Key deals of the week (October 12 - 18)
When restrictive measures were imposed around the world in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the prevailing view was that an economic downturn would come, which would also affect venture funding and the IPO market. It happened, but not to the extent that many expected. Moreover, the IPO market is on the rise.
According to Crunchbase, in the third quarter of 2020, the volume of venture funding left $ 76.4 billion, which is 1% more than in the previous quarter and 9% more than last year.
Crunchbase data shows an increase in investments from Q1 to Q3 2020 compared to the same period in 2019 in sectors such as medicine, payment instruments, education and games.
The most active investors in Q3'20 were: Global Founders Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners, General Catalyst, Bessemer Venture Partners alongside, Bain Capital Ventures and GV.
In Q3'20 the IPO market showed good results. For example, Snowflake's IPO was the most expensive IPO of a software provider of all time. The company was valued at $ 33.2 billion at the time of its public debut.
Snowflake's previous estimate (in a private funding round) was $ 12.4 billion. As of October 18, 2020, Snowflake is valued at just over $ 67 billion. Among other companies that were valued above $ 10 billion at the time of going public in Q3 '20 includes Ke.com from Beijing, Palantir Technologies from Denver, Li Auto from Beijing, Unity Technologies from San Francisco, and GoodRx from Santa Monica.
Small deals (up to $ 15 million)
E-Commerce
· September 12, 2020. Ratailo, a startup offering a platform for ordering goods for small and medium-sized businesses, raised $ 2.3 million in a pre-seed round from Shorooq Partners, 500 Startups, 92-Ventures and others. Retailo was founded in September 2020. The service is currently operating in Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. The startup also wants to enter the African market. The company wants to help 10 million small and medium-sized enterprises in target regions simplify the procurement process.
Collaboration Tools
· October 13, 2020. Qatalog, a startup that helps companies work better on joint projects, raised $ 15 million in Round A from Atomico, Salesforce Ventures and others. The Qatalog virtual workstation combines services such as Teams / Slack, Microsoft / Google Suite, Zoom, Confluence, Jira, Notion, Asana, and others in a single interface. Information from Qatalog can be automatically loaded into the above services and vice versa. The total amount of attracted investments by Qatalog is $ 18.5 million.
On-demand
· October 13, 2020. GoGet startup, developer of a platform for finding performers for various tasks, raised $ 2 million from Monk's Hill Ventures. The platform has 20,000 registered artists and 5,000 companies, including Lazada Malaysia, IKEA Malaysia, Foodpanda and BloomThis. On GoGet you can find a contractor for the delivery of goods, transportation of goods, catering, etc. Client companies are provided with a variety of additional features, which include the ability to create a list of performers they want to work with again, as well as recruiting, training and payment tools. Performers have access to savings plans, online training, and more.
Design and construction
October 14, 2020. Cove.tool, a startup that develops software to help architects simulate building energy, has raised $ 5.7 million from Mucker Capital, Urban.us, Knoll Ventures and TechSquare Labs. Cove.tool also provides advice on how to increase the energy efficiency of a building. A startup's software can take into account factors such as energy consumption, lighting, etc. The product is used by companies such as EYP, P2S, Skanska and JLL. Cove.tool transforms what used to be a manual process that involved external consultants and took about 150 hours of work into work that can be done in 30 minutes.
EdTech
· October 14, 2020. Engageli startup, an educational platform developer, raised $ 14.5 million in a seed round from BRM, Emerge Education and others. Engageli has created what it calls an "inclusive digital platform" for educational institutions looking to maintain a sense of normalcy during lockdown. The platform makes it possible to conduct surveys, quizzes and interactive classes to test students' knowledge.
The main feature of the Engageli platform is the support function for study groups, in which students can use and discuss educational material together. The startup was founded in June 2020 and the product is now in the pilot phase.
Analytics Tools
· October 15, 2020. The American company Balto, which develops a conversational AI platform for call centers, announced the attraction of a $ 10 million round. The round was led by the Sierra Ventures fund. Other investors include Jump Capital, OCA Ventures, Cultivation Capital and others. AI platform Balto listens to both sides of the conversation and visually tells operators what to say next. A smart checklist reminds them of a conversation scenario and automatically marks each completed item.
