Good day. Silicon Valley Bank published a report last week on the current and future state of climate technology. The report highlighted the explosive growth of venture funding in “companies working on solutions for climate-related issues”—on pace to notch a record $49 billion this year.

At the same time, the report’s fine print looked at how it defined “climate tech,” a buzzy category some companies have stretched the meaning of as investors rally to the sector.

Take “transportation and logistics,” for instance, which at roughly $14 billion last year raised the most among the climate-tech categories, according to the report. Roughly 41% of that total came from autonomous-vehicle, fleet-management and logistics deals.

But logistics and fleet-management companies aren’t explicitly climate-tech companies, the report stated in the footnotes. They do, however, offer “improved efficiency and increased electrification of shipping and logistics.”

Similarly, the report pointed out that “while autonomous driving companies are not explicitly climate tech, autonomous vehicles enable increased EV use and improved fuel efficiency.”

Despite any quibbles, money is gushing into the sector. As investors continue to pile into bets on climate tech, it remains to be seen how strict they will be in defining it.

And now on to the news...

The company behind Indian mobile-payment app Paytm plans to raise up to $2.2 billion through one of India’s largest-ever initial public offerings, capitalizing on a boom in the country’s stock market, WSJ reports.

• As part of the share sale by One97 Communications Ltd., some of its big-name backers—including Jack Ma’s financial-technology giant Ant Group Co.—will trim their holdings, a filing showed Friday.
   
• The IPO has a maximum size of 166 billion rupees, the equivalent of $2.23 billion. According to research firm Prime Database Group, that would make it India’s largest-ever IPO in rupee terms—although not in dollar terms, since the rupee has depreciated over the last several years.

Fathom Digital Manufacturing Corp. is combining with a special-purpose acquisition company to go public in a deal that values the 3-D printing firm at about $1.4 billion, the companies said, WSJ reports. Based in Hartland, Wis., Fathom uses digital manufacturing techniques to quickly make prototypes and complex manufacturing parts for its customers. Fathom says it helps blue-chip companies innovate and solve operational challenges. The company is merging with the SPAC Altimar Acquisition Corp. II. The Wall Street Journal previously reported the two sides were nearing a deal.

Electric-truck startup Lordstown Motors Corp. confirmed the Justice Department is probing its business, investigating matters related to its reverse merger deal last year and preorders for its forthcoming pickup truck, the Endurance, WSJ reports. In a regulatory filing Thursday, the company said it had been informed by the U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan of its investigation, which follows one initiated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The federal probe adds to the challenges facing the Ohio-based startup as it works to launch its first model, an all-electric pickup called the Endurance that executives have said will begin limited production in September.

The single biggest financial beneficiary of the recent U.S. electric-vehicle startup boom is an unlikely candidate: the world’s largest exporter of oil. The kingdom of Saudi Arabia stands to record a profit of nearly $20 billion on a $2.9 billion investment in Lucid Motors Inc., a San Francisco Bay Area electric-car maker that is set to list publicly after it completes a merger with a special-purpose acquisition company.

Funds

Palo Santo launched with $35 million to invest in psychedelic-based and adjacent therapies for mental health and addiction treatment.

People

Bob Swan, previously chief executive of Intel Corp., has joined Andreessen Horowitz as an operating partner. Mr. Swan will advise Andreessen's growth-stage portfolio companies. Mr. Swan had joined Intel in 2016 as its chief financial officer, was later named interim CEO and assumed the title of CEO in 2019. He was replaced by Pat Gelsinger earlier this year.

RSE Ventures promoted Uday Ahuja to the role of chief investment officer. Mr. Ahuja joined RSE in 2015 as a director in the business development department where he executed several transactions for the investment firm, including its recent acquisition of bakery chain Magnolia Bakery.

Growth incubator Mach49 named Chris Cusack as partner of corporate investing. He was previously a partner at Silicon Foundry.

Exits

Chat startup Discord Inc. acquired Sentropy, whose software protects users and their brands from online abuse, for an undisclosed amount. San Francisco-based Discord was valued at $7 billion after a $100 million round late last year led by Greenoaks Capital. Index Ventures, IVP, Greylock Partners and Spark Capital are also backers of Discord. Sentropy was backed by investors including Chapter One Ventures, King River Capital and Playground Global.

Perch, which acquires and operates Amazon third-party and other direct-to-consumer brands, purchased Web Deals Direct LLC for an undisclosed sum. Boston-based Perch recently closed a $775 million Series A round from investors including Softbank Vision Fund 2, Spark Capital and Victory Park Capital.

