M&A
Professional services firm Accenture purchased Flutura, an India-based developer of industrial internet-of-things technology, for an undisclosed amount, allowing electronics conglomerate Hitachi to exit. The corporate invested $1m in 2018 through subsidiary Hitachi High-Tech Solutions Corporation following a $7.5m series A round the previous year.
Splyt, a UK-based mobility marketplace backed by corporates SoftBank, American Express and Grab, has been acquired by Kakao Mobility, a subsidiary of internet technology group Kakao, for an undisclosed amount. SoftBank led a $19.5m series B round for the company in 2020 that included corporate venture unit American Express Ventures, bringing its overall funding to $33.5m.
Beauty and personal care product and media company The Good Glamm Group paid an undisclosed sum to buy Bulbulive Shopping Network, an India-based social commerce platform backed by internet company Info Edge. The corporate provided $6.3m in 2020 as part of a reported $14.7m round.
Public markets
Azitra, a US-based skin condition treatment developer backed by pharmaceutical and agricultural product manufacturer Bayer, expects to raise $12m in an initial public offering on NYSE American, the small cap equity market run by the New York Stock Exchange. Bayer owns an 11% stake pre-IPO having invested $8m through its Leaps by Bayer unit to lead a $17m series B round in 2020, doubling the total funding for Azitra to $34m.
Funding
Israel-based online share trading platform eToro raised $250m at a reported $3.5bn valuation, in a round featuring workflow automation software provider Ion Group and telecoms and internet group SoftBank, the latter through its SoftBank Vision Fund 2. They were joined in the round by Velvet Sea Ventures and unnamed others.
| Company | Company description | Sector | Country | Round | Round size($m) | Deal date | Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gravie | Health insurance coverage services provider | Financial | US | N/A | 179 | 21/03/2023 | Axa (Axa Venture Partners); General Atlantic (lead), FirstMark Capital |
| Amogy | Ammonia-derived renewable fuel developer | Energy and Natural Resources | US | B1 | 139 | 22/03/2023 | SK (SK Innovation) (lead), Korea Zinc, Saudi Aramco (Aramco Ventures), Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL Plus), Yanmar (Yanmar Ventures), Anglo American Platinum (AP Ventures), Zeon (Zeon Ventures); Temasek, DCVC |
| Artera | Precision cancer diagnostics test developer | Healthcare | US | N/A | 90 | 21/03/2023 | Johnson & Johnson (Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC), Koch Industries (Koch Disruptive Technologies); Coatue, Walden Catalyst Ventures, Time Ventures, Breyer Capital, Marc Benioff, Jim Breyer, Lip-Bu Tan, Chris Re, Andy Jacques, Amarjit Gill, Jeff Dean, Steve Blank, Dennis Wong, Clarence So, Michael Driscoll |
| Macro | Minority-focused TV and film content provider | Media | US | N/A | 90 | 21/03/2023 | AMC Networks, MNM Creative; BlackRock (BlackRock Impact Opportunities Fund) (lead), Emerson Collective, HarbourView Equity Partners, Goldman Sachs (Goldman Sachs Asset Management), Essence Ventures, Raymond J McGuire, Anré Williams, Clara W |
| Placemakr | Flexible short-term accommodation provider | Services | US | N/A | 65 | 21/03/2023 | Bernstein Management Corporation; Highland Capital Partners (lead), Harbert Growth Partners, Camber Creek, Gaw Capital USA |
| CCP Games | Blockchain-equipped open world game developer | Media | Iceland | N/A | 40 | 22/03/2023 | Wanxiang (Hashed), Nexon; Andreessen Horowitz (lead), Makers Fund, Bitkraft, Kingsway Capital |
| Tomi | Developer of decentralised digital asset infrastructure | Financial | US | N/A | 40 | 21/03/2023 | Digital Wave Finance (DWF Labs) (lead); Ticker Capital, Piha Equities, Hirokado Kohji |
| Op3n | NFT creation and minting services provider | Financial | US | A | 28 | 21/03/2023 | Animoca Brands (lead), Avalanche (Blizzard Fund), Warner Music Interactive, SuperScrypt, Creative Artists Agency; Dragonfly Capital, New Enterprise Associates (Connect Ventures), Republic Crypto, Galaxy Digital |
| Skupos | Retail operations management platform | IT | US | N/A | 22.5 | 20/03/2023 | Brex (Brex Asset Management); SQN Venture Partners |
| Auros | Algorithmic cryptocurrency trading platform | Financial | Taiwan | N/A | 17 | 21/03/2023 | Vivienne Court Trading (lead), Bit Digital; Trovio, Epoch Capital, Primal Capital, unnamed private investors |
| HTMS | Heat transfer fluid developer | Industrial | Ireland | A | 15 | 22/03/2023 | Saudi Aramco (Aramco Ventures); CDP Venture Capital (Corporate Partners I), Progress Tech Transfer, Barclays (Barclays Sustainable Impact Capital) |
| EditForce | DNA and RNA editing technology developer | Healthcare | Japan | N/A | 13.5 | 22/03/2023 | Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma (MP Healthcare Venture Management); University of Tokyo (University of Tokyo Edge Capital), Newton Biocapital, Regional Economy Vitalization Corporation of Japan |
| Kezzler | Developer of counterfeit drug detection technology | Healthcare | Norway | N/A | 10.5 | 20/03/2023 | Tomra |
| Frontier Aerospace Corporation | Rocket propulsion technology provider | Transport | US | A | 10 | 22/03/2023 | Boeing/AE Industrial Partners (AEI HorizonX) (lead) |
| Harm Reduction Therapeutics | Harm reduction therapy developer | Healthcare | US | N/A | 9 | 21/03/2023 | Purdue Pharma |
| StructShare | Daily material order app developer | IT | US | Seed | 8 | 21/03/2023 | Cemex (Cemex Ventures); Kompas (lead), SeedIL |
| Oleria | Autonomous cybersecurity technology developer | IT | US | Seed | 8 | 21/03/2023 | Salesforce (Salesforce Ventures) (lead); Tapestry VC |
| Sorajima | Original webtoon production studio | Media | Japan | B | 7.5 | 22/03/2023 | Z Holdings (Z Venture Capital) (lead), Nippon Life (Nissay Capital), KDDI (KDDI Open Innovation Fund 3), Mitsubishi UFJ (Mitsubishi UFJ Capital), Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC Venture Capital), Sumitomo (Sumisho Venture Partners), Mizuho Bank (Mizuho Capital), Dentsu (Dentsu Ventures), Hakuhodo DY (Hakuhodo DY Ventures); Development Bank of Japan (DBJ Capital), Shunsuke Oyu |
| CrossX | High-speed cryptocurrency trading platform | Financial | US | Seed | 6 | 21/03/2023 | Exness, GMO Internet Group, Nomura (Laser Digital), Pepperstone, Forex (Think Markets), TMGM, Wintermute (Wintermute Ventures), Flow Traders, Gate.io; Two Sigma |
| Togal.AI | Construction estimating software provider | IT | US | Pre-series A | 5 | 21/03/2023 | Coastal Construction; Florida Funders, unnamed others |
| Aspecta | AI-generated digital identity platform | IT | Netherlands | Seed | 3.5 | 22/03/2023 | Wanxiang (HashKey Capital), Galxe, CyberConnect, Mask Network, Dorahacks; ZhenFund, Foresight Ventures |
| Previse | Cancer diagnostics technology developer | Healthcare | US | Seed | 3 | 21/03/2023 | Wexford Science and Technology; Tedco (lead), Riptide Ventures, Gaingels |
| Vouch | Digital concierge platform developer | IT | Singapore | N/A | 3 | 21/03/2023 | Lippo Group (Nusa Jaya Cipta); Forge Ventures, Genesia Ventures, Blowfish Ventures |
| Oculai | Provider of construction site monitoring technology | IT | Germany | Seed | 2.6 | 14/03/2023 | Vinci (Leonard Accelerator Program); High-Tech Gründerfonds (lead), Bayern Kapital (Innovationsfonds EFRE) (co-lead), Axeleo Capital (co-lead) |
| Curreio | Developer of structural analysis technology for cryo-electron microscopy | Industrial | Japan | A | 2 | 22/03/2023 | T&D Insurance Group (T&D Innovation Fund), Asahi Kasei (Asahi Kasei Pharma), Dojin Group (Dojin Capital), Ono Pharmaceutical (Ono Venture Investment); Beyond Next Ventures, 3S Capital, University of Tokyo (U-Tokyo Entrepreneur Supporter’s Club Incubation Fund), IkeruNippon Capital Partners, Osamu Nureki, another unnamed angel investor |
| Carbonable | NFT-based decarbonisation investment platform | Financial | France | Seed | 1.2 | 21/03/2023 | La Poste (La Poste Ventures) (co-lead); Ethereal Ventures (co-lead), Sylvain Theveniaud |
| Dekoruma | Furniture and interior decoration services marketplace | Consumer | Indonesia | N/A | N/A | 21/03/2023 | Djarum Group (unnamed affiliate) |
| TechStorm | Esports and online entertainment platform | Media | China | N/A | N/A | 21/03/2023 | Altonomy Holdings |
| Flyability | Inaccessible site-focused drone developer | Industrial | Switzerland | N/A | N/A | 03/03/2023 | Chevron (Chevron Technology Ventures), Dow (Dow Venture Capital), Cargill (Cargill Ventures), Swisscom (Swisscom Ventures); ETF Partners, Future Industry Ventures, SBI (SBI Investment), Verve Ventures |
| Proxim Diagnostics | Handheld immunodiagnostic device developer | Healthcare | US | N/A | N/A | 21/03/2023 | BioMérieux |
| WizWe | Operator of habituation platform Smart Habit | Services | Japan | N/A | N/A | 22/03/2023 | Aisin/Pegasus Tech Ventures (Aisin Seiki Ventures) |
| Frontier Field | Creator of healthcare provider-focused mobile platform Nibyo Mobile | Healthcare | Japan | N/A | N/A | 22/03/2023 | Otsuka Pharmaceutical Factory |
| The Chain Museum | Operator of art communication platform ArtSticker | Media | Japan | N/A | N/A | 22/03/2023 | J Front Retailing (JFR Mirai Creators Fund) |
