Dynamic Business brings you the key startup fundraising rounds from this week:
Gemini raises $400m in equity funding, now valued at $7.1b
Gemini, a cryptocurrency platform, announced a $400 million growth equity round led by Morgan Creek Digital, with participation from 10T, ParaFi, Newflow Partners, Marcy Venture Partners, and the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, among others.
The corporation is valued at $7.1 billion in this round. Gemini, founded in 2015 by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, has risen to become one of the world’s biggest cryptocurrency platforms.
In addition to buying, selling, and storing crypto, Gemini helps investors earn, spend, and learn about crypto, as well as create and collect non-fungible tokens (or NFTs) on Nifty Gateway, a wholly-owned NFT platform.
Airwallex valuation reaches US$5.5b with additional Series E1 raise
Airwallex, one of the world’s fastest-growing financial platforms, has raised an additional $100 million in a Series E1 fundraising round.
This new fundraising brings Airwallex’s valuation to $5.5 billion, and it comes only a month after the business announced an oversubscribed Series E round to accelerate its global expansion plans. This current round brings Airwallex’s overall Series E funding to US$300 million, with a total of US$802 million raised.
Airwallex’s Series E1 investment round was once again oversubscribed, owing to the company’s outstanding third-quarter underlying business performance and momentum.
Lone Pine Capital remained the lead investor in this round, along with other existing investors such as 1835i Ventures, ANZ’s venture capital partner, and Sequoia Capital China.
Montu Medical cannabis breaks crowdfunding records
Australia’s medicinal cannabis prescribers, who have seen a 10-fold rise in business in the last year, have once again broken equity crowdfunding records. Australia’s highest total to date, and the second-fastest of all time.
Montu’s share offer went online on the Birchal crowdfunding platform and was immediately met by keen investors who exhausted the maximum before the public offer round. As a result of 2020 and 2021’s successful raises, totalling $5.5million
Giant Leap sets a $50m target for the second fund, raises an additional $19.2m
Giant Leap, Australia’s top early-stage impact investment business, has set a $50 million objective for its second fund, Giant Leap II, while also gaining additional investment from NRMA and Evans & Partners clients. Giant Leap has now raised more than $35 million since the first introduction of their second fund.
A total fund size of $50 million would more than triple the size of the firm’s first fund. Giant Leap, Australia’s top early-stage impact investment business, has set a $50 million objective for its second fund, Giant Leap II, while also gaining additional investment from NRMA and Evans & Partners clients.
Building on the initial launch of their second fund, Giant Leap has now raised over $35 million.
Podium raises $201m in Series D Funding
Podium, a communication and payments platform for local businesses, announced that it has raised $201 million in Series D funding, led by YC Continuity and joined by Durable Capital Partners, Arpex Capital, Accel, Album VC, IVP, Sapphire Ventures, Summit Partners, and Sorenson Capital.
With this current investment, the company’s valuation has risen to more than $3 billion. Podium’s expansion to connect more local companies around the world will be supported by further finance, as well as deeper investments to build out its payments, communications, and marketing technology.
WSO2 Secures $90 Million in Growth Capital from Goldman Sachs Asset Management
WSO2, a leader in digital transformation technologies, announced the closing of a $90 million loan from client vehicles handled by Goldman Sachs Asset Management Private Credit.
The flexible funding solution will be used to accelerate WSO2’s global business expansion, fuel the expansion of the company’s global partner network, and support the implementation of its next-generation, cloud-native solutions for securely providing APIs, apps, and digital services.
WSO2 will invest in increasing the features and community around Ballerina, the open-source language that drastically simplifies how developers build and deploy cloud-native applications, in addition to supporting the company’s commercial solutions.
Digital customer journey platform EasySend raises USD$50.5m
EasySend, a no-code digital customer journey platform, has raised $50.5 million in Series B funding led by Oak HC/FT. Existing investors Vertex IL, Intel Capital, and Hanaco Venture joined the round as well. Silicon Valley Bank also provided the company with $5 million in venture debt.
The announcement comes after a year of rapid development in which the company more than tenfold increased its US revenues by helping leading insurance, banking, and credit unions. The funding will help EasySend speed its growth in the United States and other geographic regions, as well as support its expansion into new verticals.
Zoomo raises $80m to lead commercial e-bike industry
Zoomo, the world leader in electric last-mile delivery vehicles, said that it has acquired a USD $60 million/AUD $80 million capital raising led by Australian venture capital firm Grok Ventures to accelerate its aim of transitioning every urban delivery mile to light electric vehicles (e-bikes, e-cargo, e-moped). As a new investor, Grok Ventures led the stock raise.
Atlassian Co-Founder Mike Cannon-Brookes and his wife Annie run the investing firm Grok. Skip Capital, the investment firm of Atlassian’s other Co-Founder Scott Farquhar, and ArcTern Ventures, a worldwide CleanTech investor, joined Grok.
The Series B investment was substantially oversubscribed, and existing investors AirTree Ventures, the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC), Contrarian Ventures, and Maniv Mobility provided strong follow-on support.
Sleek launches in Australia with $14m Series A funding
Sleek, a leading platform providing incorporation and accounting services for SMEs and entrepreneurs, has announced a $14M Series A funding round led by White Star Capital and Jungle Ventures.
This brings the total capital raised by the company to $24M, and the fresh funds will be used to bolster Sleek’s tech and product development, hiring, and expand its presence in existing markets and enter new ones.
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