Quantum Corp. acquired the video surveillance portfolio and assets of Pivot3 for approximately $8 million in cash and stock. Pivot3’s website lists S3 Ventures and Argonaut Private Equity as backers.

Pivot Bio, a Berkeley, Calif.-based developer of a synthetic nitrogen fertilizer replacement, closed a $430 million Series D round led by DCVC and Temasek Holdings. New investors Generation Investment Management, G2 Venture Partners and Rockefeller Capital Management also supported the funding, along with previous backers including Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Prelude Ventures, Pavilion Capital, Bunge Ventures and Tekfen Ventures.

OM1 Inc., a Boston-based provider of health data for medical research and personalized medicine, secured an $85 million investment. D1 Capital Partners, Kaiser Permanente and Breyer Capital led the round, which included participation from General Catalyst, Polaris Partners, Scale Venture Partners, 7wire Ventures and Glikvest.

Shopmonkey Inc., a San Jose, Calif.-based auto-repair shop management platform, raised $75 million in Series C funding. Previous investors Bessemer Venture Partners and Index Ventures led the round, which included additional support from Headline, I2BF Global Ventures and Iconiq Growth.

DevRev, a Palo Alto, Calif.-based business software startup, emerged from stealth with $50 million in seed funding from investors including Mayfield Fund and Khosla Ventures.

VisiQuate Inc., a Santa Rosa, Calif.-based healthcare revenue cycle data management and analytics provider, landed a $50 million investment. Sixth Street Growth provided the funding, and Lee Mooney will join VisiQuate’s board.

CAPE Analytics, a Mountain View, Calif.-based provider of geospatial intelligence for property risk and valuation, grabbed $44 million in Series C funding. Pivot Investment Partners led the round, with co-founder Akbar Poonawala joining the board.

Block Renovation, a Brooklyn, N.Y.-based home renovation startup, secured a $40 million investment. Giant Ventures led the round, which saw participation from New Enterprise Associates, Morningside, Lerer Hippeau and Obvious Ventures. In addition to the funding, the company appointed Scott Tracy-Inglis as chief operating officer. He was previously vice president of operations at WeWork.

LinkSquares Inc., a Boston-based legal contract lifecycle management and analysis tool, picked up $40 million in Series B financing led by Sorenson Capital. New investors including Catalyst Investors, Xerox and Bottomline Technologies also participated in the round, along with existing backers Hyperplane Venture Capital, MassMutual Ventures and First Ascent Ventures. Sorenson Capital Partner Brady Broadbent and Bottomline Technologies General Counsel Danielle Sheer joined the board.

Jones, a New York- and Tel Aviv-based startup whose technology simplifies risk and compliance for commercial property managers, raised $12.5 million in Series A funding. Lead investors JLL Spark and Khosla Ventures were joined by Camber Creek, Rudin Management, DivcoWest and Sage Realty in the round.

Nym Technologies, a Switzerland-based privacy infrastructure startup, collected a $6.5 million investment led by Polychain Capital.

Esusu Financial Inc., a Harlem, New York-based financial technology startup that offers rent reporting and data solutions for credit building, raised $10 million in Series A funding led by Motley Fool Ventures. Serena Williams, through Serena Ventures, participated in the round. Other investors including Equity Alliance, Predictive VC, Concrete Rose Capital, Impact America Fund, Global Impact Fund, Next Play Ventures, and Zeal Capital Partners also participated in the deal. The financing brings Esusu’s total funding raised to $14 million since it was founded in 2018.

“Esusu is really focused on credit building and creating pathways to financial inclusion for not only working families but for individuals as well,” Ms. Williams said in announcing the deal. "Our significant investment in Esusu will help the company scale and unlock more financial opportunity for people.”

Launched in the spring of 2020, Esusu's zero-interest housing stability fund saw an increase in demand due to the rise in unemployment, evictions, and a decline in financial stability caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the company said. The rent relief efforts have helped keep families in their homes, the company said.

• China sends state security, police officials to Didi for cybersecurity probe
   
• Intel CEO’s chip-building plan has a $50 billion-plus price tag
   
• China tech billionaire adds to sector largess with $2 billion donation
   
• Odd couple unites in action against big tech

• Silver Lake to lead new Carta funding at $7.4 billion valuation (The Information)
   
• In an increasingly hot biotech market, protecting IP is key (TechCrunch)
   
• Amazon-backed Rivian delays output, citing supply-chain woes (Bloomberg)

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, David Carnevali, Yuliya Chernova, Brian Gormley and Marc Vartabedian.

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