Week Ending 10.05.2018
“A NEW ERA IN LAW ENFORCEMENT”
HINDSAIT TO RAISE USD 10M, SHOT SPOTTER MOVES INTO AI TO PREDICT VIOLENCE AND MORE ↓
LATEST EYE ON CONTENT
Hindsait, the Hackensack, New Jersey-based medical services company using AI, plans to raise around USD 10m in new funding early next year, CEO and founder Pinaki Dasgupta said.
The company plans to solicit both venture capital and corporate money in the first quarter of 2019. Proceeds would be used, in part, to hire a sales team.
Read the complete story on our website here.
MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS
JLL, the Chicago, Illinois-based real estate and investment management services firm, said it is acquiring ValuD Consulting to deepen its involvement with AI and predictive analytics.
Prima-Temp, the Boulder, Colorado-based women’s health company, said it acquired Kindara, the fertility company using AI.
Prodware, the Paris, France-based business services firm using AI, said its Dutch unit acquired Ctac’s Microsoft Dynamics business. Terms weren’t disclosed. Microsoft Dynamics is the US company’s business software service. Prodware also arranged a syndicated loan. (See Funding section for details).
Life Biosciences, the Boston, Massachusetts-based company developing treatments for ageing, said it is acquiring Lua Technologies, the doctor-patient communication platform, to create an AI unit. Life Biosciences is backed by We Work founder Adam Neumann. The company is also raising USD 25m.
E2open, the Austin, Texas-based logistics software developer using AI, said it acquired transportation management company Cloud Logistics. Terms weren’t disclosed.
ShotSpotter, the Newark, California-based gunfire detection company, said it was moving into AI with the acquisition of assets from Azavea, which has developed technology it says can predict violence.
Gopher Protocol, the Los Angeles, California-based mobile technology company using AI and blockchain, said it bought the 50% interest Guardian Patch holds in its chip unit, Gopher Insight.
In September, Gopher and mobile location data firm Mobiquity Technologies arranged a mutual share swap and are setting up a joint venture
Other deals included Brandwatch and Crimson Hexagon
FILINGS
Valtech, the London, UK-based business services firm with a focus on AI, AR and blockchain, said it plans to raise USD 106.7m in an initial public offering of 6.67m shares at USD 14.00 to USD 16.00 each on the Nasdaq.
StoneCo, the Sao Paulo, Brazil-based payments firm using AI, said it and shareholders, which include Tiger Global Investors, plan to raise USD 100m in an initial public offering on the Nasdaq.
ChaSerg Technology Acquisition, the La Jolla, California-based blank check company, saw its shares close four cents up on its first day of trading on the Nasdaq. The company raised USD 200m from the sale of 20m units at USD 10 each. The company said it is seeking technology acquisitions, which may include artificial intelligence and machine learning companies.
Edtech X, the London, UK-based blank check company, saw its shares close three cents up on its first day of trading on the Nasdaq. The company raised USD 55m from an initial public offering of 5.5m shares at USD 10 each. The company plans acquisitions in the educational technology field, and said it sees AI as a promising area.
Upwork, the Mountain View, California-based contract employment site using machine learning, saw its shares jump 63% on their first day of trading on the Nasdaq. The company and shareholders, which include Benchmark Capital and T. Rowe Price, raised USD 187.5m from an upsized initial public offering of 12.5m shares at USD 15 each, a dollar above the already increased price range. The original filing saw the company plan to raise as much as USD 147.24m from 12.27m shares of USD 10 to USD 12 each.
Gritstone Oncology, the Emeryville, California-based company developing AI technology to fight cancer, saw its shares drop 5% on their first day of Nasdaq trading. The company raised as much USD 91.5m in an initial public offering from the sale of 6.1m shares at USD 15 each, the highest end of the marketed range.
Other filings include Elastic, Anaplan, Borqs Technologies and TPT Global Tech
FUNDING
Caris Life Sciences, the Irving, Texas-based medical research firm using AI, said it raised USD 150m in debt and convertible notes from TPG Sixth Street Partners.
Prodware, the Paris, France-based business services firm using AI, said it raised EUR 92.5m (USD 106m) in a syndicated loan with 6 to 7 year terms, primarily from private equity funds. The company also announced an acquisition. (See Mergers and Acquisitions section for details).
Talkdesk, the San Francisco, California-based company developing a customer service center for businesses using AI, said it raised USD 100m in a Series B led by Viking Global Investors.
OmniSci, the San Francisco, California-based AI analytics platform, said it raised USD 55m in a Series C led by Tiger Global Management. NVIDIA, the AI chip maker, also participated. OmniSci was previously called MapD.
PingCAP, the San Mateo, California-based cloud computing firm, said it raised USD 50m in a Series C led by Chinese conglomerate FOSUN and Morningside Venture Capital. AI focused venture capital fund Yunqi Partners also participated.
HEED, the New York City-based company using AI to deliver real time analytics at live sports events, said it raised USD 35m from Japan’s Softbank International.
