Week Ending 03.31.19
BYLIGHT ACQUIRES PHACIL
JUMIA REFILES IPO & MASTERCARD PLACEMENT
PO8 RAISING USD 50m
POWERFLUENCE BRING IN NEW PRESIDENT
AND MORE ↓
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MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS
Palo Alto Networks, the Santa Clara, California-based cybersecurity firm, said it acquired Demisto, the cybersecurity company using AI, for USD 560m in cash and stock.
By Light Professional IT Services, the Arlington, Virginia-based cloud and cybersecurity firm, said it acquired Phacil, an IT company using AI. Terms weren’t disclosed. Both companies’ primary client base are federal government bureaus including the Department of Defense.
Carbonite, the Boston, Massachusetts-based data protection firm, said it completed the USD 618.5m acquisition of Webroot, the cybersecurity company using AI, announced in February.
Fairway Technologies, the San Diego, California-based IT services firm using AI, said it acquired IT Strategists, the business services firm based in Los Angeles. Terms weren’t disclosed.
Alibaba, the Hangzhou, China e-commerce company, has acquired Israel’s Infinity Augmented Reality, according to a The Times of Israel report. Terms weren’t disclosed.
McDonald’s, the Chicago, Illinois-based fast food restaurant operator, said it is acquiring AI company Dynamic Yield. Media reports put the size of the acquisition at USD 300m.
FILINGS
Qutoutiao, the Shanghai, China-based mobile news aggregation service using AI, and shareholders filed for the sale of American depositary shares worth about USD 97m. The last traded price before the filing was USD 11.45.
In September, the company raised USD 84m from a radically downsized initial public offering of 12m ADS on the Nasdaq at a lowest end USD 7.00 each. The company had originally filed for a USD 300m IPO that was then cut to USD 144m from the sale of 16m ADS.
Jumia Technologies, the Berlin, Germany-based ecommerce company using AI and machine learning, refiled for a USD 216m initial public offering of 13.5m American depositary shares at USD 13 to USD 16 each. The company, which focuses on the African market, will trade on the NYSE. Mastercard is buying USD 50m worth of shares in a concurrent private placement.
Jiayin, the Shanghai, China-based online lender using AI and machine learning, refiled for a USD 57.5m placeholder IPO on the Nasdaq.
Pinterest, the San Francisco, California-based social media firm using machine learning and AI, refiled for a USD 100m placeholder IPO on the NYSE.
Bitmain, the Beijing, China-based cryptocurrency mining equipment maker, allowed its USD 3bn IPO application in Hong Kong to lapse, according to a Reuters report.
In December, the company was sued by United American, a blockchain company which alleges the company and others tried to take control of the Bitcoin Cash network.
Bitmain made a string of investments, including seeding Dragonfly Capital Partners’ USD 100m cryptocurrency fund and in Sinagpore-based blockchain data storage company Lamda, since Bitmain co-founder Wu Jihan told Bloomberg, in June last year, the company was considering going public.
Other deals include Envision Solar
And Lyft closed up 9% in its trading debut, which bodes well for larger rival Uber and other major technology companies planning IPOs this year.
Lyft raised USD 2.2bn after pricing its shares at the top end of its price range, which was raised higher during the roadshow because of strong investor demand.
FUNDING
PO8, the Freeport, Bahamas-based marine archaeology company using AI and robots, said it is raising USD 50m in a security token offering.
Kong, the San Francisco, California-based business services company using AI, said it raised USD 43m in a Series C led by Index Ventures. Andreessen Horowitz’ cryptocurrency fund a16z also participated.
Seal Software, the London, UK-based AI software developer, said it raised USD 15m from DocuSign. Full details here.
Mursion, the San Francisco, California-based workplace training VR company, said it raised USD 8m in a Series A led by New Markets Venture Partners.
Revvo, the San Francisco, California-based company applying AI to the vehicle tire industry, said it raised USD 4m in a Series A led by Norwest Venture Capital.
InnerSpace, the Toronto, Canada-based location sensor company using AI, said it raised USD 3.2m in a seed funding led by BDC Capital.
Trellis Research, the Los Angeles, Califonia-based legal research company using AI, said it raised USD 2m in a seed funding round. Investors include Sequoia, Okapi and Craft.
FunnelAI, the San Antonio, Texas-based online auto marketplace using AI, raised USD 1.5m in a seed round led by local venture capital shop Active Capital, according to a Texas Public Radio report.
Other deals include Pulse Evolution, Vita Mobile, Main Digital and Presenso
LEGAL & REGULATORY
Christopher Hubbs, a Carnegie Mellon University PhD candidate working in machine learning, argues the dangers of government funded AI research in a Eurasia Review analysis.
Meanwhile, the US government plans to spend USD 4.9bn on AI research, according to an analysis of the 2020 budget by Bloomberg.
PEOPLE
PowerFluence, the Bridgewater, New Jersey-based IT services firm using AI, said it hired Peter Grambs as president. He joins from Marlabs, which is also a New Jersey-based IT services firm, where he was chief digital officer.
iCAD, the Nashua, New Hampshire based medical diagnostics company using AI, said it promoted Stacey Stevens to the position of president. She was the chief strategy and chief commercial officer at the company, where she has worked since 2006.
ContextVision, the Stockholm, Sweden-based medical imaging services firm using AI, said it promoted Fredrik Palm to CEO.
The joint venture run by Toronto, Canada-based Internet of Things and Shanghai’s New Hope hired robotics and AI expert Li Hui Wen as CEO.
AB International, the Hong Kong-based intellectual property rights firm using AI, said it hired former PwC and KPMG executive Brandy Gao as CFO.
Cray, the Seattle, Washington-based supercomputer company, said it hired former Teradata executive John Dinning as senior vice president of products.
Antuit, the Dallas, Texas-based business services firm using AI, said it hired Patrick Smith as executive vice president of global sales. The Goldman Sachs-backed firm is focused on the retail, consumer goods and manufacturing sectors. Smith joins from supply chain management company ToolsGroup, where he ran operations in North America.
Criteo, the Paris, France-based advertising platform, said it hired AI academic Patrick Gallinari to conduct deep learning research. Gallinari was director of the computer laboratory at the Sorbonne University and responsible for the machine learning team.
Ignite Sales, the Dallas, Texas-based financial technology company using AI, said it hired Kelly Schilling as senior vice president of business development. She held the same position at fintech firm Fiserv.
Other hiring includes 1901 Group and UltraSoC
Board appointments include People.ai, Splunk and Shopin