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July 20, 2020
Hello and welcome back! Some quick notes:
Beginning this coming Monday, July 27th, StrictlyVC is shutting down for two weeks for a very different break than we'd originally planned back in January but that we're sure we'll still love because we're of hardy Midwestern stock and that's how we roll.:) Note that we'll resume publishing on August 10th.
Also, if you're a seed-stage founder, we wanted to flag for you TechCrunch's "Early Stage" event, happening online tomorrow and Wednesday. This program represents a really great opportunity for entrepreneurs to get their questions answered in real time.
We'll be helping to kick off the event with a short interview (followed by an open Q&A session) with Jess Lee and James Buckhouse of Sequoia Capital, who have some tips and tricks to share around storytelling. We're also talking with Gary Tan of Initialized Capital on pitfalls to avoid, then with Priti Youssef Choksi of Norwest. She previously led M&A at Google and Facebook and will be answering questions such as how much to share with potential acquirers, and who the intermediary should be (the founder or VC).
A lot of smart people are involved in this two-day event, including Reid Hoffman, Caryn Marooney, and Ann Miura-Ko, so don't miss this one; they'll be covering a lot of valuable territory.
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Top News
Bubblicious: Shares of Amazon, Tesla, Microsoft, Apple, Alphabet, Facebook and Netflix popped today, adding $291.66 billion in combined market valuation. CNBC has more here.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, under fire for allowing Donald Trump to post inflammatory statements on his platform, tells Axios there's no truth to whispers that the two have a secret understanding.
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Sponsored By ...
The IPO market is back in full swing, with some recent IPOs seeing opening day returns over 100%! Wondering how you can get exposure to companies like Lemonade or DraftKings before they go public? Enter EquityZen. EquityZen allows accredited investors to invest, with low minimums, in proven pre-IPO tech firms like Rivian Automotive and Snowflake through its pooled funds (note that not all pre-IPO companies will go public). Explore EquityZen’s secondary market today.
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Massive Fundings
Antengene, a 4.5-year-old, Shanghai, China-based clinical-stage oncology and hematology biopharma company, has raised $97 million in Series C funding. Fidelity Management & Research Company led the round, joined by Hillhouse Capital, GIC, Qiming Venture Partners, and Boyu Capital. More here.
Dream11, a 12-year-old, Mumbai, India-based fantasy sports platform that allows users to play fantasy cricket, hockey, football, kabaddi and basketball, is reportedly in talks to raise $200 million from investors including Kedaara Capital. DealStreetAsia has more here.
PolicyBazaar, a 12-year-old, Gurgaon, India-based lending marketplace and digital insurer, plans to secure about $250 million in a round of financing at a $2 billion-plus valuation before a September 2021 initial public offering, co-founder Yashish Dahiya tells Bloomberg. The company's previous investors include the SoftBank Vision Fund, Tiger Global Management, and Tencent Holdings. More here.
Xpeng Motors, a six-year-old, Guangzhou, China-based electric vehicle maker, has raised $500 million in Series C+ funding from Aspex, Coatue, Hillhouse Capital and Sequoia Capital China. The capital follows a $400 million cash injection in November from investors that included Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi. CNBC has more here.
Big-But-Not-Crazy-Big Fundings
Sibros, a 2.5-year-old, San Jose, Ca.-based connected vehicle system that was founded by former Tesla vets and which connects and manages a car's various electronic control units, as well as collects data from them for advanced analytics, raised $12 million in Series A funding. Nexus Venture Partners led the round, joined by Moneta Ventures and Twin Ventures. More here.
Cohere Health, a year-old, Boston-based healthcare administration company that ties together physicians, patients, and health plans, has raised $10 million in Series A funding. Flare Capital Partners led the round, joined by Define Ventures. More here.
NDR Medical Technology, a six-year-old, Singapore-based surgical robotic startup that has developed an automated needle targeting system, just raised $5.8 million in Series A funding led by the medical device maker Microport Scientific Corp. DealStreetAsia has more here.
Neurovalens, a seven-year-old, Belfast, Ireland-based maker of a neurostimulation headset that aims to treat diabetes, obesity, and anxiety, among other things, has raised £5.1 million ($6.5 million) in funding. IQ Capital led the round, joined by Wharton Asset Management Company, The Angel CoFund, Techstart Ventures, Clarendon Fund Managers, and the Government’s Future Fund. EU Startups has more here.
Percipient, a 5.5-year-old, Singapore-based fintech startup that helps banks and insurers create a more lightweight and API-ready representation of their enterprise data and processes, has raised $5 million from Stat Zero. DealStreetAsia has more here.
Ready, Set, Food, a three-year-old, L.A.-based system that aims to safely introduce peanut, milk and egg to babies via daily packets in their food or bottles in order to help prevent food allergies, has raised $3 million in second-round funding from Danone Manifesto Ventures, Mark Cuban, and AF Ventures. More here.
