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Warehouse Drone Startup Flies to the Tune of $10 Million
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By Marc Vartabedian, WSJ Pro
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Good day. Within the supply-chain technology sector, startups offering visibility software are an investor favorite. While some of these companies use the same or similar data to power their software, some are taking to hardware to generate their own data inputs.
Take Gather AI, a Pittsburgh-based startup that utilizes drones to gather data on warehouse inventory. The company uses drones that autonomously navigate stacks inside warehouses to count boxes and packages, scan barcodes and locate unidentified items.
Gather AI said last week that it raised a $10 million Series A funding round led by Tribeca Venture Partners, with participation from Xplorer Capital, Dundee Venture Capital, Expa, Bling Capital, XRC Labs and 99 Tartans.
Gather AI says its technology can help companies meet the demands that the rise in e-commerce coupled with labor shortages are placing on them. Gather AI says its drones can collect data 15 times faster than human counters.
Other startups are developing similar technology. Corvus Robotics Inc., for instance, raised a $5 million seed round led by Spero Ventures this year to develop its own drone-based inventory management system.
Warehouse tech is a niche segment within the supply-chain tech sector. Global startups in the warehouse tech sector raised $648 million over 23 deals in the second quarter, according to analytics firm PitchBook Data Inc.
And now on to the news...
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The Federal Reserve building in Washington. PHOTO: OLIVIER DOULIERY/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES
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Filling funding gaps with debt. Startups are brushing aside higher interest rates and taking on debt, in part to avoid resetting prices for equity stakes in their companies, after years of easy money pushed private-market valuations to record highs, WSJ Pro’s Angus Loten reports.
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Rather than risk selling shares at a lower price than in prior fundraising rounds—and taking a hit to lofty valuations—many startups in need of fresh capital are instead borrowing millions of dollars from banks, private-equity firms and other financial services.
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But in doing so, market analysts say, they may be facing bigger troubles down the road—given the likelihood of further interest-rate hikes and a souring economy. Worse, the types of loans startups appear to be taking on may be increasing that risk.
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$100 Million
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Amount that crypto exchange Binance said was likely stolen as a result of a hack on its Binance Smart Chain blockchain network.
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Constitution Capital Seeks $1 Billion for New Fund
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Constitution Capital Partners is the latest private-equity firm to join the hunt for individual investors’ savings. The Andover, Mass., firm has launched a mutual fund-like closed-end vehicle, Constitution Capital Access Fund LLC, through which wealthy individuals can access private markets, according to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund has a $1 billion offering amount, according to the filing, although its total size could ultimately be larger or smaller than that amount, WSJ Pro reports. The fund is open to so-called accredited investors—in general, people who earn $200,000 or more annually or have $1 million or more in investible assets—and requires a minimum $25,000
investment, the filings show. Alternative-asset managers are locked in an arms race to raise money from individual investors, whom firms mostly ignored until a few years ago.
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Private Equity’s Pension-Plan Takeovers Face Backlash
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Private equity’s aggressive expansion into the insurance industry is facing pushback from some lawmakers and labor unions, who say that buyout firms take too much risk with investments that back workers’ nest eggs, WSJ Pro reports. As low interest rates squeezed insurers over the past decade, private-equity managers moved in to acquire struggling businesses on the cheap. Now, buyout firms back a significant number of insurers and manage many Americans’ life insurance policies and annuities. Some members of Congress say the trend raises concerns.
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Funds
Amazon launched a new initiative to invest $150 million in venture capital funds, accelerators, incubators and venture studios that provide funding to entrepreneurs from underrepresented backgrounds, primarily at the pre-seed and seed stages. To date, Amazon Catalytic Capital has invested in funds including Collide Capital, Elevate Future Fund, Share Ventures and Techstars Rising Stars Fund.
Chicago-based Energy Capital Ventures, which is focused on environmental, social and governance imperatives and digital transformation of the natural gas industry, closed on $61 million for its inaugural fund. Limited partners include Eversource Energy, National Fuel Gas Co., Avista Corp., Black Hills Energy, NiSource, Southwest Gas Holdings and Spire Energy.
San Francisco-based Convective Capital closed its first fund with $35 million to make pre-seed and seed investments in startups focused on wildfire-fighting technology. So far, the fund has invested in fire detection startup Pano and Overstory, which provides satellite-based vegetation analytics for utilities to analyze power line risk.
People
Falkon, an intelligence platform for marketing, sales and account management teams, appointed Rick Negrin as the company’s first chief operating officer. He was previously vice president of product at SingleStore. Seattle-based Falkon recently raised $16 million from investors including OMERS Ventures, Greylock Partners and Flying Fish Partners.
Health data platform Innovaccer Inc. appointed Inder Sidhu as chief customer officer. He was previously vice president of customer success and business operations at Nutanix. In December 2021, San Francisco-based Innovaccer said it raised $150 million in Series E funding from investors including Mubadala Capital, M12, OMERS Growth Equity and B Capital Group.
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Ochre Bio, a U.K.-based startup developing RNA therapies for chronic liver diseases, closed a $30 million Series A round from Khosla Ventures, Hermes-Epitek, Backed, LifeForce Capital, Selvedge Venture, AixThera, LifeLink Ventures and others. Nessan Bermingham, operating partner at Khosla Ventures, will join the company’s board.
Endor Labs, a Palo Alto, Calif.-based startup helping development and security teams maximize software reuse, emerged from stealth with $25 million in seed funding from investors including Lightspeed Venture Partners and Dell Technology Capital.
Field Effect, a Canada-based startup specializing in cybersecurity services for small and medium-sized organizations, picked up a $30 million investment from Edison Partners and others. Edison’s Lenard Marcus will join the board.
Xembly, a Seattle-based automated chief of staff provider, secured $15 million in Series A financing. Norwest Venture Partners led the round, which included participation from Lightspeed Venture Partners, Ascend, Seven Peaks Ventures and Flex Capital.
CrowdSec, a France-based cybersecurity startup, raised €14 million in Series A funding. Led by Supernova Invest, the round included participation from Breega.
Fintastic, a Tel Aviv-based financial planning and analysis software startup, was seeded with a $12 million investment. Group 11 led the round, which included contributions from Benhamou Global Ventures and others.
Gamurs, a gaming, esports and entertainment media network, completed a $12 million Series A round. Elysian Park Ventures and Cerro Capital co-led the funding, which included additional support from Powerhouse Capital, Aura Ventures and Artesian. The company has offices in Australia, Serbia and Austin, Texas.
Oort Inc., a Boston-based identity-centric enterprise security platform, landed $11.5 million in Series A funding. Led by .406 Ventures and Energy Impact Partners, the investment included participation from Cisco Investments, Bain Capital Ventures, 645 Ventures, First Star Ventures and Dreamit Ventures.
Lightdash, a business intelligence platform, gathered $8.4 million in seed funding led by Accel.
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Twitter objected to a delay in its legal fight with Elon Musk, saying a trial should move forward to prevent ‘further mischief and delay’ from Mr. Musk’s camp. PHOTO: DAVID PAUL MORRIS/BLOOMBERG NEWS
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