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November 6, 2020
Friday, right? (Are you as tired of this week as we are?)
Hope you have a very fun and also safe weekend, everyone. For your weekend listening pleasure, we just pulled the newest StrictlyVC Download out of the oven. Our featured guest this week: Brynn Putnam, a former professional ballet dancer who founded a chain of boutique fitness studios in New York and then, more famously, launched Mirror, the home-fitness startup that Lululemon snatched up for $500 million in cash back in June, even while it appeared that Mirror was just getting started.
Giant thanks to Web Summit for sponsoring this one. Web Summit is taking place virtually this year, December 2nd through December 4th (which is coming up fast, all of a sudden). You can learn more about the event and its many speakers here.
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Top News
According to Politico, the Federal Trade Commission is likely to sue Facebook for antitrust violations before the end of this month, in the federal government's first "major swing" at the company. But the outlet says the FTC is considering handling the case internally -- a move that "may make it easier to win but that would take years and likely anger attorneys general from dozens of states who have been pushing for a swift, nationwide effort to force change at the company." More here.
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Long Concerned About Climate Change, VC and Former Politician Steve Westly is Feeling Electrified
A former controller and CFO of the state of California, Steve Westly is passionate about government. The onetime eBay exec and early Tesla board member has also been a proponent of clean energy for roughly 30 years, so he’s feeling optimistic right now, with former U.S. VP Joe Biden amassing a growing number of electoral votes and widening his leading Donald Trump as he inches toward an election win.
We talked earlier today with Westly, who founded the venture firm The Westly Group 13 years ago and which is currently raising up to $250 million for a fourth fund, according to SEC paperwork filed earlier this week. We wanted to know whether he thinks Biden will be able to achieve any part of his climate plan in the likely scenario that Republicans continue to control the Senate. We also wondered what he makes of VCs leaving California, and where he sees the most opportunities right now. We kicked off our conversation with the news of the day. Our chat has been edited lightly for length.
As we talk, former Joe Biden looks to be on the cusp of winning the U.S. presidential election while Donald Trump continues to tweet about taking his claims about a rigged election to the Supreme Court. Are you concerned about that rhetoric, given that Republicans don’t seem to be pushing back against it?
You have to be worried about such things, but I think most people are looking at the big picture. This is not going to be a 270 to 268 [electoral college] vote. Biden might get 290 to 306 [electoral votes]. It’s a decisive difference. He also received more than 4 million more [popular] votes than Trump. The people have spoken, and they’ve spoken loudly.
There are rules in most states that say if you aren’t within a percent or half a percent — i think [Biden has a] 1.6% [advantage] in Nevada and 1.4% [lead in] Arizona right now — there won’t be a recount. I think his lead in Pennsylvania will rise to 100,000, so the window [for a Trump win] is diminishing pretty quickly.
I am also seeing more Republican officials, like Senator Bob Toomey of Pennsylvania, saying that 'we count the votes, we follow the rules, what the president is doing is irresponsible, and it’s time to move on.'
Has Westly Group’s mandate has changed over time? When the firm was first formed, it was one of the only pure ‘cleantech’ venture firms.
Sustainable energy has become the new hot thing and it makes me laugh because I’ve been involved in energy for 30 years [including in government roles]. I wrote two books on the future of energy in the ‘80s, so I’ve been at this a bit.
Our thesis continues to be that there are revolutions occurring in smart energy, mobility and smart buildings, and they are being driven by renewable energy, which costs less than carbon-based fuels in virtually every part of the world today, from the U.S. to India to Africa. That’s not a political statement; it’s a fact.
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Massive Fundings
Cytek Biosciences, a six-year-old, Fremont, Ca.-based provider of maker of cytometry products and services that helps its customers identify and quantify cellular characteristics on a cell-by-cell basis, has raised $120 million in Series D funding. RA Capital and Hillhouse Capital led the round, joined by OrbiMed and LYFE Capital. More here.
