Technology Private Placement and M&A Transactions Review Week Ending December 29, 2024

Databricks: The company raised $10 billion of Series J venture funding in a deal led by Insight Partners, GIC Private, WCM Investment Management, Thrive Capital, Andreessen Horowitz and DST Global on December 17, 2024, putting the company’s pre-money valuation at $52 billion. Sands Capital, Stripes, Lightspeed Venture Partners, ICONIQ Growth, MGX, Kleiner Perkins, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, Wellington Management, Macquarie Group, Avenir Growth Capital and Olive Hill Group also participated in the round. The company is a developer of a data analytics platform designed to offer an open and unified environment for the data and artificial intelligence sectors.

xAI: The company raised $6 billion of Series C venture funding from Valor Equity Partners, Opulentia, Sequoia Capital and Andreessen Horowitz on December 23, 2024, putting the company’s pre-money valuation at $44 billion. AJI Capital, APL Ventures, Beyond Capital, G Squared, CoreNest, Kuwait Investment Authority, Aliya Capital Partners, BlackRock, Fidelity, Kingdom Holding, Vy Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Morgan Stanley, MGXand strategic tech giants NVIDIA and AMD, Oman Investment Authority, Abstract Ventures and Qatar Investment Authority also participated in the round. The company is a developer of an artificial intelligence platform designed to accelerate human scientific discovery.

Perplexity: The company raised an estimated $500 million of venture funding in a deal led by IVP on December 18, 2024, putting the company’s pre-money valuation at an estimated $8.5 billion. Nvidia, Builders + Backers, New Enterprise Associates, B Capital, T. Rowe Price Group, and other undisclosed investors also participated in the round. The company is a developer of AI-powered information discovery tools designed for answering questions and exploring topics.

SandboxAQ: The company raised an estimated $300 million of venture funding from IQTalent Partners, Rizvi Traverse Management, and US Innovative Technology Fund on December 18, 2024, putting the company’s pre-money valuation at an estimated $5.3 billion. Avalanche Investments, Vitamin Capital, Breyer Capital, S32, Parkway Venture Capital, David Siegel, Marc Benioff, Eric Schmidt, Thomas Tull, Yann LeCun, Ava Investors, Alger, Mumtalakat and T. Rowe Price Group also participated in the round. The company is a developer of advanced quantum and AI technology intended to enhance data security and operational efficiency across various industries.

CLO: The company raised $35 million of venture funding from Atinum Investment and IMM Investment on December 16, 2024. The company is a developer of three-dimensional garment visualization software designed to streamline the design development process.

Backflip AI: The company raised $30 million of Seed and Series A venture funding in a deal led by Andreessen Horowitz and New Enterprise Associates on December 19, 2024, putting the company’s pre-money valuation at $75 million. Ashish Vaswani, Kevin Scott, Rich Miner, and other undisclosed investors also participated in the round. The company is an operator of an AI designing platform intended to pair humans and 3D generative AI.

Stack: The company raised $16 million of venture funding from undisclosed investors on December 16, 2024. The company is a developer of a no-code generative artificial intelligence platform intended to automate enterprise-grade business processes.

Moovila: The company raised $7.1 million of venture funding from undisclosed investors on December 18, 2024. The company is a developer of an artificial intelligence-based work management platform intended to automate work processes and optimize employee efficiency.

Everywhere Communications: The company raised $6.5 million of Series A-1 venture funding from undisclosed investors on December 23, 2024, putting the company’s pre-money valuation at $27.25 million. The company is a developer of a global communication platform designed to offer connectivity, safety, and situational awareness in remote or challenging environments.

Audio Up Media: The company raised $5.7 million of venture funding from Jonathan Schulman, Gillian Hormel and Glen Barros on December 17, 2024. The company is an operator of an audio-based entertainment platform.

Landbase: The company received an undisclosed amount of development capital from Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce on December 17, 2024. The company is an operator of a lead generation platform intended to automate a go-to-market using AI agents.

Syntiant: The company raised an undisclosed amount of venture funding from Khazanah Nasional on December 27, 2024. The company is a developer of neuromorphic semiconductors designed to move artificial intelligence and machine learning from the cloud to edge devices.

