Week Ending 08.25.19
This week our corporate finance newsletter brings you the details on eight mergers and acquisitions, three initial public offerings, 18 funding rounds, a smattering of legal and regulatory developments and almost two dozen executive moves in the world of AI.
We start this week with our conversation with NextOrbit founder Kishore Rajapal and the company’s plans to start raising USD 2m in seed funding next month.
Other companies we have tracked over the past year in the news this week include PredictiveHR, Pagaya, Cielo, GreyOrange, Digital Reasoning, Tempus and Recursion.
See all of this and more below ↓
NextOrbit CEO Kishore Rajapal
THE LATEST FROM EYE ON A.I.
NextOrbit Solutions, the retail inventory management company using AI, is seeking USD 2m in seed financing to ramp up growth, founder and CEO Kishore Rajapal said.
The Plano, Texas-based company already has a USD 500k commitment from an Indian investor Rajapal declined to identify.
He hopes to close the round within three months and plans to meet with investors in the US in September.
MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS
PredictiveHR, the Boston, Massachusetts-based human resources platform using machine learning, said it acquired the recruiting division of Method3.
PredictiveHR raised USD 1m from angel investors in June.
Resolve Systems, the Irvine, California-based business services firm, said it acquired AI company FixStream.
Splunk, the San Francisco, California-based business software company using AI, said it is acquiring business software company SignalFx for USD 1bn in cash and stock.
Syncsort, the Pearl River, New York-based business software company, said it acquired SQData to build out its machine learning and AI capabilities.
Datametrex AI, the Toronto, Canada-based AI company, said it is acquiring Semeon Analytics, which uses voice recognition in customer service, for CAD 3m (USD 2.3m) in cash and stock.
Mateon Therapeutics, the South San Francisco, California-based drug developer, said it is acquiring PointR Data for its AI technology.
Bright Mountain Media, the Boca Raton, Florida-based advertising services platform, said it is acquiring Slutzky & Winshman, which operates under the S&W Media Group name, to leverage machine learning.
VMware, the Palo Alto, California-based business software company, said it is acquiring cybersecurity company Carbon Black for USD 2.1bn and business software developer Pivotal for USD 2.7bn to build out its AI capabilities.
Other deals include Generex Biotechnology
FILINGS
Datadog, the New York City-based analytics company using machine learning, said it is raising a placeholder USD 100m in an initial public offering on the Nasdaq.
10x Genomics, the Pleasanton, California-based medical research firm, said it is raising a placeholder USD 100m initial public offering on the Nasdaq. The company said it plans to implement robotics into its workflow.
Glucose Biosensor Systems, the New York City-based medical testing company using AI, refiled for a placeholder USD 23m initial public offering on the NYSE American.
Other deals include a Form D from Door Robotics, Globe Photos and Adynxx, which acquired Alliqua BioMedical in October last year
FUNDING
PlusAI, the Cupertino, California-based self-driving truck company, raised USD 200m in a Series B funding round led by Sequoia Capital and Lightspeed Venture Partners, according to an Independent.ie report.
Pagaya, the Tel Aviv, Israel-based financial technology company using AI, said it completed a USD 115m asset backed securitization. The company completed a USD 100m securitization earlier this year.
Read our interview with Pagaya Chief Investment Officer Ed Mallon from earlier this year here.
H2O.ai, the Mountain View, California-based business software developer, said it raised USD 72.5m in a Series D led by Goldman Sachs.
Finch Therapeutics, the Somerville, Massachusetts-based company using machine learning to develop treatments for autism, said it raised USD 53m in a Series C financing from investors including OCV Partners.
Drop, the Toronto, Canada-based marketing company using machine learning, said it raised USD 44m in a Series B round led by HOF Capital, the New York City venture capital firm focused on technology.
Starship Technologies, the San Francisco, California-based autonomous delivery company, said it raised USD 40m in Series A funding led by Morpheus Ventures.
Zendrive, the San Francisco, California-based analytics company using AI, said it raised USD 37m in Series B funding led by XL Innovate. Zendrive focuses on the auto insurance industry.
Simon Data, the New York City-based enterprise marketing platform using machine learning, said it raised USD 30m in a Series C funding round led by US technology focused venture capital firm Polaris Partners.
TapClicks, the San Jose, California-based marketing company using machine learning, said it raised another USD 10m from the private equity firm Boathouse Capital. It raised a similar amount from Boathouse in September last year. It acquired iSpionage, a marketing firm, in July.
Windfall Data, the San Francisco, California-based financial services company using machine learning, said it raised USD 9m in a funding round led by Bullpen Capital.
