Friday Fundings: Waymo, Anduril, and Beamery
Google’s Self-Driving Unit Raises $2.5 Billion
Waymo, a self-driving vehicle startup owned by Google (GOOGL), raised $2.5 billion in its second round of external funding. Prior to the capital raise, Waymo was valued at slightly more than $30 billion. Existing investors Alphabet, Andreessen Horowitz, AutoNation (AN), and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, among others, participated in the round. The only new investor was Tiger Global. Proceeds from the fundraising will be used to expand Waymo’s self-driving and ride-hailing service to more markets. Its autonomous taxis are already available in Arizona.
Investors’ appetite for self-driving vehicles does not end with Waymo. Cruise, a unit of General Motors (GM), just landed a $5 billion credit line from GM’s financial unit so it can purchase self-driving shuttles.
Defense Tech Startup Raises $450 Million
Anduril Industries, a defense tech company, raised $450 million in a Series D round of funding. The deal gives the startup a post-money valuation of $4.6 billion. The valuation is more than double what Anduril Industries was worth last July. The investment was led by Elad Gil, an early backer of the company, and also included participation from Andreessen Horowitz, 8VC, Founders Fund, General Catalyst, Lux Capital, Valor Equity Partners, and D1 Capital Partners.
Anduril’s Lattice platform relies on computer vision, machine learning, and mesh networking to create an autonomous command-and-control platform. The US Department of Homeland Security and the UK Ministry of Defence use the company’s products. Proceeds will go to develop more land, sea, air, and space products for the Department of Defense.
UK Talent Startup Raises $138 Million
Beamery, a UK startup which makes a talent-operating system to help companies attract and retain employees, raised $138 million in a Series C round of venture funding. The fundraising was led by the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board through its Teachers’ Innovation Platform (TIP). It also included participation from Accenture Ventures, EQT Ventures (EQT), Index Ventures, M12, and Workday Ventures.
The fundraising is happening at a time when Beamery is seeing fast growth, ending the year up 337%. In 2020, more than one million roles were filled using the Beamery platform. Proceeds from the round will go to develop new products, accelerate growth in new and existing geographies, and double the firm’s employee headcount.
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