The Week’s 10 Biggest Funding Rounds: Project44 Nabs $420M To Help Supply Chain Issues, Bolt Checks Out With $355M and Biotech’s Big Week

This is a weekly feature that runs down the week’s top 10 funding rounds in the U.S. Check out 2022’s biggest funding rounds here.

Although a supply chain platform developer and an e-commerce provider hit it big with the largest rounds of the week, the real take away this week is venture’s current love affair with biotech. Three of the top 10 rounds again this week went to companies developing tests and medicines to cure illnesses and disease—just like a week ago.

1. Project44, $420M, supply chain: Delays and bottlenecks in the supply chain seem to be at the top of everyone’s mind nowadays, and that includes investors apparently. Thoma Bravo, TPG and Goldman Sachs Asset Management led a $420 million funding round for Chicago-based supply chain visibility platform project44. The investment gives the company—which now generates more than $100 million in annual recurring revenue—a pre-money valuation of $2.2 billion. Founded in 2014, the company has raised nearly $640 million, according to Crunchbase data.

2. Bolt, $355M, e-commerce: Online checkout tech was big with investors this week. No startup raised more cash than London-based payment processor Checkout.com with its $1 billion Series D (more on that company later). However, U.S.-based e-commerce platforms were not left out of the venture cash party. San Francisco-based Bolt, a provider of one-click checkout for independent online retailers, closed on $355 million as the first part of its Series E funding. Bolt did not disclose its valuation after the new round, which was led by funds and accounts managed by BlackRock, but did say it nearly doubled its valuation from three months ago. The new raise brings Bolt’s total funding to nearly $1 billion, according to the company.

3. Center for Breakthrough Medicines, $350M, biotech: As mentioned earlier, this was a big week for biotech, and King of Prussia, Pennsylvania-based Center for Breakthrough Medicines led the way. The biotech company received $350 million in equity financing from SK Inc., the investment holding company for SK Group. CBM will partner with SK to “create the world’s largest end-to-end cell and gene therapy contract development and manufacturing organization,” the company said in a release.

4. TigerConnect, $300M, collaboration: Santa Monica, California-based TigerConnect closed on a strategic growth investment from Vista Equity Partners. The maker of collaboration tools for the health care industry did not announce the dollar amount, but it was reported to be a $300 million round. The company provides a suite of HIPAA-compliant software tools to thousands of health organizations that help improve care team communication.

5. Freenome, $290M, biotech: The second biotech company to make the list was South San Francisco, California-based Freenome, which closed a $290 million round from pharmaceutical giant Roche. The company develops tests to detect cancer. The new round brings Freenome’s total funding to more than $1.1 billion since the company was founded in 2014, and follows its $300 million Series D just raised in December.

6. Inxeption, $275M, e-commerce: South San Francisco-based Inxeption announced $275 million in new funding—made up of a $125 million Series E financing round and $150 million in new debt capital. The round values the company at approximately $3 billion—4x what it was in early 2021—and was led by Schonfeld Strategic Advisors. The company provides an e-commerce platform for industrial and supply chain businesses.

7. Highspot, $248M, sales: Seattle-based sales enablement platform Highspot raised $248 million in a Series F led by new investors B Capital Group and D1 Capital Partners. The round values the company at $3.5 billion, quadruple what it was two years ago. Highspot’s total funding is now at $648 million.

8. CAIS, $225M, fintech: New York-based CAIS closed a $225 million round led by Apollo and Motive Partners, which values the alternative investment platform at more than $1 billion.

9. Transcarent, $200M, health care: Palo Alto, California-based Transcarent closed a $200 million Series C investment led by Kinnevik and Human Capital. The company, which provides digital guidance and direct access to health care to employees of self-insured employers, has now raised a total of $298 million in just over one year.

10. (tied) BigPanda, $190M, enterprise software: San Francisco-based BigPanda, which helps IT departments keep their digital services running, raised a $190 million round at a valuation of $1.2 billion. The new round was led by Advent International and Insight Partners, with participation by other existing investors. Founded in 2012, the company has raised more than $310 million, according to Crunchbase data.

10. (tied) Maze Therapeutics, $190M, biotech: South San Francisco-based biopharmaceutical company Maze Therapeutics closed a $190 million financing led by Matrix Capital Management. The company uses data science to create new medicines.

Big global deals

The week proved even bigger for startups outside the U.S., with three of the top five rounds globally coming from a company in London and a couple in Paris.

• London-based payment processor Checkout.com raised $1 billion in a Series D funding that values the company at $40 billion. The rebound makes Checkout.com the second-most highly valued private company in Europe after buy now, pay later processor Klarna.
• Paris-based online bank Qonto closed a $554.6 million Series D.
• Paris-based online electronics marketplace Back Market raised a $510 million Series E.

Methodology

We tracked the largest rounds in the Crunchbase database that were raised by U.S.-based companies for the seven-day period of Jan. 8-14. Although most announced rounds are represented in the database, there could be a small time lag as some rounds are reported late in the week

Illustration: Dom Guzman

Learn More