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Electric-Vehicle-Subscription Startup Onto Plans to Use New Funding to Expand Beyond U.K.
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Good day. Recent market turbulence has adjusted valuations and turned off the funding tap for some startups. But as illustrated by the latest funding round for British electric-vehicle-subscription service Onto Holdings Ltd., announced last week, money is still flowing despite recession fears, the war in Ukraine and geopolitical tensions.
Legal & General Group PLC, a U.K. financial-services company, led the round, which also included some existing investors and brought the company’s total funding to $330 million in equity and debt.
“We very much see this not just as funding for expansion, but also as a route to profitability,” said Rob Jolly, Onto’s chief executive and co-founder. “The U.K. business isn’t very far away from profitability.”
Five-year-old Onto plans to use the money to beef up in the U.K. and expand into Germany in 2023, before moving into France a year later. Italy and Spain would then follow.
Mr. Jolly said he picked Germany as the first country for foreign expansion because it is Europe’s largest car market, it has similar demographics to the U.K., and the government is incentivizing the transition to electric cars and the rollout of a national car-charging network.
Onto’s revenue and the number of cars in its fleet both rose more than sixfold last year. The company, which has more than 7,000 vehicles, operates in a crowded field that includes many startups and some car manufacturers. Most of the services have month-to-month contracts that include maintenance, insurance and a set number of miles.
The cheapest Onto subscription, for a small Renault, costs £489, equivalent to about $600. Onto offers about two dozen types of vehicles, with the top of the range—a Tesla Model 3, Jaguar I-Pace and Audi E-Tron—costing £1,299 a month.
Mr. Jolly said he’s leaving his options open for another funding round or an initial public offering in the next two to three years. He has never disclosed Onto’s valuation following previous investment rounds and declined to do so this time.
“It’s just a paper number anyway,” Mr. Jolly said. “It’s not our final destination.”
And now on to the news ...
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Stacked containers at the Port of Los Angeles last year. PHOTO: MIKE BLAKE/REUTERS
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Boosting supply-chain tech. Venture-capital firm VMG Catalyst said it has raised a $400 million fund to target startups developing supply-chain technology for retail and consumer-brand businesses, which have grappled with logistical snarls and now scorching inflation, WSJ Pro Venture Capital's Marc Vartabedian reports.
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Consumer and retail businesses that optimize supply-chain processes will be better able to combat price increases, giving them a make-or-break advantage against competitors, VMG Partner Brooke Kiley said.
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The supply-chain tech sector has been a favorite of investors over the past few years in large part due to the pandemic, which upended supply chains and left companies scrambling for solutions.
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VMG Catalyst said the fund was closed earlier this year and draws on investment from institutional investors, endowments, health systems, foundations and family offices.
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10.7 Million
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The number of seasonally adjusted job openings in June, down from 11.3 million in May, the U.S. Labor Department said.
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Airbnb Swings to Profit as Rentals Remain Strong
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Airbnb Inc. swung to a profit in the second quarter on the back of strong revenue, as people continued to book suburban rentals despite hosts raising prices, The Wall Street Journal reports. The San Francisco company posted $2.1 billion in revenue in the three months through June, up 58% from the same period last year, and in line with the average estimate of analysts polled by FactSet. Revenue was helped by customers booking a record number of nights and so-called experiences during the quarter, showing a willingness to travel even as high inflation caused consumers to cut back elsewhere.
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SoftBank Emerges as a Big Loser of the Tech Downturn. Again.
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Despite a pledge to be more restrained in his investing, given a history that included embarrassing recent flops alongside his wins, CEO Masayoshi Son and his team plowed $38 billion from SoftBank Group Corp.’s latest giant fund into more than 180 companies last year, according to SoftBank’s filings. It was the most ever by any venture-capital investor in a single year. Mr. Son bought at the top—again. Now, amid a punishing tech rout, losses are mounting, with many of SoftBank’s nearly 300 private-company holdings yet to be written down in value to reflect the market decline, WSJ reports.
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Funds
CEI Ventures Inc. closed its fifth fund with $21.5 million in commitments. Known as the Good Jobs Fund, the new vehicle has invested in seven companies since its initial closing in March 2021.
