Technology Private Placement and M&A Transactions Review Week Ending October 27, 2024

Waymo: The company raised $5.6 billion of Series C venture funding in a deal led by Alphabet on October 25, 2024. Andreessen Horowitz, Perry Creek Capital, Silver Lake, Tiger Global Management, Fidelity Management & Research, and T. Rowe Price Group also participated in the round. The company is a developer of a self-driving technology designed to offer on-demand ride services.

Kneron: The company is reportedly in the process of raising $300 million of venture funding from undisclosed investors on October 22, 2024, putting the company’s pre-money valuation at $700 million. The company is a developer of an application-specific integrated circuit which offers artificial intelligence-based tools to utilize computing power.

Physical Intelligence: The company raised $300 million of venture funding from undisclosed investors on October 22, 2024, putting the company’s pre-money valuation at $1.7 billion. The company is an operator of a general-purpose AI company.

Simbe: The company raised $50 million of Series C venture funding in a deal led by Goldman Sachs Growth Equity on October 24, 2024, putting the company’s pre-money valuation at $280 million. Valo Ventures, Eclipse Ventures and other undisclosed investors also participated in the round. The company is a developer of AI and robotics software designed to automate retail store operations.

Nooks: The company raised $42.75 million of Series B venture funding in a deal led by Kleiner Perkins on October 22, 2024, putting the company’s pre-money valuation at $251.25 million. Tola Capital, Lachy Groom and other undisclosed investors also participated in the round. The company is a developer of an AI-powered dialing and prospecting platform designed to host workshops, classes, and conferences.

Genmo: The company raised $28.4 million in Series A venture funding in a deal led by New Enterprise Associates on October 22, 2024, putting the company’s pre-money valuation at $128 million. WndrCo, The House Fund, Gold House Ventures, Eastlink Capital, Essence Venture Capital, and other undisclosed investors also participated in the round. The company is a developer of an AI platform designed for creating and sharing interactive and generative art.

Granola: The company raised $20 million of Series A venture funding in a deal led by Spark Capital on October 23, 2024. Lightspeed Venture Partners, Firstminute Capital, Betaworks Ventures, Nat Friedman, Daniel Gross and other undisclosed investors also participated in the round. The company is a developer of an AI notepad application.

Genie AI: The company raised GBP 13.3 million of Series A venture funding in a deal led by GV and Khosla Ventures on October 23, 2024. Other undisclosed investors also participated in the round. The company is a developer of an AI-powered legal assistant for drafting contracts.

BlueSky: The company raised $15 million of Series A venture funding in a deal led by Blockchain Capital on October 24, 2024. SevenX Ventures, Alumni Ventures, True Ventures, Joe Beda and Amir Shevat also participated in the round. The company is a developer of a blockchain based social platform.

Aira Technologies: The company raised $11 million of venture funding from undisclosed investors on October 25, 2024. The company is a developer of a radio access network software designed to improve wireless network performance and efficiency.

Highlight: The company raised $10 million of venture funding in a deal led by General Catalyst on October 22, 2024. Conviction Embed, Medal.tv, Valor Capital Group, and SV Angel also participated in the round. The company is a developer of a generative AI platform intended to increase workplace productivity.

Lumen Orbit: The company raised $10 million of venture funding from undisclosed investors on October 24, 2024. The company is a developer of in-orbit data processing services intended to design and build a network of megawatt-scale data centers in space.

Liquid AI: The company raised an undisclosed amount of venture funding from Itochu Techno-Solutions on October 24, 2024. The company is a developer of general purpose AI systems.

Orbital Materials: The company raised an undisclosed amount of venture funding from NVentures on October 22, 2024. The company is a developer of an AI foundation model designed to offer advanced materials for new industrial processes.

Talkie.ai: The company raised an undisclosed amount of convertible debt funding from 4Growth Venture Capital, NCBR Investment Fund and Satus Starter on October 23, 2024. Anna Lankauf, Tomasz Karwatka and Piotr Karwatka also participated in the round. The company is an operator of an automation platform designed to offer multilingual telephone-based support.

Vyn: The company raised an undisclosed amount of venture funding from Octopus Ventures on October 25, 2024. The company is a developer of an augmented field intelligence platform designed for complex analog work.

5 Alarm Music / Slipstream Music: The company, a subsidiary of Anthem Entertainment, was acquired by Slipstream Music for an undisclosed amount on October 21, 2024. The company is an operator of an online music library catering to the broadcast industry.

Believe / BrandStar: The company was acquired by BrandStar for an undisclosed amount on October 21, 2024. The company is an operator of a media and event production company.

Cavendish Music / Slipstream Music: The company, a subsidiary of Anthem Entertainment, was acquired by Slipstream Music for an undisclosed amount on October 21, 2024. The company is an operator of a music production company based in London, England.

Elai.io / Panopto: The company was acquired by Panopto, via its financial sponsor K1 Investment Management, through an LBO on October 23, 2024 for an undisclosed amount. The company is a developer of an artificial intelligence-based text-to-video platform designed to make customized videos with a human-like avatar.

Emodo / OneMagnify: The company was acquired by OneMagnify, via its financial sponsor Crestview Partners, through an LBO on October 23, 2024 for an undisclosed amount. The company is an operator of an advertising marketplace designed to deliver personalized advertising targeting services.

Gamestream / Netgem: The company was acquired by Netgem for an undisclosed amount on October 24, 2024. The company is a developer of a video game streaming platform.

Grandview / Untitled Entertainment: The company was acquired by Untitled Entertainment, via its financial sponsor TPG, through an LBO on October 21, 2024 for an undisclosed amount. The company is an operator of a full-service entertainment management business based in Los Angeles, California.

Jingle Punks / Slipstream Music: The company, a subsidiary of Anthem Entertainment, was acquired by Slipstream Music for an undisclosed amount on October 21, 2024. The company is a provider of music publishing and licensing services based in New York, United States.

Kneron / Spark I Acquisition: The company reached a definitive agreement to be acquired by Spark I Acquisition through a reverse merger on October 22, 2024. The company is a developer of an application-specific integrated circuit which offers artificial intelligence-based tools to utilize computing power.

On Location Events, IMG, and PBR / TKO Group: The TKO Group reached a definitive agreement to acquire the companies in a $3.25 billion deal on October 24, 2024. On Location Events is a provider of event management and hospitality services serving the sports and entertainment industry.  IMG is a sports rights management company.  PBR is an organizer and operator of professional bull rider competitions and media broadcasts.

Parative / Totango: The company was acquired by Totango for an undisclosed amount on October 22, 2024. The company is a developer of an AI-powered customer behavior platform designed to identify the product usage signals of customers.

Postbox / eM Client: The company was acquired by eM Client for an undisclosed amount on October 22, 2024. The company is a developer of an e-mail management application designed to simplify and arrange messages.

Pronto / Atheer: The company was acquired by Atheer for an undisclosed amount on October 21, 2024. The company is a developer of a partner ecosystem management platform.

Semantic Web Company / Graphwise: The company was merged with Ontotext to form Graphwise on October 23, 2024 for an undisclosed amount. The company is an operator of a semantic AI technology intended to offer graph-based text mining, recommender systems, and data fabric service.

Yorktel / One Equity Partners: The company was acquired by One Equity Partners through an LBO on October 24, 2024 for an undisclosed amount. The company is a provider of information technology IT consultation services intended to serve the virtual video automation industry.

Source: Pitchbook Data, Inc.