Funds
Japanese chemical and life sciences group Denka has teamed up with US-based venture capital firm Pegasus Tech Ventures to form a $100m corporate venturing fund. Denka will be the sole limited partner for the fund, which will invest between $500,000 and $10m per deal in areas like renewable energy, batteries, semiconductors and healthcare.
US-based venture capital firm Sapphire Sport has closed its second fund at $181m, having received commitments from limited partners including corporates Madison Square Garden Sports, Pentland Group, City Football Group, Sinclair Broadcast Group, Adidas and Anschutz Entertainment Group. Bank of Montreal, Intersect Capital, Wise Ventures, Jeff Vinik, Skyland Partners, Arctos Partners, Gametime Capital, Stephen Kaplan, Stephen Pagliuca, David Blitzer and CAZ Investments also contributed.
M&A
Cloud-based bond transaction service NowCM Group has acquired Nivaura, a UK-based digital financial infrastructure provider backed by financial exhange operator London Stock Exchange, financial services firm Santander, insurance provider Transamerica and law firms Linklaters and Orrick, for an undisclosed sum. Nivaura closed its seed round at $20m in 2019 and was valued at $25m in August 2022 when it converted $11m in debt to equity.
Chemicals prodcuer Kemira has acquired portfolio company SimAnalytics, a Finland-based provider of computational analytics software, for an undisclosed amount. SimAnalytics had raised an undisclosed sum from the corporate in August 2021.
Funding
| Company | Company description | Sector | Country | Round | Round size($m) | Deal date | Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pasqal | Quantum processor developer | IT | France | B | 109 | 24/01/2023 | Eni (Eni Next), Saudi Aramco (Wa’ed Ventures); Temasek (lead), Quantonation, Defense Innovation Fund, Daphni, European Innovation Council, BPIfrance (Large Venture Fund) |
| SetPoint Medical | Autoimmune disease therapy developer | Healthcare | US | N/A | 80 | 19/01/2023 | Boston Scientific, GSK (Action Potential Venture Capital); Norwest Venture Partners (co-lead), Viking Global Investors (co-lead), Gilmartin Capital, NEA, Topspin Fund, Euclidean Capital, Morgenthaler Ventures, Richard King Mellon Foundation, ShangBay Capital, Ascendum Capital, Catalio Capital Management, Midas Capital, Citta Capital, SVE Capital |
| Quicknode | Blockchain deployment platform | Financial | US | B | 60 | 24/01/2023 | Protocol Labs; 10T Holdings (lead), Tiger Global, Seven Seven Six Ventures, QED Investors |
| Scythe Robotics | Autonomous mower producer | Industrial | US | B | 42 | 24/01/2023 | Amazon (Alexa Fund); Energy Impact Partners (lead), ArcTern Ventures, Alumni Ventures, True Ventures, Inspired Capital |
| Egerie | Enterprise cybersecurity software provider | IT | France | N/A | 32.7 | 24/01/2023 | CNP Assurances (Open CNP); Tikehau Capital, TIIN Capital, Banque des Territoires |
| Terra Drone | Drone software provider | Industrial | Japan | C | 14 | 25/01/2023 | Saudi Aramco (Wa’ed Ventures) |
| Ampeco | Management software provider for electric vehicle charging stations | Transport | Bulgaria | A | 13 | 25/01/2023 | BMW (BMW i Ventures) (lead); LauncHub Ventures, Cavalry Ventures |
| Vartana | Sales deal closure and financing platform | Financial | US | A | 12 | 24/01/2023 | Xerox (Xerox Ventures); Mayfield (lead), Flex Capital, Audacious Ventures, i80 Group |
| Landeed | Property title search engine | Services | India | Seed | 8.3 | 24/01/2023 | Sattva Group (Salarpuria Sattva); Stonks, Draper Associates, Y Combinator, Bayhouse Capital, Paradigm Shift VC, 10x Founders Fund, Capital X, Olive Tree |
| Atlas Medical Technologies | Surgical robotics technology developer | Healthcare | Germany | A | 2.6 | 24/01/2023 | Beat Drop; Ancora Finance Group (lead), Gronmayer Swiss Health |
| Sensor Industries | Water sensor technology provider | Energy and Natural Resources | US | N/A | N/A | 24/01/2023 | Travel + Leisure Co |
