CRYPTO FUNDING
Good morning, Term Sheet readers.
Coinbase, the most popular cryptocurrency exchange in the U.S., raised $300 million in Series E funding that values the company at $8 billion. Tiger Global led the round, and was joined by investors including Wellington Management, Y Combinator’s Continuity fund, Andreessen Horowitz and Polychain Capital.
The fresh infusion of capital will be used to accelerate global expansion and the offering of more cryptocurrencies.
A source close to Coinbase told my colleague Jeff John Roberts that the company will also be bringing on other investors in the near future via a secondary offering worth $200 million or more. This offering would serve as a vehicle for some employees and early investors to cash in their shares, and would not change the overall amount of capital raised by Coinbase.
From the story:
As Fortune reported in September, Coinbase is profitable but has seen a sharp drop-off in trading volume in 2018, which has made it more pressing for the company to look for other sources of revenue.
One source of income is likely to be custodial fees from big institutions that turn to Coinbase to hold cryptocurrency on their behalf. The company has long talked about bringing on such investors, and last week announced a key regulatory license to serve as a custodian.
Another future source of revenue for Coinbase could come from listing so-called security tokens, including those tied to conventional assets such as private shares or real estate. The market for such tokens is still nascent but prominent technology figures, including former PayPal executive David Sacks, are betting on them as a way to bring new capital to illiquid markets.
NEW FUND ALERT: Lynne Chou-O’Keefe, a partner at Kleiner Perkins who has spent the last five years investing in healthcare, is setting off to raise her own venture fund. According to an SEC filing, her debut fund called Define Ventures has already raised $50 million of its $65 million target.
Chou-O’Keefe is the latest in a series of partners to break off and launch their own venture. Just last month, it was revealed that Mary Meeker, along with the rest of Kleiner’s growth investment team, would leave to raise a new fund independent of the storied firm. Other firms to spin out from Kleiner in previous years include Cowboy Ventures, Defy Ventures, Goodwater Capital, Westlake Village BioPartners, and G2VP.
As Connie Loizos noted, Chou-O’Keefe would be Kleiner Perkins’ last remaining female investor following Meeker’s high-profile departure. Looks like that’s no longer the case.
UM WHAT: Anyone have an idea what’s going on over at Snap? We last wrote about the company back in August following that bizarre profile of CEO Evan Spiegel and his self-improvement quest. (After receiving complaints about his dictatorial management style and penchant for secrecy, Spiegel hired a management coach and began holding New Age corporate retreats.)
This week, things got weirder. Bloomberg reported yesterday that Spiegel promoted Snap’s VP of US sales Kristen O’Hara to the company’s chief business officer. He made it official by alerting her direct reports. Two days later, he changed his mind, rescinded the offer and hired Jeremi Gorman instead (she oversaw ad sales at Amazon.com). O’Hara then told colleagues she is leaving due to changes in team structure.
Things aren’t looking good at the company (read: stock plunging and mass layoffs), and Spiegel’s wishy-washy decision-making as outlined above isn’t exactly helping.
FORTUNE’S NEXT GEN: It’s almost time for Fortune's Most Powerful Women Next Gen Summit, which will take place in Laguna Niguel, Calif. on Dec. 11-12. We're still fine-tuning the program, but here's who’s already on the agenda: Glossier's Emily Weiss, Backstage Capital's Arlan Hamilton, Facebook's Jennifer Dulski, and Amazon's Toni Reid.
** If you’re interested in attending, register here. If you have a 45-and-under star you'd like to nominate, please let our team know here. **
VENTURE DEALS
• AppZen, a Sunnyvale, Calif.-based developer of AI solutions for business automation, raised $35 million in Series B funding. Lightspeed Venture Partners led the round. Investors include Redpoint Ventures and Resolute Ventures.
• Ethos, a San Francisco-based life insurance company, raised $35 million in Series B funding. Accel led the round, and was joined by investors including Google Ventures, Sequoia Capital and Arrive.
• Clear Labs, a Menlo Park, Calif.-based provider of a platform for food safety testing, raised $21 million in Series B2 funding. Menlo Ventures led the round, and was joined by investors including Wing VC, Dentsu Ventures, Felicis Ventures and Khosla Ventures.
• HeadSpin, a Mountain View, Calif-based mobile performance testing service provider, raised $20 million in Series B funding. Investors include ICONIQ, Battery Ventures, EQT Ventures, Kearny Jackson, Adam D’Angelo, Ross Mason and Ryan Hoover. They join existing investors GV, Telstra Ventures, Danhua Capital, Nexus Ventures Partners, and NextWorld Capital.
