Week Ending 09.22.19
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This week our corporate finance newsletter brings you the details on half a dozen mergers and acquisitions, seven initial public offerings, 25 funding rounds, a smattering of legal and regulatory developments and 16 executive moves in the world of AI.
We start this week with our conversation with INDUS.AI co-founder and CEO Matt Man and the company’s USD 8m Series A.
Other companies we have tracked over the past year in the news this week include DataRobot and Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec.
See all of this and more below ↓
INDUS.AI co-founder and CEO Mike Man
LATEST FROM EYE ON A.I.
INDUS.AI raises USD 8m in Series A
The company plans to raise headcount to 50 with sales and engineering hires over the next six months, CEO Matt Man said. Read more of our interview with Man.
MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS
Genesis, the New York City-based digital currency trading and lending platform, said it acquired Qu Capital, an investment research firm using machine learning.
Rokt, the New York City-based e-commerce marketing technology company using AI, said it acquired OfferLogic, the B2B marketing firm.
7Park Data, the New York City-based data company using AI, said it acquired Real Factors, which captures real estate-related data.
HMS, the Irving, Texas-based healthcare system, said it acquired VitreosHealth, a data company using AI.
CellaVision, the Lund, Sweden-based medical technology company using AI, said it acquired RAL Diagnostics.
Entourage Investment, the Las Vegas, Nevada-based private investment firm, said it acquired Axiom, a cybersecurity company using machine learning.
FILINGS
Oportun Financial, the San Carlos, California-based financial services company using machine learning, said it and shareholders are raising USD 106m from an initial public offering on the Nasdaq of 6.25m share at USD 15 to USD 17.
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.
Datadog, the New York City-based analytics company using machine learning, closed up 39% on its first day of trading on the Nasdaq. The company raised USD 648m in an upsized initial public offering of 24m shares at USD 27 each
It originally sought as much as USD 528m from the sale of 24m shares at USD 19 to USD 22 each. US tech giant Cisco made one last minute stab at acquiring the company before it started trading, according to media reports.
Apex Technology Acquisition, the Burlingame, California special purpose acquisition company, saw its shares trade roughly flat on its first day of on the Nasdaq. The company raised USD 305m in an upsized initial public offering of 30.5m units.
The company originally sought USD 275m from the sale of 27.5m units at USD 10 each. It said it plans to acquire software companies, including machine learning and artificial intelligence firms.
Other deals include Bionik Laboratories, OpGen and Telemynd
FUNDING
Mission Lane, the San Francisco, California-based credit card company using machine learning, said it raised over half a billion dollars in debt and equity. In a Series A of more than USD 200m from Invus Opportunities, LL Funds, QED Investors and Oaktree Capital Management. Goldman Sachs and Oaktree are also providing the firm with a USD 300m. The company also hired a new CEO. See People section.
DataRobot, the Boston, Massachusetts-based machine learning company, said it raised USD 206m in Series E funding led by Sapphire Ventures.
The company acquired ParallelM, the machine learning company, in June.
Checkr, San Francisco, California-based hiring platform using AI, said it raised USD 160m in Series D funding led by T. Rowe Price.
Advance.AI, the Singapore-based analytics firm focused on the banking industry, raised USD 80m in a Series C round led by Temasek-backed Pavilion Capital and Banyan Capital, according to a DealStreetAsia report.
Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, the Quebec, Canada-based pension fund, said it invested CAD 53m (USD 49m) in neuvoo, an employment site using AI. Last week, Caisse led a CAD 200m (USD 151.4m) investment in Element AI, the AI software developer.
One Drop, the New York City-based digital medical therapy company using AI, said it raised USD 40m in Series B financing led by Germany’s Bayer.
Built Robotics, the San Francisco, California-based company developing autonomous construction machinery, raised USD 33m funding round led by Next45, according to a VentureBeat report.
AppLearn, the Manchester, U.K.-based business services company using AI, said it raised USD 25m in a funding led by California’s K1 Investment Management.