Idein, the Tokyo, Japan-based deep learning company, said it raised USD 7.8m in a round of funding led by Japanese venture capital firm Global Brain. Two Sony venture capital funds also participated.
Molecula, the Austin, Texas-based company cleaning data for AI use, said it raised USD 6m in a seed round led by Seraph Group, the venture capital firm, and Twitter founder Jack Dorsey.
JRNI, the London, UK-based marketing company using AI, said it raised USD 6m in Series C financing led by US venture capital firm PeakSpan Capital.
Blooma, the San Diego, California-based commercial loan company using AI, said it raised USD 2.8m in seed funding led by Floodgate, an early-stage investment group.
Other deals include BDS Analytics, Voyager, Aperiomics and EARTH AI
LEGAL AND REGULATORY
US presidential candidate Bernie Sanders advocates facial recognition ban as part of wider criminal justice reform package.
A government role in the development of AI, according to Wim Naudé, professorial fellow at Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology, United Nations University. This op-ed appeared in The Conversation.
Infographic on how ready governments are to use AI in public services, from UK-based consultancy Oxford Insights.
PEOPLE
Overstock.com, the Salt Lake City, Utah-based online retailer using AI, said it appointed Jonathan Johnson as interim CEO and hired Kamelia Aryafar as executive vice president of retail to oversee the continued implementation of the company’s machine learning strategy. Patrick Byrne resigned as CEO last week after admitting to a relationship with a Russian agent.
Erasca, the San Diego, California-based company developing cancer treatments using AI, said it promoted Gary Yeung to the role of chief operating and financial officer and hired former McKinsey executive David Chacko as chief business officer, former Eli Lily executive Les Brail as vice president of clinical development and Karen Gilmore as vice president of finance.
Cielo, the Lubbock, Texas-based investment company focused on technology and AI, said it hired Chris Pruitt as CFO.
The company hired former Lockheed Martin executive Wade Haselden as director of business development in July, and Sallie Rodriguez as director of talent and culture in June.
GreyOrange, the Singapore-based logistical software company and robot maker, said it hired Jeff Cashman as senior vice president and global COO. He will work out of the company’s US headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia.
The company hired Terrie O’Hanlon as chief marketing officer earlier in August.
GreyOrange raised USD 140m in a Series C led by Peter Thiel’s Mithril Capital in August last year. Japan’s Mitsubishi and Indian ecommerce startup Flipkart are also investors.
Evolv Technology Solutions, the San Francisco, California-based marketing company using AI, said it hired former Oracle executive Steve Bamberger as president and COO and promoted Tyler Foster to the role of chief technology officer.
Ambyint, the Houston, Texas-based marketing company using AI, said it hired David Zahn as COO.
Accelitas, the Petaluma, California-based cybersecurity company using AI, said it promoted Mark Smith to COO, and hired former BofA and First Data executive Jimmy Williams as senior vice president national sales manager.
Ivalua, the Redwood City, California-based accounting platform using machine learning, said it hired Pascal Bensoussan as chief product officer.
Tavant, the Santa Clara, California-based business services using AI, said it hired former AIG executive Raj Menon as chief marketing officer.
Digital Reasoning, the Nashville, Tennessee-based AI company, said it hired former American Express executive Randi Schochet as chief marketing officer.
It hired former Hewlett Packard executive Chris Hasenbein as senior vice president of sales for the Americas in April.
Cogito, the Boston, Massachusetts-based marketing firm using AI, said it hired former Verizon executive Jim Nystrom as chief sales officer.
Grid4C, the Austin, Texas-based energy analytics company using AI, said it hired Musaddeq Khan as chief revenue officer.
Tempus, the Chicago, Illinois-based medical services company using machine learning, said it hired former Mt. Sinai executive Joel Dudley as senior vice president of research.
The company raised USD 200m in a Series F in June and raised USD 110m in a Series E from funds including T. Rowe Price in September last year. Tempus was started by Groupon cofounder Eric Lefkofsky.
TrackStreet, the Santa Barbara, California-based business services firm using AI, said it hired Jason Bennett as vice president of strategy and business development.
New Knowledge, the Austin, Texas-based business services company using machine learning, said it hired Gavin Hewitt as vice president of sales. The company focuses on protecting corporate reputations by monitoring social media.
Recursion, the Salt Lake City, Utah-based drug development company using AI, said it hired Imran Haque as vice president of data science.
The company hired Sharath Hegde as chief scientific officer in June. In July it raised USD 121m in a Series C led by Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust.