Week Ending 5.24.2020
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 four acquisitions, 10 equity filings, 24 funding rounds, some regulatory moves and four executive hires in the AI sector.
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MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS
Open Systems, the Redwood City, California-based secure access service edge company using AI, said it has acquired Born in the Cloud, a cybersecurity firm.
Standard Cognition, the San Francisco, California-based company developing automated retail check-out technology using AI, said it has acquired Checkout Technologies, a Milan, Italy-based developer of AI technology for retail frictionless checkout.
Bharti Airtel, the New Delhi, India-based global telecommunications company, said it has acquired a 10 percent stake in Voicezen, a Gurgaon-based early-stage startup focused on conversational-AI technologies.
Smarsh, the Portland, Oregon-based financial services organization, said it has acquired Entreda, the developer of cybersecurity risk and compliance management software using AI.
FILINGS
SelectQuote, the Overland Park, Kansas-based insurance distribution platform using machine learning, saw its shares rise 35 percent on the first day of trading. The company said it and shareholders raised USD $570M from an upsized initial public offering of 25.5M shares at USD $20 on the NYSE.
The company originally sought USD $425M from the sale of 25M shares at USD $17 to USD $19.
Lantern Pharma, the Dallas, Texas-based company developing cancer treatments using AI, refiled a placeholder of USD $30.5M from an initial public offering of 1.6M shares at USD $15 to USD $17 each on the Nasdaq.
Last week, Lantern filed a placeholder for a USD $27M IPO. The shares will trade on the Nasdaq under the symbol LTRN.
Vroom, the New York-based online car retailer company using machine learning, said it plans to raise a placeholder of USD $100M from an initial public offering.
In December, Vroom raised USD $254M in a Series H round of funding led by Washington, D.C.-based Durable Capital Partners LP.
Burning Rock Biotech, the Beijing, China-based firm that focuses on early cancer detection using machine learning, said it plans to raise a placeholder of USD $100M from an initial public offering on the Nasdaq under the symbol BNR.
Skillful Craftsman Education Technology, the Wuxi, China-based online vocational training company using AI, refiled a placeholder of USD $20M initial public offering of 2,400,000 shares at USD $5.50 to USD $7.00 each on Nasdaq under the symbol NGJY.
In April, Skillful Craftsman originally filed a placeholder for USD $16.5M IPO.
Boxlight Corp, the Lawrenceville, Georgia-based education company focused on robotics and other technology, said it plans to raise a placeholder of USD $11.5M from a follow on offering on the Nasdaq. It trades under the symbol BOXL.
Other deals include Foley Trasimene Acquisition Corp, ShiftPixy, Quantum Computing, and Transenterix.
FUNDING
Xwing, the San Francisco, California-based aviation software startup that develops technologies necessary for pilotless flight of small passenger aircraft, said it has raised USD $10M in a Series A funding round led by R7 Partners.
Navenio, the Oxford, England-based company the provides infrastructure-free indoor location solutions using AI, said it has raised GBP £9M (USD $10.9M) in a Series A funding led by QBN Capital.
Amplitude, the San Francisco, California-based marketing firm using machine learning, said it has raised USD $50M in a Series E funding round led by GIC. In March, the company acquired ClearBrain, a predictive analytics startup that uses machine learning.
Contentsquare, the New York City-based analytics firm using AI, said it has raised USD $190M in a funding round led by BlackRock’s Private Equity Partners team.
In 2019, the company announced a USD $60M Series C funding led by Eurazeo, and hired six new executives; Todd Graber as global chief financial officer, Aimee Stone Munsell as global chief marketing officer, Jean-Marc Bellaiche as chief partnership and strategy officer, Arnaud Gouachon as chief legal officer, Peter Ma as Americas head of people, and Matt Elders as senior vice president of sales for the Americas.
Mindstrong Health, the Mountain View, California-based mental health company using AI, said it has raised USD $100M in a Series C fundraising led by General Catalyst, ARCH Venture Partners, Foresite Capital, 8VC, Optum Ventures and What If Ventures.
