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.
Subscribe to the Crunchbase Daily
Facebook announces name change
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Thursday that the umbrella company of all of Facebook’s apps and tech would be re-named “Meta.” The name change reflects the company’s focus on the metaverse going forward, and the company will begin trading under the ticker MVRS in December. Facebook’s corporate structure isn’t changing, the company said in a statement, but starting with 2021’s Q4 earnings, the company will report financial results on two operating segments: the Family of Apps, and Reality Labs.
— Sophia Kunthara
Immunai raises $215M for immune system mapping
New York-based biotech startup Immunai said this week that it raised $215 million in Series B funding to bring its total investment raised to date to $295 million. The capital will go toward developing what the company calls its “atlas” of single-cell immune data.
In a funding announcement, Immunai CEO and co-founder Noam Solomon said the immune system “is essential to finding the answers to human health and disease” and a better understanding of it “will accelerate the evaluation and development of novel immune medicines.”
“Our approach is to combine best-in-class single-cell genomic methods and artificial intelligence with a deep understanding of immunology,” he added. The Series B funding was led by Koch Disruptive Technologies, with participation from Talos VC, 8VC1, Alexandria Venture Investments, Piedmont, ICON and others, as well as previous investors.
— Marlize van Romburgh
Dragos lands $200M for cybersecurity
Hanover, Maryland-based Dragos, a developer of cybersecurity technology for industrial controls systems, announced it raised $200 million in Series D funding at a valuation of $1.7 billion. Koch Disruptive Technologies led the financing, which will go toward expanding the company’s global footprint across industries including electric, oil and gas, chemical, pharmaceutical, food and beverage, water, and manufacturing.
— Joanna Glasner
Yugabyte hits $1.3B valuation after $188M raise
Sunnyvale, California-based Yugabyte closed a $188 million Series C led by Sapphire Ventures — just seven months after raising a $48 million Series B. The round values Yugabyte at more than $1.3 billion. The company is a developer of open-source distributed SQL databases, which allow companies to scale their use as data continues to grow in the enterprise environment. Founded in 2016, the company has now raised more than $290 million.
— Chris Metinko
Food & Beverage
NICK’S scoops up $100M for keto treats: NICK’S, a maker of keto diet-friendly ice cream, snack bars and ice cream sandwiches, announced raising $100 million in a Series C funding round led by Kinnevik, Ambrosia Investments, and Temasek. Founded in Sweden and based in Los Angeles, the company says it is the top direct-to-consumer pint ice cream retailer in the U.S., and is rapidly expanding its presence in store freezers.
— Joanna Glasner
Illustration: Dom Guzman
Stay up to date with recent funding rounds, acquisitions, and more with the Crunchbase Daily.
67.1K Followers