July 2021 Investment Brief: Acquisition
Boston, Massachusetts, United States-based Amwell (NYSE: AMWL) is a telehealth platform providing its patients with more affordable, higher quality health care. On Jul 28, 2021, the company acquired Conversa Health for $160M. Conversa Health is a virtual care platform that provides automated patient engagement and management. Previously, Amwell acquired SilverCloud Health, Aligned TeleHealth, and Avizia.
New York, United States-based Taboola (NASDAQ: TBLA) is an AI-powered content discovery platform connecting people with content on the web that suits their interests. On Jul 23, 2021, the company acquired Connexity for $800M. Connexity is a digital advertising company that works with merchants to determine which product offerings to put on publishers’ websites. Previously, Taboola acquired Start Magazine, Commerce Sciences, ConvertMedia, and Perfect Market.
San Francisco, California, United States-based Visa (NYSE: V) is a financial platform facilitating electronic payment systems worldwide. On Jul 22, 2021, the company acquired Currencycloud for £700 M. Currencycloud specializes in a fully cloud-based platform for B2B cross-border payments. Previously, Visa acquired Tink, YellowPepper, Payworks, Verifii, Bell ID, Rambus, Earthport Plc, Fraedom, and CardinalCommerce.
Costa Mesa, California, United States-based Veritone (NASDAQ: VERI) is a future-proof AI platform that comprehends and transforms multiple forms of data to create actionable intelligence. On Jul 22, 2021, the company acquired PandoLogic for $150M. PandoLogic provides programmatic job advertising solutions powered by predictive analytics, machine learning, and A. Previously, Veritone acquired Machine Box, Performance Bridge Media, and Wazee Digital.
July 2021 Investment Brief: Investment
London, England, United Kingdom-based CBDC is a blockchain platform revolutionizing the existing financial system. On Jul 30, 2021, the company raised a seed fund of $482K from a private investor. Previously, CBDC raised a seed fund of $830K from an undisclosed investor. The three founders of Fluency – Michał Wojciechowski, Inga Mullins, and Paweł Brataniec – met at Westin Hotel in Warsaw, Poland, for the first time to build this innovative crypto bank.
London, England, United Kingdom-based Realm is a real estate data and insights platform helping homeowners realize their properties as more than a place to live. On Jul 29, 2021, the company raised Series A fund of $12M from GGV Capital, Lerer Hippeau, Primary Venture Partners, 9YC, and Liberty Mutual Strategic Ventures. Previously, Realm raised a seed fund of $3M from Primary Venture Partners, Liberty Mutual Strategic Ventures, and Lerer Hippeau. Realm raised funds of $3M from Jackson Moses, Fort Schuyler Ventures, and 10X Capital in pre-seed. Founder Liz Young of Realm plans to improve the quality and sophistication of the platform’s data insights.
San Francisco, California, United States-based Mercury is a real digital banking platform helping startups with banking services and bank accounts. On Jul 29, 2021, the company raised a Series B fund of $120M from Sapphire Ventures, CRV, Coatue, and Andreessen Horowitz. Previously, Mercury raised a Series A fund of $21.3M from Zeno Ventures, Suhail Doshi, Serena Ventures, Scott Belsky and 26 other investors. Mercury raised funds of $6M from Andreessen Horowitz, Coelius Capital, and Early Impact Ventures. CEO Immad Akhund, CTO Tagher, and COO Jason Zhang aim to accelerate growth for startups, eCommerce stores, angel investors, & more.
New York, United States-based Livepeer is a decentralized live video broadcast platform helping people and businesses leverage the maximum Internet. On Jul 29, 2021, the company raised a Series B fund of $20M from Northzone, Digital Currency Group, CoinFund, Coinbase Ventures, Animal Ventures, and 6th Man Ventures. Previously, Livepeer raised a Series A fund of $8M from StakeZero Ventures, Notation Capital, Northzone, Libertus Capital and 5 other investors. Livepeer raised Seed funds of $3M+ from BoxGroup, Distributed Global, Digital Currency Group, and Charge Ventures. CEO Doug Petkanics and CTO Eric Tang aim to use the new fund to power video streaming on the Ethereum blockchain at a highly efficient price and infinite scale.
