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Venture capital has overflowed with interest in digital health since the pandemic forced patient care into the realm of the bits and the bytes.
But not all startups are getting the same treatment.
Proteus Digital Health, once valued as much as $1.5 billion, has been building a digestible sensor that tracks whether patients have taken their medications. Over the course of nearly two decades, it has raised more than $420 million from investors including The Carlyle Group, Kaiser Permanente Ventures, Medtronic, OrbiMed, and Novartis on that pitch (per data from Pitchbook).
Earlier this week, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
Even prior to the onset of the pandemic, the pre-revenue health tech company struggled to raise additional funding and furloughed the majority of its employees for two weeks in November, per CNBC—highlighting the issue of integrating digital therapies within the existing hierarchy (think pharmaceutical companies, regulators, and insurers). An important licensing agreement with Otsuka Pharmaceuticals meanwhile fell apart earlier this year. The coronavirus, the company says, only made matters worse.
“The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic created significant uncertainty in the capital markets and frustrated [Proteus’] efforts,” the filing read, adding that Proteus has held “fruitful discussions” with Otsuka and other parties regarding a potential sale.
Blued: Despite skepticism regarding the IPO of Chinese companies and the grey area LGBTQ rights hold in the middle kingdom, Blued, China’s biggest gay dating app, has filed for an initial public offering in the U.S.—amid Pride month no less. The company posted $107.2 million in revenue for 2019 and losses of $96.6 million. Shunwei Capital (12.3% pre-offering) backs the firm. It plans to list on the Nasdaq as “BLCT.”
China, where Blued’s main business resides, has recently indicated that it may reconsider its stance same-sex marriage, which is currently illegal in the country. Read more.
Lucinda Shen
Twitter: @shenlucinda
Email: [email protected]
VENTURE DEALS
- GreenLight Biosciences, a Boston-based company using RNA products for agricultural and life sciences applications, raised $102 million in Series D funding. Morningside Ventures led the round and was joined by investors including S2G Ventures, Cormorant Asset Management, Continental Grain Company, Fall Line Capital, Tao Capital Partners, Baird Capital, MLS Capital Fund II, Lewis and Clark AgriFood and Lupa Systems. Read more.
- Pagaya, a New York and Tel Aviv-based fintech using AI in institutional investment, raised $102 million in Series D funding. Aflac Global Ventures, Poalim Capital Markets, Viola, Oak HC/FT, Clal Insurance, GF Investments, and Siam Commercial Bank participated.
- Credo, a San Jose, Calif.-based semiconductor maker, raised $100 million in Series D funding. Funds and accounts managed by BlackRock led the round.
- Outreach, a Seattle-based sales engagement platform, raised $50 million in funding. Sands Capital led the round and was joined by investors including Salesforce Ventures and Operator Collective.
- Uptycs, a Waltham, Mass.-based security analytics company, raised $30 million in Series B funding. Sapphire Ventures led the round, and was joined by investors including Comcast Ventures and ForgePoint Capital.
- Hydrow, a maker of an at-home rower, raised $25 million in Series A-2 financing led by L Catterton.
- Starburst, a Boston-based analytics company, raised $42 million in Series B funding. Coatue led the round and was joined by investors including Index Ventures.
- Onna, a New York and Barcelona-based platform for integrating workplace apps, raised $27 million in Series B funding. Atomico led the round and was joined by investors including Glynn Capital, Dawn Capital, Nauta Capital and Slack Fund.
- Drishti Technologies, a Mountain View, Calif.-based AI-powered video analytics company for factory floors, raised $25 million in Series B funding. Sozo Ventures led the round.
- Proprio, a Seattle-based surgical navigation company, raised $23 million in Series A funding. DCVC led the round, and was joined by investors including Cota Capital. BOLD Capital Partners and Alan Frazier.
- Open Raven, a Los Angeles-based data security platform, raised $15 million in Series A funding. Kleiner Perkins led the round and was joined by investors including Upfront Ventures.
- DroneBase, a German-based aerial data analytics company, raised $7.5 million in Series C funding. Valor Equity Partners and Razi Ventures invested, joining existing investors Union Square Ventures, Upfront Ventures, Hearst Ventures, Pritzker Group Venture Capital, and DJI.
- Dumpling, a Seattle-based platform for businesses to set up grocery shopping and delivery, raised $6.5 million in Series A funding. Forerunner Ventures led the round and was joined by investors including Floodgate and FUEL Capital.
- MyTutor, a U.K.-based platform secondary school tutoring, raised £4 million ($5 million) in investment, led by existing investor Mobeus Equity Partners. This brings MyTutor’s total funding to-date to £14 million.
- careMESH, a Reston, Va.-based patient notification platform, raised $5 million in seed funding. Assurance Capital and Pavey Family Investments led the round.
- CognitOps, an Austin-based warehouse automation startup, raised a $3 million in seed funding. Chicago Ventures led the round and was joined by investors including Schematic Ventures, CEAS Investments, and Churton Ventures.
PRIVATE EQUITY
- Digital.ai, backed by TPG, acquired Numerify, an AI analytics solutions firm, and Experitest, an app testing platform. Financial terms weren't disclosed.
- A consortium of investors led by KKR acquired Vinhomes, a Vietnamese real estate developer. Financial terms weren't disclosed.
- Authentic Brands, Simon Property Group, and Brookfield Property Partners are in talks to buy bankrupt retailer J.C. Penney, per Bloomberg. Read more.
- Accel-KKR invested in PINC, a Union City, Calif.-based provider of supply chain management software. Financial terms weren't disclosed.
OTHERS
- Greensill, acquired Omni, a Latin America-based SME lender. Greensill is backed by SoftBank.
EXITS
- Square acquired Verse, a Spanish peer-to-peer payment app. Verse had raised from investors including Spark Capital, eVentures, and Greycroft Partners.
- Permira completed its acquisition of Carlyle’s majority stake in Golden Goose, a Venice, Italy-based luxury fashion brand. Carlyle retains a minority stake in the business. Financial terms weren't disclosed.
- Accelya, backed by Vista Equity Partners , agreed to acquire Farelogix, a Miami-based provider of SaaS solutions for airline retailing. Sandler Capital Management is the seller. Financial terms weren't disclosed.
F+FS
- Osceola Capital, a lower middle-market private equity firm, raised $125 million for its first fund.
- Rockpoint Group raised $5.8 billion across two funds.
- Corten Capital, an European investment firm founded by two former Warburg Pincus dealmakers, raised 392 million euros ($441 million) for its first technology fund.
- FirstMark Capital, an early stage venture capital firm, raised $650 million across FirstMark V and FirstMark Opportunity Fund III.
- Louis Dreyfus, an agricultural commodities giant, launched a corporate venture capital program. Read more.
