Good day. Even though it’s a venture capitalist’s job to work on the frontier of technology, techniques for getting them through the challenges of the workday aren’t always so advanced.

In WSJ Pro VC’s first installment of "VC Life,” in which we will seek VC input on an array of topics both in and out of the investing arena, we asked investors for their input on ways they have sought to stay sane during the video-call deal-making frenzy of the last couple years. While venture capitalists have been famous for wonky work/life hacks, the responses we got were a little less than cutting edge. 

• Neil Sequeira, founder and partner of Defy, said what he does after the last person has left the office is key for him. “I turn the Sonos way up–really loud.” He blares ’90s alternative rock such as Pearl Jam or Nirvana as he cranks through emails and other work. “Subliminally probably takes me back to a more simple time.”
   
• Adeyemi Ajao, managing partner at Base10 Partners, said he became a father during the pandemic and putting his eight-month-old daughter on his electric piano to walk over the keys and make music puts him in the right mood for the next Zoom call.
   
• Clara Brenner, managing partner of Urban Innovation Fund, said: “I write most of my work emails at night after my kid goes to sleep, and schedule-send them to go out the following day so people think I am an amazing early riser.”

And now on to the news...

New growth fund. GTCR didn’t have to go far to round up $2 billion for a new fund strategy focused on smaller deals, WSJ Pro’s Preeti Singh reports. The Chicago-based private-equity firm raised the GTCR Strategic Growth Fund by relying exclusively on relationships with investors that backed its latest main buyout fund, which closed with $7.5 billion in investor commitments in 2020, according to Collin Roche, co-chief executive and managing director at the firm.

• Mr. Roche said the firm focused on raising the growth fund through existing limited partner relationships rather than marketing to new ones, thanks partly to the strong support the firm has received from existing LPs over the years.
   
• The new fund aims to make investments of less than $200 million in companies from sectors that GTCR already invests in through its other funds, according to Mr. Roche. The sectors include financial technology and services, technology, media and telecommunications, healthcare and growth business services.

Generation Z doesn’t know a world without mobile banking. And that presents opportunities—and challenges—for financial-technology companies, The Wall Street Journal reports. Millennials ushered in the era of financial technology as we know it by embracing payment apps like Venmo and investing platforms like Robinhood and Acorns. But Gen Z grew up immersed in that technology—and they won’t be attracted by ease and novelty the way earlier generations were. They don’t want products that are designed for masses of users. Instead, they are looking for highly personalized experiences. Fintech companies are rushing to fill those needs with curated and individualized products.

Supply-chain software provider o9 Solutions Inc. has raised a new round of private funding that has more than doubled the Dallas-based company’s value to $2.7 billion in less than two years, WSJ Pro’s Laura Cooper reports. O9 said it received a $295 million equity investment from growth-equity firm General Atlantic, its climate-focused investment strategy BeyondNetZero and Generation Investment Management, a sustainability investor co-founded by former Vice President Al Gore. The latest funding comes as more companies focus on supply-chain initiatives. O9 provides planning and management software that uses artificial intelligence and algorithms to help companies assess and manage their end-to-end supply chains. This includes estimating demand, analyzing financial operations and communicating with various supply chain stakeholders, such as suppliers.

Funds

Deloitte Canada launched Deloitte Ventures, its new venture-capital initiative, with an investment of 150 million Canadian dollars (about $119 million). The new vehicle will make minority investments in emerging Canadian technology companies.

People

German micro mobility startup Dance appointed Tobias Jordan as the startup’s first chief financial officer. He joins the company from Credit Suisse. Dance is backed by investors including BlueYard Capital, HV Capital and Eurazeo.

Atomwise Inc., which uses artificial intelligence to help academic and commercial scientists discover new medicines, named David Thomson as chief scientific officer and Jonathan Barr as chief financial officer. Mr. Thomson was previously chief operating officer and chief development officer at Precision BioSciences. Mr. Barr joins Atomwise from Bridge Bio, where he was vice president of finance and operations. San Francisco-based Atomwise has raised over $174 million from investors including B Capital Group, AME Cloud Ventures, Baidu Ventures and DCVC.

Exits

Cybersecurity startup Vectra AI Inc. acquired Siriux Security Technologies, an identity and software-as-a-service posture management provider, for an undisclosed amount. Last April, San Jose, Calif.-based Vectra said it raised a $130 million funding round led by Blackstone Group Inc.’s growth investment arm, with additional support from TCV, Khosla Ventures and Accel.

