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According to The Information, OpenAI has told employees it has finalized a tender offer in which investors buy employee profit units—essentially, rights to future OpenAI profits—at a price that implies a roughly $27 billion valuation. The sale rewards some of the eight-year-old firm’s 400 employees, it notes, and could also help convince them to stick around as demand for their expertise grows beyond the walls of OpenAI.
The Securities and Exchange Commission today filed charges against Bittrex, the nine-year-old outfit once ranked as the U.S.'s biggest platform for trading digital assets. The agency alleges the Seattle-based exchange failed to comply with securities law by failing to register as a broker-dealer, exchange, and clearing agency, taking in at least $1.3 billion in illicit revenue between 2017 and 2022. The SEC's enforcement staff reportedly told Bittrex last month it would recommend that the agency sue the company over alleged violations of investor-protection laws.
Canada’s main public broadcaster said today that it was pausing activity on Twitter, becoming the latest media outlet to refrain from posting because of the social-media platform’s policy on labeling accounts. Canadian Broadcasting Corp. said the decision comes a day after Twitter labeled its @CBC account as “government-funded media.” When NPR and PBS made the same decision last week for the same reason, observers noted that several of the ventures of Twitter owner Elon Musk
-- including SpaceX and Tesla -- rely far more on government funding.
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Razor Group, a three-year-old Berlin startup that is rolling up Amazon retailers, raised an $88.4 million Series C round at a $1.2 billion valuation. The investment syndicate included Upper90, L Catterton, Presight Capital, Blackrock, GFC, LatinLeap, Redalpine, and 468 Capital. The company also purchased one of its competitors (Stryze Group). TechCrunch has more here.
Ynsect, a twelve-year-old Paris startup that farms insects for use in pet foods and other foodstuffs, raised a $174.8 million round from a group of unnanmed investors. (Previous backers have included Astanor Ventures, Bpifrance, and Iron Man movie actor Robert Downey, Jr.) The company has raised a total of approximately $625 million. Bloomberg has more here.
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| Big-But-Not-Crazy-Big Fundings |
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Capitola, a two-year-old Mountain View, Ca. startup whose platform helps commercial insurance brokers locate locate and evaluate insurance policies for their corporate customers, raised a $15.6 million Series A round. Munich Re Ventures was the deal lead, while previous investor Lightspeed Venture Partners also chipped in. The company has raised a total of $20.6 million. SiliconANGLE has more here.
Epic Sciences, a 15-year-old San Diego company that is designing diagnostic tools to better enable the treatment and management of prostate and breast cancers, raised a $24 million Series G round co-led by Deerfield Management and Arsenal Capital Partners, with previous investors Blue Ox Healthcare Partners, Domain Ventures, and Labcorp also pitching in. The company has raised a total of $219.5 million. More here.
Innovamat, a six-year-old Barcelona startup that designs teaching guides and student learning materials with a particular focus on math, raised a $21 million Series A round led by Reach Capital, with Kibo Ventures, Bonsai Partners, Axon Partners, 10x, and Dozen Investments also taking part. TechCrunch has more here.
Orbit Fab, a five-year-old, Boulder, Co.-based satellite refueling service provider, has raised $28.5 million in Series A funding, with participation from Stride Capital, Industrious Ventures, Lockheed Martin Ventures, Tribe Capital, Good Growth Capital, and Massive Capital Partners. Spacewatch has more here.
Scan.com, a five-year-old London startup that gives patients direct access to private medical imaging services, raised a $12 million Series A round co-led by Oxford Capital, Aviva Ventures, YZR Capital, Triple Point Ventures, and Simplyhealth Ventures, with participation from Forefront Venture Partners. TechCrunch has more here.
Yonder, a three-year-old London startup that has developed a credit card product with a strong emphasis on rewards shopping, raised a $15.4 million round from Northzone and RTP Global at a valuation in excess of $86 million. The company also raised $61.9 million in debt. Yonder has raised a total of $111.7 million. TechCrunch has more here.
