Here’s a roundup of the most important deals in venture capital this week.
Start-ups raising
Uber, the challenged ride-hailing company, agreed to take a big investment from SoftBank. The influential tech investor will put $1 billion to $1.25 billion into Uber at the company’s last reported valuation of $69 billion, sources told CNBC. SoftBank is also seeking a 14 to 17 percent stake of shares from existing shareholders at a discount, the sources said.
SoftBank is also reportedly in talks to invest in a $2 billion round for Ola, an Uber competitor in India, Reuters reported. Tencent and other investors are also allegedly lining up to back Ola.
Start-ups funded
Flexport raised $110 million to expand its logistics business. CNBC’s Deidre Bosa reported, ” When companies do not want to rely on Amazon’s logistics pipeline for international freight forwarding, they turn to Flexport, which takes care of the process and handles sensitive customs information — even if that means getting products to a FBA, or “fulfilled by Amazon,” hub.”
Business software company Docker raised $61.8 million of a targeted &4 million round, according to an SEC filing published on Friday. Docker, whose container technology threatens VMWare’s virtualization business, is reportedly valued at $1.3 billion, according to an earlier Bloomberg report. Among Docker’s investors are Insight Ventures Partners, Benchmark and Sequoia Capital.
Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund and the Investment Corp. of Dubai backed Nanotronics, a start-up that makes robotic microscopes. The company’s microscopes are installed in factories to evaluate parts being made and coming off the line. They employ computer vision and deep learning software to determine if those parts are flawed and potentially unsafe. Nanotronics’ CEO, Matthew Putman, told CNBC the technology can be used to evaluate anything physically produced, from semiconductors and lenses to pharmaceuticals.
Corporate venture investors piled into a $30 million series b round for FogHorn Systems, a maker of software for the “industrial internet of things.” Investors included: Intel Capital, Saudi Aramco Energy, Honeywell Ventures and GE, among others.
An Oakland, California start-up called Roofstock raised $35 million for its online real estate marketplace. The site features single-family home rental properties for sale that already have tenants in them. Investors included Canvas Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Bain Capital Ventures, Khosla Ventures and others.
Care.com competitors UrbanSitter raised $17 million to expand their childcare on-demand service across the U.S. As Forbes reported, investors in the babysitter booking start-up included Advance Venture Partners (AVP), Canaan Partners, Aspect Ventures, DBL Investors, Shatter Fund, First Round Capital, Menlo Ventures and others.
A cybersecurity startup called Hypr raised $8 million in a new round of funding from RRE Ventures and its earlier backers RTP Ventures, Boldstart Ventures and Mesh Ventures. Hypr is helping large corporations figure out how to safely use fingerprints, and other biometric data, in lieu of alphanumeric passwords.
The Mayfield Fund led a $4 million investment in a virtual reality startup called Tripp. The is developing interactive VR “experiences” that induce a state of calm in the viewer, CEO Nanea Reeves told CNBC in an e-mail.
Acquisitions
Wal-Mart has acquired a startup called Parcel, Recode reported, to ramp up its same-day delivery services.
Amazon acquired Body Labs, a start-up that offers 3-D body scanning technology, for at least $50 million, TechCrunch first reported. The company’s technology could be used to help Amazon deliver clothes and shoes that fit perfectly. But Body Labs’ tech also helps developers quickly create 3-D characters that could be used in games, films and as avatars online.
New funds
Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group has started a private equity fund to expand and franchise the group’s current restaurants while also investing in outside food and food-tech companies. According to Eater, the fund has already raised $200 million and invested in Resy, the restaurant reservations app, and several cafes and restaurants.
Source: Tech CNBC
Top VC deals this week: Uber, Flexport and robotic microscopes