The Crunchbase News Briefing: Fri., Sept. 11

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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Opendoor eyes public market debut through SPAC merger

San Francisco-based unicorn Opendoor, operator of an online marketplace aimed at streamlining the buying and selling of homes, is the latest heavily funded private company to eye a public offering through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). [Read more here.]

Funding Rounds

• EverC raises $35M to fight money laundering: Evercompliant, a startup providing tools to detect and prevent money laundering through online transactions, has raised $35 million in Series B funding.  The Tel Aviv-based company is also rebranding, changing its name to EverC.
• Replicant dials up $27M for AI-powered calls: Replicant, a startup with a voice AI for customer call centers, said Thursday that it had raised $27 million in Series A funding led by Norwest Venture Partners. Returning investors Bloomberg Beta, Costanoa Ventures and Atomic also joined, as did State Farm Ventures. Norwest partner Scott Beechuk also joins the Replicant board along with the latest raise, which brings the startup’s funding to date to $36 million.
• Sunday raises $9M to grow in Southeast Asia: Insurtech company Sunday announced a $9 million pre-series B bridge round led by SCB 10X, with participation from Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia and India, Quona Capital and LINE Ventures. The Thailand-based company plans to grow in its home country and Indonesia while also further developing its Sunday Service app offering health and motor insurance products and services.

New Funds

Santander spins off Mouro Capital: Spanish banking giant Santander is spinning off its fintech venture investment arm under the new name Mouro Capital. Santander will remain Mouro Capital’s sole investor, doubling its current commitment to $400 million in allotted funds.

Mergers and Acquisitions

China said to oppose sale of TikTok’s U.S. operations: Beijing reportedly opposes a forced sale of TikTok’s U.S. operations by its Chinese owner ByteDance. Chinese officials would prefer to see the short video app shut down in the United States, according to a Reuters report citing three people with direct knowledge of the matter.

Nubank, a digital bank based in São Paulo, Brazil, said it acquired digital investment platform Easynvest, providing Nubank with entry into the country’s investment market. This is Nubank’s third acquisition in 2020, which included North Carolina information systems company Cognitect and software development consultancy, Plataformatec.

Illustration: Dom Guzman