In December, the company hired Brandon Trew as COO, Erik Albair as CTO, Kane Sweeney as vice president of data science and Dena Olyaie as vice president of marketing.
HotSpot Therapeutics, the Boston, Massachusetts-based biotech focused on allosteric therapies using machine learning, said it has raised USD $65M in a Series B funding round led by S.R. One, Limited.
DataGrand, the Shanghai, China-based Chinese AI startup that offers natural language processing services, said it has raised CNY ¥270M (USD $38M) in a Series B+ funding round led by Shenzhen Capital Group.
CLARA Analytics, the Santa Clara, California-based commercial insurance services firm using AI, said it has raised USD $25M in a Series B funding, bringing its total funding to USD $36.5M. The round was led by Aspen Capital Group.
In March, the company hired Dustin Oxborrow as senior vice president of sales, Brian Sullivan as senior vice president of customer success and Chris Koverman as vice president of engineering and operations.
Holmusk, the Singapore-based data science and health technology company using machine learning, said it has raised USD $21.5M in a funding round led by Optum Ventures and Health Catalyst Capital.
Confluera, the Palo Alto, California-based real-time attack interception and defense platform using AI, said it has raised over USD $20M in a Series B funding round led by Icon Ventures.
CathVision, the Copenhagen, Denmark-based medical device maker using AI, said it has raised EUR €13M (USD $14.2M) in a funding round led by Vaekstfonden.
Directly, the San Francisco, California-based chatbot maker, said it has raised USD $11M in a second extension to a Series B funding round led by Triangle Peak Partners and Toba Capital.
In February, Directly raised USD $20M in funding that was led by Samsung NEXT, and the company hired Mike de la Cruz as CEO and Antony Brydon as vice president of platform.
Source Defense, the New York City-based client-side web security company using machine learning, said it has raised USD $10.5M in a Series A+ funding round led by Capital One Ventures.
ThoughtTrace, the Houston, Texas-based document intelligence and contract analytics software provider using AI, said it has raised USD $10M in financing led by McRock Capital.
VergeSense, the San Francisco, California-based AI-Powered sensor provider for the workplace, said it has raised USD $9M in a funding round led by Allegion Ventures.
In October, the company raised USD $1.5M in a funding round led by JLL Spark.
SOS Labs, the Gwangju, South Korea-based LiDAR sensor startup company using robotics, said it has raised USD $8M in a Series A+ funding round led by Korea Development Bank.
Brytlyt, the London, UK-based data analytics and visualization technology company using AI, said it has raised USD $4M in a Series A funding round led by Amadeus Capital Partners and Finch Capital.
Other fundings include Company Six, ShuttleOne, Blue Sky Analytics, Winuall, Magic Leap, States Title, and Lendingkart Technologies.
LEGAL AND REGULATORY
The European Commission launches new EUR €122M (USD $133.1M) coronavirus research funding call in developing medical technologies and in applying AI to develop decision support systems.
PEOPLE
Udacity, the Mountain View, California-based learning platform for AI and data science, said it has hired Kenny Kim as chief marketing officer. Before joining Udacity, Kim was the global head of growth marketing at Google. In March, the company hired Seamus Hennessy as CFO.
Berkshire Grey, the Lexington, Massachusetts-based e-commerce industry services firm using robotics and AI, said it has hired Jessica Moran as senior vice president and general manager. Prior to joining Berkshire Grey, Moran held leadership positions at Microsoft and Enterasys.
Last week, the company hired Sri Solur as senior vice president and general manager of a new business unit, and Christine Washburn as chief marketing officer.
Vecna Robotics, the Waltham, Massachusetts-based autonomous forklift maker, said it has hired Denis Lussault as vice president of autonomy. Before joining Vecna Robotics, Lussault served in leadership roles at Atlantic Technologies and Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi.
In January, the company raised USD $50M in a Series B funding round led by Blackhorn Ventures.
Octo, the Reston, Virginia-based technology focused on US government agencies, said it has hired Rob Albritton as senior director of its AI center of excellence.
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