Cultivated meat, poultry and seafood startup Upside Foods Inc. acquired cultivated seafood company Cultured Decadence for an undisclosed sum. Berkeley, Calif.-based Upside Foods, which was formerly known as Memphis Meats, has raised over $200 million in funding from investors including Norwest Venture Partners, SoftBank Group and Temasek Holdings. Cultured Decadence, of Madison, Wis., had secured a small amount of funding from Bluestein Ventures, Revolution's Rise of the Rest Seed Fund, gener8tor and others.

Canadian background screening provider Certn purchased U.K.-based peer Credence for an undisclosed amount. Certn is backed by investors including Tribe Capital, Preface Ventures, Moxxie Ventures, Weekend Fund, Scribble Ventures and Inovia Capital.

Plenty Unlimited Inc., a South San Francisco, Calif.-based indoor vertical-farming startup, secured $400 million in Series E funding. One Madison Group and JS Capital Management led the round, which included participation from SoftBank Vision Fund 1. Walmart Inc. also invested in the round as part of a partnership with Plenty aimed at bringing fresh produce to the retail giant year-round.

Dremio, a Santa Clara, Calif.-based startup offering data-analytics services to businesses, picked up $160 million in Series E funding led by Adams Street Partners, giving the company a $2 billion valuation. Additional new investors StepStone Group and DTCP also contributed to the round, alongside previous backers Sapphire Ventures, Insight Partners, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Norwest Venture Partners and Cisco Investments.

SparkCognition Inc., an Austin, Texas-based provider of artificial-intelligence software for businesses, closed a $123 million Series D round, giving the company a valuation of more than $1.4 billion. Investors included March Capital, Doha Venture Capital, B. Riley Venture Capital, AEI Horizon X and Temasek Holdings.

Domestika Inc., a Berkeley, Calif.-based online community learning platform for creatives, completed a $110 million Series D round, bringing the company’s valuation up to $1.3 billion. Zeev Ventures led the new funding, which included support from GSV Ventures and others.

InstaDeep, a London-based startup that delivers AI-powered decision-making systems for the enterprise, grabbed $100 million in Series B financing. Led by Alpha Intelligence Capital and CDIB, the round included support from BioNTech, Deutsche Bahn’s DB Digital Ventures, Google and G42.

Wandelbots, a Germany-based robotics-software startup, nabbed more than $84 million in Series C financing. Insight Partners led the round, with Principal Philine Huizing joining the company’s board. Additional investors in the round included 83North, Microsoft, Next47, Paua Ventures, Atlantic Labs and EQT.

Darwinbox, an India-based developer of human-resources software, raised $72 million in Series D funding at a valuation of more than $1 billion. TCV led the investment, which saw additional contributions from Salesforce Ventures, Sequoia Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners and others.

Hunters, a Tel Aviv- and Newton, Mass.-based cybersecurity startup, fetched a $68 million Series C round. Lead investor Stripes was joined by DTCP, Cisco Investments, Databricks, YL Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners, M12, U.S. Venture Partners, Blumberg Capital and Snowflake Ventures in the funding.

Cheetah, a Pleasanton, Calif.-based platform enabling independent restaurants to order wholesale food and supplies for next-day delivery, closed a $60 million Series C round. Manna Tree Partners and Sator Grove Holdings co-led the investment, which saw participation from Lineage Logistics, Grupo Nutresa, Eclipse Ventures and Hanaco.

SavvyMoney Inc., a Pleasanton, Calif.-based consumer-credit-score provider, obtained a $45 million investment led by Spectrum Equity, with additional participation from TransUnion. Adam Margolin, managing director at Spectrum Equity, will join the board.

Passport, an international shipping carrier for e-commerce brands, secured a $39 million Series B round led by TCV.

• Chip shortage leaves U.S. companies dangerously low on semiconductors, report says
   
• TSMC overtakes Chinese tech giants to become Asia’s most valuable stock
   
• GM plans multibillion-dollar EV push with Michigan plants
   
• Google overhauls cookie replacement plan after privacy critiques
   
• SAT changes will make exam shorter, simpler and digital
   
• Marc Jacobs web glitch listed $300 handbags as free

• Employers shower recruiters with better pay, benefits (The Information)
   
• Can AI teach us how to become more emotionally intelligent? (Harvard Business Review)
   
• After selling two software start-ups for over $1 billion, founder turns his focus to green hydrogen (CNBC)

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 and Marc Vartabedian.

Follow us on Twitter: @wsjvc, @ychernova, @BrianPGormley, @marcvarta.