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At-Home Coffee Startup Says It Hit Fundraising Sweet Spot
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Good day. Fellow Industries Inc., a startup that provides at-home coffee and brewing gear to its customers, has raised a fresh round of capital during what it considers to be an opportune time: after the worst of the pandemic, but before a possible recession.
The company started fundraising in the fourth quarter of last year. Jake Miller, the company’s founder, says fundraising is harder now than it was even six months ago. “We’re entering challenging times, especially for hardware companies,” Mr. Miller said.
The company’s pitch to investors focused on the market opportunity across coffee and espresso gear, and the roasted coffee itself. The company’s product line-up includes kettles, coffee grinders and mugs.
Fellow leaned on the early success of its products and the experience of its team, many of whom are former product leaders at large tech companies.
Founded in 2013, the San Francisco-based company raised a $30 million Series B round led by NextWorld Evergreen.
"We were attracted to Fellow's high-quality products–both in terms of design and performance–and its deep connection with its core consumer,” said Tiffany Obenchain, a partner at NextWorld Evergreen.
The company expects continued growth even as consumers increasingly return to the office.
The pandemic brought cafe-quality coffee into the home, Mr. Miller said. He doesn’t think customers will all of a sudden return to drinking the usual again.
“I think there was a very real change in preference that’s going to stick around,” he said.
And now on to the news ...
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The Garden City terminal in the Port of Savannah, Ga. In recent years, investors have pumped capital into startups that use data and analytics to improve supply-chain efficiency, though recent stock market tumult may have cut into that.
PHOTO: STEPHEN B. MORTON/ASSOCIATED PRESS
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Logistics payment deal. PayCargo LLC, a startup that offers a payments and data insights platform for logistics companies, raised $130 million as it expands into new regions across Asia, the Middle East and Latin America, WSJ Pro’s Marc Vartabedian reports. The Coral Gables, Fla.-based company tapped funds managed by Blackstone Growth, a division of investment firm Blackstone Inc., for the Series C financing. PayCargo was drawn to Blackstone for its investment ties to the logistics and warehousing world, which could help in the company’s expansion, said
PayCargo Chief Executive Eduardo Del Riego.
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Mental-Health Startup Cerebral Investigated by FTC
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The Federal Trade Commission has begun an investigation into mental-health startup Cerebral Inc., according to a letter the FTC sent the company that was reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. In the letter dated June 1, the FTC said it was investigating whether Cerebral engaged in deceptive or unfair practices related to advertising or marketing of mental-health services.
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The FTC’s letter asks Cerebral to answer dozens of questions related to its business. In particular, it seeks information related to any programs where Cerebral continues to bill customers a subscription fee until the customer cancels, also called “negative option programs.”
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Cerebral said in a statement that it intends to cooperate fully with the FTC and that it is working to improve its service for patients. The company said it has recently undergone an effort to redesign the cancellation process.
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Lore’s Food-Delivery Startup Valued at $3.5 Billion After Capital Raise
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Wonder Group, a food-delivery startup led by Jet.com founder Marc Lore, has raised hundreds of millions of dollars to expand the business at a time when the venture-capital market is cooling, WSJ reports. New York-based Wonder closed a $350 million funding round last month, according to company officials, bringing the total amount raised in debt and equity to $900 million. The latest funding values the company at roughly $3.5 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. Previously it was valued at $1.4 billion, the people said. Mr. Lore, the 51-year-old majority owner of Wonder, has earned investors considerable profits through sales of startups.
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Coinbase to Lay Off 18% of Staff Amid Crypto Meltdown
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Further waves of reckoning swept through the cryptocurrency industry Tuesday, with exchange company Coinbase Global Inc. saying it would cut almost a fifth of its staff and crypto lender Celsius Network LLC hiring a law firm to examine restructuring options, WSJ reports. Coinbase said it was slashing its workforce by 1,100 employees, or about 18% of its staff, because the company had grown too quickly and a potential recession “could lead to another crypto winter.” In a letter to employees, Chief Executive Brian Armstrong said “our employee costs are too high to effectively manage this uncertain market.”
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Funds
World Innovation Lab gathered more than $1 billion in new capital to be deployed across the firm's third growth fund, Strategic Partners funds and Corporate Venture Capital funds. The firm provides growth investment capital across the digital transformation, health tech, sustainability, Web3 and emerging technologies sectors primarily in the U.S. and Japan. With offices in Palo Alto, Calif., and Tokyo, World Innovation Lab now has $1.9 billion in total capital commitments.
Sequoia Capital secured $2.85 billion in fundraising for several Indian venture and growth funds and an $850 million Southeast Asian fund, according to Dow Jones Newswires. The $850 million fund is Sequoia's first dedicated fund for the Southeast Asian region.
Amplify Partners raised $400 for its fifth flagship early-stage fund and $300 million for Amplify Partners Select Fund V LP, which will support existing portfolio companies. In October 2020, the firm closed Amplify Partners IV LP at $275 million.
