The death of a venture capital program focused on profitability

Hello, readers. Lucinda here, back from break. 

Venture capital-backed businesses aren’t exactly known for profitability. Instead, the story is oftentimes of a company gobbling up hundreds of millions—if not billions—of dollars to scale up rapidly. The profits come after.

But Indie.vc sought to focus on creating a profitable and revenue business first and foremost. Launched in 2015 through O’Reilly Alpha Tech Ventures, the program has focused on investing in businesses that it believes demonstrate a clear path to profitability and do not require significant upfront funding for research and development. Having invested in nearly 40 startups, Indie.vc also allows a business to effectively buy back shares as a portion of revenue for a return capped at three times.

It’s joined a growing and much-watched class of those challenging the traditional venture capital model. But Indie.vc’s website, featuring a black-and-white clip of a burning unicorn (signaling its status as a non-traditional investor in the space), took on a slightly different slant on Tuesday: In a Medium post titled The End of Indie, founder Bryce Roberts announced that the program had come to an end. Indie would stop making new investments “at this time,” though it was continuing to focus on “strategies within the portfolio.”

The post pointed to difficulties drumming up support with limited partners to grow Indie.vc. It reflected struggles the firm had early on in convincing existing LPs of its strategy.

“We’ve not been shy in sharing the challenges of departing from the well-known narratives of startups and VCs. 4 years ago, it cost us 80% of our LP base. Unfortunately, as we’ve sought to lean more aggressively into scaling our investments and ideas behind an ‘Indie Economy’ we’ve not found that same level of enthusiasm from the institutional LP market,” Roberts wrote in the Medium post. “This is not intended to be a pity party; rather, a public acknowledgment that the initial Indie experiment has come to an end.”

In April, Roberts told TechCrunch that profitability is “more achievable than a Series A round” or even a Series B round. But at a time when investors remain more than happy to pour hundreds of millions into unprofitable startups and SPACs, the “p” word seems to be taking a back seat once more.

GREENSILL CAPITAL TO FILE FOR INSOLVENCY: As SoftBank-backed Coupang prepares for a blockbuster U.S. IPO, another part of the SoftBank Vision Fund is undergoing damage control. Once valued as high as $4 billion, Greensill Capital, a fintech, is preparing to file for insolvency in the U.K. this week, per the Wall Street Journal. Apollo Global Management would take over Greensill’s operating business. Read more.

Anne Sraders helped curate today’s Term Sheet.

VENTURE DEALS

- Instacart, the San Francisco-based grocery platform, raised $265 million in a funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia Capital, D1 Capital Partners, Fidelity Management & Research Company, and T. Rowe Price.

- Rohlik Group, a Prague-based online grocery business, raised €190 million ($230 million) in funding. Partech led the round, and was joined by investors including Index Ventures, EBRD, J&T Banka, Quadrille Capital, R2G and Enern.

- Century Therapeutics, a Philadelphia-based cell therapy focused on immuno-oncology, raised $160 million in Series C funding. Casdin Capital led the round.

- Clari, a Sunnyvale, Calif.-based revenue forecasting startup, raised $150 million at a $1.6 billion valuation. Silver Lake led the round and was joined by investors including B Capital Group, Sequoia Capital, Bain Capital Ventures, and Sapphire Ventures. 

- Deliverr, a San Francisco-based merchant fulfillment platform, raised $135 million in Series D funding and a $35 million convertible note. Coatue and Brookfield Technology Partners led the financing, and were joined by investors including Activant Capital, 8VC and GLP.

- TaxBit, a Salt Lake City, Utah-based cryptocurrency tax and accounting software platform, raised $100 million in Series A funding. Paradigm and Tiger Global led the round, and were joined by investors including PayPal Ventures, Coinbase Ventures,  and Winklevoss Capital.

- Turntide Technologies, a Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company making sustainable electric motors, raised $80 million in funding. Breakthrough Energy Ventures led the round, and was joined by investors including FootPrint Coalition Ventures, the Amazon Climate Pledge Fund, Keyframe Capital, Fifth Wall and Captain Planet. Read more. 

- Beam Dental, a Columbus, Oh.-based dental insurer rewarding users for good dental hygiene, raised $80 million in Series E funding. Mercato Partners’ Traverse led the round and was joined by investors including Drive Capital, Georgian, Nationwide, and Breakout Capital. 

- Yugabyte, a Sunnyvale, Calif.-based SQL database company, raised $48 million. Lightspeed Venture Partners led the round and was joined by investors including Greenspring Associates, Dell Technologies Capital, Wipro Ventures, and 8VC.

Identiq, a Tel Aviv-based identity access management company, raised $47 million in Series A funding. Insight Partners and Entrée Capital led the round and was joined by investors including Amdocs, Sony Innovation Fund by IGV, Vertex Ventures Israel, Oryzn Capital, and Slow Ventures.

