The Briefing: US Sues Facebook And Gets Reply, Cleo Raises $44M For Finance Bot, 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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US sues Facebook for monopolistic practices, gets reply

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission filed suit against Facebook, alleging that the company is illegally maintaining its personal social networking monopoly through a years-long course of anticompetitive conduct.

The filing follows a lengthy investigation in cooperation with a coalition of attorneys general of 46 states, the District of Columbia, and Guam. The suit alleges that Facebook has engaged in a systematic strategy—including its 2012 acquisition of Instagram, its 2014 acquisition of the mobile messaging app WhatsApp, and the imposition of anticompetitive conditions on software developers—to eliminate threats to its monopoly.

In its online response, Facebook called the charges “revisionist history,” given that regulators had signed off on these acquisitions years ago, arguing that “this is simply not how the antitrust laws are supposed to work.”

Funding rounds

• Tempus secures $200M for precision medicine: Tempus, which focuses on artificial intelligence and precision medicine, announced an additional $200 million in Series G-2 financing at a post-money valuation of $8.1 billion dollars, and an additional $250 million of convertible debt. The investors include Baillie Gifford, Franklin Templeton, Google and Novo Holdings, as well as funds and accounts managed by T. Rowe Price.
• Cityblock Health closes on $160M to tackle health care inequity: Cityblock Health, a health care provider for lower-income communities, announced $160 million in a Series C funding round and a valuation of over $1 billion. New Cityblock investor General Catalyst led the round.
• SQUIRE lands $59M for barbershop platform: SQUIRE Technologies, a platform for barbershops around the world to operate and scale their businesses successfully, secured $59 million in a Series C funding round led by ICONIQ Capital.
• CallRail rings in $56M for marketing platform: CallRail, a marketing and analytics platform, raised $56 million in investment from existing investors Sageview Capital and Leaders Fund.
• CG Oncology raises $47M for cancer treatments: CG Oncology, a clinical-stage biotech company developing oncolytic immunotherapies, closed $47 million in Series D financing led by new investor Kissei Pharmaceutical.
• Cleo raises $44M for financial advice bot: London-based Cleo, developer of an app and chatbot designed as a financial assistant, raised $44 million in Series B funding led by EQT Ventures.
• Elation Health inks $40M for primary care platform: Elation Health, which creates patient care management software for independent primary care physicians, announced $40 million in Series C funding led by Generation Investment Management.
• Fairmarkit secures $30M for procurement platform: Fairmarkit, a sourcing platform for the procurement of goods and services for large enterprises, raised a $30 million Series B investment round co-led by GGV Capital and Insight Partners.
• Orbex raises $24M for reusable rockets: U.K.-based space startup Orbex, which is developing small payload reusable rockets, raised $24 million in a new funding round led by BGF and Octopus Ventures.
• Boast.ai raises $23M to find tax credits: Boast.ai, a software company that automates the complex process of claiming R&D tax credits in the U.S. and Canada, announced $23 million in a Series A round led by Radian Capital.
• Upvest inks 5 million euros for Series A: Upvest, a startup offering European securities API to fintechs, raised an additional 5 million euros in funding, led by Earlybird, enabling it to close its Series A at 12 million euros.
• Planet FWD secures $2.5M for snack brand: Planet FWD, a company tackling climate change through the expansion of climate-friendly food, announced $2.5 million in seed plus funding, led by Emerson Collective, as well as the launch of its Moonshot climate-friendly snack brand.
• NOW Insurance raises $1.25M: NOW Insurance, an AI-enabled insurance platform that matches small business owners with affordable coverage plans, secured an additional $1.25 million in seed funding led by The MFO Group. The company has raised $2.5 million since 2019.

New fund

Upper90 raises $195M for fund: Upper90, an alternative credit fund, brought in $195 million to provide founder-friendly credit and equity to e-commerce, enterprise and fintech startups.

Illustration: Dom Guzman