Week Ending 11.18.18
XIAOTAI SEEKS USD 20M IPO
KNOWTIONS ATTRACTS ALIBABA FUND
PARTNERIZE AND RECALL STUDIOS HIRE CFOS
AND MORE ↓
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MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS
Datametrex AI, the Toronto, Canada-based company operating AI and blockchain businesses, said its subsidiary Ronin Blockchain, a cryptocurrency mining firm, is scrapping a USD 19.2m reverse merger with Cluny Capital because of market conditions.
Microsoft, the Seattle, Washington-based technology firm, said it acquired XOXOCO, the chat bot developer.
In June Microsoft acquired Bonsai, the machine learning firm its venture capital unit had previously invested in. In May it acquired Berkeley, California-based AI firm Semantic Machines.
BlackBerry, the Waterloo, Canada-based business software developer, said it acquired Cylance, the cybersecurity company using AI, for USD 1.4bn cash.
Legrand, the Limoges, France-based maker of circuit breakers, switches and ducts, said it is acquiring Natatmo, the smart product maker, for its AI engineering staff.
Other deals include Envision Solar International
FILINGS
Xiaotai International Investment, the Hangzhou, China-based lending platform using AI, is raising USD 20m in an initial public offering on the NYSE American, a small business exchange. The price range and number of shares have not been announced.
AMERI Holdings, the Suwanee, Georgia-based business software services company, said shareholders may sell 4.34m shares, valued at USD 1.2m at the USD 0.28 a share cited in the prospectus. The company earlier announced plans to acquire AI and robotics firms.
FUNDING
Habana Labs, the Tel Aviv, Israel-based AI processor maker, said it raised USD 75m in a Series B led by Intel’s venture capital fund. Bessemer Venture Partners also participated.
Standard Cognition, the San Francisco, California-based company developing automated retail check-out technology, said it raised USD 40m in a Series A led by Initialized Capital, the early stage venture capital outfit.
In July Standard raised USD 5.5m in seed funding from existing investor CRV. It also hired former Macy’s executive Jon Nam as head of global operations and former Walmart executive Evan Shiue as head of corporate strategy and growth.
4iQ, the Los Altos, California-based cybersecurity firm, raised USD 18m in a funding round led by C5 Capital, the UK venture capital fund focused on AI.
Trace Genomics, the Burlingame, California-based agricultural technology company, said it raised USD 13m in a Series A. The investors were not disclosed. The company is developing tools for farmers using AI to increase crop yields.
Knowtions Research, the Toronto, Canada-based company using AI in medical claims, said it raised USD 5m in a Series A led by Information Venture Partners, the Canadian venture capital firm. An investment fund from Alibaba, the Chinese technology giant, also participated.
Pyron, the New York City-based company developing AI business services, said it raised USD 4.5m in seed funding from investors including Greycroft Partners and BootstrapsLabs.
Indegene, the Princeton New Jersey-based healthcare services firm, said it spunoff its digital marketing unit iON, which uses AI and machine learning.
Xueyun Education Technology, the Huawei, Anhui-based company developing an evaluation app with AI for primary and secondary schools, received an unspecifed investment from NetDragon Websoft, the internet game developer.
Cannan, the Beijing, China-based bitcoin mining equipment maker, has let what had been a reported USD 1bn initial public offering in Hong Kong expected in July lapse, according to a Reuters report.
LEGAL & REGULATORY
There were no developments in the areas we track this week
PEOPLE
Partnerize, the Newcastle on Tyne, UK-based business services firm using AI, said it hired Mike Lemberg as CFO. He joins from ServiceSource International, the sales firm.
In July Partnerize hired Matt Simmonds as vice-president of product. Simmonds was previously vice-president of product management at Oracle’s cloud computing unit. Last week the company said it raised USD 9m in a funding round led by GP Bullhound, the boutique investment bank focused on technology.
Recall Studios, the New York City-based AR/VR company, said it hired Anand Gupta as CFO. Gupta has held positions at AL Jazeera America, HBO and KPMG.
The company brought in a new CEO, John Textor, in September. Last week the company hired Barry Sandrew, who developed the technology to colorize black and white movies, to lead its hunt for acquisitions.
In August the company acquired Evolution AI, the animation company, for USD 200m in stock. The deal also includes a 60% stake in Pulse Evolution, which participated in such movies as The Curious Case of Benjamin Button with Brad Pitt.
Ping Identity, the Denver, Colorado-based cybersecurity firm backed by Vista Equity Partners, said it promoted Bernard Harguindeguy to chief technology officer and hired former JPMorgan executive Richard Bird as chief customer information officer.
Harguindeguy was senior vice president of intelligence in the wake of Ping’s June acquisition of Elastic Beam, a cybersecurity firm using AI, where he was CEO.
B.Yond, the Cupertino, California-based marketing company using AI, said it hired Chance Mannia as chief revenue officer.
Google Cloud AI said Jia Li, head of research and development , has left the company, according to a VentureBeat report. Feifei Li, Google Cloud’s head of AI, left in September.
HealthTech Solutions, the Coralville, Iowa-based medical messaging company using AI, said it hired former Pearson executive Cindy Edge as director of engineering. The company’s first product is used to coordinate communication during the organ transport and transplant process.
Other hires include VDart
DATA
No data sets we track were released this week