Balto also offers functions for managing call center operations: for example, Balto converts customer calls into data and creates an agent performance table. Other tools analyze the performance of different operators' phrases and collect real-time metrics from operators, customers, and competitors. The startup also offers a playbook for the most effective phrases, important rules and reminders for employees.
Logistics
· October 15, 2020. Delivery service for business "Checkbox" attracted 90 million rubles from TealTech Capital and private investors. The checkbox estimate was 370 million rubles. "Checkbox" is a "last mile" delivery service for online stores. The company works according to the Supply Sharing scheme based on machine learning: "Checkbox" cooperates with a business that shares information about delivery with the service, and algorithms arrange the order so that the courier is on the way as much as possible. By the end of 2021, "Checkbox" plans to start working in 16 cities with a population of one million. The company will use the funds raised to open an office in each city where the selection and training of couriers will take place.
Medium deals (from $ 15 million to $ 75 million)
PropTech
October 12, 2020 Snapdoc, a company that develops a solution to maximize the automation of the mortgage issuance process, has raised $ 60 million from YC Continuity, Sequoia Capital, F-Prime and others. Snapdoc automates the organization of the document signing process, collects all the necessary information in one place, etc. On the platform, the client can follow the mortgage issuance process.
Snapdoc technology allows you to format PDF files into documents for electronic signature. Snapdocs says its automated system can prepare hundreds of pages of loan documents in 11 minutes. 750 thousand transactions pass through the platform annually (in 2020 this figure should reach 1.5 million). The startup's clients include Bell Bank, LeaderOne Financial Corporation, Googain and Georgia United Credit Union. The total amount of attracted investments Snapdoc - $ 103 million.
Foodtech
October 12, 2020. Indian food delivery service from farmers and manufacturers directly to retailers Ninjacart raised $ 30 million from Flipkart and Wallmart. Companies first invested in Ninjacart in December 2019. During the pandemic, Ninjacart launched FoodPrint, a platform that allows all products to be tracked to improve safety. Ninjacart was founded in 2015. The total amount of attracted investments Ninjacart - $ 194.2 million.
E-Commerce
October 13, 2020. Nuvemshop, a Latin American company that helps small and medium-sized businesses sell goods online, has raised $ 40 million from y Qualcomm Ventures, Kaszek Ventures and others. Nuvemshop offers a suite of tools related to payments, shipping, inventory management and marketing. The company has 65 thousand clients. Customers pay for a subscription, as well as for each transaction. Nuvemshop was founded in 2011. The total amount of attracted investments of the company is $ 38.4 million.
AI
October 14, 2020. Augury, an AI solution that helps determine if equipment needs repairs, has raised $ 55 million from Qumra Capital, Insight Venture Partners, Qualcomm Ventures and others. Sensors record readings from commercial refrigerators, industrial heaters, and more. The sensors process indicators of vibration, temperature, magnetism, the level and nature of sound, and then upload the information to the cloud, where AI algorithms analyze the data to make predictions about the state of equipment. Augury's clients include Johnson Controls, Brooklyn Navy Yard, NYC Department of Education, Grundfos, PSG Dover, Trane and Carrier.
TravelTech
October 14, 2020. Casai, a rental housing startup, raised $ 48 million ($ 23 million in equity and $ 25 million in debt) from TriplePoint Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Kaszek Ventures and others. The idea behind Casai is that travelers get good accommodations, designer renovations, keyless check-in, smart home elements, etc. Casai does not own real estate, but negotiates with landlords (often using the revenue-sharing model). This property is only listed on Casai. Before the pandemic, Cassai real estate was 100% full, and now it is 80-90%.
MedTech
October 15, 2020. Whisper, a smart hearing aid maker, raised $ 35 million in Round B from Quiet Ventures, Sequoia Capital, First Round Capital, IVP and Arrive. Whisper devices use AI to adapt to their surroundings (watching TV, visiting a noisy place, etc.). The technology has three main components. The person has a hearing aid, along with a small outer box, which the company calls "Whisper Brain". It works wirelessly with headphones to enable a patented AI-based audio separation system, Whisper said. And the third component is a smartphone application through which you can update the software.
The device is offered as a subscription: $ 179 per month for three years. At the end of their subscription, customers can receive an updated hearing aid or return the device.
