Who’s tired of it? Doom and gloom. Doom and gloom. And—just for good measure—a little more doom and gloom.
There’s probably been enough layoffs, monkeypox, and bankruptcy talk to get you through the weekend. Trust me: We journalists get a lot of grief for always being so negative (From my dentist this week: I don’t read the news anymore, because it’s so depressing!).
New data from CB Insights shows that global venture funding fell 23% in Q2 from the first quarter’s already slow rates. Some VCs may even be taking the whole summer off as they wait for terms to normalize again.
So in the interest of kicking off a summer Friday, here are some good news stories to send you off into the weekend (or the whole rest of the summer, if that’s your plan…)
So let’s get on with it:
- Hair transplants are cheaper in Turkey.
- A bear cub got his head stuck in a jug, but it has been removed.
- Aurora, Colo. is allowing ice cream trucks back into town after a 65-year ban.
- Boris Johnson resigned.
- A startup is reviving Iraq’s date production industry.
- Those pesty, but cute, little yellow blobs broke box office records.
- You can now get paid to catch and eat certain fish in Maryland.
- Last year was a record one for retirement balances. We love to save!
- An astronomical calculator found in a shipwreck is the most sophisticated mechanical device we’ve found to-date from the last millennium.
- Geckos and possums get along.
Sorry, but I do have to mention… that Sunny Balwani, the Theranos’ COO and Elizabeth Holmes’ former boyfriend, was convicted of all 12 counts of fraud yesterday (You can read more about the trial here). And Rajeev Misra will take a step back from his main roles at SoftBank and is launching a new multi-billion fund.
Going public! Bloomberg reported yesterday that private equity and venture capital firm General Atlantic is speaking with advisers about a potential IPO.
A programming note… Don’t worry. I’m not going anywhere. Well, I am. I’m going to Aspen this Sunday for our Brainstorm Tech conference. But I’ll still be writing this newsletter, and I plan to be writing about the conference. If you will be there, say hi! You should also come to the eVTOL panel I am moderating on the mainstage or the investing roundtable breakfast I’m hosting. If you can’t make those, tag along with me on the Monday morning hike. Can’t wait to see you there!
Until Monday,
Jessica Mathews
Twitter: @jessicakmathews
Email: jessica.mathews@fortune.com
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Jackson Fordyce curated the deals section of today’s newsletter.
VENTURE DEALS
- Coalition, a San Francisco-based digital and executive risk insurance company, raised an additional $250 million in Series F funding. Allianz X, Valor Equity Partners, Kinetic Partners, and others invested in the round.
- Flexe, a Seattle-based programmatic logistics company, raised $119 million in Series D funding. Funds and accounts managed by BlackRock, Activate Capital, Madrona Ventures, Prologis Ventures, Redpoint Ventures, T. Rowe Price Associates, T. Rowe Price Investment Management, and Tiger Global invested in the round.
- Tebra, a Newport Beach, Calif.-based operating system for independent health care practices, raised $72 million in funding. Golub Capital led the round and was joined by investors including OpenView Venture Partners, Greenspring Associates, Stripes Group, Montreux Growth Partners, Toba Capital, and Vivo Capital.
- DEUNA, a Mexico City-based commerce operating system, raised $30 million in Series A funding. Activant Capital led the round and was joined by investors including Valor Capital, Abstract Ventures, Acrew Capital, Upload Ventures, and other angels.
- Kernal Biologics, a Cambridge, Mass.-based development-stage mRNA-technology company developing cancer therapeutics, raised $25 million in Series A funding. Hummingbird Ventures led the round and was joined by investors including Amgen Ventures, HBM Genomics, Civilization Ventures, and others.
- Lucinity, a Reykjavík, Iceland-based anti-money laundering software developer, raised $17 million in Series B funding. Keen Venture Partners led the round and was joined by investors including Experian, Crowberry Capital, Karma Ventures, and byFounders.
- Logiwa, a Chicago-based cloud fulfillment platform, raised $16.4 million in Series B funding. NewRoad Capital Partners led the round and was joined by investors including Valor Siren Ventures, Runway Venture Partners, Spider Capital, and Launch Capital.
- Griffin, a London-based banking as a service fintech firm, raised $15.5 million in funding. Notion Capital led the round and was joined by investors including EQT Ventures, Plaid co-founder and Column founder and co-CEO William Hockey, Wise vice president of growth Nilan Peiris, Liberis CEO Rob Straathof, and Mollie CEO Shane Happach.
- Fyto, a Bay Area, Calif-based aquatic plant science automation company, raised $15 million in Series A funding. GV led the round and was joined by investors including AgFunder, Refactor Capital, First Star Ventures, and Bolt.
- Sortera Alloys, a Fort Wayne, Ind.-based scrap metal sorting and recycling company, raised $10 million in funding. Assembly Ventures led the round and was joined by investors including Breakthrough Energy Ventures and Novelis.
- WagerWire, a Los Angeles-based marketplace where bettors can buy and sell previously placed sports bets, raised $3 million in seed funding. Miami Marlins and Leeds United FC co-owner Roger Ehrenberg led the round as a part of his venture funds IA Sports Ventures and Eberg Capital and was joined by investors including Cardinal Sports Capital, 305 Ventures, Full Moon Sports Solutions, Sports Meta, and others.
PRIVATE EQUITY
- Mercer Global Advisors acquired Harrison & Company Wealth Management, a Roanoke, Va.-based wealth management firm. Financial terms were not disclosed.
- Prime ABA, backed by Godspeed Capital, acquired a majority stake in Zyscovich, a Miami-based architecture, interior, and urban design, and consulting services firms. Financial terms were not disclosed
- QHP Capital, the management company for NovaQuest Private Equity, acquired Lexitas Pharma Services, a Durham, N.C.-based ophthalmology contract research organization supporting biopharmaceutical and medical device clinical trials. Financial terms were not disclosed.
- Quote.com, a portfolio company of Osceola Capital, acquired Ring2Media, a Westport, Conn.-based direct response Medicare enrollment marketing agency. Financial terms were not disclosed.
- Time Manufacturing, backed by H.I.G. Capital, acquired France Elévateur, a Flavigny-sur-Moselle, France-based designer and manufacturer of lifting platforms on carriers. Financial terms were not disclosed.
- Waste Eliminator, backed by Allied Industrial Partners, acquired Gainesville Waste & Recycling, a Gainesville, Ga.-based recycling and composting operations company, and Dawsonville Waste & Recycling, a Dawsonville, Ga.-based landfill. Financial terms were not disclosed.
OTHER
- SD Biosensor and SJL Partners agreed to acquire Meridian Bioscience, a Cincinnati-based medical testing company, for $1.53 billion.
- Cardinal Health acquired ScalaMed, a Houston-based prescription platform. Financial terms were not disclosed.
IPOS
- General Atlantic, a New York-based investment firm, is weighing an initial public offering, according to Bloomberg.
FUNDS + FUNDS OF FUNDS
- RCP Advisors, a Chicago-based private equity firm, raised $645.4 million for a fund focused on lower middle market companies.
PEOPLE
- Carlyle, a Washington D.C.-based investment firm, hired Richard Elder as head of global portfolio solutions. Formermly, he was with Nouryon.
- Content Partners, a Los Angeles-based investment firm, hired Rob Amir as senior executive vice president. Formerly, he was with Vine Alternative Investments.
- Sagewind Capital, a New York-based middle-market private equity firm, promoted Michael Gebhardt to principal.
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