- Cutover, a London-based workplace organization and analytics platform, raised $35 million in Series B funding. Eldridge led the round, and was joined by investors including Index Ventures, Sussex Place Ventures and Contour Ventures.

- Retail Zipline, a San Francisco-based maker of a retail operations platform, raised $30 million in Series B funding. Fifth Wall led the round and was joined by investors including Emergence Capital, Ridge Ventures, Hillsven Capital, Matt Wallach (co-founder of Veeva), and Robert J. Fisher.

- Parabol, an Alhambra, Calif.-based company making agile meeting tools for remote teams, raised $8 million in Series A funding. M12 led the round, and was joined by investors including Techstars, CRV, and Haystack. Read more. 

- BLEND, a Los Angeles-based on-demand translation service formerly known as OneHourTranslation, raised $10 million in funding. Fortissimo Capital led the round. 

- DTx Pharma, a San Diego-based biotech developing RNA-based therapeutics for genetic diseases, raised $100 million in Series B funding. RA Capital Management led the round, and was joined by investors including Access Biotechnology, Surveyor Capital, Cormorant Asset Management, Janus Henderson Investors, Logos Capita, Friedman Bioventure Fund, Eli Lilly, Viva BioInnovator, and ExSight Ventures. 

- Retail Zipline, a San Francisco-based retail operations platform, raised $30 million in Series B funding. Fifth Wall led the round, and was joined by investors including Emergence Capital, Ridge Ventures, Hillsven Capital, Matt Wallach, co-founder of Veeva, and Fisher Family Fund. 

- Dooly, a Canadian sales CRM platform, raised $20 million in seed and Series A funding.$3.3M, led by boldstart ventures led its $3.3 million seed round while Addition led the $17 million Series A.

- Maestro, a Los Angeles-based streaming platform for content creators, raised $15 million in Series B funding from investors including NetEase, Sony Music Entertainment, Acronym Venture Capital, SeventySix Capital, The Strand Partners, Stadia Ventures, Hersh Interactive Group, and Transcend Fund. 

- Simplebet, a New York-based developer of sports betting technology, raised $15 million. Investors included Aristocrat, Florida Funders, and Mario Gabelli’s GGCP Partnership Fund.

-URB-E, a Los Angeles-based compact container delivery company, raised $5 million in Series A funding. UBS Group led the round. 

-Spark Advisors, a New York-based retirement Medicare benefits brokerage, raised $3.6 million in funding. Primary Ventures led the round, and was joined by investors including Vine Ventures and Torch Capital.

-BrioHR, a Malaysia-based HR software platform, raised $1.3 million in funding. Global Founders Capital led the round, and was joined by investors including East Ventures and angel investors. Read more. 

PRIVATE EQUITY

- Apollo Global Management agreed to acquire The Venetian Resort and Sands Expo and Convention Center Operating Company, the Las Vegas-based casino operating company, from Las Vegas Sands (NYSE: LVS) for about $2.3 billion.  VICI Properties will buy the land and real estate assets of the Venetian for $4 billion.

- Carrick Capital Partners invested in Renalogic, a dialysis risk management and cost containment company. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

- Clearlake Capital Group and TA Associates acquired control of Precisely, a Pearl River, N.Y.-based software company, for $3.5 billion from Centerbridge Partners, per Reuters. Read more.

-Five Elms Capital invested in Karbon, a Lake Tahoe-based management software provider for accounting firms. Financial terms weren’t disclosed. 

- Investors led by Schneider Electric and Huck Capital are nearing a deal to invest in Uplight, a Boulder, Colo.-based utility software company, in a deal valued at $1.5 billion, per Bloomberg. Rubicon Technology Partners, which formed Uplight, will remain a minority investor. Read more.

- NAMSA, backed by ArchiMed, acquired American Preclinical Services, a Minneapolis-based clinical contract research organization. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

- ProPharma Group, owned by Odyssey Investment Partners, acquired Diamond Pharma Services, a U.K.-based biotech and pharmaceutical compliance and regulatory affairs consulting firm. Financial terms weren’t disclosed. 

- Sitecore, backed by EQT, agreed to acquire Boxever, a customer data company. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

- Whitebridge Pet Brands, backed by Frontenac, acquired Grizzly Pet Products, a Washington-based maker of pet supplements. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

EXITS

- Warburg Pincus acquired Infinite Electronics, an Irvine, Calif.-based provider of electronic components for engineers, from Genstar Capital. Financial terms weren’t disclosed. 

- TPG Capital agreed to acquire Thycotic, a Washington, D.C.-based cloud-based access solutions provider, from Insight Partners. It will merge Thycotic with Centrify, a TPG-backed, Santa Clara, Calif.-based rival. Financial terms weren’t disclosed.

- Apollo Global Management is reportedly interested in buying Michaels, the Irving, Texas-based craft store, The New York Times reported citing sources. Read more. 

