The Briefing: ASAPP Raises $120M, Ro Acquires Modern Fertility, And More

Here’s what you need to know today in startup and venture news, updated by the Crunchbase News staff throughout the day to keep you in the know.

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ASAPP raises $120M for customer service

New York-based ASAPP,  provider of artificial intelligence-enabled customer experience tools used in call centers, reportedly raised $120 million in a new funding round.

Backers in the round include new investors Fidelity Management and Research Company and Dragoneer Investment Group, along with existing stakeholders. Previously, the 7-year-old company had raised at least $260 million in known funding, per Crunchbase data.

ASAPP pitches its tools a way to augment rather than replace customer service workers, and markets to companies with large customer operations.

— Joanna Glasner

Ro acquires Modern Fertility to boost women’s health vertical

Health care technology company Ro announced Wednesday that it is acquiring Modern Fertility, a reproductive health company that enables women to test their fertility hormones at home. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

San Francisco-based Modern Fertility has raised a total of $22 million known venture-backed funding since its inception in 2017, according to Crunchbase data. It’s last fundraise was a $15 million Series A in 2019 led by Forerunner Ventures. Co-founder and CEO Afton Vechery discussed the company’s journey from seed to Series A last year.

New York-based Ro was also founded in 2017 and has raised a total of $876.1 million in known venture capital, according to Crunchbase data. It most recently raised a $500 million Series D round in March led by FirstMark, General Catalyst and TQ Ventures.

The acquisition will expand Ro’s coverage of women’s health, with Vechery and Modern Fertility co-founder and COO Carly Leahy both taking on new roles to lead Ro’s women’s health vertical. Vechery will become president of women’s health, while Leahy will become the women’s health vice president of brand, according to the companies.

— Christine Hall

Funding rounds

Formlabs inks $150M: 3D printing company Formlabs, headquartered in Massachusetts, announced it raised a $150 million Series E led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2, which doubled the company’s valuation to $2 billion. Formlabs intends to use the new funds to continue growing its portfolio of 3D printing technologies as well as its team across its seven offices worldwide.

— Christine Hall

Forecast raises $19M for project management: Copenhagen-based Forecast, provider of a software platform for overseeing projects and teams, raised $19 million in a Series A funding round led by Balderton Capital.

— Joanna Glasner

TRIP drinks in $5M: TRIP, a European CBD drinks and oils brand, announced its U.S. launch with $5 million in funding and an exclusive partnership with Soho House Group. Investors in the round include Maria Raga and Christian Angermayer.

— Christine Hall

Prodoscore raises a further $3M: Southern California-based Prodoscore, a platform for analyzing workplace productivity, secured an additional $3 million from SNK Capital Partners bringing its investment to $5 million. The service integrates with cloud tools like Google Workspace, Microsoft Office365, and other CRM and VOIP systems. 

— Gené Teare

Health care

HiberCell inks $67.4M: New York-based HiberCell, a biotechnology company developing treatments to prevent cancer relapse and metastasis, completed a $67.4 million Series B financing round, as well as a $30 million debt facility with Hercules Capital. The equity round included a group of backers, such as Huizenga Capital Management and Monashee Investment Management. HiberCell will use the proceeds of the Series B financing and debt facility to get its treatment candidates into the clinic.

Wheel turns on $50M: Austin-based Wheel, a virtual health care company, secured $50 million in Series B funding led by Lightspeed Ventures to give it a total of $66 million in funding since being founded in 2018, according to Wheel. The company intends to deploy the new capital into technology development and its clinician networks.

— Christine Hall

Clean tech

TWAICE charges up $26M: Germany-based TWAICE said it raised $26 million in Series B funding, led by Energize Ventures, to bring its total financing to $45 million since being founded in 2018, according to the company. TWAICE is a battery company developing analytics software addressing the transparency and predictability of batteries. The new funding will enable the company to expand its technology development and for international expansion.

Zap Energy raises $27.5M: Zap Energy, a Seattle-based fusion energy technology company, announced $27.5 million in Series B funding led by Addition. Zap Energy is building a fusion reactor that does not employ magnets. It achieved thermonuclear fusion in 2018 and is targeting scientific energy breakeven by 2023 that would mean production of inexpensive and unlimited carbon-free energy.

— Christine Hall

Insurtech

Waffle eats up $5M: Consumer insurance company Waffle closed $5 million in seed funding, led by Verve Ventures, to connect users with top-rated nationwide insurance providers across the country. The company offers customizable products with broad coverage and limited to no exclusions.

— Christine Hall

Space tech

Agnikul inks $11M: India-based space tech startup, Agnikul announced $11 million in Series A funding led by Mayfield India1. The company, which intends to launch satellites into space, touted this investment as “the largest funding round for a private Indian space technology company in India.” Agnikul plans to invest the new funds into its technology infrastructure, expand ground testing and to continue hiring.

— Christine Hall

Illustration: Dom Guzman