The Briefing: Carro Bags $360M, Iterable Raises $200M Growth Round, 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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Carro bags $360M for used car marketplace

Singapore-based Carro, operator of an online marketplace for used cars, raised $360 million in a  financing round that propels the company to unicorn status.

SoftBank led the financing, joined by Indonesia-based EV Growth and others. Previously, 6-year-old Carro had raised at least $252 million in known funding, per Crunchbase data.

The company plans to use the funds to expand its retail presence across Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore, on the heels of sharp market growth in the past year. Carro says it also wants to beef up its financial services offerings.

— Joanna Glasner

Home management platform Thumbtack raises $275M

Thumbtack has raised $275 million, valuing the home management startup at $3.2 billion, the company announced Tuesday. Qatar Investment Authority led the round, which is the first fundraise for the company since its $150 million Series F in July 2019. Thumbtack helps homeowners easily book professionals like plumbers and contractors for their home. According to a statement from the company, Thumbtack has grown its revenue 50 percent in the last year, and is expected to generate more than $2 billion in revenue for local service providers by the end of 2021.

–Sophia Kunthara

Enterprise software

Iterable raises $200M growth round: San Francisco-based marketing automation platform Iterable raised a Series E funding round of $200 million. The new funding comes from new investors Silver Lake, Adams Street Partners, Glynn Capital and DTCP. Iterable’s existing investors CRV, Viking Global Investors, Blue Cloud Ventures and Capital One Ventures also participated.

The company’s AI-powered platform tries to create personalized customer experiences for the more than 3 billion consumers globally.

The round values the company at $2 billion and takes its amount raised to date to more than $342 million, according to Crunchbase data.

— Chris Metinko

Edtech

Formative lands $70M for edtech:  Santa Monica, California-based Formative, a tool for educators to track student work in real-time, give feedback and collaborate with fellow teachers, raised $70 million in a funding round led by Summit Partners.

Health care

Sanity Group brings in $44.2M: Berlin-based cannabis startup Sanity Group announced $44.2 million in Series A funding, led by Redalpine, to give it a total investment to date of $73 million. The new funding will go toward expanding its medical division in Europe, building out its R&D facility in Frankfurt to serve its medical and well-being businesses, as well as expanding its consumer goods business. Sanity Group is the latest cannabis-focused company to receive venture capital. The cannabis industry has steadily grown, especially in the U.S., as state regulations shift toward an environment of medical use and legalization. Crunchbase data shows 2021 investment in the cannabis space is rebounding a bit after last year’s lull. Some $560 million has gone into 60 companies so far, led by a $200 million Series C round in March for Dutchie, which outfits dispensaries with the technology and tools needed to provide safe and easy access to cannabis.

Carbyne raises $20M: Emergency communication platform Carbyne closed its Series B round after grabbing an additional $20 million to bring the total to $45 million. Global Medical Response led the new investment. The New York-based company will deploy the new capital into a platform to simplify flow between callers, health-related call centers, first responders, nurses and hospitals to aid in response time.

House of Wise launches with $2M: Miami-based CBD brand House of Wise said it raised $2 million in seed funding and debuted its company, which provides CBD products for women. Sugar Capital led the round.

Aevice Health lands $2.8M: Aevice Health, a Singapore-based medical technology company developing wearables for remote respiratory monitoring, raised $2.8 million in seed funding from a group of investors, including Toho Holdings. The company intends to use the new funding for technology development and growth into Japan.

Kindra secures $4.5M: Los Angeles-based Kindra closed on $4.5 million in seed funding led by Female Founders Fund. The wellness brand for menopause essentials provides products, educational content and a community. The company is the latest menopause-focused company to attract venture capital in what some experts say is a $600 billion industry opportunity. Investors gave out $1.023 billion to U.S. women’s health technology startups in 2020, up from $625 million in 2019, according to Crunchbase data. Investment in this space has steadily risen since 2017, with total funding of $2.9 billion since 2016.

— Christine Hall

Fintech and e-commerce

Underground Cellar drinks up $12.5M: Online wine marketplace Underground Cellar secured $12.5 million in Series A funding led by Accomplice. The San Francisco-based company has developed a virtual “CloudCellar” that enables consumers to store up to 500 bottles of wine and access them through a “buy bottles now, ship them later” program. Consumers’ wine collections can be managed virtually, with users taking physical possession at any time by selecting specific bottles and having them delivered on-demand with free shipping. Underground Cellar is the latest e-commerce alcohol platform to attract investor attention. COVID-19 fueled a rise in e-commerce alcohol sales, even though venture capital investment dollars and deals in the space were down across the board between 2019 and 2020, according to Crunchbase data. Nearly $1.5 billion has been invested so far in 2021, the data shows.

Brij bags $1.25M: New York-based Brij, a platform connecting physical products to digital experiences, launched Tuesday with $1.25 million in seed funding to continue developing its one-touch product registration and reorder. Brands can build tailored digital experiences for each of their products that are accessible via a QR code. Lakehouse Ventures and Rationalwave VC led the round.

Addepar banks $150M: Wealth management platform Addepar announced a $150 million Series F round of funding, led by D1 Capital Partners, to give the Mountain View, California-based company a pre-money valuation of $2 billion. Addepar intends to use the new funding to accelerate growth, expand into new markets and technology development. Since its founding in 2009, the company has amassed more than $2.7 trillion in client assets under management.

Boost inks €12M: Poland-based Booste, a fintech company offering revenue-based financing to e-commerce companies, announced €12m in Series A funding to expand in Europe. The news comes just four months after the company has announced its launch and the initial seed round in January 2021. Booste finances growth for e-commerce businesses through digital ads, marketing campaigns and inventory spend.

— Christine Hall

Cybersecurity

ThreatX Secures $10M funding round: ThreatX raised a $10 million funding round led by .406 Ventures, with existing investors Access Venture Partners and Grotech Ventures also participating. The company — which is dually based in Denver and Boston and specializes in web application and API protection — has now raised more than $21 million, according to Crunchbase.

— Chris Metinko

Tech news

NFT sales plummet: Sales of non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, a form of digital collectible, have fallen dramatically in recent weeks after garnering massive attention earlier this year, CNBC reports. Overall sales plunged from a seven-day peak of $176 million on May 9, to just $8.7 million on June 15.

— Joanna Glasner

Illustration: Dom Guzman