Downtown Music Publishing / Virgin Music UK: The company reached a definitive agreement to be acquired by Virgin Music UK, a subsidiary of EMI Group, for $775 million on December 16, 2024. The company is an operator of an independent record label and music publishing company to provide a range of music strategy, licensing and original composition services.

Aviva Links / NXP Semiconductors: The company reached a definitive agreement to be acquired by NXP Semiconductors for $242.5 million on December 17, 2024. The company is a developer of automobile connectivity technologies designed to assist next-generation autonomous driving systems.

Chengfeng Studio / Scopely: The company, a subsidiary of Gearbox Publishing, entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by Scopely, via its financial sponsor Unicorn Venture Partners, through an estimated $34.5 million LBO on December 23, 2024. The company is an operator of a video game developer studio.

Vidello / Banzai International: The company reached a definitive agreement to be acquired by Banzai International for $7 million on December 20, 2024. The company is a developer of a cloud-based video management and hosting platform designed to offer instant streaming, A/B split testing and advanced video analytics.

Celebrity Attractions / ATG Entertainment: The company was acquired by ATG Entertainment, via its financial sponsors ICG Enterprise Trust, Leumi Partners, Providence Equity Partners and Salem Capital Management, through an LBO on December 16, 2024 for an undisclosed amount. The company is an operator of a touring Broadway productions presenter located in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Cloud Media Center / PlayersTV: The company was acquired by PlayersTV for an undisclosed amount on December 20, 2024. The company is a developer of an AI-driven media distribution platform intended to let content producers, advertisers, and publishers collaborate and produce sports videos.

Instamic / Zoom: The company reached a definitive agreement to be acquired by Zoom for an undisclosed amount on December 20, 2024. The company is a manufacturer of microphones and audio recorders intended to simplify the sound recording process.

Intelligence Node / The Interpublic Group of Companies: The company was acquired by The Interpublic Group of Companies for an undisclosed amount on December 24, 2024. The company is a developer of a retail analytics platform designed to automate retail pricing strategy.

Loupe / Stingray Digital Group: The company was acquired by Stingray Digital Group for an undisclosed amount on December 23, 2024. The company is a developer of a visual content streaming platform designed to serve artists around the globe.

Love Stories TV / David’s Bridal: The company was acquired by David’s Bridal, via its financial sponsor CION Investments, through an LBO on December 17, 2024 for an undisclosed amount. The company is a developer of an online video platform designed to facilitate watching and sharing wedding films.

NexGenAI Affiliates Network / Coeptis Therapeutics Holdings: The business unit of NexGenAI Solutions Group, was acquired by Coeptis Therapeutics Holdings for an undisclosed amount on December 26, 2024. The company is an operator of a platform intended to offer AI-powered marketing tools.

Rectangle Productions / Goodfellas: The company was acquired by Goodfellas for an undisclosed amount on December 20, 2024. The company is a provider of film production services based in Paris, France.

Sensoride / Murata Manufacturing Company: The company reached a definitive agreement to be acquired by Murata Manufacturing Company for an undisclosed amount on December 20, 2024. The company is a developer of hardware platforms intended for automotive, drone, and robotics industries.

Seyond / TechStar Acquisition: The company reached a definitive agreement to acquire TechStar Acquisition through a reverse merger, resulting in the combined entity trading on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on December 23, 2024. The company is a developer of image-grade sensor systems designed for the autonomous vehicles industry.

Tignis / Cohu: The company reached a definitive agreement to be acquired by Cohu for an undisclosed amount on December 16, 2024. The company is a developer of an artificial intelligence-powered process control and monitoring technology designed to optimize semiconductor manufacturing yield and productivity.

Wanna / Perfect Corp.: The company reached a definitive agreement to be acquired by Perfect Corp. for an undisclosed amount on December 24, 2024. The company is a developer of a mobile-based augmented reality platform designed to offer a try-on service before an online purchase.

WildBrain / Island of Misfits: Island of Misfits, via its financial sponsor MEP Capital, entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the television broadcast business of WildBrain through an LBO on December 18, 2024 for an undisclosed amount. The company is an operator of a family-focused television network intended to serve engaging content for audiences of all ages.

Source: Pitchbook Data, Inc.