Good day. Last week, we asked how firms are approaching vaccine
mandates for employees.
Relevance Ventures General Partner Dean Newton said that his
firm doesn't require vaccinations but requires masks or a negative
Covid test for anyone unvaccinated coming to the office. Everyone
at the firm received the vaccine voluntarily, Mr. Newton said. The
firm's portfolio companies have varying policies depending on local
regulations. "I believe we have a portfolio company in NY that
mandates vaccines whereas one in Florida doesn't," Mr. Newton
wrote.
Kent Swig, head of family office Fulcrum Equities, which is an
investor in venture funds, said his offices have fully implemented
and supported a vaccine mandate and that unvaccinated people are
"walking weapons against humanity."
Victor Pascucci III, managing general partner at Energy Capital
Ventures, said: "We believe our employees can make their own health
decisions based on what they believe is best for them and upon
their own research."
This week's question: What makes decentralized finance
attractive to investors and how much of the success of DeFi
startups is linked to the adoption of cryptocurrencies?
Please email responses to marc.vartabedian@wsj.com.
And now on to the news...
Top News
Bets on tech startups. The founders of Forge Global Inc., an
online marketplace for buying and selling shares of private firms,
are launching a new money manager that invests in technology
startups before they go public, Justin Baer reports for The Wall
Street Journal.
The new company, D/XYZ, has raised $100 million for its first
investment portfolio, Destiny Tech100, and aims to list it publicly
as a closed-end exchange-traded fund, said Sohail Prasad, the
company's co-founder.
Such a structure would open the fund to anyone, not just the
professional investors, institutions and wealthy families who
typically buy into startups before they go public.
Destiny Tech100 is accumulating positions in many of the
technology industry's best-known private companies, including
Instacart parent Maplebear Inc. and Superhuman Labs Inc., Mr.
Prasad said.
40%
The rough share of U.S. households that said they faced serious
financial difficulties in recent months of the Covid-19 pandemic,
according to a poll. (WSJ)
Walgreens to Invest $5.2 Billion in VillageMD
Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. will pay $5.2 billion to acquire a
controlling stake in primary-care network VillageMD as the pharmacy
chain seeks to remodel itself as a healthcare provider, WSJ's
Sharon Terlep reports. VillageMD operates more than 200 clinics
where it has acquired or hired its own physicians and medical
staff. Walgreens said the investment will enable it to open
doctors' offices at 600 or more of its drugstore locations by 2025,
and a further 400 by 2027. The drugstore company already owns a
stake in VillageMD after agreeing last summer to pay $1 billion in
equity and debt over the three years in exchange for a 30% stake in
the Chicago-based startup. Under the deal announced Thursday,
Walgreens will hold a 63% stake in VillageMD.
Coinbase Pitches Blueprint for Special Crypto Regulator
The largest U.S. cryptocurrency exchange wants Congress to block
the Securities and Exchange Commission from overseeing the nascent
industry and instead create a special regulator for digital assets,
according to a policy blueprint reviewed by The Wall Street
Journal. Coinbase Global Inc., which has feuded with U.S.
regulators in recent months, plans to publicly release a document
with proposals for crypto regulation. It says crypto-market
participants face uncertainty about which federal agencies should
oversee particular assets.
U.S. SPAC Frenzy Inspires a Reboot in Asia
SPACs have lost some luster in America, but stock exchanges in
Singapore and Hong Kong are betting the vehicles will boost their
allure to global investors and startups in the region. The two
Asian financial hubs have been pushing forward with competing plans
to enable listings of special-purpose acquisition companies, which
raise money and go public before finding businesses to merge with.
Singapore launched its SPAC rules in September, while Hong Kong is
seeking public comment on its proposed regulations until the end of
this month.
Industry News
Funds
DFJ Growth raised nearly $1 billion for its fourth core growth
fund, DFJ Growth IV LP. The Menlo Park, Calif.-based firm closed
its third core fund with $535 million in 2017 and secured $470
million for DFJ Growth 2013, its second core fund. DFJ Growth
recently participated in big funding rounds for plant-based dairy
and meat products maker NotCo and Elon Musk's brain-computer
interface company, Neuralink.
At One Ventures closed its inaugural fund with $150 million in
commitments to back startups whose technology contributes to the
health of our planet. To date, the San Francisco firm has invested
in 21 startups including Iron Ox, Dendra, Gradient, Apis Cor,
Alchemie Technology and Cruz Foam.
HubSpot Ventures launched The CRM Platform Fund, a $100 million
vehicle that will support early- and growth-stage technology
companies focused on customer relationship management.
Thomson Reuters is launching a $100 million venture capital fund
to make primarily Series A and Series B investments across the
legal, tax and accounting, risk, fraud, compliance, news and media
sectors.
People
True Ventures said Gus Coldebella joined the firm as partner,
where he will focus on global public policy and regulation, with an
emphasis on digital assets and other emerging technologies. Before
joining True Ventures, Mr. Coldebella was general counsel at two
crypto-focused firms.
