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Confirming earlier reports, audio-only startup Clubhouse revealed that it had raised yet another round of funding led by Andrew Chen at Andreessen Horowitz over the weekend.
While the buzzy social media startup did not disclose how much was raised, the Information reports that Clubhouse reached a $4 billion valuation after talks of a potential tie-up with Twitter stalled. Including investors such as DST Global, Tiger Global, and Elad Gil, the Series C round represents the third tranche of funding led by a16z.
The multiple rounds of funding into the app signals the significant belief a16z has in the company and its ability to build out a stronghold in the live-audio space—even as larger social media players look to copy its model. The app’s early runaway growth, meanwhile, appears to have shown signs of slowing down in recent weeks.
Whether Clubhouse can battle the competitors and justify its $4 billion valuation is a hotly debated question. Some of the early numbers around its downloads from third-party data providers seem a bit jumbled. But regardless whether Clubhouse becomes an example of enormous success or unimaginable folly, its rapid ascent will certainly be one that will be referenced for a long time to come in startup lore.
For now, the new funding will give the startup more ammo to battle its copycats. In the blog post announcing the raise, Clubhouse hinted at other areas where it could potentially spend its new capital, beyond developing its creator ecosystem and monetization.
“While we’ve quadrupled the size of our team this year…there is so much more to do as we work to bring Clubhouse to more people around the world,” the post read. “It’s no secret that our servers have struggled a bit these past few months, and that our growth has outpaced the early discovery algorithms our small team originally built.”
WAIT WHAT: Luckin Coffee, which fell from grace last year after an internal investigation discovered enormous fraud in which the company exaggerated its sales, has secured about $250 million from Chinese private equity investors Centurium Capital and Joy Capital. After an investigation that elicited comparisons of Enron, the coffee chain ended up declaring bankruptcy. But now, the new capital is being used largely to restructure the business “and fulfill its obligations under its recently announced settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.” Some $240 million in the form of senior convertible preferred shares come from Centurium, while the other $10 million in the form of senior preferred shares will be provided by Joy.
Lucinda Shen
Twitter: @shenlucinda
Email: [email protected]
VENTURE DEALS
- Revolut, the U.K.-based fintech, is raising funding at an $10 billion valuation, per Sky News.
- Adagio Therapeutics, a Waltham, Mass.-based biotechnology company developing antibodies for the coronaviruses, raised $336 million in Series C funding. RA Capital Management led the round and was joined by investors including Redmile Group, Federated Hermes, Foresite Capital, ArrowMark Partners, and PremjiInvest.
- Razorpay, a Bangalore-based fintech, raised $160 million in its Series E round, valuing it at $3 billion. GIC and Sequoia Capital India led the round and were joined by investors including Ribbit Capital.
- Druva, a Sunnyvale, Calif.-based cloud protection company, raised $147 million . Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec led the round.
- IRL, a San Francisco-based group messaging app, is in talks to raise over $50 million at a $1 billion valuation, per the Information. Investors could include Tiger Global and IVP.
- The TIFIN GROUP, a Boulder-based fintech platform, raised $22.3 million in Series B funding. Investors include JP Morgan, Morningstar, and Broadridge.
- Phenix, a real-time streaming technology platform that delivers synchronized streams with sub-half second latency at broadcast quality and scale, raised $16.7 million in in Series B funding at a valuation of $90 million. KB Partners led the round and was joined by investors including Verizon Ventures and Manheim Investments, Inc.
- Creatively, a West Hollywood, Calif.-based jobs platform, raised $5 million. Investors include Link Ventures, AmplifyHer Ventures, Michael Eisner’s Tornante Company and Shari Redstone’s Advancit Capital.
- soona, a Denver-based virtual content creation platform for e-commerce companies, raised $10.2 million in Series A funding. Union Square Ventures led the round.
- Affogata, a Tel Aviv-based customer analysis platform, raised $5.5 million in seed funding. Mangrove Capital Partners and PICO Venture Partners led the round and was joined by investors including Micha Kaufman (Fiverr Founder).
- Mathison, a New York-based platform for diversity hiring, raised $4.2 million in seed funding. Bain Capital Ventures led the round and was joined by investors including SemperVirens, Animo VC, Grand Central Tech, Gaingels, and Springbank Collective.
- Home Delivery Service, a Palo Alto, Calif.-based e-commerce delivery service, raised $3 million from Bob DiRomualdo, CEO of Naples Ventures.
