Growth equity
Uber’s latest source of equity financing is reportedly Baidu, sometimes referred to as one-third of China’s commercial Internet (with Tencent and Alibaba being the others). The financing, which Bloomberg reports will be to the tune of $600 million, comes just weeks after the ride sharing application raised $1.2 billion from a still undisclosed list of investors. It also comes on the heels of this week’s announcement that Didi Dache, a China-based, taxi hailing app had raised $700 million to build out its position in the country. Didi Dache is backed by Tencent, while its competitor, Kuaidi Dache, has raised money from Alibaba. Despite the competition, the Baidu investment represents not just a clear signal of Uber’s China ambitions, but also a compelling partnership. Assuming the deal goes through, Uber gains a leading partner in the Chinese tech industry while Baidu can leverage Uber’s success to grow its newly emergent mobile payments business. The deal is expected to be formally announced at a December 17th press conference.
Seed
Framed Data, a machine-learning powered marketing analytics platform, has received $2 million in seed capital from Google Ventures, Innovation Works, Y Combinator partners Paul Buchheit, Gary Tan, and Alexis Ohanian, and a host of other angels. The San Francisco-based company is a recent graduate of Y Combinator.
Santa Monica, Calif.-based Video Amp, an ad buying platform for companies interested in tracking their video advertising across mobile and desktop applications as well as television, has secured $2.2 million in new financing. The investors include ZenShin Capital, Wavemaker Partners, Simon Equity Partners, and Anthem Venture Partners.
Series A
A mix of investors from traditional VC, the entertainment industry, the NFL, and NBA are all coming together to finance an $18 million Series A round for Woven Digital, a media company that owns millennial-focused brands like UPROXX and BroBible. Institutional Venture Partners led the round, which also included participation from Advancit Capital, the San Francisco 49ers, United Talent Agency, and a host of angels, including former NBA All-Stars Jermaine O’Neal and Baron Davis. Jermaine O’Neal is also an investor in Athos, a new line of “smart” athletic apparel.
Kinsa, a mobile-based disease mapping technology, has secured $9.6 million from Kleiner Perkins, FirstMark Capital, and Koa Labs founder Andy Palmer. The company’s first product is a smartphone-connected thermometer.