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When I was in Bulgaria to visit family last week, there were a number of things that caught my attention.
The first was the fact that there were ads for Black Friday all over the place even though Bulgaria (obviously) does not celebrate Thanksgiving. The second was that Lime’s electric scooters were all over the city of Sofia. Thanks to their international expansion efforts, startups like Lime and Bird have built a global presence and boast private valuations that exceed $2 billion.
In a deep dive published this morning, my colleague Rey Mashayekhi explores the relationship between micro-mobility startups and real estate behemoths. The result is a mutually-beneficial business relationship that’s becoming more common.
The latest to jump on the electric scooter bandwagon? Commercial real estate owners. From the story:
In e-scooters and micro-mobility schemes like bikeshares, real estate developers and investors see a solution to the car parking conundrum. At Fortune’s Brainstorm Tech conference in July, Lime chief business officer David Richter said he’s “been surprised at the degree to which real estate entities want [micromobility] to happen.”
“They will get greater value from the real estate they already own because they will not have to allow ‘X’ number of parking spaces for people who are either residing or leasing space [at their properties],” Richter said.
Magnolia Capital’s Friedeck echoes that sentiment. “If you’re developing [real estate] projects, partnerships with micromobility companies give you better flexibility to reduce the number of parking spaces that you have to put in at a building,” Friedeck says. And with more urban-dwelling millennials eschewing car culture altogether in favor of more a walkable lifestyle, it gives residents who don’t have a car more options, he adds.
But perhaps the most interesting part of this story is the willingness on behalf of the landlords to embrace a new, unregulated industry that’s often under attack from city officials.
As Charles Lancaster, of Washington, D.C.-based developer Gould Property Company, put it: “The way to be part of the future is to embrace future technologies—so that we can disrupt ourselves.”
INSURANCE IS (STILL) SEXY: The insurance unicorn club has a new member. Wefox Group, a Berlin-based insurtech startup, is raising $110 million in a second tranche of Series B funding, according to TechCrunch. The deal will reportedly give the company a pre-money valuation of $1.65 billion. The extension is being led by OMERS Ventures with Merian Chrysalis, Samsung Catalyst Fund and Mundi Ventures participating.
This makes WeFox the sixth insurance unicorn, joining Root Insurance ($3.65 billion), Oscar Health ($3.2 billion) Lemonade (valued at $2 billion+), Clover Health ($1.2 billion), Next Insurance ($1 billion), and Hippo ($1 billion).
Why is this category suddenly so hot? Chris Olsen, whose firm Drive Capital backed Root Insurance, recently told me: “Technology is enabling different data sets to be very quickly integrated and ingested into pricing models. The startups have an advantage over the incumbents because they’re willing to experiment with new models of risk.”
A NEW MODEL FOR VC: Operator Collective, a new fund, counts more than 100 operators and first-time investors as its limited partners. (The fund has not yet officially closed but currently stands at $45 million.) Notably, 90% of these LPs are women, and more than 40% of them are people of color. And yes, 77% of them have never invested in tech, though they are fully steeped in the industry.
“We didn’t build this like a traditional VC firm,” says Mallun Yen, founder and general partner at Operator Collective, and a long-time tech exec who has helped scale multiple Silicon Valley companies. “We wanted to turn the model on its head.”
Polina Marinova
Twitter: @polina_marinova
Email: polina.marinova@fortune.com
VENTURE DEALS
- Ordr, a Santa Clara, Calif.-based provider of an AI-based systems control engine for businesses, raised $27.5 million in Series B funding. Battery Ventures led the round, and was joined by investors including Wing Venture Capital, 1011 Ventures, and Unusual Ventures.
- Bridge Connector, a Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.-based technology company offering data-driven workflow automation to solve health IT interoperability challenges, raised $25 million in funding. Investors include the office of Jeff Vinik and Axioma Ventures.
- LeanDNA, an Austin-based, prescriptive analytics platform for factory management, raised $15 million in Series B funding. S3 Ventures led the round, and was joined by investors including Next Coast Ventures and Rony Kahan.
- Sunday, a Thailand-based full-stack insurtech, raised $11 million in further Series A funding. Quona Capital led the round, and was joined by investors including Accion and Vertex.
