Automaker Stellantis launched a venture fund with an initial fund size of $330M (€300M). The venture, named Stellantis Ventures, is seeking early and later-stage investments into startups focussing on the automotive and mobility sector. More: - The Amsterdam-headquartered automotive group leads several well-established brands, including Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Jeep, Maserati, Ram, and others.
- Stellantis aims to be a net-zero carbon emissions company by 2038.
- Formation of the VC fund is part of its larger Dare Forward 2030 strategic plan, as the automaker focuses on supporting entrepreneurs and fostering innovation.
- Stellantis has already begun making strategic investments as it transforms itself into a "mobility tech company."
- It invested in California-based eVTOL aircraft startup Archer Aviation Inc. in Jan. 2021.
- Along with Mercedes-Benz, it jointly led a $200M Series D investment into solid-state battery manufacturer Massachusetts' Factorial Inc in Jan. 2022.
- The fund's focus is on ventures in transportation, autonomous technology, advanced materials, software, VR, propulsion technology, and other mobility-allied domains.
Zoom out: - Several of Stellantis' automotive peers have already established their own VC arms dedicated to investing in innovative firms.
- General Motors established General Motors Ventures LLC in 2010.
- Toyota launched Toyota Ventures LLC in 2017.
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Frazier Life Sciences closed its fourth oversubscribed fund at $987M, exceeding the firm’s initial target of $800M. Investments under the Frazier Life Sciences XI fund will be targeted toward early-stage startups in the biopharmaceuticals and advanced innovative therapeutics domain. More: - The fund will also support the establishment of companies.
- It has created 27 companies so far, notably Phathom Pharmaceuticals, Arcutis Biotherapeutics, Lengo Therapeutics, and Mavupharma.
- The latter two have been acquired by Blueprint Medicines and AbbVie, respectively.
- 61 of its portfolio companies have either been publicly listed or completed an M&A.
- Frazier last raised a $617M venture fund in 2020 and an $830M public fund in 2021.
- As of March 2022, the firm has raised $3.1B fund capital, of which $1.8B is available as active funds to support biopharmaceutical companies.
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Autonomous cybersecurity platform SentinelOne has acquired Attivo Networks for $616.5M, according to Attivo CEO Tushar Kothari, who announced the news in a blog post. The acquisition adds Attivo’s identity security expertise to SentinelOne’s Singularity XDR product suite, further expanding upon its AI-assisted threat prevention and response capabilities. More: - The cash and stock transaction is currently pending regulatory approval and is expected to close in the second quarter.
- SentinelOne raised $1.2B from its public listing last June.
- The cybersecurity firm has over 6,700 global customers.
- It has since acquired high-speed logging company Scalyr for $155M.
- Attivo has raised $60M total funding since its launch in 2011.
- It raised $11M at its last funding round in 2019.
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Vista Equity Partners led a $250M strategic investment into cloud-based parking software provider FLASH. L Catterton and other existing investors participated in the round. The incoming funding increased the startup’s valuation to over $1B. More: - The platform is a real-time parking locator application that offsets mobility issues related to congestion, overloaded parking spots, and fragmented consumer experience.
- FLASH intends to add electric vehicle charging stations, autonomous vehicle staging, and other experiences into its multi-purpose mobility hubs.
- The company has already partnered with major automobile manufacturers, hospitality industry leaders, and payment platforms to create a seamless user experience.
- Per Crunchbase, the mobility platform has raised over $314M to date.
- It raised $1.3M at its Series A funding round in Sept. 2012.
- FLASH’s platform is used by over 11 million customers to access over 10,000 locations across the U.S. and Canada.
- The Texas-based firm’s annual transactions are over $1B.
- The firm will accelerate its growth and expand its team with the incoming funds.
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Linktree received a $110M fund infusion led by Index Ventures and Coatue. The Australian startup was valued at $1.3B at the recent fundraise. Greenoaks Capital joins returning investors AirTree Ventures and Insight Partners, who participated in the funding round. More: - The link organization service has over 24 million users with over 1.2 billion unique monthly visitors in 2021.
- Linktree is used by several renowned brands and celebrities, most notably TikTok, Red Bull, Comedy Central, HBO, Selena Gomez, Shawn Mendes, Dwayne Johnson, etc.
- Incoming funds will be used to expand operations, add more revenue streams, develop new tools, and form strategic partnerships.
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Senegal-based informal retail eCommerce startup Sokowatch raised $125M Series B funding. The investment was led by Tiger Global and Avenir Growth Capital. The company also announced it would rebrand itself to Wasoko. The funding increased the firm’s valuation to $625M. More: - The startup provides a same-day delivery option on essential goods.
- It also provides financial assistance to informal retail stores in Africa as well as a buy-now-pay-later option to customers.
- Wasoko’s reach spans across a few African nations, including Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda, Côte d’Ivoire, and Senegal.
- The startup has over 50,000 retail customers.
- The company averages over 150,000 monthly orders and is processing $300M in annual recurring revenue.
- VNV Global, Quona Capital, 4DX Ventures, and JAM fund participated in the funding round.
- The company intends to use the funds for expansion and to accelerate product growth.
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- Cryptocurrency platform Luno has set up investment arm Luno Expeditions to back early-stage investments in fintech and web3 startups. It plans to invest between $15M to $75M every year. The arm will focus on 200 to 300 investments per year, ranging between $50,000-$250,000.
- Immuno-oncology cell therapy biotech company 2seventy bio Inc. has agreed to sell shares worth $170M. 683 Capital, Armistice Capital, Bain Capital Life Sciences joined other investors in the funding.
- Singapore-based employment platform Multiplier raised $60M in Series B funding. Tiger Global and Sequoia Capital India co-led the funding round in participation with DST Global Partners. The firm was valued at $400M. The company intends to use the incoming funds to scale its platform globally.
- Texas- and Canada-based commodity management platform Validere secured $43M Series B financing. The round was led by Mercuria Energy. Nova Fleet, Pioneer Fund, Natural Gas Innovation Fund, Wing VC, and Greylock Partners backed the funding.
- Menlo Ventures led a $25M Series B funding into TruEra. The California-based company offers AI quality management solutions. Greylock Partners, Wing Venture Capital, Harpoon Ventures, Conversion Capital, the Data Community Fund, Forgepoint Capital, and Ascent Fund participated in this funding.
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 |  | Karan Chafekar is a Management Consultant, Business enthusiast, and Licensed Pilot. | | | | Editor | Aaron Crutchfield is based in the high desert of California. Over the last two decades, he has spent time writing and editing at various local newspapers and defense contractors in California. When he's not working, he can often be found looking at the latest memes with his kids or working on his 1962 Ford. | |
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