Community banking investor BankTech Ventures appointed Carey
Ransom as managing director. He was most recently co-founder and
president of Operate, a venture studio. BankTech Ventures is
targeting $150 million to $200 million for its first fund and
expects a first close at the end of this month.
Shoreline Biosciences Inc., which is creating cellular
immunotherapies for cancer and inflammatory diseases, appointed
Scott Forrest as chief business officer. He was previously chief
financial officer at Autobahn Therapeutics. In April, San
Diego-based Shoreline Biosciences said it raised $43 million in
funding from Boxer Capital, Commodore Capital, Stork Capital and
others.
Exits
Women's health company Hologic Inc. agreed to purchase Bolder
Surgical, a provider of instruments for minimally invasive surgery,
for about $160 million. Louisville, Colo.-based Bolder Surgical has
raised funding from River Cities Capital, Providence Ventures and
Westwood Management.
Data intelligence startup Alation Inc. acquired Los Altos,
Calif.-based artificial intelligence vendor Lyngo Analytics for an
undisclosed amount. In June, Redwood City, Calif.-based Alation
said it raised a $110 million Series D round at a $1.2 billion
valuation from Riverwood Capital, Costanoa Ventures, Dell
Technologies Capital, Icon Ventures, Salesforce Ventures and
Sapphire Ventures.
Brightcove Inc., a provider of video technology to businesses,
will acquire HapYak technology from K-12 instructional content
platform Newsela for an undisclosed sum. Early this year, Newsela
raised a $100 million Series D round from Franklin Templeton, TCV,
Owl Ventures and others.
New Money
Vuori, an Encinitas, Calif.-based activewear brand, picked up a
$400 million investment from SoftBank Vision Fund 2 at a valuation
of $4 billion. Norwest Venture Partners invested in the company in
2019.
Bolt Financial Inc., a San Francisco-based e-commerce checkout
startup, raised $333 million in Series D funding and $60 million in
follow-on capital. New investors Untitled Investments, Willoughby
Capital and Soma Capital joined existing backers including General
Atlantic, Tribe Capital and Activant Capital in the round.
Dutchie, a Bend, Ore.-based provider of technology to cannabis
dispensaries, snagged a $350 million Series D round led by D1
Capital Partners at a $3.75 billion valuation. Existing backers
Tiger Global Management, Dragoneer Investment Group, DFJ Growth,
Thrive Capital, Gron Ventures and Casa Verde Capital also supported
the financing, alongside new investors Willoughby Capital, Glynn
Capital and Park West Asset Management.
TradingView Inc., a London-based platform and social network for
traders and investors, landed a $298 million investment led by
Tiger Global Management, bringing the company's valuation up to $3
billion.
CarDekho, an Indian car-search platform, raised $200 million in
Series E equity funding along with $50 million in debt, giving the
company a valuation of $1.2 billion. Leapfrog Investments led the
round, which included participation from Sequoia Capital India and
others.
Dexterity, a Redwood City, Calif.-based provider of intelligent
robotic systems for logistics, warehouses and supply chain, added
$140 million in Series B equity and debt at a valuation of $1.4
billion. Lightspeed Venture Partners and Kleiner Perkins led the
round, which saw participation from Obvious Ventures, B37 Ventures
and Presidio Ventures.
GRIN, a Sacramento, Calif.-based creator-management platform for
direct-to-consumer brands, completed a $110 million Series B round,
giving the company a $910 million valuation. Lone Pine Capital led
the investment, which included contributions from BOND, The
Chainsmokers, Imaginary Ventures and others.
Outschool Inc., a San Francisco-based K-12 education marketplace
provider, secured $110 million in Series D funding at a $3 billion
valuation. Tiger Global Management led the new round, which
included participation from BOND, Lightspeed Ventures, Union Square
Ventures, Reach Capital, Coatue Management, FundersClub and SV
Angel.
Rectify Pharmaceuticals Inc., a Cambridge, Mass.-based developer
of disease-modifying precision therapeutics for patients with
serious genetic diseases, launched with a $100 million Series A
round co-led by Atlas Venture, Omega Funds, Forbion and Longwood
Fund.
Reliable Robotics Corp., a Mountain View, Calif.-based developer
of automated aircraft systems, fetched a $100 million Series C
round. Lead investor Coatue Management was joined by Lightspeed
Venture Partners, Eclipse Ventures, Teamworthy Ventures and
Pathbreaker Ventures in the funding.
Weights & Biases, a machine-learning platform for engineers
and data scientists, nabbed $100 million in Series C financing at a
$1 billion valuation. New investors Felicis Ventures and BOND were
joined by existing backers Insight Partners and Coatue Management
in the round.
Tech News
Signa Sports attracts investment from Saudi Arabia's Public
Investment Fund
Microsoft folds LinkedIn social-media service in China
Motional previews the self-driving taxi experience, with Lyft as
its first partner
Evolution Equity banks $400 million for second fund
Duke professor recognized for bringing more clarity to AI
decision making
We mastered Zoom from home. Just wait for hybrid-office
Zoom.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 15, 2021 09:51 ET (13:51 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2021 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.