Week Ending 11.17.19
EYE ON A.I. GETS READERS UP TO DATE ON THE MOST CRITICAL FUNDING, CORPORATE AND REGULATORY NEWS WITH ORIGINAL CONTENT AND MEDIA REPORTS FROM AROUND THE GLOBE.
This week we kick off our corporate finance newsletter with news of RedMarlin out aggressively hiring staff. The company’s two cofounders say they’re targeting 18 new staff, including heads of sales and marketing.
Next up is six mergers and acquisitions, 11 equity filings, 26 funding rounds, a handful of government moves on AI and a dozen executive hires.
Companies we have tracked over the past year in the news this week include Luokong Technology, TransPerfect, Zoominfo, Premier Health, Moveworks, INKY Technology, Human Longevity and Dedrone.
See all of this and more below ↓
Our Exclusive: RedMarlin on hiring binge
RedMarlin, the Los Altos, California-based corporate fraud prevention platform using AI, is planning an aggressive staff buildout in the wake of its recent USD 10m Series A, cofounders Abhishek Dubey and Shashi Prakash said.
The company is currently hiring heads of sales, marketing, business development and customer success. Those four section heads would then go on to build small teams, the cofounders said.
Over the next twelve months the company plans to bring in around 18 new staff members, and that number could hit as many as 25, Dubey says.
Read the entire story here
MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS
Synopsys, the Mountain View, California-based software developer, said it acquired intellectual property from eSilicon that will allow it to scale in the AI market. Synopsys also completed the acquisition of circuit board maker DINI.
Luokung Technology, the Beijing, China-based location services firm, said it acquired a 51% stake in mapping company eMapgo Technologies through a USD 42.5m financing from Geely Technology, a unit of the Chinese car maker that acquired Sweden’s Volvo.
Acuitas Capital, the US-based family office, also invested an unspecified amount in Luokong. Luokung said the eMapgo acquisition will make it an integrated AI data provider.
Luokung in May said it was acquiring a 67.36% stake in Beijing BotBrain AI Technology. BotBrain founder Xueyu Lu retained the rest.
TransPerfect, the New York City-based corporate translation services provider using AI, said it acquired Germany’s Scheune München Mediaproduction and Chulengo, which is based in Argentina, according to a Slator report.
TransPerfect acquired Spain’s Sublime Subtitling & Translation last month and Tauyou, which uses AI in corporate translation services, last year. Tauyou founder Diego Bartolome became TransPerfect director of AI at the time.
Instem, the Conshohocken, Pennsylvania-based medical software maker, said it acquired Leadscope, a medical research services outfit using machine learning.
Zoominfo, the Vancouver, Washington-based marketing firm, said it acquired Komiko, a sales software company using AI and started by former Microsoft executives.
Zoominfo and business services firm DiscoverOrg hired former Dell executive Alyssa Lahar as chief human resources officer in September. The two companies announced a merger in February they said would take a year to complete.
Premier Health, the Vancouver, Canada-based healthcare company using AI, said it acquired Livecare Health Canada for USD 3m in shares and assumed debt.
Premier Health said it was raising USD 3m from the sale of shares with warrants in April and said it was acquiring an unidentified pharmacy for USD 1.35m in December last year.
FILINGS
Bill.com, the Palo Alto, California-based financial services platform for small and medium sized businesses using AI, said it is raising a placeholder USD 100m initial public offering on the NYSE.
XP, the Sao Paulo, Brazil-based financial services platform using AI, said it is raising a placeholder USD 100m initial public offering on the Nasdaq.
CDP, the Shanghai, China-based business services firm using AI, said it is raising a placeholder USD 125m initial public offering on the NYSE.
EHang, the Guangzhou, China-based company developing autonomous air taxis, refiled for a placeholder USD 100m initial public offering on the Nasdaq.
Canaan, the Hangzhou, China-based AI chip designer and cryptocurrency mining machine maker, is raising as much as USD 110m in an initial public offering of 10m American depositary shares at USD 9 to USD 11 each on the Nasdaq. One ADS represents 15 shares. The company had filed a placeholder of USD 400m earlier.
Renu Robotics, the San Antonio, Texas-based small, autonomous tractor maker, said it raised USD 2.9m from unspecified investors. The company is attempting to raise 4.9m in total, according to a Form D filing.
Other deals include Internet Sciences, Yield10 Bioscience, the Woburn, Massachusetts-based agricultural company using AI, Bionik Laboratories, Parallax Health Services, Adynxx, which acquired Alliqua BioMedical in October last year, and Predictive Oncology
FUNDING
Convoy, the Seattle, Washington-based digital freight network using machine learning, said it raised USD 400m in Series D funding led by Generation Investment Management and T. Rowe Price.
Xpeng Motors, the Guangzhou, China-based electric vehicle maker using AI, said it raised USD 400m in a Series C funding round led by Xiaomi, the Chinese mobile phone maker.
Moveworks, the Mountain View, California-based business services company using AI, said it raised USD 75m in a Series B financing round led by ICONIQ Capital, Kleiner Perkins and Sapphire Ventures led the round. In April, Moveworks raised USD 30m in a Series A.
BlackSky, the Herndon, Virginia-based satellite imaging company using machine learning, said it received a USD 50m loan from Intelsat.
Stradigi AI, the Montreal, Canada-based business services firm using AI, said it raised USD 40.3m in a Series A led by Fonds de solidarité FTQ and Investissement Québec.
Orbital Insight, the Palo Alto, California-based satellite and radar imagery firm using AI, said it raised USD 50m in a Series D led by Sequoia Capital and Clearvision Ventures. Goldman Sachs also participated.
Punchh, the San Mateo, California-based retail marketing firm using AI, said it raised USD 40m in a Series C funding round led by Adams Street Partners and Sapphire Ventures.
Enlitic, the San Francisco, California-based medical diagnostics company using AI, said it raised USD 25m in a Series B-1 financing round led by Australia’s Thorney Investment.
CEO Kevin Lyman told Eye on A.I. in April the company was considering taking on additional capital after the close of the USD 15m Series B that month. Read our full story here.
PostProcess Technologies, the Buffalo, New York-based 3D printer services firm using machine learning, said it raised USD 20m in a Series B funding round led by Tom Golisano, the entrepreneur and former owner of the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres.
AMP Robotics, the Denver, Colorado-based firm focused on the recycling industry, said it raised USD 16m in a Series A led by Sequoia Capital.
DataCubes, the Schaumburg, Illinois-based insurance services platform using AI, said it raised USD 15.2m in Series B funding led by Palm Drive Capital, the tech-focused venture capital firm based in New York City.
X-37, the South San Francisco, California-based drug discovery company using AI, said it raised USD 14.5m in Series A funding led by DCVC Bio, the AI and biotech-focused venture capital firm based in Silicon Valley.
Ping, the San Francisco, California-based professional services billing firm using AI, said it raised USD 13.2m in a Series A funding round led by Upfront Ventures.
Smarten Spaces, the Singapore-based corporate interior design firm using AI, said it raised USD 12m in a Series A funding round led by Symphony International.
Pcysys, the Tel Aviv, Israel-based cybersecurity firm, said it raised USD 10m in a Series A funding round led by Canadian venture capital firm Awz Ventures. Blackstone also participated.
Dadesystems, the Miami, Florida-based business services firm using AI, said it raised USD 9m in Series D funding led by private equity firm Napier Park Financial Partners.
Risalto, the New York City-based digital health services company using AI, said it raised USD 7m in Series A funding led by Health Catalyst Capital Management.
INKY Technology, the College Park, Maryland-based email security platform using AI, said it raised USD 6m in funding led by ClearSky Security.
Last week the company hired former Google executive Eli Sanders as chief customer officer and hired John Lyons as chief revenue officer in September.
Jobiak, the Burlington, Massachusetts-based human resources platform using AI, said it raised USD 2.3m in seed funding.
Conservation Labs, the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based water monitoring firm using machine learning, said it raised USD 1.7m in a seed round led by IrishAngels, a firm started by Notre Dame University alumnae. Amazon’s venture capital fund, Amazon Alexa Fund, also participated.
Other deals include Uploadcare, Transitiv, Nala, Enerjoy and Kore.ai
LEGAL AND REGULATORY
Canada is again denying visas for a number of researchers attending the NeurIPS AI conference in Montreal, according to a CityNews report.
And read The Atlantic’s take on Google’s machine learning driven Nightingale project here.
PEOPLE
AMS, the San Francisco, California-based clean energy trading platform using AI, said it promoted Seyed Madaeni to CEO. Founder Susan Kennedy is stepping down from the CEO role and will become chairman of the board of directors. Madaeni had been chief product officer.
Acrolinx, the Waltham, Massachusetts-based marketing firm using AI, said it hired former HP executive Volker Smid as CEO. Founder Andrew Bredenkamp is stepping down from the CEO position and will join the board in an unspecified role.
Transporeon, the Washington, Pennsylvania-based transport management software company using AI, said it hired ex-SAP executive Stephan Sieber as CEO. Founders Marc-Oliver Simon and Martin Mack have exited management positions but remain shareholders.
Balyo, the Ivry-sur-Seine, France-based design firm for robotic materials handling trucks, said it is promoting Pascal Rialland to CEO. Current CEO Fabien Bardinet is leaving to join Airbus as head of robotics.
Microsoft, the Seattle, Washington-based tech giant, is losing its head of AI Shen Xiangyang, who goes by Harry Shum, next year, according to a Synced report posted on Medium.
Drivosity, the Clermont, Florida-based logistical software developer, said it hired Dean Armitage as chief technology officer to build out its focus on AI.
WhiteHat Security, the San Jose, California-based cybersecurity company using AI, said it hired Anthony Bettini as chief technology officer. The company was acquired by NTT Security, a unit of Japanese telecommunications firm NTT, earlier this year.
Human Longevity, the San Diego, California-based health analytics platform using machine learning, said it hired Thomas Caskey as chief medical officer. The company announced a USD 30m financing last week from investors that included Emerging Technology Partners.
Marlowe Companies, the Iowa City, Iowa-based business services firm, said it hired former chief technology officer and senior adviser for the office of the secretary at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Camilo Jamie Sandoval as president and chief information officer. He will be responsible for setting AI strategy.
RubrYc Therapeutics, the San Carlos, California-based biotechnology company using machine learning, said it hired former Eli Lily executive Rakesh Verma as senior vice president, discovery and development.
Dedrone, the San Francisco, California-based anti-drone defense company, said it hired Alex Morrow as vice president of defense solutions. The company acquired DroneDefender last month.
Phiar, the Palo Alto, California-based vehicle navigation platform using AI, said it hired former Nokia and Sun Microsystems executive Nasser Iravani as vice president of strategy and business development.
MasterControl, the Salt Lake City, Utah-based drug development services firm, said it hired Rajesh Talpade as vice president of product and Sue Marchant as product management director for their machine learning expertise.
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