Good day. This week’s question: Have portfolio companies begun to scoop up new talent as a result of the big tech layoffs?

Please email responses to marc.vartabedian@wsj.com.

Last week we asked how common it is for venture investors to essentially “outsource” due diligence to a round’s lead investor.

• Amy Nauiokas, founder and co-CIO of fintech investor Anthemis Group, said: “Too common, unfortunately, and matters are made much worse when that lead investor lives and works in an echochamber of people who look and act just like them. Quality and deep due diligence is the cornerstone for making good early stage investment decisions and is an investor’s number one fiduciary responsibility.”
   
• Kevin Jacques, a partner at Cota Capital, said: “Our due diligence protocols are the same whether or not we are a lead, co-lead, or part of the broader investor syndicate. Our team may look at materials shared by another investor, but we don't rely on them."
   
• Oliver Libby, co-founder and managing partner at H/L Ventures, said: "On the one hand, there are some levels of diligence that only a lead investor will be allowed to do—multiple customer references, site visits, and other deep diligence. Smaller investors following in the round may not be able to ask for that level of access and time.” Still, that doesn’t absolve them of asking tough questions and evaluating the quality of the lead investor’s diligence process, Mr. Libby added.

And now on to the news...

Mark Cuban is now working at an online discount pharmacy. When Mark Cuban got an email in 2018 from a stranger asking if he wanted to invest in a company dedicated to bringing down the cost of prescription drugs, he replied: “Tell me more.” Today, the Dallas Mavericks owner and entrepreneur is helping steer the fledgling startup as it takes aim at high prescription drug prices and the industry middlemen who he says keeps them that way, The Wall Street Journal reports. 

• The Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Co. PBC, born from that brief email pitch from the company’s founder, Alex Oshmyansky, buys generic drugs from pharmaceutical manufacturers and sells them to patients online, rather than charging their insurance providers.
   
• By cutting out intermediaries and using a transparent pricing system, the pharmacy says it charges less than rivals: a 15% profit markup on a medicine's cost, plus several dollars in fees for shipping and labor. 
   
• Some 1.4 million people have signed up, and about 400,000 have filled at least two prescriptions from the pharmacy’s offering of 350 drugs.

Private-equity firms are making their funds available on the blockchain in an effort to reach rich investors, despite the crypto scandals that have left the technology under a cloud, WSJ Pro reports. Asset managers Hamilton Lane Inc., KKR & Co., Apollo Global Management Inc. and Partners Group Holding AG are pushing forward with efforts to market their funds on the blockchain, the technology that functions as a decentralized ledger for financial transactions. People close to the firms’ efforts estimate that the total sum raised by blockchain-based private-equity vehicles so far is perhaps around $100 million—pocket change for asset managers that command hundreds of billions of dollars in their traditional funds. The hope is that blockchain technology can unlock access to wealthy individuals, who can avoid the current cumbersome, paperwork-intensive process of investing in private funds.

The Federal Trade Commission Thursday sued Microsoft Corp. to block its planned $75 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard Inc., taking one of its biggest shots under the Biden administration at halting a merger of technology giants, WSJ reports. The lawsuit sets the stage for a court challenge over the deal as Microsoft agreed as part of negotiations with the “Call of Duty” publisher to defend the acquisition against a government lawsuit.

• Judge Hears FTC’s Bid to Block Meta from Acquiring Virtual-Reality App Maker

People

Shield Capital added Ray Rothrock as a venture partner. He was previously a general partner at Venrock.

Mobile app testing platform Kobiton Inc. appointed Sean Barry to the post of chief executive. He was previously chief operating officer at Rent. Atlanta-based Kobiton is backed by investors including Panoramic Ventures and Fulcrum Equity Partners.

Enterprise learning platform BookClub appointed Jonathan Munk as chief operating officer. He joins the company from Degreed. BookClub counts Signal Peak Ventures, GSV Ventures, Maveron and Pelion Venture Partners as backers.

Grabango, a provider of checkout-free technology for grocery and convenience stores, said Ken Fenyo joined the company as its first chief marketing officer. He was previously a senior executive at Kroger and chief executive of YOU Technology. Berkeley, Calif.-based Grabango has raised funding from Commerce Ventures, Founders Fund, Unilever Ventures, Honeywell Ventures, Wind Ventures and others.

