Week Ending 12.02.18
MINDMAZE ACQUIRES NEURO MOTOR
MODERNA RAISING USD 520M IN NASDAQ IPO
AURIS RAISES USD 220M
AND MORE ↓
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MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS
MindMaze, the Lausanne, Switzerland-based company developing neurological therapies with AI and mixed reality, said it is acquiring Neuro Motor, the medial technology company. Terms weren’t disclosed.
VIQ Solutions, the Toronto, Canada-based security firm using AI, said it acquired Net Transcripts, which provides documentation services to law enforcement, for USD 6.8m in cash.
The acquisition was funded through a USD 11.5m credit facility and the sale of USD 6.5m convertible five-year debentures. VIQ captures video and audio feeds for analysis. VIQ hired Susan Sumner as COO in September.
Hewlett Packard Enterprise, the Palo Alto, California-based computer company, said it is acquiring BlueData, which makes AI software for businesses.
FILINGS
Moderna, the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based drug developer using AI, said it is raising USD 520m from the initial public offering of 21.7m shares at USD 22.00 and USD 24.00 each on the Nasdaq.
FUNDING
Horizon Robotics, the Beijing, China-based AI chip designer, is raising USD 1bn in a Series B that will value the company at at least USD 3bn, according to a Financial Times report.
Auris Health, the Redwood City, California-based medical robotics maker, said it raised USD 220m in a funding round led by Partner Fund Management, which has one focus on the healthcare industry.
Qualcomm, the San Diego, California-based semiconductor maker, announced the launch of a USD 100m venture capital fund focused on AI investments, called Qualcomm Ventures AI Fund, with an unspecified investment in the Series A round of AI startup AnyVision.
Wave Computing, the Campbell, California-based data services firm using AI, said it raised USD 86m in a Series E led by investment firm Oakmont.
Roam Robotics, the San Francisco, California-based exoskelton maker, said it raised USD 12m in a Series A led by Yamaha Motors, the Japanese motorcycle maker.
Blue J Legal, the Toronto, Canada-based legal services firm using AI, said it raised USD 7m in a Series A led by Relay Ventures.
Vita Mobile Systems, the Irvine, California-based mobile digital imaging company using AI, said it received USD 5m in funding from San Diego’s Tangiers Global. The company plans to uplist to the OTCQB. It currently trades on the OTC Pink.
Namaste, the Toronto, Canada-based cannabis company using AI, said it paid USD 250,000 for a 3% stake in Kief Cannabis, which expects to receive Canadian government approval to grow marijuana this month.
In October Namaste upsized a follow on offering to USD 51.75m from the original USD 45m. The company sold 17.25m shares with warrants instead of the 15m shares it had announced last week. The price at USD 3.00 remained the same.
The same month the company refuted Citron Research reports that a sale of US assets were to a related party under securities rules. Namaste acknowledged one action in progress by US regulators it did not identify.
Other deals include Point Inside, Oriente, MondoBrain and Medicrea
LEGAL & REGULATORY
The UK government’s Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund plans to start next month providing GBP 3m (USD 3.8m) for three AI research projects in the business sector.
PEOPLE
General Motors, the Detroit, Michigan-based car maker, said Dan Ammann is stepping down as president to become CEO of its autonomous driving unit Cruise, which is also backed by Japanese car maker Honda and Softbank.
Cruise co-founder and current CEO Kyle Vogt has been demoted to chief technology officer.
Technovative, the Hong Kong-based AI, blockchain and cloud computing company, said it hired Wanhong Tan as CFO.
LiteLink Technologies, the Vancouver, Canada-based business software developer, said it hired Kent Churn as COO of subsidiary LiteLink Labs. Last week the company said it hired former Ericsson executive Shoukri Kattan as head of AI.
Conversica, the Foster City, California-based business services firm using AI, said it hired Rashmi Vittal as chief marketing officer.
Albert Technologies, the New York City-based marketing services platform using AI, said it hired Mark Kirschner as chief marketing officer.
Nio, the Shanghai, China-based electric vehicle maker, said Padmasree Warrior, CEO Nio USA and chief development officer for the entire company, resigned for unspecified personal reasons. No replacement was identified.
The Tencent-backed company raised USD 1bn from an initial public offering in September. The firm, which is also developing autonomous driving technology, had earlier targeted USD 1.8bn in the IPO.
Other hiring includes Differential Ventures and Lora DiCarlo
DATA
No new data sets were released that we track