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New Funds
The growth equity and mid-market buyout arm of TPG is reportedly pitching its fifth fund to investors, after a period of changes in its top management last year. According to PE News, the firm is targeting $4 billion for TPG Growth V LP, which would make it slightly larger than its predecessor fund, which closed on $3.7 billion in December 2017. More here (sub required).
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IPOs
Annexon Biosciences, a South San Francisco-based antibodies maker, has revealed plans to sell 10 million shares in an IPO that prices them at between $14 and $16. The pre-revenue company just finished sealing up a separate $100 million in funding earlier this month. You can find out more about it here in FierceBiotech.
Billionaire Jack Ma’s Ant Group is seeking a valuation north of $200 billion as it goes public in Hong Kong and Shanghai, kicking off a much-anticipated market debut for China’s leader in internet finance. Bloomberg has more here.
Bow Capital Management’s Vivek Ranadive, the founder of Tibco Software and the owner of the Sacramento Kings National Basketball Association franchise, has joined the blank-check party, filing for a $350 million listing on Friday. Its paperwork states that it will focus on acquiring a business in the technology, media or telecommunications industries. Bloomberg has more here.
Freeline Therapeutics, a 4.5-year-old, London-based gene therapy startup focused on liver expression, just filed for a $100 million IPO. The company has raised $290 million from backers like Syncona and Novo Holding, including via a $120 million Series C round that the company closed just last month. Endpoints News has more on the company here.
Holicity, a new, Kirkland, Wa.-based blank check company focused on acquiring a TMT business, filed on Friday with the SEC to raise up to $250 million in an IPO by offering 25 million units at a price of $10. The company is led by CEO and Chairman Craig McCaw, the telecommunications veteran and the founder of McCraw Cellular Communications (now AT&T Wireless). Renaissance Capital has more here.
Jamf, the 18-year-old, Minneapolis-based company that helps companies securely deploy all of their Apple products and that sold the majority of its business to Vista Equity Partners in 2017, has raised its IPO price range. The company previously planned to charge between $17 and $19 per share range; its revised plans see it selling shares at between $21 to $23 per share. TechCrunch has more here.
Nurix Therapeutics, an 11-year-old, San Francisco-based oncology biotech, has revealed plans to sell 8.8 million shares at between $16 and $18 in an IPO, which would give it a market cap of $592 million at the mid-range. Nurix has raised $224 million from investors over the years, with its biggest outside shareholders being The Column Group and Third Rock Ventures. MarketWatch has more here.
Yucaipa Acquisition, a new, L.A.-based blank check company formed by private equity firm The Yucaipa Companies, filed on Friday with the SEC to raise up to $300 million in IPO. The company is led by President and Chairman Ronald Burkle, the founder and Managing Partner of private equity firm The Yucaipa Companies. Renaissance Capital has more here.
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Exits
Majesco, a 38-year-old, Morristown, N.J.-based company that sells cloud-based insurance software to hundreds of other insurers (around policy management, product modeling, product configuration, new business processing, and claims, among other things), is being acquired by the private equity firm Thoma Brava, which is paying $594 million and taking the publicly traded company private in the process. Barron's has more here.
Publicly traded Rosetta Stone is exploring strategic alternatives including a potential sale of all or part of the language and literacy software company, according to Bloomberg, which says the company is working with financial advisers to gauge interest from potential private equity and strategic buyers. More here.
EBay is in advanced talks to sell its classified-ads business to Norway’s Adevinta ASA, according to the WSJ, which says the cash-and-stock deal could be announced soon and that the unit is expected to sell for roughly $8 billion or more. More here.
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People
The SEC today charged a Mountain View, Ca.-based technology start-up and its CEO, Shaukat Shamim, with defrauding investors by making false and misleading statements about the company’s finances and sources of revenue. The agency says Shamim falsely told investors that his company, YouPlus, which claimed to have developed a tool to analyze videos on the internet, had earned millions of dollars in annual revenue and had more than 100 customers and only later confessed that YouPlus had actually earned less than $500,000 and obtained only four paying customers from the company’s inception in 2013 through 2019. More here.
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Today’s world demands leaders that build organizations where everyone feels included. Wizeline, a software design & development company, is hosting an online panel on July 30 with D&I leaders from Google, Twilio, and the Human Rights Campaign to share practical advice on building an inclusive work environment. Register now.
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Essential Reads
Uber has launched a service to give public health officials quick access to data on drivers and riders presumed to have come into contact with someone infected with COVID-19, company officials tell Reuters. Information on an individual can be accessed in a few hours, with the company considering COVID-19 an emergency involving danger of death or serious physical injury. More here.
The Indian electrical equipment and electronics industry has begun mass cancellation of orders from Chinese companies in the last few days and are scouting for newer destinations for raw material sourcing, says the Economic Times. It reports that companies are cancelling orders mainly for power distribution and transmission gears and turning to other countries despite higher costs. The process began in May after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vocal-for-local call.
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