The number of corporate-backed deals in February was 233, down 14% from the 270 funding rounds from the same month last year. Investment value also dropped nearly by half to $7.28bn – down from $14.48bn in February 2019. This February also registered lower monthly total estimated capital invested and total deal count against January.
The US came first in the number of corporate-backed deals, hosting 97 rounds, while Japan was second with 41 and India third with 18.
The leading corporate investors by number of deals were diversified internet conglomerate Alphabet, telecoms and internet conglomerate SoftBank and semiconductor and chipmaker Intel. In terms of involvement in the largest deals, IT services provider TIS Intec’s topped the list along with cloud computing enterprise software provider Salesforce and automaker Toyota.
GCV Analytics reported 16 corporate-backed funding initiatives in February, including VC funds, newly launched venturing units, incubators, accelerators and other. This figure suggested a decrease compared with January which registered 24 initiatives. The estimated capital raised in those initiatives amounted to $1.47bn, also considerable drop from the $5.05bn in January.
Deals
Emerging businesses from the IT, services, health, media and consumer sectors led in raising the largest number of rounds during the second month of 2020. The most active corporate venturers came from the financial services, IT, media and health sectors.
Singapore-headquartered on-demand ride provider Grab secured $856m in funding from IT services provider TIS Intec’s TIS subsidiary and financial services firm Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG). MUFG provided $706m for the company while TIS invested $150m. News of the round came as The Information reported that Grab is in talks to merge with Southeast Asia’s other large ride-hailing service, Gojek, in a deal that would value the joint company at $23bn. Grab runs an on-demand transport service spanning 339 cities across eight countries, offering food and package delivery, as well as payment services, lending, wealth management and insurance through the Grab Financial Group subsidiary it launched in 2018.
US-based data analysis software provider Snowflake secured $479m in a series G round co-led by Salesforce’s corporate venturing arm, Salesforce Ventures, and investment firm Dragoneer. Salesforce invested through a strategic partnership that will allow Snowflake’s users, which include Capital One, JetBlue, Sainsbury’s and Adobe, to access Salesforce data automatically on the platform. The round was backed by Altimeter Capital, Redpoint Ventures, Sequoia Capital, Iconiq Capital, Madrona Venture Group and Sutter Hill Ventures. Founded in 2012, Snowflake has created a cloud-based platform that allows users to search for data from both their own internal applications and cloud services providers. It also enables users to create their own data exchange, allowing them to securely share data with others.
Toyota invested $400m in US-based autonomous driving software developer Pony.ai as part of a $462m round that valued it at slightly more than $3bn. The company did not reveal the other participants in the round, which comes in the wake of approximately $464m in earlier funding. Pony.ai has developed a software platform intended to form the basis for an autonomous taxi system and has been testing it in the Chinese city of Guangzhou since late 2018. It began piloting a robotaxi service in the US in November 2019.
Netskope, a US-based cloud cybersecurity software provider backed by computing technology producer Dell, completed a $340m funding round led by venture capital firm Sequoia Capital’s Global Equities unit. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Iconiq Capital, Sapphire Ventures, PSP Investments, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Accel, Base Partners, Geodesic Capital and Social Capital also contributed to the round, which the company said valued it at almost $3bn. Founded in 2012, Netskope has built a platform called Netskope Security Cloud that offers visibility of, and protection from, security threats across cloud services, apps and websites in real time. It has now raised about $740m in total. The round came after a year the company opened a new head office in addition to satellite offices across the US, France, Brazil and Japan.
Diversified US-based entertainment producer Skydance Media received $275m in funding from investors including entertainment studio CJ Entertainment and Merchandising and internet group Tencent. Investment firm RedBird Capital Partners led the round while the Ellison family, which contains Skydance founder and chief executive David Ellison and his sister Megan, the founder and CEO of film producer Annapurna Pictures, also participated. It reportedly valued the producer at $2.3bn. Founded in 2010, Skydance produces film and television, with output including True Grit and entries in the Mission Impossible, Star Trek and Terminator franchises. Its TV shows include Grace and Frankie and Altered Carbon and are mostly on streaming platforms. The company also formed a gaming division called Skydance Interactive in 2016 and is developing animated films in partnership with a studio called Illion Animation.
SoftBank’s Vision Fund invested $250m to lead a series D round of undisclosed size for US-based medicine delivery service Alto Pharmacy. Vision Fund invested out of its Fund II and had at one point considered providing $300m before dialling its participation down slightly. The round valued the company at more than $1bn and included investment firm Greenoaks Capital and venture capital firm Jackson Square Ventures. Formerly known as ScriptDash, Alto runs an online pharmacy that manages prescriptions, delivers medication and offers discounts as well as support on call. It also negotiates with health insurers and streamlines work for care providers.
