Reverse merger
Getaround, the US-based car sharing service backed by telecommunications and internet group SoftBank, media and automotive group Cox Enterprises and carmakers SAIC Motor and Toyota, has gone pubic through a reverse merger with New York-listed special purpose acquisition company InterPrivate II Acquisition Corp. The deal was agreed in May this year and valued the combined company at $1.2bn. Getaround had raised almost $600m in venture funding as of its late 2020 series E round.
M&A
Digital business support platform Tecnotree has acquired CognitiveScale, a US-based machine intelligence technology provider backed by financial services firm USAA, computing equipment producer IBM, software provider Microsoft and chipmaker Intel, for an undisclosed amount. USAA and corporate venturing units Intel Capital and M12 (then Microsoft Ventures) all took part in a $15m round in 2017 that lifted CognitiveScale’s total funding to over $50m.
Video game publisher Splash Damage has bought UK-based peer Bulkhead Interactive for an undisclosed amount, allowing entertainment group Square Enix to exit. The corporate paid an undisclosed sum for a 20% stake in Bulkhead in 2018.
Edeka Südwest, a subsidiary of Germany-based supermarket chain Edeka Group, paid an undisclosed sum to purchase portfolio company Bringman, the local operator of a goods collection focused on Edeka stores. Bringman received $1.1m in funding from Edeka Südwest in November 2021.
Business closure
Brodmann17, the Israel-based computer vision technology developer backed by safety technology provider UL and electronics producers Sony and Samsung, has shut down. UL Ventures, Sony Innovation Fund and Samsung Next were all part of an $11m series A round in 2019 that hiked the company’s overall funding to $12.6m.
Funding
| Company | Company description | Sector | Country | Round | Round size($m) | Deal date | Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GoodLeaf Farms | Commercial vertical farm operator | Industrial | Canada | N/A | 150 | 07/12/2022 | McCain Foods; Power Sustainable Lios |
| Mathpresso | Operator of online education app Qanda | Services | South Korea | C | 70 (updated) | 13/12/2022 | Shinsegae Group (Signite Partners), YBM, SoftBank (SoftBank Ventures Asia); Goodwater Capital, Mirae Asset (Mirae Asset Venture Investment) |
| Readline | Enzyme catalysis technology developer | Healthcare | China | B | 43 | 13/12/2022 | Gree Electric, Jinhang Group; CoStone Capital (lead), Xinshang Capital, Oriental Fortune Capital, Green Pine Capital Partners, Hunan Caixin Investment Holding Group |
| Bumble Bee Flights | Air taxi developer | Transport | India | N/A | 37 | 13/12/2022 | SRAM & MRAM Group |
| Equinom | Plant-based protein ingredient provider | Industrial | Israel | N/A | 35 | 12/12/2022 | BayWa; Synthesis Capital (lead), Praesidium, Bunge Ventures, CPT Capital, Fortissimo, Phoenix |
| Launchpad Therapeutics | Precision cancer drug spinoff of Black Diamond Therapeutics | Healthcare | US | A | 30 | 12/12/2022 | Versant Ventures, New Enterprise Associates |
| Trilio | Cloud data protection software provider | IT | US | B | 17 | 12/12/2022 | T-Mobile (T-Mobile Ventures), Telefónica (Wayra Telefónica Innovation); Shepherd Kaplan Krochuk (SKK Ventures) (lead), Raiven Capital, Genesis Accel, .406 Ventures, Jack Egan |
| Ampcera | Solid electrolyte material developer | Industrial | US | A | 15 | 13/12/2022 | Hanwha Group (Hanwha Solutions Corporation) (lead) |
| Evertas | Crypto asset insurance provider | Financial | US | A | 14 | 13/12/2022 | Matrixport, Wanxiang (Hashkey), Capital Markets Trading (CMT Digital Ventures); Polychain Capital (lead), Sino Global Capital, Foundation Capital, Morgan Creek, Bloccelerate, Balaji Srinivasan, Andrew Keys, Colleen Sullivan, Tom Howard, Patrick McDonald, David Roebuck |
| Wellbeing Nutrition | Multivitamin brand | Healthcare | India | B | 10 (updated) | 12/12/2022 | Unilever (Hindustan Unilever Limited) (co-lead); Fireside Ventures (co-lead) |
| Monarch Medical Technologies | Healthcare efficiency technology provider | Healthcare | US | N/A | 5 | 13/12/2022 | Semler Scientific |
| Earn Alliance | Online Web3 gaming community | Media | China | Seed | 4.75 | 08/12/2022 | Mad World (Mad World Ventures); CoinFund (co-lead), Fabric Ventures (co-lead), Blockchain Coinvestors |
| WeGoTrip | Audio tour ticket seller | Services | Russia | N/A | <1($900,000) | 10/12/2022 | Bank of Georgia; Joint Journey, Boris Plotitsa |
| Strongsun Solar | Captive solar plant operator | Energy and Natural Resources | India | N/A | <1 ($290,000) | 12/12/2022 | Mahindra CIE Automotive |
| Unanet | Construction management software provider | Industrial | Canada | N/A | N/A | 09/12/2022 | Onex Corporation |
| Stout Industrial Technology | Agricultural machinery manufacturer | Industrial | US | N/A | N/A | 09/12/2022 | CNH Industrial |
