Plus, Wayve raises $1.05B in Series C funding
| For May 07, 2024 |  |
| Here’s your daily Startups briefing: - 🤝 DocuSign is set to acquire contract workflow automation startup Lexion for $165M
- 🎯 Investors are eyeing prepurchase startups to revive the e-commerce sector
- 🪫 Battery startup Ambri filed for bankruptcy after running out of cash
Thank you. Karan
p/karan-chafekar | |
| 1 | | Electronic signature and intelligent agreement management firm DocuSign is set to acquire contract workflow automation startup Lexion. The transaction value is reported to be around $165M. The acquisition will help DocuSign's customers gain an in-depth understanding of their contract structures and data, as well as identify potential risks. More: - Lexion was incubated at the Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence (AI2).
- Precision Polling's co-founder Gaurav Oberoi, former Microsoft research software development engineering lead Emad Elwany, and engineering veteran James Baird co-founded Lexion.
- The startup had raised $35.2M in total VC funding from Khosla Ventures, Madrona, Point72 Ventures, and other investors.
- The acquisition comes as DocuSign, valued at $12.5B, is selling itself to a private equity firm.
- In February, DocuSign laid off 6% of its workforce.
- DocuSign acquired cloud-based sales contract management platform SpringCM for $220M in 2018 and AI-driven contract analytics firm Seal Software for $188M in 2020.
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| 2 | | Investors are focusing on prepurchase startups in a bid to revive the e-commerce sector, per Crunchbase. 
What happened: Prepurchase startups create technologies that connect consumers to new offerings by creating personalized shopping experiences using generative AI tools. Investors hope the prepurchase segment can revitalize the e-commerce sector, which witnessed a sharp decline in 2023 after the historic highs of the two previous years. VC funding for the e-commerce sector plummeted by 72% from $31.8B in 2022 to $8.9B in 2023. Relevance: VCs invested $3.8B in e-commerce startups in Q4 2023 through 116 deals, with startups in the prepurchase segment bagging $135.3M across 21 deals. Notable deals for the prepurchase segment include a $25M Series B round for AI-driven promotional analytics firm OfferFit and a $18M Series A round for AI-generated promotional campaign video startup Tavus. Where to see the impact: Exit value surged from $5.8B in 2022 to $14.4B in 2023. Much of the exit value can be attributed to the IPO listing of Indonesian delivery company J&T Express. | | | |
| 3 | | Battery startup Ambri filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after running out of cash. The company plans to sell itself to shareholders unless it receives a better offer through the proposed auction. Shareholders, including Gates Frontier and Paulson Partners, will reportedly loan Ambri $9.5M to pay for the Chapter 11 proceedings. More: - The firm had raised about $150M in equity funding and $42M through secured notes from investors.
- The company failed to raise additional money to complete a battery factory in Milford, Massachusetts after one of its anchor investors walked away.
- Ambri cut back spending but had to file for bankruptcy after it could not pay the contractor and landlord for the factory.
- Ambri plans to hold an auction for its 103 patents and other assets related to the battery venture.
- The shareholders are set to make an initial bid of $38M, which is the amount owed to them, and will take over Ambri if no higher bid comes in by June 20.
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| 4 | | Self-driving technology startup Wayve closed its Series C funding round at $1.05B, making it the U.K.'s largest AI fundraiser ever. The British startup intends to use the proceeds to further develop its assisted and fully automated driving solutions and expand operations globally. More: - SoftBank Group led the round, with additional support from Nvidia and Microsoft.
- Founded in Cambridge in 2017, Wayve last raised a $200M Series B funding round in January 2022 led by Eclipse Ventures.
- Wayve plans to sell hardware-agnostic autonomous driving technology, Embodied AI, to various automotive OEMs.
- In addition, the company intends to sell its technology to robotics companies.
- The U.K.'s Prime Minister Rishi Sunak praised Wayve's achievements and highlighted the nation's "proud record of being at the forefront of some of the biggest technological advancements in history."
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| 5 | | Public safety technology company Axon is acquiring drone defense startup Dedrone for an undisclosed sum. The deal is expected to close in the second half of 2024. Axon CEO Rick Smith estimates that Dedrone will increase Axon's total available market by over 20%. Smith expects to leverage Dedrone's "ingenuity and innovation" to scale operations. More: - Dedrone provides smart air security to military, government, and commercial sector clients across 40 cities, 30 airports, 50 stadiums, and 50 correctional facilities.
- Since its inception in 2014, the startup has raised $127M in total funding from investors, including Axon, which co-led a funding round in 2022 and also holds a board seat.
- Axon, known for the Taser, body cameras, in-car cameras, and a cloud-based digital evidence management platform, has a current market capitalization of $24B.
- Its share prices rose from $50 in 2019 to over $300 this year.
- The firm reported a 34% revenue growth in the first quarter of this year and revised its full-year revenue guidance to about $2B.
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| 6 | | Aviation startup UrbanLink has ordered 20 electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) jets from Lilium NV. The purchase agreement includes an option to order an additional 20 aircraft later. The move comes shortly after founder Ed Wegel announced the company's plans to launch an electric flying taxi service in Florida. More: - The startup will integrate Lithium jets into its conventional aircraft fleet.
- Financial details of the purchase order were not disclosed.
- Lilium, led by former Airbus SE program manager Klaus Roewe, recently started assembly of its first jet at a facility near Munich airport in Germany.
- It expects to commence test flights later this year.
- Earlier this month, Lilium announced it had decided to sell about 75M shares worth $150M to Yorkville Advisors Global through a standby equity purchase agreement.
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 | Analyst | | Karan Chafekar is a Management Consultant, Business enthusiast, and Licensed Pilot. | | This newsletter was edited by Karan Chafekar | |
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