A Chinese COVID Delta variant vaccine maker gets a boost

On Thursday, Chinese vaccine maker Clover Biopharmaceuticals raised $240 million in an IPO in Hong Kong, valuing it at nearly $2 billion.

The company has yet to post a profit or real revenue, for that matter, as it doesn’t have an approved product on the market. But the company, founded by a former Vanderbilt University biochemist Peng Liang, does have a protein-based COVID-19 vaccine that appears to be working comparatively well against the Delta variant that has come to consume the globe.

The company has said that its vaccine is 67% effective against COVID-19 of any degree and 79% effective against the severely infectious Delta variant.

And that is what investors appear to be betting most on, per my colleague Grady McGregor—and no doubt backing from a Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation-tied research group, CEPI, also lent to its credibility. Still, the company took a bit of a hit, falling as much as 8.7% in its debut.

What’s even more fascinating about this story: The company is 14 years old—and while it does have other goods in the works, it’s clear that its work on the Delta variant is what allowed the company to hit its stride.

To be clear, it’s not uncommon for biopharmaceutical companies to go to market without a product: Moderna, for instance, had never released a successful drug to the public before it shot into the broader public’s spotlight for its COVID-19 vaccine. 

TOXIC THURSDAY: Former Rivian Vice President of Sales Laura Schwab is suing the  electric-vehicle maker as it seems an enormous IPO, alleging gender discrimination and a “toxic bro culture,” per the Wall Street Journal. On the same day, Insider released a harrowing and truly disturbing story about Dave Portnoy, accusing the founder of sports site Barstool Sports of sexual misconduct. Barstool in turn dubbed the accusations as half-truths, while Rivian declined to respond citing its IPO quiet period. 

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

Jessica Mathews curated the IPO and SPAC sections of this newsletter.

VENTURE DEALS

-Helion Energy, a fusion energy company, raised $500 million in Series E funding, and has $1.7 billion in committments tied to performance milestones. Sam Altman (CEO of OpenAI) led the round and was joined by investors including Facebook Dustin Moskovitz, Mithril Capital, and Capricorn Investment Group.

-Momenta, Chinese autonomous driving company, raised $200 million in additional Series C funding. Investors include SAIC Capital and Jack Ma’s Yunfeng Capital.

-Fountain, a San Francisco-based maker of software for hiring hourly workers, raised $85 million in Series C funding. SoftBank Vision Fund led the round and was joined by investors including B Capital and Mirae Investment.

-Sama, a Montreal-based maker of data for A.I. training, raised $70 million in Series B funding. Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec led the round and was joined by investors including First Ascent Ventures, Salesforce Ventures, and Vistara Capital Partners.

-GlycoEra, a Swiss biotech, raised CHF 45 million ($49 million) in Series A funding. 5AM Ventures, Roche Venture Fund, and Sofinnova Partners led the round.

-Babylist, an Oakland, Calif.-based baby goods e-commerce site, raised $40 million in Series C funding. Norwest Venture Partners led the round and was joined by investors including Halogen Ventures, 500 Global, Next Play Capital, and Marcy Venture Partners.

-Neuro-ID, a Whitefish, Mt.-based fraud detection company, raised $35 million in Series B funding. Canapi Ventures led the round and was joined by investors including Fin VC and TTV Capital.

-Faraway, a Miami-based game developer and publishing studio, raised $21 million in Series A funding. Lightspeed Venture Partners and FTX led the round and were joined by investors including a16z, Sequoia Capital, Pantera Capital, Jump Capital, and Solana.

-Propelo, a San Francisco-based engineering analytics and automation company, raised $12 million in Series A funding. Decibel Partners led the round and was joined by investors including Fike Ventures, Eniac Ventures, and Fathom Capital.

-Quartr, a Stockholm-based maker of a financial information app, raised $4.5 million in seed funding. The Öhman Group led the round and was joined by investors including Michael Batnick, Ben Carlson, Josh Brown, Barry Ritholtz, as well as Peter Sterky (CEO of Trift Capital).

-Doorsey, a Spokane, Wash.-based home buying tech company, raised $4.1 million in seed funding. 166 2nd Financial Services, Adam Neumann’s home office, led the round and was joined by investors including Agya Ventures, Liquid 2 Ventures, SRM Development, and Sam Parr (Founder of The Hustle).

