The Briefing: Zenoti Lands $160M, Taxdoo Raises $21M, 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.

Subscribe to the Crunchbase Daily

GoDaddy to acquire Poynt for $365M

GoDaddy Inc. (NYSE: GDDY) is expanding its commerce platform through the acquisition of Poynt in a deal valued at $320 million in cash and $45 million in deferred cash payments, subject to certain performance and employment conditions over three years, the company said Tuesday.

Poynt is a Palo Alto-based technology company that builds hardware and software tools for businesses. Poynt is used by more than 100,000 merchants with over $16 billion in annual gGross merchandise volume, according to GoDaddy. The company raised a total of $133 million in venture-backed funding since its inception in 2013 and is backed by investors including GV, Elavon and Oak HC/FT, according to Crunchbase data.

As part of the deal, Poynt CEO Osama Bedier will join the GoDaddy leadership team to lead a new commerce division focused on creating commerce experiences for small businesses.

The move will expand GoDaddy’s offerings to include offline sales and integrated payments. In speaking about the deal, GoDaddy CEO Aman Bhutani said in a written statement that the company wants to continue to invest in tools for small businesses.

The acquisition is expected to close in the first quarter of 2021.

Zenoti lands $160M for Spa SaaS

Zenoti, a provider of cloud-based software for the spa and salon industries, raised $160 million in a Series D round led by Advent International.

The new financing reportedly pushes the company past the $1 billion valuation mark, making it the latest member of the unicorn club. Founded in 2010, Bellevue, Washington-based Zenoti had raised $91 million before the latest Series D.

The company started out in India, but now says the U.S. accounts for a majority of its business.

Productivity Platform ClickUp Raises $100M

ClickUp, a San Diego-based productivity platform that replaces all other workplace apps across an organization, announced $100 million in Series B funding led by Georgian.

In a blog post, Zeb Evans, ClickUp founder and CEO, said the company continues to grow rapidly, and with the new funding ClickUp will be able to “make massive improvements to the product as well as hire the best people to further fulfill our vision.”

Including the new funding, the company has raised a total of $137.4 million in venture-backed funding since its inception in 2017.

Funding rounds

• MinervaX raises 47.4M euros for strep vaccine: MinervaX, a Danish biotechnology company developing a novel vaccine against Group B streptococcus, said it raised a 47.4 million euro ($57.5 million) Series B financing from a group of investors that includes Sanofi Ventures.
• Vise raises $45M for financial portfolio management: Vise, a New York-based investment management platform for independent advisory practices, closed on a $45 million Series B funding round led by Sequoia Capital. This is the company’s second raise this year, bringing the total capital raised to over $60 million.
• Self Financial banks $40M for savings program:  Self Financial, an Austin-based fintech startup enabling consumers to build credit and savings, announced a $40 million round of Series D financing, led by Meritech Capital.
• Taxdoo raises $21M for compliance tools: Taxdoo, a startup that bills itself as a compliance platform for the digital economy, raised $21 million in a Series A funding round led by Accel.
• Naveris raises $19M for cancer detection: Naveris, a company working on early detection of virus-related cancers, said it closed its expanded Series A round. The company didn’t disclose the amount of the round, but said it has now raised more than $19 million since its inception in 2017. Gurnet Point Capital, a private investment fund focused in the health care and life sciences sector, led the round.
• ConsejoSano lands $17M Series B for multicultural patient care: ConsejoSano, a North Hollywood-based health care technology company delivering culturally centric patient care, announced $17 million in a Series B funding round led by Magnetic Ventures.
• Chip startup AIStorm raises $16M: San Jose-based AIStorm, an artificial intelligence startup developing chipsets that can process data directly from devices, has raised $16 million in a Series B round backed by multiple investors.
• PrinterPrezz snags $16M for next-generation medical device manufacturing: Fremont, California-based PrinterPrezz, a startup that says it’s working to combine polymer and metal 3D printing, nanotechnologies and surgical expertise to design to make better medical devices, said it has closed a $16 million Series A financing round. D. One Vision Management through its DOV Singularity Fund, was the largest financial investor and co-led the round. Boutique Venture Partners served as the investment syndicate organizer and co-lead, Berkeley Catalyst Fund served as co-lead investor and Solvay Ventures was a strategic investor.
• ClearTrace secures $4M for climate tracking software: ClearTrace, an Austin-based software company that provides automated energy and carbon accounting for investors, enterprises and real estate owners, announced a $4 million Series A round led by Clean Energy Ventures.
• Whirli bags 4 million pounds for toy services: London-based toy-sharing subscription service Whirli announced a seed round of 4 million pounds ($5.3 million) led by Octopus Ventures.
• Sesh lands $3M for mental health app: Sesh, a San Francisco-based mental health company providing access to expert-led group support via a mobile app, closed a $3 million seed round led by Polaris Partners.
• Recycleye secures 1.2 million pounds to automate waste pickup: Intelligent waste management startup Recycleye closed on a 1.2 million pound seed investment led by Playfair Capital.

Public markets

• Wish raises $1.1B in IPO: Mobile e-commerce shopping startup Wish reportedly sold shares in its initial public offering on Tuesday at $24 per share, which was at the top of its target range, to raise $1.1 billion, Reuters reported. Wish shares are expected to begin trading on Nasdaq on Dec. 16 under the symbol “Wish.”

New funds

• Westlake Village launches two life sciences funds: Westlake Village BioPartners said it has two new funds, totaling $500 million, that will focus on building and investing in promising life sciences companies with transformative human therapeutic technologies. Westlake Village BioPartners 2 Fund is a $430 million fund that will invest in approximately 12 Series A startups or co-lead Series A rounds. Opportunity 1 is a $70 million fund for follow-on funding to companies invested from Westlake BioPartners 1.

Illustration: Dom Guzman