- D-Wave, a Canada-based quantum computing startup, raised $10 million in funding from NEC.
- Motivo, an Atlanta-based HIPAA-compliant video platform to connect clinical supervisors to mental health professionals, raised $2.2 million in seed funding. Cox Enterprises led the round, and was joined by investors including SEI Ventures, ECMC, Great Oaks VC, The Jump Fund, Emmett Partners, and Next Wave Impact Fund.
- Balloon, a San Francisco-based insight mobility platform, raised $2.1 million in seed funding. LAUNCH and Wavemaker Partners co-led the round, and was joined by investors including Imagination Capital, Streamlined Ventures, XFactor Ventures, and Matt Mullenweg.
PRIVATE EQUITY DEALS
- FineLine Technologies, which is backed by Summit Partners, acquired Consolidated Printing Inc, a Van Buren, Arkansas-based provider of printed tickets for professional and collegiate sporting event. Financial terms weren't disclosed.
- Barton Creek Equity Partners made an investment in FlowBelow, an Austin-based supplier of proprietary aerodynamic technologies for Class 8 trucks. Financial terms weren't disclosed.
- The Sterling Group made an investment in Bad Boy, a Batesville, Arkansas-based maker of lawn mowers. Financial terms weren't disclosed.
- Centauri, which is backed by Arlington Capital Partners, acquired The Design Knowledge Company and PreTalen. Financial terms weren't disclosed.
- CapitalSpring recapitalized Connor Concepts, a Knoxville, Tenn.-based operator of restaurant brands The Chop House and Connors Steak & Seafood. Financial terms weren't disclosed.
- Tower Arch Capital recapitalized Creedence Energy Services, a Minot, N.D.-based provider of production chemicals, acidizing services, and other custom solutions. Financial terms weren't disclosed.
- Gryphon Investors made a majority investment in Heartland Veterinary Partners, a Cream Ridge, N.J.-based veterinary support organization. Financial terms weren't disclosed.
- Accel-KKR made an investment in Duett AS, a Norway-based provider of software-as-a-service solutions to professional accountants and their clients. Financial terms weren't disclosed.
OTHER DEALS
- Think3 acquired StreetSmart, an Israel-based provider of mobile workforce management solutions. Financial terms weren't disclosed.
IPOs
- OneConnect Financial Technology, a Shenzhen, China-based platform for financial firms backed by Ping An Insurance, now plans to raise $247 million in an IPO of 26 million ADSs priced between $9 to $10. The firm posted $197.8 million in revenue and loss of $111.1 million in 2018. It plans to list on either the Nasdaq or NYSE as “OCFT.” Read more.
- Bill.com, a Palo Alto-based SaaS platform for automated billing, raised $216 million in an offering of 9.8 million shares priced above range at $22 apiece. The firm posted revenue of $78.4 million and loss of $7.3 million in the year ending June 2019. DCM, August Capital, and Ossa Investments back the firm. It plans to list on the NYSE as “BILL.” Read more.
- Ucommune, China’s biggest workspace provider, filed for an $100 million IPO. It posted net revenue of $62.7 million in 2018 and loss of $60.1 million. It plans to list on the NYSE as “UK.” Read more.
EXITS
- SolarWinds acquired VividCortex, a Charlottesville, Va.-based provider of SaaS-delivered database performance management. VividCortex had raised approximately $15.7 million in funding from investors including Bull City Venture Partners, Battery Ventures, NEA, and Osage Venture Partners.
- Ardian acquired a minority stake in Nutripack Group, a France-based packaging manufacturer for the food industry, from Crédit Mutuel Equity. Financial terms weren't disclosed.
FIRMS + FUNDS
- Omega Funds, a Boston-based private equity and venture capital firm, raised $438 million for its sixth fund.
- The CapStreet Group LLC, a Houston, Texas-based private equity firm, raised $500 million for its fifth fund.
PEOPLE
- Canaan promoted Brendan Dickinson and Julie Grant Promoted to general partner.
- TCV promoted John Burke, Matt Robinson, and Michelle Wickman to principal.
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