- 1Doc3, a Colombia-based digital health startup, raised $3 million in pre-Series A funding. MatterScale Ventures and Kayyak Ventures led the round.
- adyn, a Seattle-based precision medicine company, raised $2.5 million in seed funding. Lux Capital and M13 led the round and were joined by investors including Civilization Ventures, Concrete Rose Capital, Y Combinator, Madrona Pioneer Fund, and Ascend VC.
PRIVATE EQUITY
- Crestview Partners made a majority investment into AutoLenders, a Berlin, N.J.-based platform for financing, buying and selling automobiles with approximately $700 million in annual revenues. Financial terms weren't disclosed.
- Macquarie Group is in talks to take Bingo Industries (ASE: BIN), Australian waste management company, private per Bloomberg.
- International Marine and Industrial Applicators, a portfolio company of J.F. Lehman & Company acquired Main Industries, a Hampton, Va.-based provider of preservation, scaffolding and environmental containment services to the marine vessel market. Financial terms weren't disclosed.
- KKR and DCP Capital invested in Adopt A Cow, a China-based direct-to-consumer dairy company. Financial terms weren't disclosed.
- EMH Partners agreed to acquire a 65% stake of cleverbridge AG, a Germany-based provider of subscription billing and management services. Financial terms weren't disclosed.
- Gastro Care Partners, a portfolio company of Varsity Healthcare Partners, acquired Gastroenterology Associates of Wyoming, a Casper, Wy.-based provider of gastroenterology and related ancillary services. Financial terms weren't disclosed.
- GTCR invested in Point Broadband, a West Point, Ga.-based provider of fiber and data services. Financial terms weren't disclosed.
- Tech-24, backed by HCI Equity Partners, acquired United Service Technologies, an Anaheim, Calif.-based provider of repair and maintenance services for commercial food equipment. Financial terms weren't disclosed.
- Oakpoint, a portfolio company of Longshore Capital Partners, acquired the non-clinical assets of Axiom Dentistry, a Louisburg, N.C.-based dentistry. Financial terms weren't disclosed.
EXITS
- Abry Partners acquired High Street Insurance Partners, a Traverse City, Mich.-based insurance brokerage, from Huron Capital. Financial terms weren't disclosed.
EXITS
- Herman Miller (NASDAQ: MLHR) agreed to acquire Knoll (NYSE: KNL), an office furniture company, for about $1.8 billion in cash and stock.
OTHERS
- Swiss billionaire Hansjoerg Wyss dropped out of a group bidding for Tribune Publishing Co (Nasdaq: TPCO), the Chicago-based publisher, per the New York Times.
- Ant Group denied a Reuters report that founder Jack Ma was considering ways to sell his stake in the company, per Bloomberg.
IPOS
- Blend Labs, a San Francisco-based fintech, filed confidentially for an IPO.
- Squarespace, a New York-based website building company, filed for a direct listing. Accel, General Atlantic, and Index Ventures back the firm.
- Waterdrop, a Chinese health insurance platform, filed to raise $100 million. Boyu Capital, Gaorong Capital, and Swiss Re back the firm.
- Gyroscope Therapeutics Holdings, a U.K.-based biotech developing therapies for ocular diseases, filed to raise $100 million. Syncona, Forbion, and T. Rowe Price back the firm.
- Talaris Therapeutics, a Louisville, Ky.-based biotech focused on stem cell transplantation, filed to raise $100 million. Blackstone, Longitude Venture Partners, and Qiming back the firm.
- Sagimet Biosciences, a San Mateo, Calif.-based biotech focused on liver diseases and cancers, filed to raise $75 million. Baker Brothers Life Sciences, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, and New Enterprise Associates back the firm.
- Xponential Fitness, an Irvine, Calif.-based franchise owner of boutique fitness brands, revived plans for an IPO that could value it at $1.3 billion, per Bloomberg.
SPACS
- Stillwater Growth I, a SPAC seeking tech businesses with large addressable markets, filed to raise up to $300 million. It is led by the founder and manager of Still Capital Partners, and a founding partner of DBO Partners.
- CompoSecure Holdings, a provider of financial payment cards, will go public via merger with Roman DBDR Tech Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ: DBDR), a SPAC. A deal values it at $1.2 billion.
F+FS
- National Grid Partners, a Silicon Valley-based venture and private equity arm of National Grid, set aside $150 million to make energy investments.
- Amazon India set up a $250 million funding focused on startups in the country.
