Public markets
Acelyrin, a US-based inflammatory disorder drug developer backed by industrial conglomerate Access Industries, filed to raise $100m in an initial public offering on the Nasdaq Global Market. It has received a total of $408m in venture funding, and the corporate’s Access Biotechnology unit owns a 3.9% stake having led a $300m series C round in September 2022.
CytoMed Therapeutics, a Singapore-based cancer immunotherapy developer that counts telecommunications product distributor MDR Group as an investor, floated on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange in a $9.6m IPO, having priced 2.41 million shares at $4 apiece. MDR provided $1.1m in convertibl debt financing in 2019 and had a 14.7% stake diluted to 11.6% in the offering.
M&A
Workforce management software provider BetterPlace closed the acquisition of Troopers, a Malaysia-based online human resources platform focused on part-time jobs, for an undisclosed sum, allowing marketing firm Shopper360 to exit.
Funding
Orbit Fab, the US-based operator of an in-orbit refuelling station network, raised $28.5m in series A funding from investors including Lockheed Martin Ventures, a subsidiary of aerospace and defence group Lockheed Martin. The round was led by investment firm 8090 Industries and also featured Stride Capital, Industrious Ventures, Tribe Capital, Good Growth Capital and Massive Capital Partners.
| Company | Company description | Sector | Country | Round | Round size($m) | Deal date | Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HashPort | Web3 and blockchain consulting service | Services | Japan | C | 9 (updated) | 18/04/2023 | Tokyu Land Corporation (TSVF Fund 1); Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, University of Tokyo (Edge Capital Partners), Shizuoka Bank (Shizuoka Capital), Venture Labo Investment (MS Startup Support Fund), Yusaku Maezawa |
| Toku | Provider of AI-equipped diagnostic and screening software | Healthcare | US | A | 8 | 17/04/2023 | National Vision (co-lead), Topcon Healthcare (co-lead) |
| Fractal | Infrastructure provider for digital asset trading | Financial | Switzerland | Seed | 6 | 18/04/2023 | Avalanche (Blizzard), Circle (Circle Ventures), CoinShares, Capital Markets Trading (CMT Digital); Hack VC (lead), 6th Man Ventures, Archetype Ventures, GoldenTree Asset Management, QCP Capital, Spartan Group, Akshai Rajendran, Anand Gomes, Josh Frank, Shiliang Tang, Sid Powell |
| Bloomo Investment | US stock and exchange-traded fund asset building app | Financial | Japan | Seed | 6 | 18/04/2023 | Mitsubishi UFJ (Mitsubishi UFJ Innovation Partners), Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC Venture Capital), Mizuho Bank (Mizuho Capital); Spiral Capital, Global Brain, Scrum Ventures, Angel Bridge, Insignia Ventures Partners |
| Jatri | Bus network management platform | Transport | Bangladesh | A | 5.25 | 15/04/2023 | Alsa, Genting Group (Genting Ventures); SBK Tech (lead), DVC, Doha Tech Angels |
| Lockr | Digital identity and data management platform | IT | US | Pre-Seed | 2.5 | 17/04/2023 | Mozilla (Mozilla Ventures); Junction Venture Partners, Grit Capital Partners |
| Grabss | Electronic ticket and online communication platform | Media | Japan | N/A | 2.2 | 18/04/2023 | Airworks |
| DDK Positioning | Provider of global navigation satellite technology | Industrial | UK | N/A | N/A | 17/04/2023 | Topcon Positioning Systems |
| Araris Biotech | Developer of antibody-drug conjugate production technology | Healthcare | Switzerland | N/A | N/A | 12/04/2023 | Samsung (Samsung Ventures’ Samsung Life Science Fund) |
| Agnavi | Owner of canned sake brands Ichi-Go-Can and Canpai | Consumer | Japan | N/A | N/A | 18/04/2023 | JR East (JR East Start Up) |
