The Crunchbase News Briefing: Thu., Sept. 24

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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TikTok asks court to block ban

TikTok is seeking a court order to block the Trump administration from imposing a ban on its video-sharing app over alleged national security concerns.

In a Wednesday filing with a D.C. district court judge, TikTok argued that the proposed ban violates constitutional provisions for free speech and due process.

Meanwhile, TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, said it is seeking approval from Beijing for a plan to turn the short-video app into a U.S.-based company, a deal that involves partnering with Oracle and Walmart.

ChargePoint to be public company

Electric vehicle charging network ChargePoint said Thursday it will go public via an agreement with energy special purpose acquisition company Switchback Energy Acquisition Corporation (NYSE: SBE). [Read more]

Funding rounds

• Ripjar raises $37M for fintech AI: Ripjar, a U.K. fintech company founded by data scientists who formerly worked in British intelligence, has raised $36.8 million in a Series B round led by Long Ridge Equity Partners. Its AI-driven technology is used in detection of financial crimes.
• MineralTree raises $50M, closes acquisitions: Accounts payable and payments automation solution provider MineralTree announced a $50 million Series D investment round with participation from existing investors Great Hill Partners, .406 Ventures and Eight Roads Ventures. In addition to the investment, MineralTree said it closed on two acquisitions of Inspyrus and Regal Software.
• IONpath raises $18M: IONpath, a developer of ion beam imaging services announced an $18 million Series B financing led by Samsara BioCapital. New investor Bruker Corporation was also involved, as well as existing investors including Genoa Ventures, ND Capital, Paladin Partners Investments, Trancos IONpath Investors, Norwich Ventures and Vertical Venture Partners Growth Fund.
• Babson Diagnostics closes on $13.7M for blood sample analysis: Medical technology company Babson Diagnostics announced $13.7 million in cumulative Series A funding, led by Siemens Healthineers, Prism Ventures, Genesis Merchant Capital and Lago Consulting Group. Babson’s technology is designed to analyze capillary blood samples using only one-tenth the volume typically collected with venipuncture without sacrificing quality, accuracy, or menu breadth, all from a simple finger stick.
• Spectrum Labs raises $10M to identify toxic online behavior: Spectrum Labs, which provides patent-pending technology and services to consumer internet brands to help identify toxic behavior online, secured a $10 million Series A investment led by Greycroft, with participation from Wing Venture Capital, Ridge Ventures, Global Founders Capital and Super{set}.
• Omnirobotic inks $5M for factory robots: Canada-based Omnirobotic, a robotics automation startup, said it closed on a $5 million seed round to further develop and commercialize its AI platform for factory robots. Fonds de solidarité FTQ and Export Development Canada led the round, with participation from Real Ventures and a joint venture including the company’s current employees.
• CameraIQ adds $5M to Series A: Camera IQ, developing an augmented reality platform for camera marketing, said it brought it an additional $5 million in Series A funding, bringing its total funding raised to-date to over $14 million. Led by Shasta Ventures, the round also includes participation from existing investors Waverly Capital, Betaworks Ventures, Sway Ventures, as well as new investors Grand Ventures, Space Capital and Gingerbread Capital.
• Exizent secures $4.1M for bereavement platform: Exizent, a Glasgow-based technology firm, raised approximately $4.1 million from several investors, including FNZ, to build out a bereavement platform that connects data, services and the network of people involved when someone passes away so that the process is less stressful for family members experiencing loss.
• Data Gumbo closes $4M Industrial blockchain network: Data Gumbo announced the first close of $4 million for its Series B funding round led by new investor L37 with support from existing investors Equinor Ventures and Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures. GumboNet enables participants to reduce contract leakage, free up working capital, improve cash and financial management, and deliver material provenance through the deployment of blockchain-powered smart contracts.

M&A

• Snyk acquires DeepCode: Cybersecurity unicorn Snyk announced that it is acquiring Swiss startup DeepCode, a provider of machine learning-enabled code review tools, for an undisclosed sum.

Illustration: Dom Guzman