Revolut gets Tiger and SoftBank

This feels like a meme of 2021.

On Thursday, U.K.-based fintech Revolut announced that it raised $800 million in Series E funding, catapulting the company into the position of Europe’s second most valuable startup with a valuation of $33 billion.

Beyond just the numbers and the fact that fintech is red-hot, the deal is also the surprising coming together of two investors very much in the headlines. Take a gander. Do you have the names in your mind (Hint: They’ve been deploying capital like it’s nobody’s business)? Yes, SoftBank’s Vision Fund 2 and Tiger Global Management are apparently leading the mega round in the company.

It is uncommon to see both investors on a deal together, much less leading one as partners. As then outsider SoftBank roiled the venture ecosystem with mega investments in 2019, Tiger Global has become the name on everybody’s lips in 2021. The press-avoidant hedge fund was the most active investor globally in the space during the second quarter of the year alone. And following a string of successful IPOs of portfolio companies like Korean e-commerce company Coupang, SoftBank has also regained investor confidence since its WeWork-induced snafus roughly two years ago and is also now writing hefty checks out of its $30 billion fund. There are key differences in their strategies—while Tiger is known for taking a backseat and letting its dollars do the talking, SoftBank is known to still take an operational role in its portfolio companies.

In short, the two investors have been competitors—but it also wouldn’t be the first time the two have worked hand-in-hand. As Protocol’s Biz Carson notes, Tiger narrowly beat out SoftBank for the spot of lead investor in Redis Labs, an open-source database startup. The latter though still made an investment.

Also of note about Revolut itself: The trading and banking startup has faced no shortage of controversy in its pre-pandemic days. Reports alleged the company put aggressive performance targets in early 2019 on employees. Then CFO Peter O’Higgins also exited that year amid concerns of regulatory issues. Investors though didn’t seem too worried, pouring $500 million into the startup in February of 2020.

INITIALIZED IS GOING BIG: As its portfolio companies, including crypto exchange Coinbase, go public, bringing the firm big exits, Initialized Capital is bulking up. The firm has hired its seventh investing partner, Parul Singh, and is preparing to hire an eighth—making the bench the largest the firm has had since its founding in 2012. Venture capital is getting bigger, says Managing Partner Garry Tan. So Initialized plans to grow with it. Read the story here.

Lucinda Shen
Twitter: @shenlucinda
Email:  [email protected]

Jessica Mathews compiled the IPO and SPAC section of the newsletter.

VENTURE DEALS

- Cybereason, a US-Israeli cybersecurity startup , raised $275 million in Series F funding. Liberty Strategic Capital, a venture capital fund founded by Steven Mnuchin , led the round.

- Imperative Care, a Campbell, Calif.-based biotech focused on strokes, raised $260 million in Series D funding. D1 Capital Partners led the round and was joined by investors including HealthCor Investments and Innovatus Capital Partners. 

- Netradyne, a San Diego, Calfi.-based fleet safety company, raised $150 million in Series C funding. SoftBank Vision Fund 2 led the round and was joined by investors including Point72 Ventures and M12. 

- Shopmonkey, a maker of software for  the auto repair industry, raised $75 million in Series C funding. Bessemer Venture Partners and Index Ventures led the round and were joined by investors including  Headline, I2BF, and ICONIQ Growth.

- Railsbank, an open banking and API platform, raised $70 million. Anthos Capital led the round and was joined by investors including Central Capital, Cohen and Company, and Outrun Ventures. 

- DevRev, a customer relationship software company, raised $50 million in seed funding. Mayfield Fund and Khosla Ventures invested.

- Teikametrics, a Boston-based platform for sellers on Amazon and Walmart, raised $40 million in Series B funding. Intel Capital led the round and was joined by investors including GoDaddy, Centana Growth Partners, and Lydia Jett ( Head of ecommerce at Softbank Vision Fund).

- Stytch, a San Francisco-based passwordless authentication platform, raised $30 million in Series A funding. Thrive Capital led and was joined by investors including Coatue Management, Benchmark, and Index Venture Partners.

- Eucalyptus, an Australian telehealth company, raised AUD$30 million ($22.4 million) in Series B funding. NewView Capital led the round and was joined by investors including 23andMe and Hims & Hers, Blackbird Ventures, W23, and AirTree Ventures.

- Simpplr, Redwood City, Calif.-based maker of a platform for building intranet sites, raised $32 million in Series C funding. Tola Capital led the round and was joined by investors including Norwest Ventures, Salesforce Ventures, and George Still Ventures.

- LearnWorlds, a platform for selling online courses, raised $32 million from Insight Partners.  

- Flymachine, a San Francisco-based virtual venue for live entertainment, raised $21 million. Greycroft Partners and SignalFire led the round and were joined by investors including  Primary Venture Partners, Contour Venture Partners, Red Sea Ventures, and Silicon Valley Bank. 

Virtuous, a Phoenix, Ariz.-based provider of software to nonprofits, raised $18 million in Series B funding. Fulcrum Equity Partners and was joined by investors including MATH Venture Partners, Seven Peaks Ventures, and PHX Venture Partners.

- Acelerate, a Los Angeles-based software company for restaurants , raised $14.4 million in Series A funding. Sequoia Capital led the round.