Triblock, a Boston-based Web3 investment and advisory firm, emerged from stealth. To date, the vehicle has invested in more than 20 companies, including Oncyber, Stader, Ondo, Metaplex, Stardust and Milkomeda.
People
Common, a residential manager focusing on coliving, microunits and traditional apartments, appointed Karlene Holloman to the post of chief executive. She replaces founder Brad Hargreaves, who will remain chief creative officer and chairman of the board. Ms. Holloman was previously CEO of Point Hospitality Group and senior vice president of operations at Commune Hotels and Resorts. Common is backed by investors including Kinnevik, Norwest Venture Partners, 8VC and Maveron.
Code security platform ShiftLeft Inc. named Stuart McClure as chief executive. He founded and was previously CEO of Cylance, which was acquired by Blackberry. Santa Clara, Calif.-based ShiftLeft is backed by SYN Ventures, Bain Capital Ventures, Blackstone, Mayfield, Thomvest Ventures and SineWave Ventures.
Omnichannel marketing platform Skai said Nir Feldman, currently chief engineering officer, has been named the company's chief data officer. Prior to joining Skai, he held roles at Mercury Interactive and HP Software. Tel Aviv-headquartered Skai is backed by Sequoia Capital, Arts Alliance, Tenaya Capital, Bain Capital Ventures, Pitango and Qumra Capital.
Exits
Tegus, a research platform for institutional investors, acquired Canalyst, which provides public company data and analysis. Terms weren’t disclosed. Tegus counts Advance Venture Partners as an investor. In January, Canalyst said it raised $70 million in Series C funding from investors including Dragoneer Investment Group, HighSage Ventures, Vanedge Capital and ScaleUP Ventures.
TemperPack Technologies, a manufacturer of sustainable thermal insulation for cold chain packaging, agreed to purchase environmentally-friendly packaging material maker KTM Industries for an undisclosed amount. In March, Richmond, Va.-based TemperPack said it closed a $140 million funding round from investors including the Sustainable Investing business within Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Grosvenor Food & AgTech, Harbert Growth Partners, Tao Capital Partners, Revolution and SJF Ventures.
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Savana Inc., a Malvern, Pa.-based financial software provider to banks and fintechs, closed a $45 million Series A round. Georgian led the investment, which saw additional participation from Fiserv.
Terabase Energy Inc., a Berkeley, Calif.-based startup developing technology to digitize and automate the deployment of utility-scale solar power plants, secured $44 million in Series B funding. Breakthrough Energy Ventures and Prelude Ventures co-led the round, which included participation from SJF Ventures and others.
AvicenaTech Corp., a Mountain View, Calif.-based developer of LED-based interconnects for chip-to-chip communications, raised $25 million in Series A funding from Samsung Catalyst Fund, Cerberus Capital Management, Clear Ventures and Micron Ventures.
Sprig, a product development research startup, picked up a $30 million investment. New investors including Figma Ventures were joined by existing backers Andreessen Horowitz, Accel, First Round Capital and Elad Gil in the round.
Cybrary, a training platform for cybersecurity professionals, fetched $25 million in Series C funding led by BuildGroup and Gula Tech Adventures. Kevin Mandia, chief executive of Mandiant, joined the board.
MarqVision, which helps brands identify and remove counterfeits from online marketplaces, secured $20 million in Series A funding. New investors DST Global Partners and Atinum Investments were joined by previous backers Softbank Ventures, Bass Investment and Y Combinator in the round.
RegScale, a Tysons Corner, Va.-based startup offering continuous compliance automation for heavily regulated industries, completed a $20 million Series A round. Led by SYN Ventures, the funding included support from SineWave Ventures, Virginia Venture Partners and others.
Vetted, a San Francisco-based product search engine, snagged $14 million in Series A funding. Lead investor Insight Partners was joined by Index Ventures, Bling Capital, Golden Ventures and others in the round.
Mudafy, a Mexico City-based real estate startup, closed a $10 million Series A investment. Founders Fund led the round, which included participation from IDC Ventures.
Vori Inc., an East Palo Alto, Calif.-based grocery store inventory management provider, snagged $10 million in Series A funding. The Factory led the round, with additional support from investors including Greylock Partners.
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Along with cuts announced in April, Robinhood has slashed more than 1,000 jobs from the company. PHOTO: BRENDAN MCDERMID/REUTERS
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