People
Real-estate technology investment firm RET Ventures appointed Jerry Davis as a senior advisor and Jacob Zornes as chief financial officer. The firm also promoted Aaron Ru to principal, Jameson Hartman to vice president and Sam Kroll to vice president.
Sapphire Ventures said Karan Singh joined the firm as a partner and head of Sapphire's new Revenue Excellence function. He was previously a revenue operations and strategy leader at Procore.
Phosphorus Cybersecurity, a provider of security for internet-of-things devices, appointed Obbe Knoop as chief revenue officer. He was most recently vice president of emerging markets for Armis. Phosphorus Cybersecurity is backed by SYN Ventures, MassMutual Ventures and Atypical Ventures.
Exits
HqO, a tenant experience operating system for commercial office buildings, acquired employee workplace experience measurement provider Leesman. Terms weren’t disclosed. Boston-based HqO is backed by investors including Accomplice, Insight Partners, JLL Spark, Navitas Capital, Allegion Ventures and PruVen Capital.
Blockchain intelligence startup TRM Labs Inc. purchased CSITech, a provider of crypto and blockchain investigative training, for an undisclosed amount. San Francisco-based TRM Labs raised a $60 million Series B round last year from investors including Tiger Global Management, Amex Ventures, Citi Ventures, DRW Venture Capital, Jump Capital and PayPal Ventures.
Adzuna acquired fellow job search engine Getwork for an undisclosed sum. With offices in London, Indianapolis and Sydney, Adzuna counts Index Ventures, LocalGlobe and Smedvig Capital as investors.
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Echodyne Corp., a Kirkland, Wash.-based radar technology startup, scored a $135 million investment. Co-led by Baillie Gifford and Bill Gates, the round included participation from Northrop Grumman Corp., New Enterprise Associates, Madrona Venture Group and Vanedge Capital.
Invoca Inc., a provider of conversation intelligence for revenue teams, secured $83 million in Series F funding led by Silver Lake Waterman at a valuation of $1.1 billion. New investors Hollyport Capital, Kingfisher Investment Advisors and Fenwick & West also participated in the round, along with existing backers Upfront Ventures, Accel, H.I.G. Capital and Industry Ventures.
Performio, an Irvine, Calif.-based sales commission software provider, landed a $75 million growth investment. JMI Equity led the funding, with Paul Barber and Jack Duane joining the company’s board.
TestGorilla, an Amsterdam-based online skills assessment platform, nabbed $70 million in Series A financing led by Atomico and Balderton Capital. Luca Eisenstecken from Atomico and James Wise from Balderton Capital will join the board.
Postscript, a short messaging service marketing provider for Shopify businesses, raised $65 million in Series C funding. Lead investor 01A was joined by Twilio Ventures, Expanding Capital, m]x[v Capital, Greylock Partners, Accomplice, Elephant and OpenView Venture Partners in the round.
DealHub, a sales automation platform with offices in Israel and Austin, Texas, picked up a $60 million investment led by Alpha Wave Ventures.
Flip, an Indonesian consumer payments platform, added $55 million in Series B funding, bringing the round total to more than $100 million. Tencent led the new investment, which included support from Block Inc. and Insight Partners. The initial Series B tranche was co-led by Sequoia Capital India, Insight Partners and Insignia Ventures Partners late last year.
LiveView Technologies, an Orem, Utah-based remote live video safety and surveillance provider, snagged $50 million in Series B funding. Sorenson Capital led the round, which included contributions from Lead Edge Capital and Pelion Venture Partners. Rob Rueckert, partner at Sorenson Capital, will join the board.
The Wildcard Alliance Inc., a new subsidiary of game studio Playful Studios, launched with $46 million in Series A funding. Paradigm led the round, which included additional support from Griffin Gaming Partners.
Distribusion, a Berlin-headquartered business-to-business ground transportation marketplace, landed a €30 million (about $31 million) investment. Led by Lightrock, the round included support from Creandum and Northzone Ventures.
Alice Technologies Inc., a Menlo Park, Calif.-based construction technology startup, grabbed a $30 million funding round. Vanedge Capital led the funding, which included participation from JLL Spark, Future Ventures and Gaingels.
Platform9, a Mountain View, Calif.-based cloud computing startup, closed a $26 million funding round. Celesta Capital led the investment, with additional participation from Cota Capital, NGP Capital and others. In addition to the new financing, Platform9 appointed Emilia A'Bell as chief revenue officer and Ravi Jacob as chief financial officer. Ms. A'Bell previously held senior executive positions at Oracle, SAP, Portal Software and TOA Systems. Mr. Jacob was corporate vice president and treasurer of Intel Corp.
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An Internet Explorer page, c. 2001.
PHOTO: LOUIE DOUVIS/FAIRFAX MEDIA/GETTY IMAGES
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