Last week, marketing tech startup Iterable revealed that CEO and founder Justin Zhu had lost his job. Startup world flew into a frenzy—not over the ouster itself, but the reason for it: Zhu told Bloomberg the company and its board fired him over the use of a small amount of LSD before a board meeting in 2019.
But it seems like there may be more to the story. Bloomberg Businessweek’s Sarah McBride spoke to Zhu in a story delving into the founder persona and the question of the Asian glass ceiling (Zhu was born in Shanghai).
There’s a lot to unpack from it, but here’s one of the many aspects that stood out: As Iterable grew to become a $2 billion company, Zhu told Bloomberg, his eccentricities became less beloved as the company’s investors sought a more traditional statesman.
Here’s one excerpt from the piece, calling upon the shadow of WeWork cofounder Adam Neumann: “At another investor meeting, Zhu noted that the abbreviation A.I, for artificial intelligence, sounded like the Mandarin word for love. Afterward, a colleague asked him if he was ‘becoming Adam Neumann,’ referring to the ousted CEO of WeWork known for holding forth on similar topics. He says he later heard that an investor questioned whether he’d been high at the time. Zhu says he wasn’t, describing his foray into workplace microdosing as a one-time event.”
Is the eccentric founder now out of vogue? Not exactly. When paired with the perception of success, eccentricities in founders are historically woven in as part of the genius (Elon Musk or Steve Jobs). When paired with decline, it often turns into part of the reason for the company’s fault lines (as with Adam Neumann or Magic Leap’s Roni Abovitz). Though I can’t help but wonder if the myth of the eccentric founder is more noise than signal.
Editor’s note: Term Sheet is deployed on Iterable’s platform.
IT’S NOT JUST BREX VS. RAMP: It’s not just a product war within the corporate card startup world—it’s also a cash war to fuel the growth of such companies. Just a week after Brex raised some $425 million in Series D funding (and two weeks after Ramp raised at a $1.6 billion valuation). Bill.com is now apparently in talks to acquire $1.6 billion expense reporting startup Divvy, per Forbes citing sources. Divvy also offers a corporate credit card.
While Divvy’s CEO may dispute directly competing with Brex and Ramp, Ramp CEO Eric Glyman posted on Twitter in response to the news: “We believe we’re going to see a lot more investments, acquisitions, and growth in the space.”
In short, expect more dealmaking in the space. Glyman also threw some shade on the deal: “We think the first principles underlying the $BILL/Divvy acquisition are sound, but happen to believe that building cards, expense management, and broader B2B payments from scratch in one streamlined platform will be a smoother experience.”
Lucinda Shen
Twitter: @shenlucinda
Email: [email protected]
VENTURE DEALS
- Collective Health, a San Francisco-based health tech company, raised $280 million in Series F funding. Health Care Service Corporation led the round and was joined by investors including DFJ Growth, Founders Fund, G Squared, Maverick Ventures, NEA, PFM Health Sciences, SoftBank Vision Fund 1, and Sun Life.
- HoneyBook, a San Francisco-based client experience and financial management platform, raised $155 million in Series D funding. Durable Capital Partners led the round and was joined by investors including Tiger Global Management, Battery Ventures, Zeev Ventures, 01 Advisors, Norwest Venture Partners, OurCrowd, and Citi Ventures.
- Eikon Therapeutics, a Hayward, Calif.-based biopharmaceutical company, raised $148 million in Series A funding. The Column Group led the round and was joined by investors including Foresite Capital, Innovation Endeavors and Lux Capital.
- Vida Health, a San Francisco-based virtual chronic care platform, raised $110 million in Series D funding. General Atlantic led the round and was joined by investors including Centene, AXA Venture Partners, and Ardea Capital Partners.
- Oura, a Finland-based maker of a wearable ring that tracks sleep and fitness, raised $100 million in Series C funding. Investors in the round included Temasek, JAZZ Venture Partners, The Chernin Group, and Bedford Ridge Capital.
- Mainspring Energy, a Menlo Park, Calif.-based power generation company, raised $95 million in Series D funding. Devonshire Investors led the round and was joined by investors including FMR, Princeville Capital, 40 North Ventures, Chevron Technology Ventures, Khosla Ventures, Bill Gates, ClearSky, AEP, KCK, and Equinor.
