Category: Startup
Airbnb to increase fundraising round to US$ 1 billion
Airbnb Inc has authorised the sale of an additional US$153 million in Series F shares, bringing the size of its current fundraising effort to about US$1 billion, according to Tech Crunch.
This was suggested by a new Delaware filing for Airbnb on Friday, identified by research firm CB Insights. The amount comes as an extension to their financing US$555 million round back in September 2016.
With the latest round, the filing prices the shares at US$105, which is consistent with the financing values the home-rental startup said at about US$30 billion.
Details of the equity are still unknown and it is not clear which investors might be getting these shares or if the round is even confirmed.
Dating back to its founding in 2008, Airbnb has raised more than US$3 billion in capital. Previous Airbnb backers include Google Capital, Technology Crossover Ventures, GGV Capital and Sequoia Capital.
The San Francisco-based company has secured a US$1 billion debt facility this year from banks including JPMorgan Chase & Co, Citigroup Inc, Bank of America Corp and Morgan Stanley.
The company also used some of its capital to buy back shares from Morgan Stanley this year.
Airbnb does not have a comment on the filing.
By Vivian Foo, Unicorn Media
Practo makes fifth acquisition, buys analytics startup Enlightiks for US$13.9 million
Practo Technologies Pvt. Ltd, a web-based clinic management software developer, has today announced the acquisition of US-based advanced analytics firm Enlightiks Inc. and its Indian operations in a cash-and-stock deal.
The deal, which details the acquisition of Bengaluru-based Enlightiks Business Solutions Pvt. Ltd, an advanced analytics platform offering business intelligence solutions to healthcare enterprises, is valued at Rs 92 crore (about US$13.9 million).
Post acquisition, the entire 50 member team of Enlightiks will join Practo and form part of an analytics business unit within the company. The unit is said to be headed by Enlightiks co-founder and CEO, Vamsi Chandra Kasivajjala.
This is Practo 5th acquisition till date and its 3rd in the enterprise space. In 2015, the company has acquired four companies – hospital information management solution provider Insta Health for US$12 million, hospital appointment scheduling firm Qikwell, a web and app-based fitness management platform FithoWellness as well as product outsourcing firm Genii.
The primary offering for Enlightiks comes through its proprietary business intelligence and predictive analytics platform – Querent which provides actionable insights for healthcare providers using complex mathematical, statistical, computational and cognitive models.
“This brings Practo closer to its vision of simplifying healthcare by providing end-to-end solutions for the entire eco-system,” said Shashank ND, the Founder & CEO of Practo. “With Querent, we will be able to help CXOs make their enterprises run more efficiently which should improve the overall quality of care while making it more affordable.”
Enligtiks was co-founded in 2012 by Shilpa Peri, Venkatesh Pagidimarri, Dr. Bas Nair and Vamsi Chandra Kasivajjala. The founding team was later joined by Shaunak Joshi and Sunil Kondala.
Their business intelligent solution Querent is capable of providing accurate predictions for key business metrics which will aid enterprises in proactive decision-making that can help create a positive impact on short to medium term business actions.
Besides, the platform also has an ability to read both structured and unstructured information and apply advanced machine learning and deep learning techniques to uncover hidden insights. Querent also facilitates visual interpretation of the collected information in order to generate useful insights for healthcare enterprises across various departments including operations, finance, quality, pricing, marketing, customer management and risk assessment.
More than 200 healthcare centers including hospitals and clinics across the nation are currently using this platform. The list of clients includes names such as Apollo Sugar Clinics Ltd, Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital, Inamdar Multispecialty Hospital, Fernandez Hospitals Pvt Ltd, Eye-Q Vision Pvt Ltd, Sparsh Sandor Nephrocare Services Pvt Ltd, Ramesh Hospitals and more.
While founded in 2008 by Shashank ND and Abhinav Lal, Practo is one of the most well-funded healthcare startups in the country whereby the company has more than US$120 million in funds.
The company raised $90 million in August 2015 through a Series C funding led by Chinese media and technology conglomerate Tencent Holdings Pvt Ltd. It raised $30 million in a Series B round from Sequoia India and Matrix Partners in February 2015. While in 2012, Practo had raised $4.6 million from Sequoia Capital in a Series A funding round.