Curetis, the Amsterdam, Holland-based company developing medial diagnosis technology using AI, said it raised EUR 20m (USD 23m) from the sale of convertible notes to Yorkville Advisors Global, the hedge fund based in New Jersey. Curetis operates out of San Diego, California in the US.
Yorkville also provided a USD 3.5m short term loan to WISeKey International, the Geneva, Switzerland-based cybersecurity firm focused on AI and blockchain. WISeKey arranged another USD 3m from Crede Capital, the Los Angeles-based family office, in the form of a two-year convertible loan. The company also hired a new executive. (See People section.)
AlphaNetworks, the Cheyenne, Wyoming-based entertainment company using blockchain and AI, said it raised USD 10m from investors including cryptocurrency fund Alphabit Digital Currency Fund and Smart Contract of Japan.
Cherre, the New York City-based real estate analytics company using AI, said it raised USD 9m in a seed round led by Navitas Capital, the venture capital firm focused on technology, property and construction.
innogy, the Essen, Germany-based energy company, said a venture capital fund it runs has invested USD 5m in funds run by Bootstraps, the venture capital firm focused on AI. Innogy said the two plan to make AI and new energy-related investments together.
Other deals include iLOOKABOUT, Datametrex AI, ZipRecruiter, MoQuality and DirectorInsight
And Rethink Robotics closes its doors. Read MIT Technology Review’s take here.
LEGAL & REGULATORY
There were no new legal & regulatory we tracked this week.
PEOPLE
Breakout Capital Finance, the McLean, Virginia-based small business lender, said it hired Tim Buzby as CFO. Buzby was CEO of agricultural lender Farmer Mac. Breakout said it uses AI, machine learning and blockchain technology to provide credit to small businesses.
In June Breakout promoted James Mendelsohn to chief operating and revenue officer. He will also continue in his previous role as head of marketing and sales.
ContextVision, the Stockholm, Sweden-based medical imaging company using AI, said CEO Anita Tollstadius plans to retire next year.
Exscientia, the Oxford, England-based drug research firm using AI, said it hired Gregory Egorov as CFO. Egorov was CFO at CompareEuropeGroup, the personal finance services comparison platform.
Giant Oak, the Arlington, Virginia-based cybersecurity company using AI, said it hired Daniel Moser as CFO. Moser was previously the CFO of Surefire Local, the marketing firm. Giant Oak, which raised USD 10m in July, also appointed four new board members.
GNS Healthcare, the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based healthcare analytics company using AI, said it hired David Gascoigne as COO. Gascoigne joins from IBM where he was a partner in cognitive analytics and big data platforms.
Quanergy Systems, the Sunnyvale, California-based company developing AI software used in autonomous technology, said former Ford executive Karen Francis is joining its board of directors.
Image Analysis Group, the London, UK-based drug research firm using AI in medical imaging, said it appointed Christopher Berthoux as chairman of the board. Berthoux was previously CEO at Synexus, a clinical trials management laboratory.
AutoGrid, the Redwood City, California-based cybersecurity firm using AI, said it hired Omprakesh Moolchandani as chief information officer. Moolchandani joins from General Electric.
WISeKey International, the Geneva, Switzerland-based cybersecurity firm focused on AI and blockchain, said it hired Hans Schwab as chief information officer. Previously he held several management positions at the World Economic Forum. The company also arranged two financing agreements. (See Funding section.)
Solarflare, the Irvine, California-based data center using AI, said it hired Eric Koach as chief revenue officer. Koach was previously with Hewlett Packard Enterprise. The company raised an unspecified amount from Oak Investments in June.
Lemonade, the New York City-based insurance company using AI, said it hired Spotify’s Jorge Espinel as chief business development officer.
WekalO, the San Jose, California-based data storage company using AI, said it hired Andy Watson as chief technical officer. Watson joins from Minio, the data storage company, as CTO.
DynamicAction, the Redwood City, California-based retail analytics company, said it hired Sean Moran as senior vice president of North American sales. Moran, an AI specialist, most recently was chief revenue officer at retail analytics company Curbside.
ThreeD Capital, the Toronto, Canada-based venture capital firm focused on resources, AI and blockchain, said it hired Jordan Black as vice president of investments. Black joins from Metalyfe.com, a company which developed a blockchain internet browser.
In August, ThreeD raised a more than planned CAD 1.3m (USD 996,892) in a private placement of 13.2m shares and warrants at CAD 0.10 each. Earlier the company said it planned to raise as much as USD 1m.
Other hiring includes Innovaccer, Zapata Computing, Home Capital, SMART Global and Kuebix
DATA
Eye on AI Q3 Data – Announced mergers and acquisitions
In the third quarter we tracked 56 mergers and acquisitions with terms disclosed on only 15 transactions, which totaled USD 2.9bn.
The largest deal was Datorama, the New York City-based marketing platform using AI, which was acquired by Salesforce for a reported USD 800m.
Other significant deals included Arm’s USD 600m acquisition of TreasureData, and five planned robotics acquisitions in Germany by Japan-based NIDEC for JPY 50bn (USD 450m).