- Headway, a New York-based maker of a therapy marketplace, raised $70 million in Series B funding. Andreessen Horowitz led the round and was joined by investors including Thrive, GV, and Accel. The round values it at about $750 million.
- Firefly Aerospace, a Texas-based aerospace company, raised $75 million in Series A funding. DADA Holdings led the round and was joined by investors including Astera Institute and Canon Ball. The deal values it north of $1 billion.
- Esker Therapeutics, a San Francisco-based Foresite Labs incubated precision medicine company, raised $70 million in Series A funding. Foresite Capital led the round.
- Groups Recover Together, a Burlington, Mass.-based opioid addiction treatment company, raised $60 million in Series C funding. Oak HC/FT led the round and was joined by investors including Bessemer Venture Partners, Transformation Capital, RRE Ventures, Optum Ventures, and Kaiser Permanente Ventures.
- Persona, a San Francisco-based identity verification provider, raised $50 million. Index Ventures led the round and was joined by investors including Coatue.
- Vanta, a San Francisco-based security and verified compliance platform, raised $50 million in Series A funding. Sequoia Capital led the round and was joined by investors including Y Combinator.
- Cymulate, a New York and Israel-based cybersecurity company, raised $45 million in Series C funding. One Peak led the round and was joined by investors including Susquehanna Growth Equity, Vertex Ventures Israel, Vertex Growth, and Dell Technologies Capital.
- SCI Ecommerce, a Singapore-based online shopping company, raised over S$50 million ($38 million). Asia Partners led the round.
- Pecan AI, a New York and Tel Aviv-bas predictive analytics company, raised $35 million in Series B funding. GGV Capital led the round and was joined by investors including Vintage, Dell Technologies Capital, S-Capita l, and Mindset.
- Razor Group, a Berlin-based buyer of Amazon sellers, raised $25 million. Victory Park Capital led the round.
- StarTree, a Mountain View, Calif.-based cloud analytics provider, raised $24 million in Series A funding. Bain Capital Ventures and GGV Capital led the round and were joined by investors including CRV.
- Nearby, an e-commerce platform for small, local retailers, raised $21 million in Series A funding. Annie Kadavy from Redpoint Ventures led the round and was joined by investors including GV, Obvious Ventures, Cowboy Ventures, Sound Ventures, Moxxie Ventures, and Tina Sharkey.
- Zoe, a London-based personalized dietary plan startup, raised $20 million in additional Series B funding. Ahren Innovation Capital led the round.
- Recount Media, a New York-based news media company, raised $18 million in Series B funding. Foundry Group led the Series B and was joined by investors including Union Square Ventures, Alumni Ventures Group, Burda Principal Investments, and True Ventures, Correlation Ventures.
- Neuroelectrics, a Spain-based brain stimulation technology company, raised $17.5 million in Series A funding. Morningside Ventures led the round.
- Teachmint, an India-based online teaching platform, raised $16.5 million in Series A funding. Learn Capital led the round and was joined by investors including CM Ventures, Lightspeed and Better Capital.
- Fluence Technologies, a Canada-based provider of financial close and consolidation software, raised $10 million in Series A funding. Banneker Partners led the round.
- Copper Cow Coffee, a Los Angeles-based Vietnamese coffee company, raised $8.5 million in Series A funding. Cultivian Sandbox and Arborview Capital led the round and were joined by investors including Siddhi Capital, Silverton Partners, Social Starts, Montage Ventures, CRCM, and Stormbreaker Ventures.
- ndustrial, a Raleigh, N.C.-based provider of industry software, raised $6 million in Series A funding. ENGIE New Ventures and Clean Energy Ventures led the round and were joined by investors including Orion Energy Systems, Lineage Logistics Ventures, and Clean Energy Venture Group.
- Tame, a Denmark-based virtual events platform, raised $5.5 million in seed funding. VF Venture led the round and was joined by investors including byFounders.
- alt.bank, a Brazilian neobank, raised $5.5 million in Series A funding. Union Square Ventures led the round.
- Relay Platform, a Canadian property and casualty insurance software provider, raised $5.2 million in seed funding. Drive Capital led the round and was joined by investors including Highline Beta.
