC Berkeley’s Bakar Fellows Program

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 22, 2024

Academic Innovation Catalyst (AIC), a new deep technology funding platform, announced its partnership with the Bakar Fellows Program, UC Berkeley's largest proof-of-concept funding platform. AIC will initially partner with the Bakar Fellows program to award grants to Berkeley faculty engaged in deep technology research. Over time, AIC intends to establish additional partnerships at UC Berkeley and other research institutions.

Expressable: Speech Therapy Company Secures $26 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 22, 2024

Expressable, a market leader in research-based, family-centered speech therapy care, announced it raised $26 million in Series B funding led by global investment firm HarbourVest Partners, with participation from Digitalis Ventures and existing investors F-Prime Capital and Lerer Hippeau.

Footprint: $13 Million Raised To Reduce Identity Fraud

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 22, 2024

Footprint, a company unifying KYC (Know Your Customer), security, and authentication to automate consumer onboarding and reduce identity fraud, announced a $13 million Series A led by QED Investors. The funding round included participation from existing investors Index Ventures, Lerer Hippeau, Operator Partners, BoxGroup, Palm Tree Capital, and Definition. New investors Neo and Animal Capital also joined.

Baker Tilly Expanding In Bay Area Through Seiler Acquisition

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 22, 2024

Advisory CPA firm Baker Tilly US, LLP announced the acquisition of accounting and advisory firm Seiler LLP., effective July 1.

SamaCare: $17 Million Closed To Advance Specialty Drug Prior Authorization Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 22, 2024

SamaCare - a cloud-based patient access platform for specialty medications - announced that it has closed an oversubscribed $17 million Series B investment round led by new investor Questa Capital. Questa was joined in the round by existing investors Vive Collective and South Park Commons.

Expedera: Edge Inference AI Licensor Company Raises $20 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 22, 2024

Expedera, a leading licensor of edge inference artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductor intellectual property (IP), announced it raised $20 million in Series B funding led by indie Semiconductor, with participation from prominent repeat and new industry investors. This funding, which includes converting a previous SAFE note, brought the company's total funding to more than $47 million.

Invidia Capital Management Launches With GCM Grosvenor’s Strategic Investment

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 22, 2024

Healthcare investment firm Invidia Capital Management (founded by former Goldman Sachs partner Jo Natauri) announced its launch with a strategic investment from GCM Grosvenor, a leading global alternative asset management solutions firm.

Cybersecurity Leader Lumifi Cyber Acquires Netsurion

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 22, 2024

Lumifi Cyber, a next-generation leader in the cybersecurity space, announced the acquisition of Netsurion, which is a 15-year-old Managed Extended Detection and Response (XDR) provider. This deal delivers enhanced security to Netsurion’s customer base through Lumifi’s US-based Security Operations Center (SOC) alongside Lumifi’s proprietary SHIELDVision platform and is a milestone in Lumifi’s larger goal to disrupt the managed detection and response (MDR) space.

WitnessAI: $27.5 Million Raised To Develop Safe Adoption Of Enterprise AI

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 22, 2024

WitnessAI, the creator of the first enablement platform for safe AI use, announced a $27.5 million Series A round, co-led by GV and Ballistic Ventures. The company had previously been incubated by Ballistic Ventures, beginning in 2023.

Superpower: Healthcare Platform Company Raises $4 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 22, 2024

Superpower, a healthcare platform making it easy for people to access personalized, preventative, and longevity-focused medicine, announced today that it has raised $4 million in pre-seed funding. This funding round was led by Susa Ventures with participation from Long Journey Ventures, Family Fund, Atman VC, 24 Carrot VC, Focalpoint Partners, and Seaside Ventures. Also joining in the round were several prominent angel investors, including Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, Balaji Srinivasan, Scott and Cyan Banister, and Evan Charles Moore (the Co-Founder of Doordash).

Reactive Technologies: Grid Stability Measurement Company Raises £25 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 21, 2024

Reactive Technologies, a UK and Finland-based leader in grid stability measurements, announced a Series D funding round today. This £25 million funding round (US$31.4 million) was led by M&G’s Catalyst investment and UK and Ireland growth capital investor BGF and Breakthrough Energy Ventures.

Aplazo: Mexico-Based BNPL Company Raises $70 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 21, 2024

Aplazo, an omni-channel payment platform offering flexible payment solutions and commerce enablement tools to help merchants accelerate sales and grow their brands, announced the closing of $70 million in additional equity financing, including a $45 million Series B funding round.

Blackstone Buying Majority Stake In Priority Software

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 21, 2024

Blackstone announced that Blackstone Growth and affiliated funds have entered into a definitive agreement to buy a majority stake in Priority Software, a leading provider of mission-critical business software. And Blackstone’s investment will help build on the company’s position in the ERP software market and support its further growth across industries and markets.

Vitesse: Insurance-Focused Treasury And Payment Solutions Company Raises $93 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 21, 2024

Vitesse, a leading treasury and payment solutions provider for the insurance industry, announced today the completion of a $93 million Series C funding round led by KKR, with participation from existing investors, including Hannover Digital Investments. Following the funding round, subject to customary regulatory approvals, Patrick Devine, Managing Director of KKR’s Tech Growth team, will join the board of directors.

