Several corporates are in line to exit WeRide through an IPO that could raise $500m, while CNH Industrial bought portfolio company Augmenta for $110m.
Fund
Germany-headquartered venture capital firm Rethink Ventures has formed a €50m ($53.5m) fund with contributions from corporates ZF Group (through its ZF Ventures unit), Hellmann Worldwide Logistics, Kion Group, Berylls and Havi Logistics. The limited partners also include European Investment Fund and unnamed family offices, and the firm will invest in Europe-based mobility, automotive and logistics technology developers.
Public markets
WeRide, a China-based autonomous driving technology developer backed by corporate investors GAC, Robert Bosch, SenseTime, Nvidia, Renault, Mitsubishi, Nissan and Yutong, has confidentially filed to raise up to $500m in an initial public offering in the US, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg. The company was valued at $4.4bn when it closed a $400m round in March 2022.
M&A
Industrial equipment producer CNH Industrial has acquired portfolio company Augmenta Agriculture Technologies, a Greece-based developer of AI-equipped farming efficiency technology, for $110m. Augmenta, which received $8m in a March 2021 series A round led by CNH, will be integrated into the corporate’s Raven subsidiary.
Funding
Vivasure Medical, an Ireland-based developer of percutaneous vessel closure technology, secured €30m ($32.2m) in series D funding from blood and plasma supplier Haemonetics to increase the round to $54m. The company had previously raised $23m in a May 2022 tranche featuring corporates Orchestra BioMed and Evonik (through its Evonik Venture Capital unit) that included Fountain Healthcare Partners, EQT Life Sciences’ LSP Health Economics Fund, Panakès Partners and two unnamed corporations.
| Company | Company description | Sector | Country | Round | Round size($m) | Deal date | Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Viridos | Algae-based jet biofuel producer | Energy and Natural Resources | US | A | 25 | 13/03/2023 | Chevron (Chevron USA), United Airlines (United Airlines Ventures’ UAV Sustainable Flight Fund); Breakthrough Energy Ventures (lead) |
| Shennon Biotechnologies | Single cell platform-based immunotherapy developer | Healthcare | US | Seed | 13 | 13/03/2023 | Allianz (AV8 Ventures); DCVC (lead), Foundation Capital, unnamed angel investors |
| Sunhero | Solar power installation service | Energy and Natural Resources | Germany | A | 10.7 | 13/03/2023 | Vorwerk (Vorwerk Ventures) (co-lead); Planet A Ventures (co-lead), Redstone, Speedinvest, All Iron Ventures |
| Broom | Short-term automotive loan provider | Financial | Indonesia | Pre-A | 10 (updated) | 14/03/2023 | Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG Innovation Partners), Bank BRI (BRI Ventures); Openspace Ventures (lead), Singapore Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority, AC Ventures, Quona Capital |
| Jungle | Web3-based mobile shooting game developer | Media | Brazil | N/A | 6 | 13/03/2023 | Delphi Digital; Bitkraft (co-lead), Framework Ventures (co-lead), Karatage, Fourth Revolution Capital, Monoceros, 32bit Ventures, Stateless Ventures, Snackclub, Norte Ventures |
| Agros | Provider of agricultural yield and sustainability improvement software | Industrial | Singapore | Pre-A | 2.7 | 14/03/2023 | Schneider Electric (Schneider Electric Energy Access Asia) (co-lead); Gaia Impact Fund (co-lead), Wavemaker Impact, Silverstrand Capital, Circle Capital, Steve Melhuish |
| Burst Diagnostics | Rapid diagnostics technology developer | Healthcare | US | Seed | N/A | 09/03/2023 | Zymo Research; Innosphere Ventures (lead) |
