Thursday, 3/7/2024: VC Funded Companies

TikTok’s pressure campaign backfires, Instagram wins in new-app downloads, and the drama at Klarna continues - curated from the StrictlyVC Newsletter

Massive Fundings

Alumis, a three-year-old San Francisco startup that is developing oral therapies designed to address immune dysfunction, raised a $259 million Series C round co-led by Samsara BioCapital, venBio Partners, and previous investor Foresite Capital, with Cormorant Asset Management, SR One, Lilly Asia Ventures, Nextech, Ally Bridge Group, HBM Healthcare Investments, Omega Funds, and Piper Heartland Healthcare as well as previous backer AyurMaya also piling on.

Todyl, a nine-year-old Denver startup that consolidates multiple security tools into one system primarily for SMBs, raised a $50 million Series B round led by Base10 Partners, with Anthos Capital, Tech Operators, and StoneMill Ventures also contributing.

Zama, a four-year-old Paris startup that specializes in cryptography that allows computation on encrypted data without needing to decrypt it, raised a $73 million Series A round co-led by Multicoin Capital and Protocol Ventures, with Metaplanet, Blockchange Ventures, VSquared, and Stake Capital also participating.

Big-But-Not-Crazy-Big Fundings

Betr Holdings, a two-year-old Miami startup cofounded by influencer Jake Paul whose platform allows users to engage in fantasy sports and micro-betting, focusing on real-time events within sports games, raised a $15 million round at a $375 million valuation. The deal was co-led by Harmony Partners and 10x Capital, with Fuel Venture Capital, Aliya Capital Partners, and Eberg Capital also pitching in. The company has raised a total of $100 million.

Neural Propulsion Systems, a seven-year-old startup based in Pleasanton, CA, that develops radar technology for autonomous vehicles, raised a $17.5 million Series B round led by Cota Capital, with GM Ventures and RTX Ventures also investing.

Remofirst, a three-year-old San Francisco startup whose platform is designed to help companies with hiring and managing remote teams globally, handling tasks like payroll, compliance, and visa services, raised a $25 million Series A round led by Octopus Ventures, with previous investors QED, Mouro Capital, and Counterpart Ventures also taking part.

Smaller Fundings

Chamber Cardio, a startup based in Washington, DC, that offers cardiology practices technology and support for patient management and revenue generation, raised an $8 million seed round led by General Catalyst, with AlleyCorp, Company Ventures, American Family Ventures, and City Light also stepping up.

Cogna, a one-year-old London startup that is using generative AI to create custom software defined by user requirements, particularly focusing on procurement, planning, and physical asset management, raised a $4.9 million round led by Hoxton Ventures, with Notion Capital and Octopus First Cheque Fund also anteing up.

Cosmology, a San Francisco startup that provides tools and resources to simplify the development of web3 applications in the Cosmos ecosystem, raised a $5 million seed round. Galileo and Lemniscap co-led the investment, with additional participation from Dispersion, Hashkey, Tuesday Capital, the Osmosis Foundation, Chorus One, and Informal Systems.

EcomID, a one-year-old Stockholm startup that aims to help online retailers reduce product returns by guiding customers to make purchases they are more likely to keep, raised a $3.6 pre-seed round led by CapitalT, with previous investor H&M Group Ventures also chipping in.

Fluent, a London startup that integrates and interprets various types of business data, including sales, marketing, customer interactions, and financial metrics, raised a $7.5 million seed round. Investors included Hoxton Ventures and Tiferes Ventures.

Kuts Orbital, a two-year-old startup based in Turin, Italy, founded by Ukrainian space industry veterans that develops technology for satellite servicing, including extending satellite life, safely de-orbiting satellites, removing space debris, and conducting inspections in orbit, raised a $4 million seed round led by OTB Ventures and including Credo Ventures, Galaxia, In-Q-Tel, and Inovo.

Nextron, a three-year-old São Paulo startup that provides a subscription-based service that connects consumers and businesses in Brazil to renewable energy sources, raised a $5.3 million Series A round co-led by Vox Capital and Copel Ventures.

Thryve.Earth, a two-year-old Singapore startup that has designed a platform to connect stakeholders to develop forestry-based carbon projects, raised a $2.6 million round led by Openspace, with previous investor Capital Code also joining in.

Coda.io: Your all-in-one collaborative workspace. Bring teams and tools together for a more organized work day.

Airtable: The fastest way to build apps. Empower your team to work faster and more confidently than ever before.

Privacy: Protect Your Payments and Keep Free Trials Free. Shop privately and securely. Pay with virtual Privacy Cards that shield your card info.

Becomes a Seller on TeePublic. Upload a design, a title and descriptions. Get a share of all sales.