Investors are pivoting to coronavirus-boosted industries like healthcare and remote work

Startup investors like to make long-term bets on, say, the future of automation or e-commerce, with a time horizon averaging seven years.

But many investments end up being more based on trends, for better or for worse—and over the past few months, coronavirus has become one of those events that is shifting investors’ tastes. More and more, early-stage investors are focused on areas that are experiencing explosive growth in the middle of the global pandemic: Think telemedicine as consumers avoid hospitals, deliveries as households remain sequestered, and remote-collaboration software as corporations worldwide shift to working at home. 

A recent survey of 139 early-stage investors by 500 Startups found that roughly 80% of them felt an increased interest in investing in industries thriving during the coronavirus. In particular, 47% were more partial to healthcare, 42% to remote work solutions, and 32% to logistics. Investors think the coronavirus is accelerating user adoption, forcing consumers onto platforms they once avoided potentially for the long-term.

Big trends aside though, I’d also wager that it’s hard not to pick at all the flaws of something like a video-conferencing platform when you’re forced to spend hours on it.

Perhaps these investors are shopping for upgrades.

SPEAKING OF ZOOM: The video-chat platform’s rapid rise and subsequent intense scrutiny is also a model for how some companies that have flourished in the time of coronavirus could buckle under the pressure. Zoom comes with multiple security concerns—and citing those worries, the U.S. Senate has placed an unofficial ban on the tool. As have school districts, the government of Taiwan, and Google.

FINALLY, GOOD SOFTBANK NEWS: Here’s one SoftBank Vision Fund bet that has apparently managed an up-round. San Jose, Calif.-based Cohesity, which effectively stores backup data, raised $250 million in Series E funding led by DFJ Growth, Foundation Capital, Greenspring Associates, and Wing Venture Capital. Existing investors Sequoia Capital and SoftBank Vision Fund I also participated—valuing the company at $2.5 billion.  

The most recent valuation is “more than double” that of its last fundraise in 2018, according to the company. Interestingly, this most recent round is at the same size as the last, at $250 million.

VENTURE DEALS

- BigBasket, an Indian grocery startup,  raised $60 million in a bridge round. Alibaba, Mirae Asset, and CDC Group  participated. Read more.

- Bugcrowd, a San Francisco-based crowdsourced security company, raised $30 million in Series D funding. Rally Ventures led the round.

- Teamworks, a Durham-based athlete engagement platform, raised $25 million in Series C funding. Delta-v Capital led the round, and was joined by investors including Afia Capital and Stadia Ventures and returning investors General Catalyst, Seaport Capital, DUMAC, Steve Pagliuca, and Reggie Love.

- Tonkean, a San Francisco, Calf.-based platform for business operations, raised $24 million in Series A funding. Lightspeed Venture Partners led the round, and was joined by investors including Foundation Capital, Magma Venture Partners, and Slow Ventures.

- SilverCloud Health, a Boston-based digital mental health platform for healthcare systems and providers, raised $16 million in Series B funding. MemorialCare Innovation Fund led the round, and was joined by investors including LRVHealth, OSF Ventures, and UnityPoint Health Ventures.

- Universe, a Brooklyn, N.Y.-based mobile website builder, has raised $10 million in Series A funding from GV. Read more.

- Sila, a Portland, Ore.-based banking and payments API platform for software teams, raised $7.7 million in seed funding. Madrona Venture Group and Oregon Venture Fund co-led the round, and was joined by investors including  Mucker Capital, 99 Tartans, Taavet Kinrikus, and Jerry Neumann.

- Dorsata, an Arlington, Va.-based female health startup, raised $5.2 million in Series A funding. The round included Women’s Health USA, QED Investors, LabCorp, Fool Ventures, and Gore Range Capital.

- Wellpay, a San Mateo, Calif.-based virtual billing startup, raised $3.8 million in financing from lead investors 8vc, Mubadala Capital-Ventures, Montage Ventures, and TTCER. 

- Vela Games, an Dublin-based video game startup, raised $3.1 million. London Venture Partners led the round, and was joined by existing investor IIU.

- ClimateView, a Swedish company designing a platform for cities pledging to  become carbon neutral, raised $2.5 million. Norrsken Foundation and Nordic Makers led the round.

PRIVATE EQUITY

- Aqualis Stormwater Management, backed by DFW Capital Partners, acquired Kleenco USA, an Alexandria, In.-based provider of stormwater and lift station services. 

- Therapeutic Research Center, a portfolio company of Levine Leichtman Capital Partners, acquired CriticalPoint and Clinical IQ. Totowa, N.J.-based CriticalPoint provides patient safety training programs to the healthcare industry while Florham Park, N.J.-based Clinical IQ provides consulting services in the areas of sterile compounding. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

OTHERS

- Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund PIF has amassed a $200 million stake in Norway’s state oil company, Equinor. Read more.

- iFood merged with Delivery Hero-owned Domicilios.com, an Colombian food delivery delivery marketplace. Financial terms weren't disclosed, though iFood will hold 51% in the company and Delivery Hero will hold the remaining 49%.

F+FS

- StepStone Group raised $2.1 billion for its StepStone Secondary Opportunities Fund IV.

- Index Ventures raised $2 billion across two funds: $1.2 billion for growth-stage investments and $800 million for earlier stage companies.

- Qiming Venture Partners raised $1.1 billion for its seventh fund targeting early stage healthcare and technology investments.

- 3L Capital raised $211.6 million for its venture fund. Read more.

- The Silverfern Group held its first close of Silverfern Global Opportunities Fund III at over €110 million ($119.5 million) targeting middle-market private equity.

- ASF VIII raised $322.2 million.  J.P. Morgan Private Investments manages the fund. Read more.

PEOPLE

- Centerview Partners appointed Matthieu Pigasse as a Partner to lead its French practice.