Pony.ai, a nearly five-year-old, Guangzhou, China- and Fremont, Ca.-based autonomous vehicle startup cofounded by former Baidu chief architect James Peng, has raised $267 million in new funding led by the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan. The deal assigns the company a valuation of $5.3 billion, up from $3 billion in February. Reuters has more here.
Big-But-Not-Crazy-Big Fundings
ColdQuanta, a 13-year-old, Boulder, Co.-based quantum atomics company, has raised $32 million in Series A funding co-led by Global Frontier Investments and LCP Quantum Partners, with participation from Foundry Group and earlier investor Maverick Ventures. More here.
Flare, a 3.5-year-old, Sydney, Australia-based maker of HR software, has raised $22 million in Series C funding led by MYOB, with participation from former Australian Prime Minister Malcom Turnbull and earlier backers Point72 Ventures and Acorn Capital. Startup Daily has more here.
Smaller Fundings
Cado Security, a months-old, London-based startup building a cloud-native cyber forensics and response platform meant to help security professionals quickly understand an incident’s impact across all environments, has raised $1.5 million in seed funding led by Ten Eleven Ventures. Tech.eu has more here.
Provizio, a 1.5-year-old, Limerick, Ireland-based using long-range imaging sensors in tech that aims to prevent car crashes, has raised $6.2 million in seed funding from the European Innovation Council, Act Venture Capital, and individual investors. Tech.eu has more here.
Slintel, a 4.5-year-old, Mountain View, Ca.-based early-stage startup building a sales intelligence tool, has raised $4.2 million in seed funding led by Accel, with help from Sequoia Capital India and earlier investors. The company has now raised $5.7 million altogether. TechCrunch has more here.
Not-Saying-How-Much Fundings
Quinn, a 10-year-old Louisville, Co.-based natural foods snack company, has raised an undisclosed amount of extended Series D funding from the Hershey Company and earlier investors. It had announced $3 million in Series D funding in August from investors, including BFG Partners, Echo Capital. The company's snacks are available in Walmart, Whole Foods, and Thrive Market, among other places. More here.
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New Funds
China’s Hony Capital earlier this month closed its maiden venture fund, raising $130 million from international investors after a four-month-long fundraising period, says the WSJ. The Beijing-based fund will target early-stage investments in the consumer, internet and digital enterprise service sectors in China. More here.
All Iron Ventures, a three-year-old, Bilbao, Spain-based investor in B2C marketplaces and e-commerce plays, has closed its first fund with €66.5 million ($79 million) in capital commitments. The firm says it's one of the biggest debut funds in the country to date. TechCrunch has more here.
Tampa General Hospital is creating a venture capital fund. The Tampa Bay Times didn't report the size of the fund, only that it will launch next year. More here.
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Exits
According to Bloomberg, both Apple and Sony Music Entertainment have held talks about potentially acquiring the podcast network Wondery, the nearly five-year-old producer of “Dirty John” and “Dr. Death.” Wondery is reportedly seeking $300 million to $400 million in a possible sale; Spotify, the Swedish giant that has been snapping up podcasting companies, opted not to bid, say the outlet's sources.
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Going Public
The private equity firm EQT is planning an IPO of the German enterprise software developer SUSE, according to Bloomberg, which says it could seek a valuation of about 5 billion euros ($5.9 billion) for the open-source software firm. It would be a quick turnaround for EQT, which only completed its $2.5 billion acquisition of SUSE from Micro Focus International in March of last year. More here.
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People
Earlier this year, investor Joe Lonsdale moved his family from the Bay Area to Austin, Tex. Now he's doing the same with his venture firm, 8VC, telling CNBC that one of the reasons for the move is that Texas has no state income tax.
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Essential Reads
The Chinese video sharing app Kuaishou filed for an IPO in Hong Kong last night night, and its prospectus is shedding light on a regional race where both growth and costs are astronomical.
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Detours
Elijah Daniels, agent of internet chaos.
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