Cameo looks to raise at a $1B valuation
Plus Missouri-based Compatio's seed round, insurtech in Ohio, and more...
Welcome to Excoastal, a newsletter covering deals, startups, venture capital, and more from Chicago to Boulder, Detroit to Columbus, and beyond. I’m Evan Lonergan, a native Midwesterner.
You can connect with me on Twitter @evanjlonergan, on Medium, and send deals/jobs/intel to evanlon92@gmail.com
What’s New
Excoastal Stats 📊
Last Week’s Open Rate: 36%
Last Week’s Views: 395
ICYMI: the Excoastal Investors Airtable sheet:
Midwest Venture Capital Firms and Angels
Venture Capital Deals
📍 Ohio
Coterie, a Cincinnati-based small business insurtech startup, has secured $11.5 million in a Series A(1) round. Intact Ventures led, with participation from investors including Alpha Edison, RPM Ventures and Allos Ventures.
📍 Chicago
Cameo, the maker of an app for celebrities and influencers to record paid personalized messages, is in talks to raise at around a $1 billion valuation.
📍 Minnesota
VUGO, which helps rideshare drivers make more money while riders get interactive entertainment, is conducting a Reg CF fundraise. The company is looking to raise $200K in a priced round on WeFunder.
📍 Toronto
Ledn, Toronto-based digital asset savings and credit platform, raised $2.7 million. White Star’s Digital Asset Fund led the round and was joined by investors including Coinbase Ventures, Global Founders Capital, CMT Digital, Kingsway, and Darrow Holdings. Term Sheet
📍 Missouri
Compatio, a Springfield-based online purchasing platform, raised $1.5 million in seed funding.
📍 Texas
BeyondID, a Dallas-based cloud identity consulting firm, raised $9 million in Series A funding led by Tecera.
WizeHire, a Houston-based maker of a hiring solution for small businesses, raised $7.5 million in Series A funding co-led by Amplo and Mercury.
UpEquity, an Austin-based mortgage platform, raised $7.5 million in a Series A round. Next Coast Ventures led
Private Equity Deals
Thomas H. Lee Partners invested in Ashling Partners, a Chicago-based provider of intelligent automation solutions.
BV Investment Partners invested in SupportNinja, an Austin-based maker of customer and technical support and back-office solutions. Term Sheet
Susquehanna Growth Equity invested in ProviderTrust, a Nashville-based healthcare compliance screening, monitoring and verification software.
Apax Partners agreed to acquire a majority stake of Herjavec Group, a Toronto-based cybersecurity company. Term Sheet
M&A
Zillow Group will acquire Chicago-based ShowingTime, which creates software to manage real estate showings, for $500 million.
New Funds
RPM Ventures, an Ann Arbor, Michigan-based seed and early-stage venture firm, has raised $88.4 million for its fourth fund, per an SEC filing.
Panoramic Ventures has launched with a $300 million fund that will focus on investments outside the major coastal tech hubs, with an emphasis on racial and gender diversity.
Entrepreneurial Equity Partners, a Chicago-based private equity firm, has raised $309 million for its first fund.
Gauge Capital, a Dallas-based private equity firm, raised $253.7 million for Gauge Capital Parallel III. Term Sheet
Nationwide, the Columbus-based insurance company, is expanding its venture investing program to $350 million.
Others
According to Crunchbase Electric vehicle-maker Rivian Automotive is reportedly exploring going public. The Michigan-based company could make its market debut as soon as September, and is expected to be valued around $50 billion.
What I’m Reading
Strategy Session: Germin8 Ventures Positions Itself To Invest In Food As Medicine Startups
The Rise of the Community Department
Why World-Class Companies are Expanding to Pittsburgh
Startup/VC Twitter
Podcast Addiction
Pigs, Soap, Beer, Oh My! (History 101 feat. Greg Hand) - When Pigs Fly (a new show from the Upside podcast network)
Culture Break
📚Read- Billion Dollar Loser by Reeves Wiedeman
🎬Watch- Malcom & Marie on Netflix
🎧Listen-
🧐Think- Clubhouse Is the Anti-Twitter
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