Fitness
October 16, 2020. Future, an online coaching startup, announced it has raised $ 24 million from Trustbridge Partners, Caffeinated Capital and others. The subscription price for the service is $ 149 per month. Future uses information from Apple Watch to improve workout performance. The company expects 1,000 trainers to be registered on the platform by the fourth quarter of next year. The total amount of attracted investments by Future is $ 35.5 million.
Large deals ($ 75 + million)
FinTech
October 12, 2020. Indian FinTech startup Razorpay has raised $ 100 million from GIC, Sequoia India and others for an estimated $ 1 + billion. Razorpay processes online payments for small businesses and enterprises. The startup also offers loans to companies. Razorpay recently launched a non-banking platform for issuing corporate credit cards and other financial products. Razorpay's clients include Oyo, Cred, Facebook, Flipkart, Zomato, Swiggy, Byju’s, Zilingo, Yatra, Goibibo and Airtel. Razorpay was founded in 2014. According to Crunchbase, Razorpay's total investment raised is $ 224.7 million.
Cloud Technology
· 12 October 2020. Twilio cloud platform buys Segment. The deal will amount to $ 3.2 billion, the entire amount will be paid to shareholders in the form of cash. The deal is expected to close before the end of the year. Twilio, launched in 2008, is a platform that allows companies to create instant messengers, video chats, voice calls and other ways to communicate with customers in the cloud. At the end of last year, the platform had over 179 thousand active users. Segment, in turn, is building the infrastructure that allows companies to collect, analyze and standardize consumer data. The service has about 20 thousand clients.
EdTech
· September 13, 2020. Norwegian EdTech service for creating online quizzes Kahoot! raised $ 215 million from SoftBank. For SoftBank Kahoot! Will issue 43 million new shares. Over the past 12 months, Kahoot! attended by 1.3 billion players. The company's revenue in Q3 2020 amounted to $ 11.6 million, and the operating cash flow was at the level of $ 5.2 million. The number of paid subscriptions of the service is 360 thousand. According to Crunchbase, the total amount of attracted investments Kahoot! - $ 363.9 million
AgTech
October 14, 2020. Plenty, a vertical farm manufacturer, has raised $ 140 million from SoftBank Vision and Driscoll's agricultural firm. Plants are planted in a spongy substance that replaces soil and watered with mineral-enriched water. Nowadays, Plenty vertical farms grow cabbage, sorrel, various varieties of basil and onions.
The company plans to use the funds collected in this round to build new vertical farms, the yield of which, according to the creators, is 530 times higher than that of conventional fields. During its existence, Plenty, founded in the summer of 2014, has raised more than $ 500 million.
Electric Vehicles
October 14, 2020. Arrival, an e-mobility startup founded by former Yota CEO Denis Sverdlov, raised $ 118 million from the American BlackRock fund. The company will use the funds received to build factories in the United States. The first of these will launch in South Carolina. BlackRock has joined other strategic investors in the company, including Hyundai Motor Company, Kia Motors Corporation and UPS.
Arrival is headquartered in London. The company employs over 800 people. Arrival development centers are located in five countries - Great Britain, USA, Russia, Germany and Israel.
Car sharing
October 14, 2020. Getaround P2P car sharing service raised $ 140 million from PeopleFund, SoftBankVision Fund, Menlo Ventures and others. In March 2020, Getaround fired or sent on unpaid leave some of its employees due to a drop in demand due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, in May, the company saw demand for services return: people did not want to fly due to COVID-19, so they chose other modes of transportation. In July, the company returned to work all employees from unpaid leave. Getaround has over 6 million users worldwide. According to Crunchbase, Getaround's total investment raised is $ 556.9 million.
Telemedicine
October 15, 2020. Telemedicine startup 98point6 announced raising $ 118 million from L Catterton, Activant Capital, Goldman Sachs and others. 98point6 offers text medical advice in the app or web using AI. The chatbot asks for answers to health questions and information about the patient's symptoms, which the AI assistant then transmits to licensed medical professionals.
Doctors can respond in the chat application where they have the ability to send text messages, share photos and videos, and can also refer more complex cases to an offline appointment with a specialist. The startup serves over 3 million people. The total amount of attracted investments 98point6 is $ 247.3 million. The company attracted the previous round of $ 43 million in April 2020.