Skout Cybersecurity, the New York City-based cybersecurity startup focused on small and mid-sized businesses using AI, said it raised USD 25m in Series B funding led by ClearSky.
Revelo, the Sao Paulo, Brazil-based recruiting startup using machine learning, said it raised USD 15m in a Series B led by the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation.
Riverain Technologies, the Miamisburg, Ohio-based medical diagnostics company using AI, said it raised USD 15m in a funding round led by a venture unit of China’s Ping An Insurance.
Thetr, the Austin, Texas-based AI company, said it raised USD 15m in a funding round led by IAG Captial Partners. The company is focused on structuring data from telephone conversations.
FarmWise, the San Francisco, California-based agricultural robot developer, said it raised USD 14.5m in a Series A funding round led by Calibrate Ventures, an early stage investment fund.
Robin Healthcare, the Berkeley, California-based AI company, said it raised USD 11.5m in a Series A funding led by Norwest Venture Partners. The company makes a doctors assistant that transcribes medical information based on natural speech.
Daisy Intelligence, the Ontario, Canada-based AI company, said it raised USD 10m in a Series A financing led by Framework Venture Partners. The company is focused on the retail and insurance industries.
Sellics, the New York City-based Amazon marketing platform using AI, said it raised USD 10m in a Series A funding led by London’s Frog Capital.
Idelic, the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based transportation analytics firm using AI, said it raised USD 8m in a Series A financing round led by Origin Ventures.
Kaia Health, the New York City-based digital therapeutics company using machine learning, said it raised USD 8m in a funding round led by Optum Ventures. The company is developing an app for chronic health issues, such as back pain.
Plutoshift, the Palo Alto, California-based industrial services firm using AI, said it raised USD 8m in a Series A round led by Fall Line Capital and Unshackled Ventures.
Unnatural, the Santa Cruz, California-based drug developer using AI, said it raised USD 6m in seed funding led by Artis Ventures.
Other deals include INanoBio, Deckard Technologies, Open SC, Aliro Quantum Technologies, Joonko and Fenris Digital
LEGAL AND REGULATORY
The UK is piloting a World Economic Forum program for responsible AI use.
A study commissioned by the UK government’s Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation shows police concerns about an over reliance on data and analytics they felt may amplify racial bias.
PEOPLE
Mission Lane, the San Francisco, California-based credit card company using machine learning, said it hired former Capital One veteran and Barclays executive Shane Holdaway as CEO.
ResoluteAI, the New York City-based search engine for researchers using AI, said it hired former Refinitive executive Steve Goldstein as CEO.
Cocoon Health, the Mountain View, California-based company developing a baby monitoring device using AI, said it hired former Target executive Kate Whitcomb as CEO.
INKY Technology, the College Park, Maryland-based email security platform using AI, said it hired John Lyons as chief revenue officer.
Globality, the Menlo Park, California-based business services using AI, said it hired former Accenture executive Keith Hausmann as chief revenue officer.
Vesta, the Lake Oswego, Oregon-based fraud protection and payments company using machine learning, said it hired Tan Truong as CIO.
Varian, the Palo Alto, California-based cancer research firm using AI, said it hired Francis Facchini as chief medical officer, interventional oncology.
Innoplexus, the Frankfurt, Germany-based drug development company using AI, said it US unit hired former IBM Watson executive Stratos Davlos as chief technology officer. Davlos will be based in California.
VidMob, the New York City-based advertising platform using machine learning, said it hired Humphrey Chen as chief product officer.
ProStar Geocorp, the Grand Junction, Colorado-based mapping company using machine learning, said it hired Peter Srajer as chief GIS scientist.
Omnitracs, the Dallas, Texas-based logistical services company, said it hired Ashim Bose as chief data scientist and vice president of artificial intelligence/machine learning and data.
twoXAR, the Mountain View, California-based drug development services company using AI, said it hired Allen Poirson as senior vice president of biopharmaceutical business development.
Decision Engines, the Palo Alto, California-based document processing company using AI, said it hired Sandy Thielamay as vice president of sales.