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Argo Space Corp., an Hermosa Beach, Ca.-based startup that aims to build an in-space transportation network using reusable spacecraft propelled by water harvested from the moon(!). recently closed a $2 million funding round. Type One Ventures led the round in to the company, which is helmed by three SpaceX veterans who are also brothers. It was joined by Boost VC, Stellar Ventures and Earthrise Ventures. TechCrunch has more here.
Equipme, a German startup that creates B2B marketplaces for companies and their suppliers, raised a $3.8 million seed round. La Famiglia led the transaction, with additional participation from Lightbird and Anamcara. TechCrunch has more here.
EVEN, a one-year-old Los Angeles startup that is building a music platform for Black and brown artists, raised a $2.2 million seed round. CSA Partners was the deal lead, while gANGELS and gener8tor also participated. TechCrunch has more here.
Floodlight, a two-year-old London startup that helps e-commerce SMEs connect financial platforms (e.g. bank accounts, Stripe, Shopify) into one dashboard, raised a $6.4 million round led by Aleph and 83North. Calcalist has more here.
Loopin, a five-year-old startup based in Bristol, UK, whose software claims to use AI to measure employee morale, raised a $1.9 million round from angel investors. The company has raised a total of $3.2 million. TechCrunch has more here.
Perci Health, a three-year-old London startup that develops personalized support programs for cancer and post-cancer patients, raised a $4.2 million round led by Octopus Ventures. The company has raised a total of $6.3 million. Tech.eu has more here.
Zetta Genomics, a five-year-old startup based in Cambridge, UK, whose platform helps organizations analyze genomic data in order to develop new genome-based drugs, raised a $2.1 million round led by Nina Capital and including APEX Ventures and Cambridge Enterprise (the University of Cambridge's investment arm). Tech.eu has more here.
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Lululemon Athletica is exploring a sale of Mirror, the fitness-equipment maker it acquired for $500 million in 2020, according to Bloomberg. The outlet observes that Lululemon, which at one point was selling Mirror products in-store, has pivoted to a digital and app-based product that it has rebranded as Lululemon Studio. But it isn’t eliminating the hardware — it’s just no longer a requirement.
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Chia Network, developer of a blockchain designed to be more environmentally friendly, filed confidentially for an IPO, the company announced Friday. Axios has more here.
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Morgan Stanley's wealth-management juggernaut has lifted Andy Saperstein from a long-shot candidate to a serious contender to replace CEO James Gorman, says Bloomberg, noting that for now, his primary competition is his co-president, investment bank boss Ted Pick, as well as asset management head Dan Simkowitz. More here.
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A new survey finds 27% of people aged 59 and older have no money set aside for their later years. A quarter of Gen X respondents said the same. Bloomberg has more here.
Apple’s sales in India hit a new high of almost $6 billion in the year through March, highlighting the market’s increasing importance for the company.
Tesla disclosed to U.S. regulators another fatal crash involving automated driver-assist systems, bringing its total to 17 since June 2021 when the government required carmakers to begin submitting data on these accidents. Bloomberg has more here.
By Silicon Valley Bank's own admission, 70% of its loans consisted of “low credit loss lending” to vineyards, private equity funds and “innovation economy influencers," says the FT. About 9% of the total went to companies that the bank considered unlikely to be able to pay back what they owed unless they could find a buyer or raise new money, it also reports. More here.
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The U.S. Treasury said today that Volkswagen, BMW, Nissan, Rivian, Hyundai and Volvo electric vehicles will lose access to a $7,500 tax credit under new battery sourcing rules. The rules are aimed at freeing the United States from its dependence on China for EV battery supply chains. Reuters has more here.
Conception Biosciences believes that one day dozens of egg cells might be generated from a simple biopsy or blood sample -- perhaps even one taken from someone who is biologically male.
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Cautious deal sourcing, intensive portfolio management, and uncertain deal volume. These are the characteristics that define dealmaking in 2023—but what do they mean for your firm? Download Affinity’s latest report for actionable tips in all three areas.
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