- Lightyear, a New York City-based enterprise infrastructure management software maker, raised $13.1 million in Series A funding. Ridge Ventures led the round and was joined by investors including Zigg Capital, Barry Sternlicht (CEO of Starwood), Gokul Rajaram (DoorDash exec, Coinbase Board), Michael Rapino (CEO of Live Nation), Marcus Ridgway (Invitation Homes Founder), and Stephen Klenert (Founder of Atlantic Metro).

- IVIX, a company focused on tracking the shadow economy, raised $13 million in seed funding. Team8 led the round and was joined by investors including Citi Ventures and Cardumen Capital.

- Front of The Pack, a Los Angeles-based dog health products company, raised $10 million in Series A funding. Stride VC, Heartcore, and Founder Collective invested.

- Proper, an automated accounting startup, raised $9 million in Series A funding. QED led the round and was joined by investors including MetaProp, Expa, and Bling Capital.

- Sonarworks, a Latvia-based audio software company, raised $6 million. Almaz Capital led the round and was joined by investors including Karma Ventures, Trind Ventures, Proks Capital, Smart Growth VC, and Wiser Financial Advisors OÜ.   

- Nooks, a Palo Alto, Calif.-based virtual office, raised $5 million in seed funding. Tola Capital and Floodgate led the round.

- Evvy, a New York City-based maker of an at-home test kit for the vaginal microbiome, raised $5 million. General Catalyst led the round and was joined by investors including BoxGroup and BBG Ventures.

PRIVATE EQUITY

- Waystar, backed by EQT, agreed to acquire Patientco, a payments collection company, in a deal that could be valued around $450 million, per Bloomberg.

- Great Hill Partners invested $250 million in Auvik, a cloud-based network management software maker.

- Permira invested in Adevinta, a Norweigian operator of online classifieds, for €1.9 billion ($2.3 billion).

- Intrepid Solutions and Services, backed by Bluestone Investment Partners, acquired Darkblade Systems, a Winchester, Va.-based provider of support to government and commercial agencies. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

- One Equity Partners will merge Walterscheid Powertrain Group, a provider of powertrain systems and services for off-highway and industrial applications, into Comer Industries S.p.A. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

- SFW Capital Partners invested in Captify, a London-based search technology company. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

- Vestar Capital Partners agreed to make a majority investment in PetHonesty, an Austin-based dog food maker. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

IPO

- Fabletics, an El Segundo, Calif.-based workout apparel brand, selected four investment banks to help it prepare for a public offering, per the Wall Street Journal. Actress Kate Hudson backs the firm.

- Absci Corporation, a Vancouver, Wash.-based synthetic biology company, plans to raise up to $212.5 million in an offering of 12.5 million shares priced between $15 and $17 per share. The company posted $4.8 million in revenue in 2020 and a net loss of $14.4 million. Phoenix Venture Partners and Casdin Capital back the firm.

- Clarios International, a Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based battery technology company, filed for an initial public offering. The company generated $7.6 billion in revenue in the year ending in September 2020 and posted a net loss of $402 million. Brookfield and Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec acquired the firm in 2019.

- Sera Prognostics, a Salt Lake City-based maker of diagnostic tests for pregnancy complications, raised $75 million in an offering of 4.7 million shares priced at $16 per share. The company posted $25,000 in revenue in 2020 and a net loss of $19.8 million. Blue Ox Healthcare and health insurance provider Anthem back the firm.

- Rapid Micro Biosystems, a Lowell, Mass.-based microbial contamination detection company, raised $158.4 million in an offering of 7.9 million shares at a price of $20 per share. The company posted $16 million in revenue in 2020 and reported a net loss of $37 million. Bain Capital Life Sciences Investors and Longitude Capital back the firm.

- Membership Collective Group, the company behind London-based membership club Soho House, raised $420 million in an offering of 30 million shares priced at $14 per share. The company posted $384 million for the year ending in January 2020, and it reported $235.3 million net loss. Yucaipa backs the firm.

- Cotiviti, an Atlanta-based healthcare analytics company, may go public, per Bloomberg. Veritas Capital backs the firm.

- American Insurance Group reportedly may use an IPO to sell part of its retirement business, according to Reuters.

- Amplitude, a San Francisco-based digital product optimization company, confidentially filed for an initial public offering, per Reuters. Tencent Holdings, Sequoia Capital and GIC back the firm.

SPAC

- Peridot Acquisition III, a blank check company focused on environmentally sound infrastructure, filed to raise $300 million. CEO Preston Powell was an energy investor at Denham Capital Management. Chairman Tomas Ackerman co-founded Carnelian Energy Capital.

- PHP Ventures Acquisition, a blank check company focused on consumer-facing companies in Africa, filed to raise up to $500 million. CEO Marcus Choo Yeow Ngoh was a director at Edmark Promotions HongKong.

- Aurora Innovation, a self-driving vehicle technology company, will go public via a merger with the SPAC Reinvent Technology Partners Y, which is led by LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman and Zynga founder Mark Pincus, according to Bloomberg. 

- BBQGuys, a Baton Rouge, La.-based online grill seller, is in talks to go public via merger with Velocity Acquisition, a SPAC, per Bloomberg. Brand Velocity Partners owns a majority stake in the company, and football family Archie Manning and sons Eli and Peyton back the firm.

F+FS

- Hellman & Friedman, a U.S. Buyout firm, raised $24.4 billion for its latest flagship fund.