Quona Capital has closed a $332M fund to invest in startups that help those who don't have access to banking services. The company says the fund was oversubscribed. More: - Quona Capital aimed to raise $250M in this fund, but according to the company, investor interest pushed it to continue raising more funds, concluding the fundraising at $350M.
- The company invests in startups in Latin America, India, Southeast Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. Most investments will focus on B2B ideas, with microfinance as the core theme. Quona Capital aims to make 20-30 investments per year.
- According to the company CEO, one of the strongest points Quona has is its diversity. The company is spread over 10 different global offices and operates remotely.
- The fund will be officially named Fund III.
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Taiwanese chip maker Foxconn has invested $170M in EV company Lordstown Motors. The funding comes after Lordstown has struggled with a high burn rate and difficulties in production. More: - The deal is structured in a common and preferred stock arrangement and is pending regulatory approval. If the deal is approved, Foxconn would own all of the company's preferred stock and 18% of its common stock.
- $30M from the investment does not have contingencies, while the rest is dependent on contingencies tied to milestones that Foxconn may reach in the future.
- Lordstown Motors, based in Lordstown, Ohio, has struggled since going public via a SPAC deal.
- The company was accused of falsely bloating preorder figures and giving investors false hopes over its production capabilities and consumer demand.
- As a result of these accusations, its CEO and CFO resigned. To make matters worse, the Department of Justice launched an investigation probe into the company's practices a few weeks after the resignations.
- The company lost major investors, such as GM. Combined with the supply chain crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, these factors caused the company to face a major crisis.
- Foxconn, though, believes that the company can turn around.
- The Taiwanese company is known for producing the iPhone, as well as devices for Google, Amazon, Cisco, Toshiba, Xiaomi, Lenovo, Nintendo, etc.
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The Mobility House has raised a $49M Series C funding round to build and expand its EV smart charging network. The round saw participation from Mercuria, Ventura Capital Green Gateway Fund, Mercedes-Benz, etc. More: - The Mobility House provides energy products such as wall boxes, mobile charging stations, DC charging stations, monitoring devices, etc.
- Through these innovations, users can plug the energy into the grid. By doing so, industry experts hope to create new opportunities for both consumers and the general population that may struggle during shortages, natural disasters, peak demand hours, etc.
- The company says it has partnerships with over 750 energy installation companies and manufacturers such as Tesla and Audi.
- The Mobility House is based in Munich, Germany, but has offices in Zurich and Belmont, California.
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AutoLeadStar has raised a $40M growth round to transform car dealerships by providing them with AI-based data. The company claims sales for its clients have gone up by 25%. More: - The company believes its product can help dealerships grow their sales and customer engagement by providing a solution it calls the Customer Data and Experience Platform. Through the platform, its clients can collect and analyze data that enables them to deploy effective omnichannel marketing campaigns.
- CDXP offers tools such as Facebook ad retargeting and search engine ads based on their clients' visit history.
- AutoLeadStar claims it has over 500 clients in North America.
- The company has offices in Jerusalem and Miami.
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Today's funding 💵 Biotech - LevitasBio (California), a provider of processing and analysis solutions for the life sciences market: $35M C led by Novalis Lifesciences with participation from Pavilion Capital, and Decheng Capital.
Health tech - Speedoc (Singapore), a telehealth platform that operates as a virtual clinic: $28M Pre B by Bertelsmann Investments, Shinhan Venture Investment, Mars Growth, and Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia and India.
Consumer - Ernesta (New York), a direct-to-consumer custom rug company: $25M A led by Addition with participation from True Ventures,
Food tech - Roslin Technologies (U.K.): aims to commercialize animal stem cells for meat production: $12.5M A led by Novo Holdings, with participation from Kairos Capital Group, Nutreco, Future Planet Capital, Esco Lifesciences, and Alchimia.
SaaS - Vizit (Massachusets), offers image analytics software for brands and retailers: $10M A led by Infinity Ventures and Brand Foundry Ventures with participation from eGateway, Lakefront Partners, Lubar & Co, etc.
- Rivalry Tech (Texas), develops mobile-based ordering platforms for the hospitality industry: $3.5M growth led by Sightcast, with participation from Softeq Venture Studio and Rice University's Valhalla Investment Group.
HR - WorkTorch (Kansas), offers a career platform for workers in the service industry: $2.2M extension round by Tenzing Capital with participation from MATH Venture Partners, Sandalphon Capital, KCRise Fund, Sixty8 Capital, Ruthless for Good Fund, Revolution's Rise of the Rest Seed Fund, etc.
Beauty - Vieve (U.K.), offers vegan, paraben, gluten, and cruelty-free beauty products: $6.3M growth led by Pembroke VCT with participation from Venrex, Samos, and Active Partners.
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Quick Hits: - Looking to upgrade your expense management software AND planning a flight in the near future? Demo Divvy by Nov. 10 and get a $250 Delta Airlines gift card.*
- Teamraderie, a software company that helps companies improve work culture and team cooperation, has raised a $7M funding round led by Founders Fund, with participation from Heroic Ventures, DashAngels, Moving Capital, and Overtime.vc.
- Biofire (Colorado), which aims to prevent firearm accidents through biometric guns, raised a $14M Series A led by Founders Fund with participation from 10X Capital, Gaingels, Will Manidis, Draper Associates, Structure Capital, Service Provider Capital, and Gavin de Becker & Associates.
- FEops (Belgium), a cloud-based digital health company that transforms cardiac images into virtual copies, secured a $3.2M convertible loan led by EIC Fund.
- Automotive giant Stellantis has invested in Africar Group. The deal will see the creation of a new company, Auto24, a direct-to-consumer used car company for the Ivory Coast market.
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 |  | Arbër is an Inside writer who also has experience in entrepreneurship. He has experience covering Consumer Tech, Venture Capital, NFTs, Crypto, etc. Arbër holds a Bachelor's degree in Business from XAMK University in Finland. When he is not reading(and writing) business news, he chooses to watch sports or anime...and then read news about sports or anime. |   | | 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 and 1972 Fords. | |
Laika is a unified compliance platform that automates workflows for audits, infosec monitoring, and vendor due diligence in a single, collaborative space. | |
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