US-based artificial intelligence system developer SambaNova Systems received $250m in series C funding from investors including subsidiaries of Alphabet and Intel. The round was led by funds and accounts managed by investment firm BlackRock, and included Intel Capital and Alphabet unit GV plus venture capital firms Walden International, WRVI Capital and Redline Capital. SambaNova was formed to bring cutting-edge AI technology to products that can be used by a wider range of organisations. Its lead product is an optimisable platform that combines hardware and software to run compute and data-intensive applications across a range of systems.
Endpoint protection software provider SentinelOne raised $200m in a series E round featuring Qualcomm Ventures, mobile semiconductor technology producer Qualcomm’s corporate venturing unit. The round was led by growth equity firm Insight Partners and included Vista Equity Partners’ Vista Public Strategies vehicle, Third Point Ventures, Tiger Global Management and unnamed existing investors. It valued the US-based company at $1.1bn post-money. Founded in 2013, SentinelOne has built a cybersecurity software platform that uses artificial intelligence to track all endpoint processes, detecting and combatting threatening activity and malware.
SoftBank’s Vision Fund II led a $165m series B round for US-based biopsy technology developer Karius. Venture capital firms General Catalyst, Khosla Ventures and LightSpeed Venture Partners also participated, along with investment firm HBM Healthcare Investments.
Karius has created a non-invasive blood test intended to trace microbial cell-free DNA (mcfDNA) traces left by infectious microbes. The company then applies genomics and artificial intelligence technology to derive information on the disease affecting the patient. The platform can track a wide range of pathogens and Karius typically provides results within a day. The test is currently being used in more than 100 hospitals and health systems across the US.
Roblox, the US-based operator of an online immersive entertainment platform, secured $150m in a series G round featuring Tencent, reportedly at a $4bn valuation. Venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz’s Late Stage Venture fund led the round, which included Temasek, Altos Ventures, Meritech Capital and Tiger Global Management. The company is also opening a tender offer for up to $350m of secondary share sales. Founded as DynaBlocks in 2004, Roblox has built an online platform with 115 million monthly active users who can use it to create virtual worlds and massively multiplayer online games which others can then enter or play.
US-based primary care provider Iora Health secured $126m in a series F round led by investment group Premji Invest that also featured automotive and media conglomerate Cox Enterprises. The round included F-Prime Capital and Devonshire Investors, two subsidiaries of investment and financial services group Fidelity, in addition to Singaporean state-owned investment firm Temasek, Flare Capital Partners, Polaris Partners, Khosla Ventures and .406 Ventures. Iora operates a healthcare system that has grown to 48 practices across the US. In addition to physical ailments, it treats mental health, facilitates behavioural health management and operates a telehealth service and collaborative care platform called Chirp. Practices are opened in partnership with organisations ranging from employers and insurers to health systems and unions. Its partners include aerospace manufacturer Boeing, insurance firm Humana and Dartmouth University.
Exits
GCV Analytics tracked 14 exits involving corporate venturers as either acquirers or exiting investors in February. The transactions included nine acquisitions and five initial public offerings (IPOs).
The exit count figure decreased compared with January, which registered 23 exits. The total estimated exited capital, however, went up to $10.19n from the $8.36bn in the previous month, a 22% increase. In the same month of 2019, the exits count was 17 but the estimated total capital in exits stood at only $952m. The top two exits accounted for the bulk of the estimated total capital.
Financial software provider Intuit agreed to buy US-based credit management platform developer Credit Karma for $7.1bn, allowing Alphabet to exit. Intuit is best known for tax preparation software platform TurboTax. The potential acquisition would be the largest in its history. Credit Karma is set to maintain its independence as an Intuit subsidiary after the deal closes. The transaction involves a mixture of cash and shares and the price is nearly double the $4bn valuation at which Silver Lake made a $500m secondary investment in the company in early 2018. It includes almost $1bn in equity awards that will be issued over the next three years. Credit Karma has created an online platform with more than 100 million members who can get free access to their credit scores and online identity status in addition to filing their taxes and finding credit card and consumer loan deals.
Salesforce agreed to acquire one of its portfolio companies, US-based customer relationship management (CRM) software provider Vlocity, for $1.33bn in cash. The transaction will include the company assuming unvested equity awards held by Vlocity’s employees, and the price was described as net of the value of shares currently owned by Salesforce. The acquisition is expected to close in 2021 and professional services firm Accenture and insurance provider New York Life. Founded in 2014, Vlocity has created a range of CRM apps that fit on top of the Salesforce platform but which are tailored for specific industries such as communications, media and entertainment, energy and utilities, healthcare and insurance, in addition to government work.