- Providence Equity Partners invested in Node4, a U.K.-based cloud-led digital transformation  company. Bowmark Capital and LDC exited. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

- RV Retailer acquired Family RV Group, a Cincinnati-based RV retailer, from Kidd & Company. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

OTHER

-Alimentiv Health Trust acquired McDougall Scientific, a Canada-based statistical analysis firm focused on data management and clinical trial design. Financial terms weren’t disclosed. 

- Cruise, majority owned by General Motors, is in talks to acquire Voyage, a Palo Alto autonomous tech startup, per Bloomberg. Investors in Voyage include SV Angel, CRV, Khosla, and Chevron. Read more.

- eBay and Norway’s Adevinta have submitted a plan to sell three British units to gain regulatory approval for a tie-up of their ad businesses in the U.K.. Read more.

- Epic Games announced plans to acquire Tonic Games Group, a London-based publisher known for its battle royale games. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

- PayPal is reportedly in talks to buy Curv, a New York-based digital asset security and storage firm, per outlets including Bloomberg and CoinDesk. Read more. 

- Uber spun off Postmates X, the San Francisco-based robotics division of Postmates, and renamed it Serve Robotics. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

- Sedgwick acquired Construction Services Company, a California-based building consulting firm. Financial terms weren’t disclosed. 

- Wix (Nasdaq: WIX) acquired SpeedETab, a Miami, Fla.-based online ordering platform. Financial terms weren’t disclosed.

IPO

- Autohome, the Chinese online vehicle company currently listed in the U.S., plans to raise as much as $1.1 billion in its Hong Kong secondary listing, per Reuters. Read more.

- Oscar Health, the insurtech business, raised $1.4 billion for its IPO after pricing at $39 a share. Alphabet and Thrive Capital back the firm.

- Icon Health & Fitness, a Logan, Ut.-basd exercise-machine company, is weighing an IPO that could value it at $7 billion, per Bloomberg. Read more.

- AppLovin, a Palo Alto, Calif.-based mobile games marketing firm, filed to raise up to $100 million. The company had $1.5 billion in revenues and $126 million in net loss for 2020. KKR backs the firm. Read more. 

- LAVA Therapeutics, a Netherlands-based biotech using gamma-delta T cells to treat cancer, filed to raise $100 million. The company posted $4 million in revenue and $17 million in losses for 2020. Versant Venture (22% pre-offering) and Sanofi (9.7%) back the firm. Read more.

SPAC

- Doma, a San Francisco-based real estate tech startup focused on closing transactions, will go public via merger with Capitol Investment V in a deal valued at $3 billion. 

- Sportradar, a Swiss gambling data company, is in talks to go public via merger with Horizon Acquisition II, per Bloomberg. Read more.

- Orion Acquisition, a SPAC by former executives at WellCare, raised $360 million by offering 36 million shares, more than anticipated. Read more

- Advanced Merger Partners, a SPAC by Houlihan Lokey and Saddle Point Management, raised $250 million. Read more. 

- Do It Again, a SPAC by former Sonic CEO Clifford Hudson and former Mayor of Tulsa, Okla. Kathy Taylor, targeting restaurant companies in North America, filed to raise $125 million. Read more.

- Atlas Crest Investment III, the third SPAC by Moelis & Company, filed to raise $600 million. Read more. 

- Atlas Crest Investment IV, the fourth SPAC from Moelis & Company, filed to raise $400 million. Read more. 

- Atlas Crest Investment V, Moelis & Company’s fifth SPAC, filed to raise $200 million. Read more. 

- Acamar Partners Acquisition II, travel retailer Dufry executive Juan Carlos Torres’s second SPAC, filed to raise $350 million. Read more. 

- Accelerate Acquisition, a SPAC from former The Home Depot and Chrysler CEO Robert Nardelli, filed to raise $400 million. Read more. 

- Live Oak Mobility Acquisition, the third SPAC from Live Oak Merchant Partners, raised $220 million by offering 22 million shares, more than anticipated. Read more. 

- Iron Spark I, a SPAC from Bain Capital’s Amy Butte, Winc founder Alexander Oxman, and early stage investor Joshua Spear, filed to raise $175 million. Read more. 

- NightDragon Acquisition, a SPAC from NightDragon seeking a cybersecurity company, raised $300 million. Read more. 

- Research Alliance II, RA Capital’s second SPAC focusing on biotech companies, filed to raise $130 million. Read more. 

- two, the second SPAC by Eventbrite co-founder Kevin Hartz and other executives, filed to raise $200 million. Read more

- Dragoneer Growth Opportunities III, the third SPAC from Dragoneer Investment Group, filed to raise $400 million. Read more

F+FS

- Atomic, a San Francisco-based venture firm that funds companies it founds, raised $260 million for a new fund. Read more. 

PEOPLE

- Interlace Ventures, a San Francisco-base seed-stage fund, added Vibhu Norby and Sydney Werber as venture partners.

- ForgePoint Capital, a San Mateo, Calif.-based venture investor in cybersecurity companies, named Morgan Gerlak as a principal.