London, England, United Kingdom-based Genesis Digital Assets is a bitcoin mining platform helping industrial-scale bitcoin mining operators worldwide. On Jul 29, 2021, the company raised a private equity fund of $125M from Kingsway Capital. The Founder, Abdumalik Mirakhmedov, informs that Genesis Digital Assets will use the $125 million in capital to purchase equipment and build new data centers in the United States and Nordic region.
New York, United States-based Kasisto is a conversational AI platform helping financial institutions to service, engage, and acquire customers via human-like, intelligent conversations anytime, anywhere. On Jul 28, 2021, the company raised a Series C fund of $15.5M from NCR and Naples Technology Ventures. Previously, Kasisto raised a Series B fund of $7M from Napier Park Financial Partners. Kasisto raised a seed fund of $2.3M+ from Wells Fargo Startup Accelerator, Two Sigma Venture, SRI International, The Partnership Fund for New York City, and three other investors. The Founder, Ruth Brown, plans to use the new fund in sales, business development, marketing, strategy, and customer success functions.
Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain-based The Colvin Co is a digital flower shop offering a wide range of bouquets at accessible prices. On Jul 28, 2021, the company raised a Series C fund of €45M from Eurazeo, Glovo, Farfetch (NYSE: FTCH), and Capagro. Previously, The Colvin Co raised a Series B fund of €14M from Milano Investment Partners, Samaipata, and P101. The Colvin Co raised Series A fund of €2M from Milano Investment Partners and Ad4Ventures. It raised €6M+ in other previous venture rounds and seed rounds. The Founders, Andres Cester, Sergi Bastardas, and Marc Olmedillo, plan to use the funds to scale its B2C and B2B business model in Europe, invest in technology, and its own systems to continue connecting directly with flower and plant growers.
July 2021 Investment Brief: Top IPO Launches
New York, United States-based Outbrain (NASDAQ: OB) is an ads recommendation platform helping advertisers connect with open web consumers. On Jul 23, 2021, Outbrain opened its initial public offering (IPO) at $20 per share after selling 8 million shares to raise $160+ million. Founded by Ori Lahav and Yaron Galai, Outbrain is headquartered in New York City, with offices in 18 cities worldwide. It partners with publishers and marketers in more than 55 countries. Before IPO, Outbrain raised $394M from 13 investors, including The Baupost Group, Susquehanna Growth Equity, GlenRock Group, and 10 other prominent investors.
New York, United States-based VTEX (NYSE: VTEX) is an e-commerce strategy platform helping major retailers and consumer brands. On Jul 21, 2021, VTEX opened its initial public offering (IPO) at $22.18 per share after raising $ 263.66 million. Founded by Geraldo Thomaz, VTEX is headquartered in New Greater New York Area, with offices in 13 cities worldwide. It delivers the experience consumers want with a composable, connected, and complete digital commerce platform. Before IPO, VTEX raised $365M from 10 investors, including Constellation Asset Management, SoftBank, Tiger Global Management, and seven other prominent investors.
Dear Reader,
First, thank you for your precious time reading the stories (without paywalls) I publish on Startups to Enterprises covering the EU, China, the US, and India. Second, I request you to contribute financially (any amount) to help me sustain this as an independent digital business news media.
If I receive a request for a sponsored post, I ensure I see merit that is meaningful for erudite and informed readers like you. In the bargain, I lose out on sponsorships wherein I need funds to sustain this effort. Your contribution helps me stay afloat.
Please note that your contribution is treated as revenue generated and not a donation; hence, there are no 80G or other donation certificates. In fact, as I am eligible to pay for the revenue generated, I will pay taxes on the same.
You deserve to know that I abide by journalistic ethics and practices to ensure I tell the stories as is, unbiased. You can follow us on Facebook, Linkedin, and Twitter, bookmark us on Google News, and finally, PayPal us here.
Founding Editor
Linda Ashok