Data services provider LexisNexis Risk Solutions agreed to purchase Emailage, a US-based fraud prevention technology provider backed by IT services firm Wipro, for an amount reported to be about $480m. The company will become part of the Business Services group at LexisNexis while its data network will inform the buyer’s existing Digital Identity Network. Founded in 2012, Emailage has developed a software product that uses machine learning and a dynamic data network to analyse email communications, issuing digital identity scores to customers in order to reduce risk from fraudulent email accounts.
Pharmaceutical firm Takeda acquired one of its portfolio companies, US-based coeliac disease drug developer PvP Biologics, in a deal sized at up to $330m. PvP was founded in 2011 out of a project submitted for University of Washington’s Genetically Engineered Machine contest that involved it using software designed by UW professor of biochemistry David Baker to find an enzyme able to break down gluten in the stomach before it damages the intestine. The enzyme, KumaMax, was developed by a team headed by PvP’s co-founder and chief scientific officer Ingrid Swanson Pultz, also part of UW’s biochemistry department. It forms the basis of PvP’s lead drug candidate, TAK-062.
US-based cancer therapy developer Revolution Medicines raised $238m in an IPO on the Nasdaq Global Market that scored an exit for pharmaceutical company Sanofi. The company priced its shares at the top of a $15 to $17 range that had been upsized from the IPO’s original $14 to $16 range, also increasing the number of shares in the offering from 10 million to 14 million at the same time. The shares rose 70% to close at $28.90 on their first day of trading, valuing Revolution at just under $1.65bn. The developer is working on oncology drugs designed to target selected proteins that play a significant role in cancer. Up to $175m of the proceeds will fund the development of candidates focusing on the Ras protein pathway.
Schrödinger, the US-based life sciences platform developer backed by Alphabet and pharmaceutical firm Wuxi AppTec, closed its IPO at more than $232m. The company floated issuing nearly 11.9 million shares on the Nasdaq Global Market, priced at $17.00 each. Its shares closed at $28.64 on their first day of trading and are at $28.61 at time of publication. The software platform is used by pharmaceutical and industrial product developers to discover molecules for use in new medicines and material designs. It grew its revenue 21% year on year in the first nine months of 2019 while cutting losses to $18.5m.
Passage Bio, a US-based genetic medicine developer backed by Access Industries and pharmaceutical firm Eli Lilly, raised $216m in its IPO. The company is issuing 12 million shares on the Nasdaq Global Select Market priced at the top of the IPO’s $16 to $18 range, having increased the number of shares from 7.4 million to 10 million and then adding a further 2 million. Founded in 2017, Passage Bio is developing genetic therapies for rare, life-threatening central nervous system disorders that currently have limited or no approved treatment options. Proceeds from the offering will go to phase 1/2 trials for three drug candidates aimed at frontotemporal dementia, known as Krabbe disease, and genetically inherited brain and spinal cord disorder GM1 gangliosidosis, respectively.
US-based genomic therapy developer Beam Therapeutics, whose investors include Alphabet, closed its IPO at $207m. The company priced 10.6 million shares at the top of a $15 to $17 range to raise $180m, having already increased the number of shares it was offering. The shares closed at $24.99 and the IPO’s underwriters acquired another 1.59 million shares to close the offering. Beam is using genomic base-editing technology to develop treatments for serious diseases. The IPO proceeds will fund development of its core platform, preclinical proof-of-concept studies and investigational new frug-enabling studies for its drug candidates.
Mobile content discovery platform Digital Turbine agreed to purchase US-based peer Mobile Posse in a deal reported by DC Inno to be about $66m in size, allowing SoftBank to exit. Founded in 2005, the firm has developed a content discovery platform intended to be built into smartphones by original equipment manufacturers to provide an aggregated feed tailored to users’ individual tastes.
Data centre operator Vantage Data Centers acquired Luxembourg-headquartered peer Etix Everywhere for an undisclosed amount, allowing infrastructure group Keppel to exit. Etix operates 12 data centres covering 50 MW of capacity and has a large-scale 55 MW hyperscale campus under construction in Frankfurt, Germany. Although US-based Vantage did not disclose how much it paid for Etix, it said the deal forms part of a $2bn European growth push. The purchase also gives it four greenfield sites in the cities of Berlin, Milan, Zurich and Warsaw.
Note: Monthly data can fluctuate as additional data are reported after each issue of GCV magazine goes to press.