• Sentieo, a financial research platform, raised $19 million in Series A funding. Centana Growth Partners led the round.
• Jackpocket, a New York-based mobile app that allows users to buy lottery tickets while playing games, raised $16 million in Series B funding. Conductive Ventures led the round, and was joined by investors including DCM Ventures and David Stern.
• Waterline Data, a Mountain View, Calif.-based provider of data cataloging solutions and applications, raised $14.5 million in Series C funding. Menlo Ventures led the round, and was joined by investors including Jackson Square Ventures, Partech Ventures and Infosys.
• H1, a New York-based company that provides healthcare organizations live data insights to help fight diseases, raised $6 million in funding from Shore Group.
• WAYV, a B2B cannabis e-commerce solution, raised $5 million in seed funding. Craft Ventures led the round.
• Zentail, a Columbia, Md.-based e-commerce automation software operations platform, raised $5 million in Series A funding. Initialized Capital led the round, and was joined by investors including FundersClub.
HEALTH AND LIFE SCIENCES DEALS
• XtalPi Inc., a Cambridge, Mass.-based biotech startup, raised $46 million in funding. China Life Healthcare Fund led the round, and was joined by investors including SIG and Yael Capital.
PRIVATE EQUITY DEALS
• Artemis Capital Partners acquired Superior Technical Ceramics, a St. Albans, Vermont-based provider of advanced ceramic technologies. Financial terms weren't disclosed.
• Pharos Capital Group acquired a majority stake in Charter Health Care Group, a post-acute care provider offering hospice, home health, and transitional care services. Financial terms weren't disclosed.
• Capital Constellation made an investment in Motive Partners, a New York and London-based investment firm for technology businesses that power the financial services sector. Financial terms weren't disclosed.
• Covercraft Industries, a portfolio company of Century Park Capital Partners, acquired Carver Industries, a Landrum, S.C.-based maker of protective covers for the marine industry. Financial terms weren't disclosed.
• Calera Capital acquired a majority stake in ImageFIRST, a Radnor, Penn.-based provider of laundry services for the healthcare industry. Financial terms weren't disclosed.
OTHER DEALS
• IXL Learning acquired ABCya, a creator of more than 400 educational computer games and apps for kids. Financial terms weren't disclosed.
IPOs
• Zoom Video Communications, the video conferencing firm, is preparing for an IPO that would value it in the multi-billions, Reuters reports citing sources. It has hired Morgan Stanley to lead the deal. Sequoia backs the firm. Read more.
• Byton, a Chinese electric carmaker, may file for an IPO to fund growth. FAW Group and Contemporary Amperex Technology back the firm. Read more.
• BankFlorida, a Palm Beach, Fla.-based bank, postponed its $65 million IPO. Atlantic Coast Financial backs the firm. Read more.
• Nicox, the French healthcare firm, has postponed plans to list on the Nasdaq amide the market selloff. Read more.
• Joe & the Juice’s private equity owners are reportedly weighing an IPO in 2019, Bloomberg reports citing sources. Valedo Partners and General Atlantic back the firm. Read more.
• Focus Brands, the company behind Auntie Anne’s and Cinnabon, may be preparing for an IPO, Bloomberg reports citing sources. Roark Capital backs the firm. Read more.
EXITS
• NuCom Group, a General Atlantic portfolio company, and PARSHIP ELITE Group are buying eHarmony, a Santa Monica, Calif.-based matchmaking platform. Financial terms weren't disclosed. eHarmony had raised approximately $113 million in funding from investors including TCV, Sequoia Capital, Fayez Sarofim & Co, and Tuputele Ventures.
• NeoGenomics agreed to acquire Genoptix, a Carlsbad, Calif.-based clinical oncology lab, for $125 million in cash and 1 million shares of NeoGenomics common stock. Genoptix had raised approximately $28 million in funding from investors including Enterprise Partners, Alliance Technology Ventures, and Excelsior Venture Partners.
FIRMS + FUNDS
• L Catterton, a Greenwich, Conn.-based private equity firm, is seeking to raise $625 million for its fourth growth equity fund, according to an SEC filing.
• ARCH Venture Partners, a Chicago-based private equity and venture capital firm, is seeking to raise $600 million for its 10th fund, according to an SEC filing.
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Polina Marinova produces Term Sheet, and Lucinda Shen compiles the IPO news. Send deal announcements to Polina here and IPO news to Lucinda here.