-Waterplan, a San Francisco-based water management software maker, raised $2.6 million in seed funding. Giant Ventures led the round.

-DigiLens, a Sunnyvale, Calif.-based maker of holographic display and waveguide tech, raised an undisclosed amount of Series D funding valuing it at $500 million. Samsung Electronics led the round.

PRIVATE EQUITY

-The new media company formed by entertainment execs Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs and backed by Blackstone agreed to acquire Moonbug Entertainment, a children’s entertainment company behind YouTube’s biggest channel focused on kids. Financial terms weren't disclosed though Deadline reports the deal could be valued at as much as $3 billion.

-Crossplane Capital invested in Domino Equipment Company, an Oklahoma City-based provider of fuel station and car wash equipment as well as operator of car washes. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

-Main Street Capital invested in Flame King, a supplier of propane storage solutions and accessories. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

-Vitesse Systems, backed by Trive Capital, acquired Sterling Precision, a Clinton, Mass.-based maker of cold plates, chassis assemblies and waveguides. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

EXIT

-Investors including EagleTree Capital acquired Lignetics, a consumer-focused wood pellet manufacturer, from Taglich Private Equity and Mill Road Capital. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

IPO

- PT Telkom Indonesia’s infrastructure services unit, PT Dayamitra Telekomunikasi, raised around $1.3 billion in an IPO in Indonesia, per Bloomberg. It was the country’s largest IPO in more than 10 years.

- Cian, a Russian online real estate classifieds platform, and its shareholders raised $291 million in an offering of 18.2 million ADSs (78% sold by insiders) priced at $16 per ADS. The company posted $55 million in revenue in 2020 and reported a loss of $9 million. Elbrus Capital and Goldman Sachs back the firm.

- Vaxxinity, a Dallas, Tex.-based chronic disease biotechnology company and COVID vaccine developer, plans to raise up to $107 million in an offering of 6.7 million shares priced between $14 and $16 per share. The company posted $557,000 in revenue in 2020 and a net loss of $40 million. The firm is a subsidiary of United Biomedical and is backed by Prime Movers Lab.

- IO Biotech, a Copenhagen-based immune-modulating cancer therapy development company, raised $100 million in an offering of 7.2 million shares priced at $14 per share. The company reported a $12 million net loss in 2020 and has yet to post revenue. Novo Holdings, Lundbeckfond Emerge, Sunstone Life Science Ventures, Vivo Capital, and HBM Healthcare Investments back the firm.

- Real Good Food, a Cherry Hill, New Jersey-based gluten-free frozen food company, plans to raised $64 million in an offering of of 5.3 million shares priced at $12 per share—it had previously planned to price shares at up to $16. The company posted $39 million in revenue in 2020 and reported a $16 million net loss. Fidelity Investments backs the firm.

- HashiCorp, a San Francisco-based cloud workflow platform, filed for an IPO. The company posted total revenue of $222 million in the year ending in Jan. 2021 and reported a net loss of $84 million. Mayfield, GGV Capital, Redpoint Ventures, and True Ventures back the firm.

- Milan Laser, an Omaha, Neb.-based laser hair removal company, filed for an IPO. The company posted net revenue of $70 million in 2020 and a net loss of $2 million. Leonard Green backs the firm.

- MDxHealth, a Belgian urologic solution diagnostics company, raised $45 million in an offering of 3.8 million ADSs priced at $12 per ADS. The company posted $18 million in revenue in 2020 and reported $29 million in losses for the year. MVM Partners, Valiance Asset Management, and Soleus Capital Management back the firm.

- Jenni Kayne, a West Hollywood, Calif.-based apparel and home goods company, is weighing an IPO in the next one to three years, per Bloomberg.

- ManoMano, a Paris-based DIY home improvement marketplace, is weighing an IPO, according to Bloomberg. Dragoneer, Temasek Holdings, and General Atlantic back the firm.

- Rappi, a Colombian delivery app, is planning to IPO in the U.S. next year, according to Bloomberg. SoftBank, Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, and Tiger Global Management back the firm..

F+FS

-Enjin formed a $100 million Metaverse Fund for Efinity.

-UpWest closed a $70 million fund focused on Israeli founders.

PEOPLE

-Mainsail Partners promoted David Farsai and Jason Frankel to partner.