Funds
Chilean diversified logistics group Agunsa has formed a corporate venture capital fund called Agunsa Labs. The unit has also made its first investment, in local startup accelerator Instance Latam.
Brazilian pesticide provider Koppert Biological Systems is investing up to R$50m ($9.3m) in a corporate venturing arm which will target seed-stage agricultural technology developers. It will be managed by Banco do Brasil asset management subsidiary BB DTVM.
M&A
Car dealership chain AutoNation agreed to acquire RepairSmith, the US-based car repair and maintenance service backed by carmakers Porsche and Mercedes Benz, for $190m in early 2023. Both corporates took part in RepairSmith’s $42m series B round in August 2021 after it was spun off by Mercedes, Porsche investing through its Porsche Ventures unit.
Cybersecurity services provider Proofpoint has agreed to buy Israel-based peer Illusive, which specialises in identity threat detection and response, for an undisclosed amount. Financial services firm Citi, networking technology producer Cisco and software provider Microsoft all contributed to Illusive’s last round, a $24m series B1 in late 2020 that pushed its total funding past $54m.
Funding
| Company | Company description | Sector | Country | Round | Round size($m) | Deal date | Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State Fuel Cell Technology Corporation | Hydrogen fuel cell vehicle developer spun off by State Power Investment Corporation | Transport | China | B | 648 | 09/12/2022 | State Power Investment Corporation; Guokai Manufacturing Transformation and Upgrading Fund, China State-Owned Enterprises Mixed Ownership Reform Fund, Sichuan Provincial Investment Group, National Green Development Fund |
| Apogee Therapeutics | Immunological and inflammatory disorder drug developer spun off by Paragon Therapeutics | Healthcare | US | B | 169 | 07/12/2022 | Deep Track Capital (co-lead), RTW Investments (co-lead), funds and accounts advised by Fidelity Management & Research, OrbiMed, Perceptive Advisors (Perceptive Xontogeny Ventures Fund II), RA Capital Management, Wellington Management, Fairmount, Venrock Healthcare Capital Partners |
| HistoSonics | Novel beam therapy developer | Healthcare | US | N/A | 85 | 13/12/2022 | Johnson & Johnson (Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC) (lead), Signature Bank; Venture Investors, Lumira Ventures, Yonjin Venture, State of Wisconsin Investment Board |
| Indiemicro | Automotive and healthcare chipmaker | IT | China | B | 43.2 | 13/12/2022 | Changan Automobile (Changan Anhe Private Equity Investment Fund) (co-lead), Keboda Technology (co-lead), Changzhou Xingyu (co-lead), Dofeng Motor Group/Bank of Communications joint venture (co-lead), Keysida; Sunic Capital, Guolian Securities, Qianhai Pengchan |
| Storm Therapeutics | RNA modifying enzyme drug developer | Healthcare | UK | B | 30 | 14/12/2022 | Pfizer (Pfizer Ventures)(co-lead), Merck Group (M Ventures) (co-lead), Taiho Pharmaceutical Company (Taiho Ventures); University of Cambridge (Cambridge Innovation Capital), IP Group, Fast Track Initiative, University of Tokyo (University of Tokyo Innovation Platform), Seroba Life Sciences |
| Nillion | Non-blockchain decentralised network developer | IT | Switzerland | N/A | 20 | 12/12/2022 | Wanxiang (HashKey), GSR; Distributed Global (lead), AU21, Big Brain Holdings, Chapter One, OP Crypto, Salt Fund |
| Kiyatec | Precision oncology therapy provider | Healthcare | US | C | 18 | 12/12/2022 | Bruker (lead), LabCorp; Seae Ventures, VentureSouth |
