Axios Pro Rata: Crypto contagion

Plus, a food truck unicorn. | Tuesday, June 14, 2022

Open in app View in browser     Axios Pro Rata By Dan Primack · Jun 14, 2022 Look ahead: Elon Musk on Thursday will take questions from Twitter employees, as part of Twitter's weekly all-hands meeting.     Top of the Morning Illustration: Natalie Peeples/Axios   Crypto managed to have a worse Monday than did stocks, despite the S&P 500 returning to bear territory. Layoffs at Coinbase and Crypto.com, asset price collapses and customer withdrawal suspensions from crypto lender Celsius and crypto exchange Binance. Why it matters: The crypto industry, known for its technical decentralization, felt intimately interconnected. Like a set of opaque dominos that would have been at home on Wall Street in the late aughts. That was the backdrop for an Axios event held earlier this morning in D.C., focused on investing in the crypto sector (replay here). Some takeaways: Katherine Wu, a venture partner with Archetype, suggested that consumer-facing crypto deals are falling out of favor, while infrastructure deals remain hot Expect a decrease in corporate VC investment from the crypto sector itself, as balance sheets get stressed. CFTC commissioner Christy Goldsmith Romero spent the past decade overseeing TARP, and says that regulators again have too many areas in which they don't have oversight or visibility. She hopes Congress will close those "gaps," and argues that investors will be hurt if it does not. Each of our three speakers, including Rep. Darren Soto (D-Fla.), was top-line positive about the bill proposed last week by Sens. Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Lummis (R-Wy.), but none had yet dug into its details. Soto called crypto regulation a "top 10" priority of his. All speakers also all stressed the need for more investor education. The bottom line: Everyone seems confident that crypto will weather its latest winter, but that it might look much different after the thaw.     The BFD Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios   Wonder, a "cloud kitchen on wheels" company led by Marc Lore, raised $350 million led by Bain Capital Ventures at around a $3.5 billion valuation, per the WSJ. Why it's the BFD: This is a giant investment in a moonshot meal delivery startup, which is exactly the sort of thing that would seem to be out of fashion right now. For the investors, that means it will be on their professional epitaphs, for better (brave contrarians) or worse (profligate dullards). Other investors include Accel, NEA, General Catalyst and Forerunner Ventures. The company previously raised $400 million in equity funding and around $100 million in debt. The bull case, per a source familiar, is a repeat founder with scaling experience, perpetual licenses with big-name chefs like Bobby Flay and tech innovation around the food trucks themselves. The bottom line: "Wonder aims to build a network of truck-based restaurants that can cook hot curbside meals drawn from chef-driven menus. That model also allows Wonder to deliver food to homes." — Sarah Nassauer, WSJ     Venture Capital Deals 🌎 EcoVadis, a Paris-based sustainability data provider, raised $500m. Astorg and General Atlantic co-led, and were joined by GIC and Princeville Capital. http://axios.link/ig0U • CoachHub, a German digital coaching platform, raised $200m in Series C funding. Sofina and SoftBank co-led, and were joined by Molten Ventures, Silicon Valley Bank/SVB Capital, HV Capital, Signal Ventures Capital and Speedinvest. http://axios.link/yDVp 🚑 Capital Rx, a New York-based pharmacy benefit manager, raised $106m in Series C funding. B Capital led, and was joined by General Catalyst and insiders Transformation Capital and Edison Partners. https://cap-rx.com 🚑 Proximie, a London-based telehealth platform for surgery assistance, raised $80m in Series C funding. Advent Life Sciences led, and was joined by Emerson Collective, SoftBank, British Patient Captial, Mubadala, Minderoo Foundation and insiders F-Prime Capital, Eight Roads, Questa Capital, Global Ventures and Maverick Ventures. www.proximie.com • TestGorilla, an Amsterdam-based job skills assessment startup, raised $70m in Series A funding co-led by Atomico and Balderton Capital. http://axios.link/fydx • Prenda, a Mesa, Ariz.-based micro-schools startup, raised $20m in Series B funding led by Seven Seven Six. http://axios.link/QWsV • Cleveland Kitchen, a fermented foods startup, raised $19m in Series A funding led by Amberstone. http://axios.link/2f0j • Kinly, a neobank focused on Black millennial women, raised $15m in Series A funding, per Axios Pro. Forerunner Ventures led, and was joined by Point 72, Anthemis Group and Kapor Capital. 🚑 Molecule, a DAO platform for funding medical research projects, raised $13m in seed funding. Northpond Ventures led, and was joined by Backed VC, Shine Capital, Speedinvest and Balaji Srinivasan. http://axios.link/glXL • Clausematch, a London-based provider of policy and compliance management automation software for regulated industries, raised $10.8m. Lytical Ventures led, and was joined by Flashpoint and Sony Innovation Fund. www.clausematch.com • Collaborative Robotics, a startup led by ex-Amazon robotics engineer Brad Porter, raised $10m. Neo led, and was joined by Khosla Ventures, Calibrate VC and 1984 Ventures. http://axios.link/6YnU 🚑 Cara Care, a Berlin-based digital gut health startup, raised $7m. Schär AG led, and was joined by insiders Sabadell Asabys and Johnson & Johnson Innovation. http://axios.link/rptQ • Swoop, a London-based SME financing startup, raised £5.4m in Series A funding from Velocity, Arab Bank Ventures, IAG and WeHo Ventures. http://axios.link/SEjV 🌎 Terra.do, a Stanford, Calif.