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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dLocal shares up on first trading day
Shares of cross-border payment processor dLocal popped on the company’s first day of trading on the Nasdaq.
The Uruguay-based company’s shares opened at $21 and quickly gained traction, reaching as high as $33.50 per share. At the close of the trading day, shares were at $32.39, up 54.24 percent above the open price, with approximately 15.2 million shares changing hands, according to Yahoo Finance.
dLocal filed a Form F-1 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission at the beginning of May.
The company has raised a total of $357 million in known venture capital funding since its inception in 2016, according to Crunchbase data. dLocal reported working with more than 330 merchants and brought in $104 million in revenue in the past year.
Shares are trading on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker symbol DLO.
— Christine Hall
Rent the Runway said to prep for 2021 IPO
Fashion rental provider Rent the Runway is interviewing bankers for a potential public offering as early as later this year, according to a Bloomberg report citing unnamed sources.
Founded in 2009, New York-based Rent the Runway has raised at least $541 million in known funding to date, per Crunchbase data. The company focuses on two areas: outfits for special occasions and a subscription offering for everyday and work clothes.
The company saw demand slip amid the pandemic but is seeing a rebound in interest as the economy reopens. For now, talks about a potential IPO are in the early stages, per the report, and may not come to fruition.
— Joanna Glasner
Funding rounds
One Concern raises $45M for natural disaster mitigation: Silicon Valley-based One Concern, a startup that applies AI in developing tools to help prepare for and mitigate natural disaster risks, has raised $45 million from SOMPO Holdings.
M&A
CDK Global buys Roadster for $360M: CDK Global, provider of a platform for auto dealers to boost online sales and marketing, has reportedly acquired Palo Alto-based Roadster, a provider of e-commerce tools for dealerships, in a $360 million deal. Founded in 2013, Roadster previously raised $27 million in known funding, per Crunchbase data.
— Joanna Glasner
Enterprise software
Alation lands $110M at $1.2B valuation: Redwood City, California-based Alation raised a $110 million Series D round led by Riverwood Capital with participation from new investors Sanabil Investments and Snowflake Ventures at a $1.2 billion valuation. Existing investors Costanoa Ventures, Dell Technologies Capital, Icon Ventures, Salesforce Ventures1, Sapphire Ventures and Union Grove Partners also participated.
The new capital will be used to accelerate the company’s go-to-market strategy and finance new products.
The enterprise data intelligence company has now raised $217 million.
— Chris Metinko
Robotics
Realtime Robotics raises $31.4 Series A: Boston-based Realtime Robotics raised a $31.4 million Series A. The round included new strategic investors including HAHN Automation and SAIC Capital Management, as well as new institutional investors Soundproof Ventures and Heroic Ventures. Existing investors SPARX Asset Management, Omron Ventures, Toyota AI Ventures, Scrum Ventures and Duke Angels also participated in the round. The company helps enable industrial robots to operate autonomously.
— Chris Metinko
Health care
Zenflow raises $24M: Medical device company Zenflow closed on $24 million in Series B funding to support the clinical trial of its Spring System, a minimally invasive treatment option for patients who suffer debilitating symptoms due to an enlarged prostate. Invus Opportunities led the round into the South San Francisco-based company. Zenflow also announced that it appointed Susan Stimson as president.
Here’s what else we saw:
- Houston-based biotechnology company Stellanova Therapeutics said it raised a $15.5 million Series A round, led by Sporos Bioventures, to advance its first-in-human clinical trials for oncology.
- Life sciences company Gwella Mushrooms announced $1.5 million in funding from a group of backers including Vice Ventures. The Toronto-based company focuses on the psychedelic wellness and functional mushroom market.
- Data-driven life and health insurance underwriting company HealthyHealth has secured a $10 million Series A investment led by MMC Ventures.
- San Francisco-based Phil, a software therapy deployment platform, announced $56 million in Series D funding, led by Warburg Pincus, to continue developing its tools to streamline the process of creating specialty pharmaceutical products.
— Christine Hall
Agriculture and foodtech
PlanetWatchers secures $3.5M: PlanetWatchers, a London-based crop monitoring company, said it closed on $3.5 million in Pre-A series funding co-led by Seraphim Capital and Creative Ventures. PlanetWatchers uses machine learning and data to support crop insurers in reporting planting dates, acreage, crop classification and claims validation at scale.
Hooray Foods inks $2M: San Francisco plant-based meat company Hooray Foods closed on $2 million in seed funding led by Evolution VC Partners. The company creates products mimicking bacon, and the new funding will enable the company to scale production for national retail and grocery chains and develop improved versions of its products.
— Christine Hall
Space
LeoLabs closes in on $65M: LeoLabs, a provider of low Earth orbit mapping and Space Situational Awareness services, announced $65 million in Series B funding, jointly led by Insight Partners and Velvet Sea Ventures, to give Menlo Park-based LeoLabs more than $100 million in total funding, according to the company.
— Christine Hall
Insurtech
Trellis Technologies raises $10M: Insurance technology platform Trellis Technologies announced a funding round of $10 million in Series A financing led by QED Investors. The San Francisco-based company provides digital tools to enable consumers to get the most value from their car and home insurance.
— Christine Hall
Fintech and e-commerce
Intrinsic launches with $113M: Intrinsic is the newest e-commerce acquisition company to raise funding. The New York-based company closed on $113 million in Series A funding, led by Define Ventures. Intrinsic is focused on health and wellness brands, acquiring them from Amazon and other e-commerce channels. E-commerce aggregators like Perch have been attracting investor attention for a while now, but investments have heated up in 2021, with companies in this sector raising over $1 billion. In late May, Perch announced a $775 million round of Series A funding led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2.
Here’s what else we saw:
- Vancouver-based Bench, a bookkeeping service for small businesses, raised $60 million in Series C funding led by Contour Venture Partners.
- Toronto-based retail technology company Adeptmind secured $6.2 million in Series A financing led by Innospark Ventures.
- Singapore-based stock market game development startup Beryllium brought in $3 million in pre-Series A funding led by Bullpen Capital.
— Christine Hall
New funds
Rapyd creates venture arm: Fintech-as-a-service company Rapyd said it created Rapyd Ventures, a venture arm that will invest in early- and growth-stage businesses focused on financial services innovation. Its first investment is in Gotrade, a fractional shares trading platform that enables users in more than 150 countries to become investors.
Architect Capital launches $100M fund: Architect Capital launched with $100 million to provide an alternative form of financing to fintech, e-commerce and SaaS companies in the U.S. and Latin America that need flexible, nondilutive capital outside of venture capital and debt.
— Christine Hall
Illustration: Dom Guzman
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