Good day. Venture-capital and private-equity investors committed nearly $32 billion to companies in the energy-efficiency sector this year through Nov. 14, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence. That’s roughly double the $16 billion invested for all of last year.

The sector encompasses firms focused on energy efficiency across the board: software, energy management, smart energy, carbon emissions and others.

In August, President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law, a bill partly aimed at drastically cutting greenhouse gases and encouraging the technology advances that would make that possible. In an email to WSJ Pro VC, Anton Simunovic, chief investment officer of Alumni Ventures, said the new law “has definitely been a catalyst for a few of our recent investments in the EV [electric-vehicle] industry, particularly battery-technology startups, as EV tax credits are now tied to mineral and battery component requirements.”

In one sizeable push into the sector, investors including funds managed by Vision Ridge Partners, Keyframe Capital and Cyrus Capital in September committed roughly $1 billion to TeraWatt Infrastructure Inc., a San Francisco-based startup that is developing a network of EV charging centers.

And now on to the news ...

Concierge medicine. Venture capitalists have provided $2.7 million in seed financing to The Lanby, a startup whose membership-based model for primary care emphasizes prevention and allows patients unlimited visits with their doctors, WSJ Pro’s Brian Gormley reports. 

• The Lanby uses a care team consisting of a primary-care doctor, wellness adviser and a professional who serves as a care coordinator and patient advocate to provide members with medical and preventive care. The company launched its membership-based services in 2021.
   
• Venture firms have backed several companies providing concierge care and other high-touch services designed to make primary care more accessible and able to help patients manage or prevent illness. They include 1Life Healthcare Inc., which went public in 2020 and agreed to be acquired by Amazon.com Inc. in July.

The New Mexico State Investment Council has committed $100 million to a new venture-capital fund focused on advanced technologies that support U.S. strategic and economic interests, WSJ Pro reports. On Tuesday, the council’s investment committee approved its commitment to America’s Frontier Fund’s first vehicle, Frontier Fund I LP. The council directs investments from the state’s sovereign-wealth fund, which has assets of roughly $34 billion. The newly formed nonprofit’s inaugural fund will invest in “frontier technologies” considered “vital to the long-term economic prosperity and national security” of the country, according to a council staff report. Target sectors include microelectronics and semiconductors, advanced manufacturing, artificial intelligence, new energy sources, synthetic biology and quantum sciences.

Cryptocurrency exchange FTX, whose recent collapse has raised questions on the lack of regulatory oversight, has hired a fitting team to help untangle the mess: former senior U.S. regulators, The Wall Street Journal reports. In its first hearing in Delaware bankruptcy court on Tuesday, a lawyer representing FTX said the firm has hired former enforcement chiefs from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, now both partners at law firm Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, to help the company’s new chief executive investigate what went wrong. FTX has hired Steven Peikin, who served as co-director of the SEC enforcement division between 2017 and 2020, and James McDonald, who was director of enforcement at derivatives regulator CFTC, also from 2017 to 2020.

C-suite executives and other business leaders are planning for a period where inflation is sticky, interest rates are rising, the geopolitical landscape is fraught with tumult and the economy is slowing. Here’s a guide on how executives can navigate the challenges in corporate finance, IT, logistics and marketing. 

• Zero-Based Budgeting, Currency Hedges Among the Tools CFOs Can Use to Weather Headwinds
• CIOs Can Play Key Role in Guiding Companies Through Slowdown
• Marketers Must Be Flexible, Without Losing Identity, in Uncertain Times
• The Logistics and Supply-Chain Slowdown Has Begun. Here’s How to Take Advantage.

Exits

Publicly traded Ciena Corp., a networking systems, services and software company, agreed to acquire the remaining shares of Tibit Communications Inc. that it doesn’t currently own for approximately $210 million. Petaluma, Calif.-based Tibit, which is focused on simplifying broadband access networks through next-generation passive optical network technologies, is also backed by investors including Swisscom Ventures, Intel Capital, Ciena, Juniper Networks and Solasta Ventures.

Inflow, an app enabling people to self-manage their attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, agreed to purchase telehealth clinic Lina Health for an undisclosed amount. London-based Inflow is backed by investors including Hoxton Ventures, Y Combinator and Route 66 Ventures.

Strand Therapeutics Inc., a Boston-based programmable messenger-RNA company developing therapies for cancer and other diseases, added $45 million in Series A funding, bringing the round total to $97 million. FPV Ventures led the Series A1 round, which included participation from Eli Lilly & Co., Potentum Partners and Playground Global.

Celebal Technologies, a software consulting and delivery startup, secured a $32 million minority growth investment from Norwest Venture Partners.

Nyra Medical Inc., a developer of transcatheter mitral valve repair technology, closed a $20 million Series A round. Vensana Capital and an unnamed medical device company co-led the investment, which included additional support from Broadview Ventures, Epidarex Capital and the Georgia Research Alliance Venture Fund. Lisa Wipperman Heine was added to Nyra Medical’s board as an independent director.

UgoWork, a Canada-based provider of energy-as-a-service technology for industrial vehicles, nabbed 22.8 million Canadian dollars (about $17 million) in Series B funding. Fonds de solidarité FTQ led the round, which included participation from Export Development Canada, Desjardins Capital and Investissement Québec.

Sapia.ai, an Australia-based recruiting startup focused on diversity and inclusion, landed 17 million Australian dollars (about $11 million) in Series A funding led by Macquarie Capital and W23.

Pinata, a New York-based workforce optimization platform, closed a $10 million Series A round led by M13 and Bullpen Capital. Rob Olson of M13 and Ann Lai of Bullpen Capital will join the board.

t3rn, a multichain transaction platform, picked up a $6.5 million investment. Polychain Capital led the round, which included contributions from Blockchange, Lemniscap, D1 Ventures, Huobi Ventures, Figment Capital, Bware Labs, MEXC, Open Process Ventures and NetZero Capital.

• Judge in Elizabeth Holmes case proposes Texas prison camp for Theranos founder
   
• Musk’s Twitter takeover triggers partisan clash on government’s role
   
• iPhone factory workers clash with police at Covid-hit plant in China
   
• How crypto’s collapse may have done the economy a favor

• Meta’s game-playing AI can make and break alliances like a human (MIT Technology Review)
   
• Lawsuit takes aim at the way AI is built (New York Times)
   
• Cruise, Waymo push robotaxis amid doubts about self-driving tech (Axios)
   
• Leak details Apple’s secret dirt on a trusted security startup (Wired)

This newsletter was compiled by Marc Vartabedian 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.

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