Week Ending 2.9.2020
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 our corporate finance newsletter features eight acquisitions, seven equity filings, 17 funding rounds, a handful of regulatory moves and 14 executive hires in the AI sector.
Companies we have tracked over the past year or so in the news this week include Medallia, Accenture, Schrodinger, Zhongchao, Labelbox, Cherre, Kasisto, Premier Health, Aperiomics, Vital Data Technology, Kinetica, Mitre and Mitek Systems.
See all of this and more below ↓
MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS
Huntington Ingalls, the Newport, Virginia-based military shipbuilding company, said it acquired marine robotics maker Hydroid from Norway’s Kongsberg Maritime in a deal valued at USD 350m.
Medallia, the San Francisco, California-based marketing company using AI, said it is acquiring computer vision firm LivingLens for USD 26m in cash.
Medallia and shareholders, which include venture capital fund Sequoia Capital, raised USD 325.5m in a IPO in July on the NYSE.
LexisNexis, the Atlanta, Georgia-based information and analytics services firm, said it acquired Emailage, the online fraud prevention firm using machine learning.
Atos, the Paris and Irving, Texas-based business services firm using machine learning, said it completed the acquisition of Maven Wave.
DoiT International, the Tel Aviv, Israel-based software and services company using machine learning, said it acquired superQuery.
Dalrada Financial, the Henderson, Nevada-based manufacturing and healthcare services firm, said it acquired Prakat Solutions, the Indian product engineering services company with a unit focused on AI.
Accenture, the New York City-based professional services company, said it acquired Mudano, the British financial consulting firm using machine learning.
In December, Accenture acquired AI and machine learning consultancy Clarity Insights. It acquired Spanish AI company Pragsis Bidoop in September.
In August, Accenture said it was acquiring Analytics8, the Australian data and analytics firm using AI. It acquired TargetST8 Consulting, which specializes in commercial lending with AI, in October 2018.
Other deals this week include 24-7 Intouch
FILINGS
Schrodinger, the New York City-based drug development firm using machine learning, saw its shares jump 68% on the first day of trading on the Nasdaq.
The company raised USD 202m from an upsized initial public offering of 11.89m shares at USD 17 each.
Schrodinger was originally raising as much as USD 160m from the sale of 10m shares at USD 14 to USD 16 each.
Zhongchao, the Shanghai, China-based healthcare website operator using AI, refiled for an as much as USD 15.75m initial public offering of 3.5m shares at USD 4.00 to USD 4.50 each on the Nasdaq. The company filed for a placeholder USD 15m initial public offering in November.
RAPT Therapeutics, the South San Francisco, California-based cancer research firm using machine learning, said it was selling 2.5m shares worth USD 84m at the time of the sale, or USD 33.61 a share.
Last year, the company raised USD 36m in a radially downsized initial public offering of 3m shares at USD 12 each.
BioNtech, the Mainz, Germany-based company developing cancer treatments using AI, said it is selling 6m American depositary shares worth USD 175m at the time of the sale, or USD 29.21 a share.
The company acquired Neon in January. In October, the company raised USD 150m in a downsized Nasdaq IPO.
Other deals include Clarivate Analytics, ReWalk Robotics and KLDiscovery
FUNDING
Netskope, the Santa Clara, California-based cybersecurity firm using machine learning, said it raised USD 340m in a funding round led by Sequoia Capital’s late-stage fund Sequoia Capital Global Equities. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Social Capital also participated.
HouseCanary, the San Francisco, California-based real estate platform using machine learning, said it raised USD 65m in a growth funding round led by Los Angeles-based, tech-focused Morpheus Ventures, Alpha Edison, and PSP Growth.
Cepton, the San Jose-based autonomous driving technology maker, said it raised USD 50m in a Series C funding round led by Japan’s Koito Manufacturing.
Labelbox, the San Francisco, California-based data platform for machine learning, said it raised USD 25m in a Series B funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz. In April, the company raised USD 10m in a Series A led by Gradient Ventures, the AI-focused venture capital fund run by Google.
