The 10 Biggest Rounds Of July: Lvrch, Kim Kardashian And Biotech

This is a monthly feature that runs down the month’s top 10 funding rounds in the U.S. See last month’s top rounds here.

Want to keep track of the largest startup funding deals in 2023 with our new curated list of $100 million-plus venture deals to U.S.-based companies? Check out The Crunchbase Megadeals Tracker.

Summer can be slow, especially for those raising venture funding. However, last month saw some pretty strong rounds — thanks in large part to biotech, which dominated the list. The rest of the largest rounds were spread around to several industries, including financial services, compliance and, of course, an apparel company by Kim Kardashian.

1. Lvrch Capital Advisory, $400M, financial services: Last month’s top entry likely stayed under the radar for most people. Nevertheless, Woodland Hills, California-based investment firm Lvrch Capital Advisory locked up the top spot with a massive $400 million Series D. Investors in the round were not disclosed. The firm plans to use the cash infusion to introduce a new compounding system for investors to maximize their earnings through the power of compound interest. Founded in 2013, the firm has raised $600 million, per Crunchbase.

2. Skims, $270M, clothing: Skims hit a $4 billion valuation last month after Kim Kardashian’s apparel brand raised $270 million in a funding round led by Wellington Management. It was just early last year that the underwear and shapewear brand raised $240 million in a round led by Lone Pine Capital that valued the company at $3.2 billion. The startup, which offers everything from underwear to loungewear, expects sales to grow from $500 million last year to $750 million this year. It’s also expanding into brick-and-mortar sites. Founded four years ago, the company has now raised $669 million, per Crunchbase.

3. (tied) Septerna, $150M, biotech: South San Francisco, California-based Septerna closed a $150 million Series B led by new investor RA Capital Management. Septerna focuses on small molecule drugs that target proteins called G protein-coupled receptors, which control signals across cellular membranes and are often targeted by drug developers. Septerna is one of them, and is developing a treatment for hypoparathyroidism, a condition characterized by the deficiency of parathyroid hormone — which controls blood calcium and phosphate levels. Founded just last year, the company has now raised $250 million, per Crunchbase.

3. (tied) OneTrust, $150M, compliance: Down rounds have become a reality for many startups as the venture market has slowed, especially those that have been minted unicorns. Atlanta-based OneTrust became one of the latest startups to raise a down round, as it locked up a $150 million round led by new investor Generation Investment Management — a firm co-founded by former Vice President Al Gore — with participation from existing investor Sands Capital at a $4.5 billion valuation. The valuation represents about a 12% drop from the $5.1 billion valuation the privacy and security startup garnered after it raised a Series C in late 2020 and an extension in 2021. OneTrust helps companies manage privacy, security and governance requirements in the ever-changing regulatory environment. Other large private companies such as Klarna and Stripe also have raised down rounds as the venture market has continued to slow since its highs of 2021. Founded in 2016, OneTrust says it has now raised more than $1 billion.

3. (tied) Kriya Therapeutics, $150M, biotech: Again, a biotech startup raises big (and it won’t be the last one on the list). Palo Alto, California-based Kriya Therapeutics announced the addition of more than $150 million in capital committed as part of its Series C. That brings the total for the round to more than $430 million. Patient Square Capital led the Series C. The startup is developing gene therapies for a range of conditions including those involving ophthalmology and metabolic disease. Founded in 2019, the company says it has now raised more than $600 million.

6. o9 Solutions, $116M, enterprise software: Like Skims, o9 Solutions locked up a nice chunk of cash in January 2022 and got another shot of growth capital this week. The Dallas-based startup, which offers cloud-based solutions that help companies with planning and operations, raised a $116 million round led by General Atlantic’s Beyond Net Zero fund. The new investment values o9 at $3.7 billion, up from $2.7 billion since its $295 million round a year-and-a-half ago. Founded in 2009, the company has raised $533 million, per Crunchbase.

7. AppHub, $95M, e-commerce: E-commerce is only growing as more people buy things digitally. New York-based AppHub helps merchants make those sales happen with its e-commerce enablement platform, and last month it raised $95 million from PSG to help even more. AppHub’s platform helps merchants across a variety of e-commerce sites, including Shopify and BigCommerce. The company also announced it acquired Boost, an AI-powered search tool. Founded in 2021, the company has raised $155 million, per Crunchbase.

8. SpyGlass Pharma, $90M, biotech: More biotech, as Aliso Viejo, California-based SpyGlass Pharma locked up a $90 million Series C led by RA Capital Management. The ophthalmic therapeutics company has developed a system that helps deliver medical therapy to address glaucoma management as well as other chronic ophthalmic diseases when implanted at the time of cataract surgery. Founded in 2019, the firm has raised nearly $110 million, according to Crunchbase data.

9. (tied) Avnos, $80M, environmental engineering: Carbon storage and removal is big business and popular in venture right now. Los Angeles-based Avnos became one of the latest in the space to raise big cash, signing “multi-year strategic and investment partnerships” worth more than $80 million with ConocoPhillips, JetBlue Ventures and Shell Ventures. The company has developed a “hybrid direct air capture” unit for carbon dioxide removal. Avnos expects to deliver commercial-ready HDAC units by the end of 2025. This is the first disclosed round, per Crunchbase, for the company founded in 2021.

9. (tied) Crossbow Therapeutics, $80M, biotech: Are you getting the idea it was a big month for biotech? Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Crossbow Therapeutics joined the hit parade after raising an $80 million Series A funding round led by MPM Capital and Pfizer Venture Investments. The company is developing antibody therapies to treat a broad range of cancers. Founded in 2021, this is the company’s first announced funding, per Crunchbase.

Big global deals

While U.S.-based startups saw some big cash, the biggest round went to a broadband company across the pond.

• London-based Nexfibre, a fiber-to-the-home broadband company, raised a $1.8 billion equity round.

Methodology

We tracked the largest rounds in the Crunchbase database that were raised by U.S.-based companies in July. Although most announced rounds are represented in the database, there could be a small time lag as some rounds are reported late.

Illustration: Dom Guzman