| Dogamí | Pet-themed NFT game developer | Media | France | Seed | 14 | 14/12/2022 | Ubisoft, Tezos, Animoca Brands, GSR; Xange (lead), BPIfrance, Draper Goren Holm, co-founders of The Sandbox |
| BehaVR | Virtual reality-focused mental health treatment developer | Healthcare | US | B | 13 | 13/12/2022 | Optum (Optum Ventures) (co-lead), Confluent Health, Accenture (Accenture Ventures); Oxford Science Enterprises (co-lead), Chrysalis Ventures, Thornton Capital |
| Destácame | Latin America-focused alternative lender | Financial | Chile | B | 10 | 29/11/2022 | Banco Santander (lead); Kayyak Ventures, Fen Ventures, unnamed family offices |
| Leading Mark | Operator of human resources platform Mikiwame | Services | Japan | N/A | 5.6 | 14/12/2022 | Money Forward, Aiful (AG Capital), Shinsei Bank (Shinsei Corporate Investment); Femto Partners, University of Tokyo (University of Tokyo Innovation Platform) |
| U-Map | Producer of heat conduction filler material | Industrial | Japan | N/A | 5.2 | 14/12/2022 | Chukyo Yushi, Seiko Epson/Global Brain (EP-GB Investment); Real Tech Fund, Kyoto University (Kyoto University Innovation Capital), Aichi Bank, Aichi Science & Technology Foundation (Go-Tech) |
| Insolight | Agricultural lighting provider | Energy and Natural Resources | Switzerland | N/A | 4.9 | 13/12/2022 | Energie 360° (Smart Energy Innovation Fund); Demeter (lead), Verve Ventures, Zürcher Kantonalbank |
| Finhealth Sanus | Employee mental and financial health platform | Services | Brazil | N/A | 4.7 | 29/11/2022 | Grupo N002 |
| Okto Grid | Provider of electricity consumption data software | Energy and Natural Resources | Netherlands | N/A | 3.2 | 12/12/2022 | Elewit; Rockstart |
| AirEx | Smart ventilation technology developer | Energy and Natural Resources | UK | A | 3.2 | 13/12/2022 | Barclays (Barclays Sustainable Impact Capital (co-lead); Nesta (Nesta Impact Investments) (co-lead), Green Angel Syndicate, Unreasonable Collective |
| Senzo | Point-of-care diagnostics technology developer | Healthcare | US | N/A | 1.9 | 12/12/2022 | Wellness Coaches; BioAdvance |
| ProfitWheel | Consumer data intelligence platform | IT | US | Pre-A | 1.2 | 13/12/2022 | Netcore Cloud; Nigel Morris, Amit Singhal, Ashutosh Garg |
| Statzon | Market intelligence technology provider | IT | Finland | N/A | <1 ($430,000) | 12/12/2022 | Sofokus (Sofokus Ventures); Business Finland (debt), Gorilla Capital |
| Trashin | Waste management services provider | Industrial | Brazil | N/A | <1 ($280,000) | 29/11/2022 | Irani Papel e Pintura (Irani Ventures) |
| Tokuiten | Developer of organic farming automation technology | Industrial | Japan | Seed | N/A | 14/12/2022 | MTG (MTG Ventures)/XTech Ventures (Central Japan Seed Fund); Japan Finance Corporation (debt) |
| Allay Therapeutics | Post-surgical pain relief therapeutics developer | Healthcare | US | N/A | N/A | 13/12/2022 | Evonik |
| PhenoVista Biosciences | Cell-based assay services provider | Healthcare | US | N/A | N/A | 13/12/2022 | Fujifilm (Life Sciences Corporate Venture Capital) |
| TransVoyant | Intelligent supply chain solution platform | Services | Canada | N/A | N/A | 14/12/2022 | Merck & Co (Merck Global Health Innovation Fund) (co-lead); P74 Ventures (co-lead) |
| Fortify | 3D printing technology developer | Industrial | US | N/A | N/A | 14/12/2022 | Lockheed Martin (Lockheed Martin Ventures) |
| Recare Holding | Acute care discharge management platform | Healthcare | Germany | N/A | N/A | 08/12/2022 | Thieme; unnamed others |
