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A tale of two entertainment companies—one thriving, one struggling

Lucinda Shen
By
Lucinda Shen
Lucinda Shen
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Lucinda Shen
By
Lucinda Shen
Lucinda Shen
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May 7, 2020, 9:25 AM ET

This is the web version of Term Sheet, Fortune’s newsletter about deals and dealmakers. Sign up here.

Epic Games, the maker of Fortnite, has been absolutely on fire recently as consumers stuck at home look for entertainment from their living rooms.

But Endeavor Group Holdings, the major Hollywood talent agency that owns a stake in Epic Games, is struggling as live events and cinemas go dark.

Now in a bid to raise cash to carry itself through the pandemic, Endeavor is selling a part of its stake in the video-game publisher that it considers noncore to its larger focus on entertainment, per Bloomberg. It will sell as part of Epic’s next round of fundraising that values the gamemaker above its last $15 billion valuation in 2018. 

Will the sell off be an example of short-termism in the middle of coronavirus? Epic games appears to be thriving for sure—but game titles come and go, and Fortnite showed signs of slippage even before the pandemic hit.

The answer will depend on Epic’s ability to launch off of its coronavirus-fueled surge. Epic’s staying power may also lie in its gaming engine, Unreal, which relies less on the whims of gamers and more on developers building games on top of it. In December, a Twitter user asked if the company’s CEO considered Fortnite a game or platform. Chief executive Tim Sweeney responded: “Fortnite is a game. But please ask that question again in 12 months.”

Revamping the city: A spinoff of Alphabet’s cities-of-the-future arm, Sidewalk Labs, raised $400 million in Series A funding from the Google parent company and Ontario Teachers Pension Plan, per my colleague Jeff John Roberts in a Fortune exclusive.

Led by Jonathan Winer and Brian Barlow, Sidewalk Infrastructure Partnership (SIP) has lofty goals to revamp America’s infrastructure—though not so lofty as to run afoul of privacy concerns in the same way Sidewalk Labs did. Sidewalk Labs envisioned a smart city that used sensors to determine where people moved and how they lived in Toronto. But citizens grew fearful over Google amassing their data—stunting the project.

SIP is focused on a less glamorous approach, instead identifying “infrastructure that towns already need.” For instance, the company plans to tackle America’s plastic waste pile by sorting it with robotic arms and artificial intelligence. 

Read more.

On that note: Cities are embracing tech more than ever. On Wednesday, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo tapped former Google CEO Eric Schmidt to head a commission tasked with “reimagining” the state following the coronavirus. Schmidt said he will focus on areas such as telehealth, remote learning, and broadband. 

Lucinda Shen
Twitter: @shenlucinda
Email: lucinda.shen@fortune.com

VENTURE DEALS

- GRAIL, a Menlo Park, Calif.-based cancer detection company, raised $390 million in Series D funding. New investors include the Public Sector Pension Investment Board and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.

- Chehaoduo, a Chinese online used car and new car trading platform, raised $200 million in additional Series D funding. Sequoia Capital China and SoftBank Vision Fund were the investors. Read more.

- Lime, a scooter rental startup, raised $170 million in funding. Uber led the round, and was joined by investors including Alphabet, Bain Capital Ventures, and GV. Lime will also acquire Uber’s JUMP business.

- ASR Microelectronics, a Chinese chip developer, raised $119 million in extended Series D funding. China’s state-owned China Internet Investment Fund led the round, and was joined by investors including Sequoia CBC Cross-Border Digital Industry Fund and GL Ventures. Read more.

- Enflame Technology, a Shanghai-based artificial intelligence training platform, raised RMB 700 million ($98.6 million) in Series B funding. SummitView Capital led the round, and was joined by investors including Government-backed Shanghai Innovital Capital, Red Dot Capital, Redpoint Ventures China, Delta Capital, and Tencent, among others, also participated in the round. Read more.

- Ventus Therapeutics, a Waltham, Mass. and Montreal, Canada-based a biopharmaceutical company, raised $60 million in Series A financing. Versant Ventures led the round and was joined by investors including GV.

- Symend, a Calgary, Alberta-based customer engagement platform, raised $52 million in funding. Inovia Capital led the round and was joined by investors including Ignition Partners, Impression Ventures, BDC Capital’s Women in Technology Fund, Mistral Venture Partners, and angel investor Markus Frind.

- Covariant,  a Berkeley, Calif-based AI Robotics company, raised $40 million in Series B funding. Index Ventures led the round, and was joined by investors including Radical Ventures and Amplify Partners.

- Owkin,  a New York and Paris-based startup focused on AI in medical research, raised closed $25 million in funding. Bpifrance led  the round and was joined by investors including Cathay Innovation.

- Peanut, a London-based network for women focused on fertility and motherhood, raised $12 million in Series A  funding. EQT Ventures led the round, and was joined by investors including Index Ventures and Female Founders Fund. 

- Helium  Health, a Nigerian health startup, raised $10 million in Series A funding. Global Ventures and Africa Healthcare Masterfund co-led the round and was joined by investors including Tencent and Y-Combinator. Read more.

