A funding round for California cannabis startup Flow Kana brought in $125 million, the biggest funding round on record in the US for a cannabis startup. The deal brought total investment in the company to $175 million.
Lyft will emphasize the dramatic pace of its expansion in presentations to investors ahead of its initial public offering, sources say. Lyft is trying to get an IPO to the market ahead of its larger adversary, Uber.
Sight Diagnostics, a startup that developed a way to apply artificial intelligence to blood testing, raised $27.8 million in its most recent funding round. The money will allow the Israeli company, whose desktop unit has been approved in the EU, to work toward regulatory approval in the US.
Fiverr, an Israeli startup marketplace for freelancers, has hired JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup to underwrite an initial public offering in the US, sources say. The deal could come in the second half of this year.
Ant Financial Services, which is part of China's Alibaba, has made a deal to acquire UK payments startup WorldFirst. The deal reportedly is valued at roughly $700 million.
DriveNets, an Israeli networking software startup, raised $110 million in its first outside funding round. The company has 150 employees and plans to hire 50 more by the end of the year.
Swedish investment firm Kinnevik will pay $97 million for a 38% stake in Swedish online grocery retailer MatHem. Kinnevik says its goal is "to deepen the relationship with customers, extending it beyond the scope of the online grocer itself."
Spotify paid roughly $200 million for podcast network Gimlet and $140 million for another podcast network, Anchor. Spotify has earmarked about $500 million for acquisitions this year.
Passage Bio, a startup that plans to develop gene therapies to treat brain diseases, has raised $115.5 million in a funding round. The capital will fund work on five gene therapies developed at the University of Pennsylvania.
TCR2 Therapeutics, a startup focused on cancer immunotherapy, brought in $75 million in its initial public offering. The capital will fund clinical trials with the objective of broadening the range of cancers that can be treated successfully with a specific category of immunotherapy.