Funding
US-based mental health services provider Cerebral has raised $300m in a series C round led by internet and telecommunications firm SoftBank’s Vision Fund 2. Conglomerate Access Industries, WestCap Group, Artis Ventures and Prysm Capital filled out the participants, bringing the company’s total funding to $462m and its valuation to $4.8bn.
US-based autonomous mobility and robotics technology developer Robotic Research has raked in $228m in series A funding from investors including SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and lidar technology provider Luminar Technologies. They were joined by investment holding group Henry Crown and Company, Enlightenment Capital and Crescent Cove Advisors.
Taikang Asset Management, a subsidiary of insurance provider Taikang, has backed a $189m series D round for China-based medical reagent provider ABclonal Technology. Other investors in the round included financial services firm China Merchants Bank’s CMB International subsidiary, Sequoia Capital China and Lucion Venture Capital as well as Loyal Valley Capital.
India-based ride-hailing service Ola has secured $139m in series J funding at a post-money valuation of $7.3bn, Entrackr has reported. Hero Enterprise, a subsidiary of conglomerate Hero, took part in the round, which was led by Edelweiss Crossover Opportunity Fund and also backed by animal medicine producer Biovet, IIFL’s Special Opportunity and Monopolistic Market Intermediaries funds, Equity Acquisition, Siddahnt Partners, Tejal Merchantile, Vital Real Estate, Atul Family Trust, Alka Family Trust and assorted private investors.
China-based surgical robot producer RainMed Medical has raised about $100m in a series D round led by insurance provider Ping An through its Ping An Capital investment arm, ACVJ has reported. Seresia Asset Management and Lighthouse Canton filled out the participants in the round.
Home healthcare services provider Amedisys has taken part in a $76m funding round for US-based clinician network platform provider ConnectRN, bringing its total funding to $100m. Avidity Partners and Suvretta Capital Management co-led the round, which also featured HBM Healthcare Investments, Infinitum Asset Management, Adage Capital Management, Cormorant Asset Management and Park West Asset Management.
Canada-based plant-derived frozen food brand Strong Roots has received an investment of $55m from frozen potato food producer McCain Foods. The deal will allow Strong Roots to expand the distribution of its products using the corporate’s resources.
Pharmaceutical firm Boehringer Ingelheim’s corporate venturing vehicle, Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund, has backed US-based immuno-oncology treatment developer OncoMyx Therapeutics’s $50m series B round. The round was co-led by Lumira Ventures and B Capital Group and filled out by Xeraya Capital, Delos Capital, Korea Investment Partners, Madison Partners and Hill City Ventures.
Home goods and hardware retailer The Home Depot participated in a $50m series C round for Afero, the US-based developer of an internet of things software platform. The round was led by private equity firm Crosspoint Capital Partners.
US-based AI-generated video avatar producer Synthesia has secured $50m in a series B round featuring internet and technology conglomerate Alphabet’s GV unit. Venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins led the round, which included FirstMark Capital, SeedCamp, LDV Capital, MCC Ventures and unnamed individual investors.
Blickfeld, a Germany-based developer of lidar technology, has increased its series A round to $31m with cash from automotive parts producer Continental as well as lighting technology producer Osram and retailer Tengelmann, through their respective corporate venturing units Fluxunit and Tengelmann Ventures. They were joined by New Future Capital, Bayern Kapital, High-Tech Gründerfonds and UVC Partners, a VC firm affiliated with Unternehmertum, the tech transfer office of Technical University of Munich.
Nomic Bio, a Canada-based protein profiling technology developer, has raised $17m in a series A round that included SR One, the VC firm spun off and financed by pharmaceutical firm GlaxoSmithKline. The round was led by Lux Capital and also featured Casdin Capital and undisclosed existing investors.
US-based real estate data and workflow software provider Perchwell has received $15m in series A funding from investors including 3D space capture technology producer Matterport and real estate listing provider California Regional MLS. VC firm Founders Fund led the round, which was also backed by Lux Capital.
Cryptocurrency exchange KuCoin has paid a “multiple million” amount for a minority stake in Singapore-based metaverse game publisher KaraStar. The company said the investment came in the wake of $10m in series A funding from IDG Capital.
India-based cybersecurity provider CloudSEK has raised $7m in a series A round led by insurance provider Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company’s corporate venturing arm, MassMutual Ventures, the Economic Times has reported. Omidyar Network India, 100X Entrepreneur, Exfinity Venture Partners, IDFC Parampara, StartupXseed Ventures, QED Innovation Labs and private investors Firoz and Navas Meeran also participated.
Exponent Energy, an India-based provider of fast electric vehicle charging technology, has secured $5m in a pre-series A round backed by automotive parts supplier Motherson Group. The round was filled out by YourNext VC, 3one4 Capital and AdvantEdge VC.
Therify, a US-based provider of mental health services for marginalised communities, has raised $1.3m in a seed round led by internet and communications conglomerate SoftBank’s SB Opportunity Fund, TechCrunch has reported. Freight forwarder Flexport, Y Combinator, Looking Glass Capital and True Culture Fund also took part, as did individuals including Ellen Pao.
M&A
Enterprise management software producer PDI has agreed to buy Koupon, a US-based provider of customer engagement and individualised mobile coupons and analytics tracking software for brands and retailers, allowing tobacco group Altria to exit. The company had raised nearly $4.5m in its 2012 series B round.
AirMap, the US-based developer of an air traffic management system for unmanned aircraft, has been purchased by drone technology developer DroneUp for an undisclosed sum. AirMap’s backers include software provider Microsoft, aerospace manufacturer Airbus, chipmaker Qualcomm, e-commerce company Rakuten, drone manufacturer Yuneec and electronics producer Sony, all of which invested in its $26m series B round in 2017, pushing its total funding past $43m.