- Braid Health, a San Francisco-based developer of AI-powered diagnostic tools for radiology, raised $9 million in seed and Series A funding. Lux Capital led the round, and was joined by investors including 01 Advisors, and Rucker Park Capital.

- VNDLY, a Cincinatti, Oh.-based vendor management startup, raised $8.5 million in funding. Madrona Venture Group led the round. Read more.

- Qrvey, a Tyson, Va.-based analytics platform, raised $7.5 million in Series A in funding.

- Hydrant, a New York-based wellness brand focused on hydration, raised $5.7 million in Series A funding. Coefficient Capital led the round and was joined by investors including  Rx3 Ventures, and existing investors Soma Capital and Sixers Innovation Lab.

- Hub Security, a Tel-Aviv-based startup offering cybersecurity solutions for fintech and data storage, raised $5 million in Series A funding. AXA Ventures led the round, and was joined by investors including OurCrowd.

- Invisible AI, a San Francisco-based maker of computer vision for manufacturing companies, raised $3.6 million in seed funding. 8VC led the round, and was joined by investors including iRobot Ventures, K9 Ventures, Sierra Ventures, and Slow Ventures. 

- StorySlab, a Syracuse, N.Y.-based digital sales company, raised $2.7 million in funding. Armory Square Ventures led the round and was joined by investors including RiverPark Ventures and TIA Ventures.

- Banked, a London-based fintech using open banking, raised £2.35 million ($2.9 million) in further seed funding. Force Over Mass led the round and was joined by investors including Backed and Acrew Capital. Read more.

- AskRobin, an Estonia-based fintech focused on customers in Latin America, raised $1.7 million in funding. Investors include Change Ventures, Vereeni Early Stage Fund, BENE Asia Capital, and Lemonade Stand. Read more.

- Deep Render, a London-based machine learning startup raised £1.6 million ($2 million) in funding. Pentech led the round, and was joined by investors including Speedinvest.

- Burst Oral Care, a Venice, Calif.-based seller of electric toothbrushes, raised an undisclosed amount of Series C funding. Goldman Sachs Growth Equity led the round.

- White Ops, a New York-based bot mitigation and fraud protection firm, raised an undisclosed amount. Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking Division and ClearSky Security were the investors.

PRIVATE EQUITY

- Aspen Surgical Products, backed by Audax Private Equity, acquired Precept, a North Carolina-based provider of disposable face masks and gowns. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

- Astra Capital Management made a majority investment in DartPoints Holding Company, a Dallas, Texas-based owner and operator of edge colocation data centers. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

- Bregal Sagemount invested $80 million in Corcentric, a Cherry Hill, N.J.-based provider of business spend management and revenue management software and services. Read more.

- Global Emerging Markets invested C$100 million ($70.6 million) in Global Crossing Airlines, a Canadian jetliner. Canada Jetlines (TSXV: JET) will combine with Global Crossing Airlines. 

- General Tools & Instruments, a portfolio company of High Road Capital Partners, acquired Garden Weasel, a Secaucus, N.J.-based provider of specialized lawn and garden tools, from Faultless Brands.

- Intrepid Solutions and Services, backed by Bluestone Investment Partners, acquired a business unit of Delta Solutions and Strategies, a Colorado Springs, Colo.-based consulting service.

- Sole Source Capital acquired Supply Chain Services, an Oakdale, Minn.-based provider of factory automation software. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

- VertexOne, backed by DFW Capital, acquired WaterSmart Software, a San Francisco-based provider of customer engagement and analytics for the water utility industry. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

OTHERS

- Telefonica SA and Liberty Global have agreed to create the U.K.’s largest phone and internet operator by combining Telefonica’s O2 and Liberty’s Virgin Media for a new company valued at $38 billion. Read more.

- GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK) is selling $3.45 billion worth of shares in Unilever’s (NYSE: UN) Indian business in the open market, per Reuters citing sources. Read more.

- BioNTech (Nasdaq: BNTX) acquired Neon Therapeutics (Nasdaq: NTGN), a Cambridge, Mass.-based biotech. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

- JD Sports Fashion’s purchase of Footasylum, a U.K.-based seller of sneakers, was blocked by the U.K. antitrust regulator. Read more.

EXITS

- Arcline Investment Management acquired Unitec Elevator, a New York City-based provider of elevator maintenance, repair, and modernization services, from Pacific Avenue Capital Partners. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

- HPS Investment Partners, GIC and Farallon acquired a stake in Ateno (NYSE: ATTO), a provider of customer relationship management services in Latin America, from Bain Capital. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

F+FS

- Apollo Global Management is seeking to raise up to $3 billion for its second infrastructure fund, reported Bloomberg. Read more.

- Autotech Ventures raised $150 million for its second fund.

PEOPLE

- Adams Street Partners appointed Robin Murray as its  Head of Growth Equity Investments.

About the Author
Lucinda Shen
By Lucinda Shen
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