NewVale Capital: $167 Million Fund Closed To Invest In Life Science Industry

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 21, 2024

NewVale Capital, a Boulder-based growth equity firm that is focused on investments in the services architecture underpinning the life science industry, announced the final closing of its inaugural fund. This oversubscribed $167 million fund will accelerate the growth of proven pharmaceutical services companies that are essential in bringing medicines to patients.

CereVasc: $70 Million Raised To Develop Novel Treatments For Neurological Diseases

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 21, 2024

CereVasc, a clinical-stage medical device company developing novel treatments for neurological diseases, announced it has completed the initial closing of a $70 million Series B funding. The funding was jointly led by Bain Capital Life Sciences and existing investor Perceptive Xontogeny Venture Fund (PXV), with additional participation from other existing investors.

ByHeart: Infant Nutrition Company Raises $95 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 21, 2024

ByHeart, a next-generation infant nutrition company, announced it has secured $95 million in additional financing to support the continued US commercial launch and development of its innovation pipeline. So far, ByHeart has raised $395 million from investors, including D1 Capital Partners, Bellco Capital, Polaris Partners, Two River, OCV Partners, AF Ventures, Red Sea Ventures, Gaingels, and more.

Ajax Therapeutics: $95 Million Raised To Develop Next-Gen JAK Inhibitors For Patients With MPNs

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 21, 2024

Ajax Therapeutics, a biopharmaceutical company developing next-generation JAK inhibitors for patients with myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs), announced the closing of an oversubscribed $95 million Series C funding round. The funding was led by Goldman Sachs Alternatives with participation by Eli Lilly and Company, Vivo Capital, RA Capital Management, Point72 and existing investors EcoR1 Capital, Boxer Capital, Schrödinger, Inc. and Inning One Ventures. In connection with the funding, Amit Sinha, Head of Life Sciences Investing, and Ming Cheah, PhD, Vice President of Life Sciences Investing at Goldman Sachs Alternatives, joined Ajax’s board of directors.

Tenon: ServiceNow-Based Marketing Solution Company Raises $8 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 21, 2024

Tenon, a marketing solution built using ServiceNow, announced it has secured an $8 million Series A investment, co-led by High Alpha and StepStone Group, with continued investment from ServiceNow Ventures. This funding round will support the expansion of the Tenon team and accelerate the company’s product roadmap, expanding from marketing work management into marketing automation to unify the complete marketing lifecycle.

Easton Energy To Sell Gulf Coast Liquids Pipeline System To ONEOK For About $280 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 21, 2024

Houston-based midstream company Easton Energy recently announced that it has agreed to sell its Gulf Coast Liquids Pipeline System to ONEOK for about $280 million, subject to customary price adjustments. Easton will retain and continue operating its natural gas liquids (NGL) and olefins storage business located in Markham, Texas.

TrueBridge Capital Partners: $1.6 Billion Closed Across Five VC Investment Vehicles

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 21, 2024

TrueBridge Capital Partners, a venture capital investment firm, announced it has raised $1.6 billion in commitments across five investment vehicles focusing on venture funds and technology companies: TrueBridge Capital Partners Fund VIII, TrueBridge Seed & Micro-VC II, TrueBridge Direct Fund III, TrueBridge Secondaries I, and TrueBridge Blockchain I.

Highperformr: Social Media Platform Company Raises $3.5 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 21, 2024

GenAI company Highperformr announced that it has secured $3.5 million in seed funding and launched its product Highperformr for Teams, which is a modern social media management platform designed to help B2B businesses maximize their return on investment (ROI) from social media efforts by amplifying their social presence and driving meaningful engagement.

Scale AI: Data Engine Company Raises $1 Billion At $13.8 Billion Valuation

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 21, 2024

AI data foundry company Scale AI announced it had closed a $1 billion financing transaction, bringing the company to a valuation of $13.8 billion. Existing investor Accel led the funding round with participation from returning investors, including Y Combinator, Nat Friedman, Index Ventures, Founders Fund, Coatue, Thrive Capital, Spark Capital, NVIDIA, Tiger Global Management, Greenoaks, and Wellington Management. The new investors include Cisco Investments, DFJ Growth, Intel Capital, ServiceNow Ventures, AMD Ventures, WCM, Amazon, Elad Gil, and Meta.

Sona: Frontline Workforce Management Company Raises $27.5 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 21, 2024

Sona, a next-generation and intelligent workforce management platform for frontline enterprises founded by Steffen Wulff Petersen, Oli Johnson, and Ben Dixon, announced a $27.5 million Series A funding round. Felicis led the funding round with participation from Northzone, Gradient (Google's AI fund), SpeedInvest, Antler, BAG Ventures, and several notable angels participated in the round.

Subeca: End-To-End Water Management Platform Company Raises $6 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 20, 2024

Subeca, an Internet of Things (IoT) startup that offers low-cost and easy-to-use water technology, announced it raised $6 million in Series A funding. The Series A funding round was led by SUEZ, a leader in digital and circular solutions in waste and water services, with participation from Amazon's Climate Pledge Fund (Amazon's sustainability-focused corporate venture fund) and Burnt Island Ventures (a leading water sector-focused venture investor).