- CrowdSec, a Paris-based collaborative firewall company, raised $5 million in seed funding. Breega led the round.
- Cased, a San Francisco-based platform for developers, raised about $2.3 million in seed funding. Founders Fund led the round.
PRIVATE EQUITY
- Temasek, Wellington Management, M&G Investments, and Nikon invested 125 million pounds ($174 million) in Oxford Nanopore, a U.K.-based life sciences company now valued at 2.5 billion pounds ($3.4 billion).
- 48Forty Solutions, a portfolio company of Audax Private Equity, acquired Relogistics, a Houston-based provider of pallet and container management services. Financial terms weren't disclosed.
- Altamont Capital Partners agreed to acquire INTERMIX, a New York-based fashion brand, from Gap. Financial terms weren't disclosed.
- CVC Capital Partners has agreed to acquire a majority stake in Icario, a Minneapolis-based health company. Financial terms weren't disclosed.
- Stellex Capital Management backed an acquisition of Country Fresh and Sun Rich USA, distributors of cut fruit and meals, from Fresh Food Group. Financial terms weren't disclosed.
- ORIX Capital Partners acquired a majority interest in Optimad Media, a Los Angeles-based marketing solutions provider serving the consumer packaged goods and film/entertainment segments. Financial terms weren't disclosed.
- Rizing, a portfolio company of One Equity Partners, acquired attune Consulting, a Burlington, Mass.-based consulting tech firm for fashion brands. Financial terms weren't disclosed.
- Rock Mountain Capital acquired a majority stake in VCM Products, the company behind a brand of bug traps. Financial terms weren't disclosed.
EXITS
- Astorg entered exclusive negotiations take a majority stake in Solina, a European manufacturer of ingredient and seasoning blend, from Ardian.
- Aurora Capital Partners acquired Grace Hill, a Greensville, S.C.-based provider of talent and customer management solutions for commercial and multifamily real estate, from Stone Point Capital. Financial terms weren't disclosed.
OTHER
- ClassPass and Mindbody, two providers of tech to fitness companies, held talks to merge, per Bloomberg.
- Twitter (NYSE: TWTR) acquired Scroll, a Brooklyn, N.Y.-based provider of an ad-blocking news reader. Founder Collective was among its backers. Financial terms weren't disclosed.
IPOS
- Dutch Bros Coffee, a Grants Pass, Ore.-based coffee chain, is planning an IPO that will value it at $3 billion, per Bloomberg. TSG Consumer Partners backs the firm.
- Enact Holdings, a Raleigh, N.C.-based mortgage insurance firm spinning out of Genworth Financial, now plans to raise $497 million in an offering of 22.6 million shares priced between $20 to $24. All proceeds will go to Genworth.
- Global-E Online, an Israel-based e-commerce platform, now plans to raise $360 million in an offering of 15 million shares priced between $23 to $25. Red Dot Capital Partners, Deutsche Post, and Shopify are among its investors.
- Day One Biopharmaceuticals, a South San Francisco-based biotech focused on pediatric glioma, filed to raise $100 million. Access Industries Management, Atlas Venture, and Canaan Partners back the firm.
SPACS
- Equinox Holdings, a New York-based luxury gym operator, is in talks to merge with a Chamath Palihapitiya-backed SPAC. A deal values it at $7.5 billion.
- Ascendant Mobility Acquisition I, a SPAC focused on electric vehicles and energy storage, filed to raise $350 million.
- Catalyst Partners Acquisition, a blank check company formed by General Catalyst, lowered the amount it plans to raise. The firm previously sought to raise $400 million. Now it is seeking to raise $400 million.
F+FS
- KKR & Co., a New York-based investment firm, raised $18.5 billion for the latest flagship North America buyout fund, per Bloomberg.
- Veritas Capital, a New York-based investor focused on government tech, raised $1.8 billion for The Veritas Capital Vantage Fund.
- Multicoin Capital, an Austin-based cryptocurrency and blockchain investment firm, raised $100 million for its second venture fund.
- Stride VC, a London-based seed investor, raised £100 million ($138.6 million) for its second fund.
PEOPLE
- Multicoin Capital, an Austin-based cryptocurrency and blockchain investment firm, promoted Matt Shapiro and Mable Jiang to partner.
