Babylon app to list on Nasdaq stock exchange
Babylon, the virtual doctor app, is to list in the US with a £4.2bn (£3bn) valuation when it completes a reverse merger with Alkuri Global, a New York-listed blank-cheque company. It makes Babylon the latest UK tech start-up to shun the London Stock Exchange in favour of a “Spac” listing in America, where technology companies say they can achieve higher valuations. British companies including electric vehicle maker Arrival, second-hand car marketplace Cazoo, quantum encryption firm Arqit and vehicle data company Wejo have all chosen to go public through Spacs.
Depop pops for Etsy in £1.1bn acquisition
Etsy, the US gifts marketplace, is to offer $1.6bn (£1.1bn) for British second-hand clothes platform Depop, despite it recording a £15.5m loss in 2019. Depop, which was founded in 2011, now has 27m users buying and selling second-hand clothes through its app and website. About 90 per cent of its customers are under the age of 26, giving Etsy access to a large base of younger shoppers. To date, Depop has raised about $100m from venture capital backers including Balderton Capital, Octopus Ventures, General Atlantic, Creandum and Klarna founder Sebastian Siemiatowski.
Bought By Many snaps up £248m Series D
Pet insurer Bought by Many has raised $350m (£248m) in a Series D round led by EQT Growth, valuing the company at over $2bn. Bought By Many has become as one of the leading pet insurers in Europe since its launch in 2012. Today Bought By Many covers almost half a million pets globally, including in the US, where it launched earlier this year and where only 2 per cent of pets are insured, which means 98 per cent of owners pay expensive vets bills directly.
Sennder hauls another £56m in Series D
Sennder, the German logistics platform which networks enterprise shippers and smaller freight companies, has raised a further $80m (£56m) through its Series D, bringing the total to $240m. Baillie Gifford, whose previous investments include Amazon, Tesla and Spotify joined the round. To date, Sennder has raised more than $350m, valuing the company at over $1bn.
Cognigy greets £31m Series B round
Cognigy, the AI customer-service automation platform, has closed $44m (£31m) in Series B led by Insight Partners. Existing investors DN Capital, Global Brain, Nordic Makers, Inventures and Digital Innovation and Growth also joined the round. Cognigy’s customers include Lufthansa, Mobily, BioNTech, Vueling Airlines, Bosch, and Daimler.
Anorak puts on £5m in funding
Anorak, the life insurance advice platform, has raised £5m in a round led by Outward VC alongside Triple Point Ventures and Kamet Vantures. Angel investors Nic Kohler, Paul Evans, Charlie Delingpole and Will Neale also participated in the round.
More Deals of the Week
Deals of the week May 24 to May 28 – a GrowthBusiness roundup