The firm helps patients book appointments with doctors online and also enables doctors in primary clinics and hospitals to manage patient records under a software-as-a-service (SaaS) model. Practo also facilitates online delivery of medicines, e-consultation and beauty and wellness products.
Commenting on the M&A, co-founder of Enlightiks, Vamsi said “Enlightiks is thrilled to join Practo. We share the same passion for democratising healthcare access for billions of people where business intelligence and analytics are critical.”
“We chose Practo so that we can collaborate and work towards offering superior, comprehensive and integrated solutions for healthcare providers. I look forward to working with Shashank and the Practo team in realising our shared vision of transforming healthcare,” he adds.
By Vivian Foo, Unicorn Media
Global ecommerce startup Floship bags US$3.5 million funding round
Hong Kong provider of global logistics and fulfillment startup Floship Global Ecommerce Fulfillment recently announced that the company has successfully closed a pre-series A US$3.5 million bridge funding round earlier this December.
This fundraising was participated by Taiwan’s early stage technology-focused Cherubic Ventures, Hong Kong’s Big Boom and Empiricus Capital, as well as China’s Regent Capital.
“We are grateful for the investment of Ardent Capital and Vectr Ventures in earlier funding rounds, and our team is honored to be working with such respected investors as Cherubic Ventures, Big Bloom Capital, Empiricus Capital, and Regent Capital during this most recent round,” said Steve Suh, a Co-Founder of Floship.
Providing global e-commerce fulfillment directly from Hong Kong, Floship leverages on the strategic location of Hong Kong as the world’s number one air cargo hub, providing e-commerce vendors to compete in more markets from one centralized fulfillment warehouse.
“We are beyond excited about the results of our latest funding round. As our company continues to experience growth and gain positive traction in the marketplace, we could not be more thrilled about the validation we have gained from those who have made the decision to invest in our e-commerce fulfillment model,” said Steve Suh.
With the funds, Floship plans to accelerate the service improvements of their technology as well as increasing business expansion efforts through providing clients with seamless integration to ever more e-commerce platforms.
Besides, as Floship’s current technology integrates with Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento, Dear Systems, and Aftership, the company is committed to building more integrations to shopping carts to serve more customers on a wider variety of e-commerce platforms.
Thus, the Floship’s team will also be working on accelerating the development of algorithms that help optimize shipping rates on a per package basis as well as building a set of tools to make it easier for online retailers to manage their daily global fulfillment at scale.
“As a leader in our industry, we differentiate ourselves by providing a highly automated fulfillment experience for online retailers utilizing multiple couriers to obtain the best rates for global e-commerce shipping.” Steve Suh explains.
To date, Floship has completed fulfillment for more than 100 crowdfunding campaigns, some of which have been the most successful in the world.
“But still, as a startup company that doesn’t have the luxury of standing still, we are always striving to improve. This latest funding round will allow us to do just that.” adds Steve Suh.
By Vivian Foo, Unicorn Media
Japan space entertainment startup ALE raises US$ 6 million from angel investors
Japanese space startup ALE is developing the technology to deliver on-demand man-made meteors, which could turn the night sky into a blank canvas.
The startup does this by launching a microsatellite packed with small pellets which will then release once it has reached the outer space to induce atmospheric re-entry.
This will result in meteors that are bright enough to be seen with the naked eye over the brightest city skies, potentially reaching audiences across a 200 km area in diameter on the ground.
The project is known as Sky Canvas and has attracted much attention as well as investment. As on Tuesday afternoon, the Tokyo-based space entertainment startup has raised up to JPY 700 million (about US$ 6 million) from angel investors.
Founded in 2011, it was a former investment banker with a Ph.D. in astrophysics from the University of Tokyo, Lena Okajima who garnered private funding and collaboration with academics from three academic institutions to establish ALE.
With these funds, the company will officially launch its shooting star technology – Sky Canvas Project in 2018.
“Imagine a future, where you can use our meteors for international fireworks displays, a proposal for marriage, or a special memorial,” said Shinsuke Abe, ALE’s Research Director and Nihon University Aerospace Engineering Professor.
