The Briefing: Discord Eyes $10B+ M&A Deal, Ro Raises $500M, 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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Discord eyes sale at valuation of over $10B

Discord, the popular communications platform for gamers, is reportedly considering a sale to an acquirer at a valuation that could top $10 billion.

Bloomberg reports that Microsoft is one of the potential acquirers. VentureBeat reports that the company is in talks with multiple potential buyers. Discord has also discussed a possible public offering.

Founded in 2012, San Francisco-based Discord has raised at least $479 million in known funding to date, per Crunchbase data.

—  Joanna Glasner

Telegram raises more than $1B in debt before going public

Messaging app Telegram raised more than $1 billion in debt by selling corporate bonds, The Information reported Tuesday. The company plans on eventually going public, and will begin selling ads in its channels and introducing paid features, according to the report.

–Sophia Kunthara

Health

Ro raises $500M for telehealth: New York-based Ro, a startup offering telehealth, diagnostics and pharmacy services with an aim to increase Americans’ access to affordable health care, raised $500 million in a  Series D financing. The investment brings total funding to date for the 4-year-old company to over $875 million, per Crunchbase data.

— Joanna Glasner

Enterprise software

Aiven raises $100M for open source data infrastructure: Helsinki-based Aiven, a developer of managed open source data technologies for use on major public clouds, raised $100 million in a Series C funding round.

— Joanna Glasner

Lattice reaches $1B valuation: San Francisco-based human resources software developer Lattice raised a $60 million Series E led by Tiger Global at a $1 billion valuation. The new funding brings Lattice’s total funding to $158 million and included participation form existing investors Thrive Capital, Shasta Ventures, Founders Fund, Frontline Ventures, Fuel Capital, Khosla Ventures and several new angel investors. The company — which is profitable — plans to use the new proceeds to fuel growth, expand its product offerings and explore international markets.

— Chris Metinko

Trace inks $8.3M for financial workflow: Trace, a San Francisco-based service desk for finance teams, announced $8.3 million in seed funding led by Greylock and Uncork Capital.

— Crunchbase Staff

Insurtech

Counterpart, Surround raise rounds: Counterpart, a Los Angeles-based insurtech using technology and data to transform the $10 billion management liability insurance market, secured $10 million in funding led by Valor Equity Partners. Meanwhile, Surround Insurance raised $2.6 million in seed funding, from an investor group including Sure Ventures, to launch its new model for property and casualty insurance products aimed at young urban professionals in Massachusetts.

— Christine Hall

E-commerce

Feedback Loop bags $14M for customer feedback: Feedback Loop closed on a tranche of $14 million to bring its Series A round to $24 million. The round was led by Crosslink Capital with additional backing from Spider Capital. The New York-based company’s technology establishes a continuous connection to consumers as businesses develop new product offerings, test new concepts and define go-to-market plans.

— Christine Hall

Foodtech

Eat Just, Meatable raise signficant rounds as cell-based meats popularity grows: San Francisco-based food tech company Eat Just said it secured $200 million in a new funding round led by the Qatar Investment Authority. The new round gives Eat Just more than $650 million in funding since its founding in 2011. The company announced in December that the use of its cultured chicken as an ingredient in chicken bites was approved to sell in Singapore, which is the first country in the world to commercialize cell-based meat products, the company said. The funding will go toward increasing its capacity, building the brand and R&D. So far this year, the company experienced record-breaking retail sales for its JUST Egg’s 12-ounce pourable format for scrambles, omelets, quiches, stir-fries and baking applications, according to Eat Just. Meanwhille, Dutch food company Meatable secured $47 million in Series A funding to advance small-scale production of its cultivated pork and beef products, made without harming animals, and to diversify its product portfolio. The round was led by a consortium of backers that included Rick Klausner, Section 32, Jeffrey Leiden and DSM Venturing. Many of the facets of cell-based meat’s future were discussed earlier this month at the virtual Future Food-Tech conference, which gathered food business leaders, venture capital investors and food tech innovators into conversations around innovation and investment in food. Most recently, Future Fields, developing a first-of-its-kind cellular growth medium — the most important component of cellular agriculture — raised $2.2 million in seed funding led by Bee Partners.

— Christine Hall

Cybersecurity

Jumio lands $150M: Palo Alto-based Jumio closed a $150 million investment from private equity firm Great Hill Partners. The identity security company uses an AI platform that helps users establish their identity remotely to protect against fraud and other financial crime.

— Chris Metinko

M&A

Appriss Health to acquire PatientPing: Louisville, Kentucky Appriss Health announced an agreement to acquire PatientPing, a Boston-based care coordination data and software company focused on senior care and patients with complex needs. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. PatientPing, founded in 2013, raised $101.2 million in venture-backed funding to date, according to Crunchbase data. It most recently brought in $60 million in Series C funding last June in a round led by Andreessen Horowitz, F-Prime Capital, GV and Transformation Capital. Appriss Health, founded in 2000, focuses on care coordination software and analytics for behavioral health and substance-use disorders. PatientPing is the company’s second acquisition following OpenBeds in October 2019, according to Crunchbase data. When combined, the two platforms’ reach will include 2,500 hospitals, 7,500 post-acute facilities, 25,000 pharmacies and 43 state governments.

— Christine Hall

Illustration: Dom Guzman