Exits

FreeWire Technologies Inc., an electric vehicle charging and energy management services provider, acquired Mobilyze.ai, which uses artificial intelligence to help site hosts strategically place fast-charging stations to maximize their return on investment. Terms weren’t disclosed. Oakland, Calif.-based FreeWire is backed by investors including bp ventures, Octave Ventures, Gly Capital Management and Blue Bear Capital. Mobilyze.ai is listed in the portfolios of Vision Ventures and Urban-X.

­­Allica Bank, a London-based business lender, collected £100 million (about $122 million) in Series C funding. Lead investor TCV was joined by Warwick Capital Partners and Atalaya Capital Management in the round.

Sound Agriculture, an Emeryville, Calif.-based agtech startup, scored $75 million in Series D funding from investors including BMO Impact Investment Fund, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, FootPrint Coalition, Leaps by Bayer, Syngenta Group Ventures, S2G Ventures, Fall Line Capital, Cavallo Ventures and Northpond Ventures.

Customcells, a German battery cell developer looking to expand into e-aviation, raised €60 million (about $63 million) in Series A funding. World Fund led the round, which included participation from Abacon Capital, Vsquared Ventures and Porsche.

SonoThera Inc., a South San Francisco, Calif.-based gene therapy platform, closed a $60.8 million Series A round. Lead investor ARCH Venture Partners was joined by Illumina Ventures, Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC Inc., Vertex Ventures HC, Medical Excellence Capital, Eli Lilly & Co., Alexandria Venture Investments, Lifespan Investments, Formic Ventures, Foothill Ventures and Wilson Sonsini in the round.

GoBolt, a Toronto-based supply chain network, landed 75 million Canadian dollars (about $55 million) in Series C financing. Led by Yaletown Venture Partners and Export Development Canada, the round included contributions from BDC Capital, Northleaf Capital Partners, Whitecap Venture Partners, MIG Group, BMO Capital Partners and Ingka Investments.

Hunt Club Inc., a Chicago-based recruiting startup, snagged $40 million in Series B funding co-led by WestCap and Sator Grove. Brian Reinken, partner at WestCap, joined the company’s board.

Darwin CX, a provider of technology to the subscription economy, picked up a $38.4 million investment. First Ascent Ventures and Felicitas Global Partners co-led the round, which included additional support from Metropolitan Partners Group.

NeuReality, an Israel-based artificial intelligence hardware startup, grabbed a $35 million Series A round led by Samsung Ventures, Cardumen Capital, Varana Capital, OurCrowd and XT Hi-Tech.

Elastic Path, a composable commerce company, added $30 million in growth funding led by Sageview Capital.

9fin, a London-based analytics platform for debt capital markets, raised $23 million in Series A+ funding. Spark Capital led the round, with General Partner Alex Finkelstein joining the board. Redalpine, AI Seed, Seedcamp, 500 Global and Ilavska Vuillermoz Capital also invested.

Docket, a Brazil-based legaltech startup, nabbed a 110 million Brazilian real (about $20 million) Series B investment. Gerdau Next Ventures and Bradesco BBI led the investment, which saw participation from TM3 Capital, Valor Capital Group, ONEVC and Wayra.

Pactum, a Mountain View, Calif.-based business negotiation technology provider, fetched a $20 million investment. Led by 3VC, the round included contributions from NordicNinja VC, Maersk Growth, Atomico, Project A, Metaplanet and Taavet+Sten.

• Amazon launches TikTok-Style feed in push to accelerate social shopping
   
• Letter from Apple supplier Foxconn’s founder prodded China to ease zero-Covid rules
   
• SEC asks public companies for more information about crypto exposure
   
• Quebec shuns bitcoin mining in bid to conserve power
   
• Tensions grew at Salesforce between co-CEOs Benioff and Taylor ahead of leadership change
   
• More stores do double duty as distribution centers for online orders

• Union Square Ventures doubles down on climate with $200 million fund (The Information)
   
• What layoffs mean for a tech industry that already lacks diversity (VentureBeat)

This newsletter was compiled by Matthew Strozier and Zachary Cole.

WSJ Pro Venture Capital is a premium service of The Wall Street Journal. We cover venture capital and the global startup ecosystem. Share your tips, comments and questions: vcnews@wsj.com

The Team: Matthew Strozier, Yuliya Chernova, Brian Gormley, Angus Loten, Eric Sylvers and Marc Vartabedian.

Follow us on Twitter: @wsjvc