Besides, ALE’s artificial meteors can also serve another purpose – to be used as a vehicle to observe the upper atmosphere, to collect data on atmospheric re-entry of objects, and to better understand the nature of natural meteoroids.
Led by Lena Okajima and four research directors from academic institutions across Japan, ALE has begun publishing papers and presenting its findings from the project at space symposiums.
“We are excited to showcase our artificial meteor project, the very first of many we plan on undertaking as a space entertainment company,” Okajima said. “As the first pioneers in the space entertainment field we aim to consistently further the frontiers of this industry while contributing to scientific research.”
ALE has also disclosed plans to provide its artificial meteors to corporations and governments for entertainment purposes, such as outdoor festivals, sports games, city promotions and theme parks.
But it is very likely that the grand showcase for this outer space entertainment could be the opening of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which ALE is rumored to have bid to take part in.
By Vivian Foo, Unicorn Media
Video Url: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHvyz3h-rRo
Maverick capital-backed e-pharmacy 1mg buys MediAngels, making its second acquisition of the year
Online pharmacy 1mg Technologies Pvt. Ltd has acquired Mumbai-based MediAngels (Angels Health Pvt. Ltd), an online hospital for an undisclosed sum in cash and stocks to strengthen its position in India’s eHealth space.
At the start, 1mg operates an online marketplace for medicines, besides facilitating medical appointments and diagnostic test bookings. But with its acquisition of MediAngels, it has also forayed into specialty doctor consultations, corporate health services, and insurance partnerships.
“Our consumers can now access a deep network of over 450 specialists across India and the world, and we also get an entry into the corporate health space through this platform,” said 1mg’s co-founder Prashant Tandon in a statement on Wednesday.
“We now offer services to consumers as well as corporate customers which include ePharmacy, eDiagnostics, eConsultations and Super Speciality Second Opinions as well,” he adds.
1mg, earlier known as HealthkartPlus, was the generic drug search business of Healthkart, an online vendor of health products run by Bright Lifecare Pvt. Ltd. In April 2015, HeartkartPlus was rebranded and spun off into a separate entity now known as 1mg.
On the other hand, MediAngels.com was founded in 2011 by super-specialist doctors, Dr. Arbinder Singhal and Dr. Debraj Shome with the purpose of bringing topmost super-specialist doctors within everyone’s reach using technology.
Fast forward to today, the company has established itself as a platform for patients to seek online consultations for specialized medical cases in cardiology, cancer, neurosurgery, orthopedics, and pediatrics, among other areas, from its network of doctors covering 93 specialties.
Also a business-to-business (B2B) service, MediAngels was used extensively by insurers and corporates who enroll for second opinions and employee health benefits. Insurers, for instance, can use the platform to consult doctors and ask whether a given patient should undertake a surgery or not.
MediAngels, which consist a team of 12 people, will continue to build the doctor network and B2B health services for the corporate users in Mumbai led by Singhal, said Tandon. 1mg, with this acquisition, will see its employee strength being increased to 301.
Commenting on the acquisition, Dr. Arbinder Singal of MediAngels said, “The time is right for eHealth platforms to serve the basic need of every Indian to complete the cycle of healthcare for the consumer at a click.”
“Within 1mg ecosystem, we plan to scale up second opinions and drive B2B engagements with more insurers and corporates. Our robust technology tools will help them optimize employee benefits spends on healthcare and to have a healthier workforce,” he adds.
This makes the second acquisition for 1mg in 2016 as in July, the Sequoia-backed company has acquired Medd.in, a booking platform and marketplace for diagnostics and imaging tests for an undisclosed amount.
This acquisition came two months after 1mg has raised INR 100 crore (about US$ 15 million) in a Series B round led by Maverick Capital Ventures and existing investors Sequoia Capital and Omidyar Network.
According to the Prashant Tandon in a statement, 1mg at present has 30 to 40 pharmacies across 13 cities that fulfill medicine orders. In the next six to nine months, the company plans to expand it to 30 cities.
On top of that, the company also has ambitions to roll out subscription services for patients with chronic health issues such as diabetes, blood pressure, among others.
By Vivian Foo, Unicorn Media