Cresta, the San Francisco, California-based marketing platform using AI, said it raised USD 20m in a funding round that included Greylock Partners and Andreessen Horowitz. The company was spun out of Stanford’s AI lab.
NGD Systems, the Irvine, California-based data storage firm using AI, said it raised USD 20m in a Series C funding round led by MIG Capital.
Cherre, the New York City-based real estate data and analytics platform using AI, said it raised USD 16m in a funding round led by Intel Capital. In October, the company raised USD 9m in a seed round led by Navitas Capital, the venture capital firm focused on technology, property and construction.
Worlds, the Dallas, Texas-based virtual reality services firm, said it raised USD 10m in a Series A funding round led by Align Capital.
Stori, the Mexico City-based credit card firm using AI, said it raised USD 10m in a Series A2 financing led by Bertelsmann Investments and Source Code Capital.
Kaskada, the Seattle, Washington-based machine learning firm, said it raised USD 8m in a Series A funding round from investors that include Voyager Capital, NextGen Venture Partners, Founders' Co-op and Walnut Street Capital Fund.
Kasisto, the New York City-based chatbot developer focused on the financial services industry, said it raised an additional USD 7m from Napier Park Financial Partners in an extended Series B funding round. In September, the company said it had raised USD 15m in the Series B led by Rho Capital Partners.
Retina AI, the Los Angeles, California-based marketing using AI, said it raised USD 5m in a new financing round led by Crosscut Ventures.
Other deals include Ambyint, ClearMetal, AcuityAds, Plannuh and Canoe.
LEGAL AND REGULATORY
China turns to AI and data in fight against the coronavirus, according to a report from Singapore’s Business Times.
The US President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, push for a national network of support for quantum and AI technology, according to a Nextgov report.
The US General Services Administration lays out way to use more bots in 2020 and emphasize AI expertise, according to a fedscoop report.
PEOPLE
PROCEPT BioRobotics, the Redwood Shores, California-based surgical robotics company, said it hired Reza Zadno as president and CEO. The company focuses on urological procedures.
Worksoft, the Dallas, Texas-based business automation platform using machine learning, said it hired Tony Sumpster as CEO.
Premier Health, the Vancouver, Canada-based healthcare company using AI, said it hired Amit Mathur as president. Last month, the company hired Richard Atkins as senior vice president of sales.
Potrero Medical, the Hayward, California-based predictive health company using smart sensors and AI, said it hired Jeff Mack as CFO.
JDA Software, the Scottsdale, Arizona-based supply chain management platform using AI, said it hired Sue Savage Pirri as executive vice president and CFO.
Aperiomics, the Sterling, Virginia-based biotechnology firm using AI in infectious disease research, said it hired Elizabeth Pyle as COO and Michelle Strobeck as lead clinical laboratory technologist. In August, the company raised USD 1.8m in a Series A funding round led by VentureSouth.
Velodyne Lidar, the San Jose, California-based autonomous driving technology maker, said it promoted Mathew Rekow to chief technology officer.
Vital Data Technology, the Newport Beach, California-based healthcare payments company using AI, said it hired Chuck Rolfsen as chief revenue officer. In May, the company hired Doug Downing as COO.
Kinetica, the San Francisco, California-based analytical services company using AI, said it hired Tom Addis as chief revenue officer. In June, the company hired Elizabeth McGlauflin as chief customer success officer.
Mitre, the Mclean, Virginia and Bedford, Massachusetts-based government services firm, said it promoted Eliahu Niewood to vice president of joint and cross-cutting capabilities. Niewood has led the company’s efforts in emerging technologies, including AI.
In May, the company hired former National Security Agency executive and AI expert Charles Clancy as vice president for intelligence programs. Mitre also hired former Verizon executive Gus Bentivegna as vice president of human resources and talent enablement.
Mitek Systems, the San Diego, California-based identity verification platform using AI, said it hired Aaron Korsen as senior vice president, North American identity sales. In July, the company hired Judith Ohrn Hicks as vice president, global people operations.
Other deals include Epiq and SolderWorks
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