-based climate career platform, raised $5m in seed funding led by Avaana Capital. www.terra.do • Knit, an Austin, Texas-based consumer insights platform for brands, raised $3.6m in seed funding. Silicon Road Ventures led, and was joined by Bread and Butter Ventures, Alumni Ventures, Bootstrappers.mn, Operate Studio and TiE Global Angels. www.goknit.com     A message from Axios Get $200 off your Axios Pro subscription     Axios Pro delivers exclusive reporting and analysis on the biggest deals shaping your industry. Why it matters: Axios Pro reporters have access to industry contacts and information you won't find anywhere else. Pro subscribers get their scoops first. Use code PRO200 at checkout to get $200 off your subscription..     Private Equity Deals • Allied Industrial Partners invested in Waste Eliminator, a solid waste and recycling company operating in and around Atlanta. www.wasteeliminator.com • Apollo agreed to buy Cardenas Markets, an Ontario, Calif.-based grocery retailer focused on Hispanic consumers, from KKR. Cardenas will be merged with existing Apollo portfolio company Tony's Fresh Market. www.cardenasmarkets.com • Bow River Capital invested in One10, a Minneapolis-based provider of incentive and loyalty marketing solutions. www.one10marketing.com • Genstar Capital invested in AmeriLife Group, a Clearwater, Fla.-based life and health insurance distributor-based backed by Thomas H. Lee Partners. www.amerilife.com • Hawksmoor Investment Management, a portfolio company of Carlyle, agreed to buy smaller British wealth manager Gore Browne, per Bloomberg. http://axios.link/Vd90 🌎 Quadrant Private Equity approached Australian burger and juice bar operator Retail Zoo about an acquisition, per The Australian, although the Bain Capital-backed company continues to pursue an IPO. www.retailzoo.com.au • Serent Capital invested in BW Events, a Gilbert, Ariz.-based managed services and tech consultant for the events industry. www.bweventstech.com • Shadowbox Studios, an Atlanta-based soundstage operator majority owned by Commonwealth Asset Management, raised $500m from Silver Lake. www.shadowboxstudios.com 🚑 Sverica invested in SG Homecare, a provider of medical equipment, prosthetics and orthotics in California. www.sgdme.com     SPAC Stuff 🚑 Blade Therapeutics, a South SF-based developer of anti-fibrotic therapies, and Biotech Acquisition Co. (Nasdaq: BIOT) mutually agreed to cancel their proposed merger. Blade has raised over $130 million from firms like MPM Capital, Pfizer Ventures and Deerfield Management. http://axios.link/6VkZ • Black Dragon Acquisition I, a tech SPAC led by Louis Hernandez (Black Dragon Capital), withdrew registration for a $250m IPO. http://axios.link/CKRf • Forest Acquisition, a SPAC led by Ming Zhang (CCIS Securities), filed for a $66m IPO. http://axios.link/3Trc     Liquidity Events 🚑 Court Square Partners is seeking a buyer for Lincoln, Neb.-based pharma services company Celerion, per Axios Pro. http://axios.link/6KKE 🚑 Hg agreed to sell German healthcare software firm MediFox for $1b to ResMed (NYSE: RMD). http://axios.link/QNhL • ITV (LSE: ITV) agreed to buy a 79.5% stake in Plimsoll Productions, a maker of natural history shows like Disney's "Hostile Planet," for £103.5m in cash from LDC and founder Grant Mansfield. http://axios.link/3tbV     More M&A • Funko (Nasdaq: FNKO) acquired Mondo, a subsidiary of Alamo Drafthouse Cinema known for its limited-edition vinyl records and screen-printed posters. http://axios.link/2THq ⚡Harold Hamm offered to buy the 17% stake he doesn't already own in Continental Resources (NYSE: CLR), the shale producer he founded, at a $25.41b enterprise value. http://axios.link/O36n     Fundraising • Act Venture Capital of Ireland raised €140m for its sixth fund. www.actventure.capital • APG, the giant Dutch pension fund, is selling a portfolio of private equity LP stakes valued at around €2b, per Buyouts. http://axios.link/HlrE • Amplify Partners, a Menlo Park-based enterprise tech VC firm, raised $700m for its fifth flagship and select funds. www.amplifypartners.com • Dynasty, a new pro sports investment firm co-led by Jonathan Nelson (Providence Equity) and Don Cornwell (PJT Partners), per the NY Times. • Sequoia India raised $2b for an India VC fund and $850m for a Southeast Asia fund. http://axios.link/WTo8 • Victory Park Capital raised $2.4b for an asset-backed opportunistic credit fund. www.victoryparkcapital.com 🚑 Wavemaker 360, a Pasadena, Calif.-based health care VC firm, raised $64m for its second fund. www.wavemaker360.com     It's Personnel • Bill Berutti, former CEO of Plex Systems, joined Clayton, Dubilier & Rice as an operating advisor. www.cdr-inc.com     Final Numbers Data: FactSet; Chart: Axios Visuals     A message from Axios Get $200 off your Axios Pro subscription     Axios Pro delivers exclusive reporting and analysis on the biggest deals shaping your industry. Why it matters: Axios Pro reporters have access to industry contacts and information you won't find anywhere else. Pro subscribers get their scoops first. Use code PRO200 at checkout to get $200 off your subscription..   ✅ Thanks for reading Axios Pro Rata! Please ask your friends, colleagues and food truck drivers to sign up. Go deeper with Axios Pro: Deals, featuring hyper-relevant news and analysis across PE, VC and M&A.   Axios thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters. If you're interested in advertising, learn more here. Sponsorship has no influence on editorial content. Axios, 3100 Clarendon B‌lvd, Suite 1300, Arlington VA 22201   You received this email because you signed up for newsletters from Axios. Change your preferences or unsubscribe here.   Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up now to get Axios in your inbox.   Follow Axios on social media: