10 very big funding rounds, a surprising area for investment, bootstrap vs VC, and more - December 13, 2021

December 13, 2021 [Data, cybersecurity and health tech startups land mega rounds]( No billion-dollar rounds, but you had to raise more than a quarter-of-a-billion dollars to break into the ranks of the top five biggest U.S. VC deals last week. Investors again showed they have diverse interests—spending money on everything from data and analytics to security to biotech and health ventures. [Why investment in poop-related startups is piling up]( It’s not as weird or gross as it sounds. In sectors from agriculture to commercial real estate, startups are taking innovative approaches to the disposal, treatment and recycling of animal and human waste. While it’s still a fairly small space in terms of total venture funding, investors believe there’s room for considerable growth and say the space looks particularly compelling from a climate investment perspective. [Take VC money or bootstrap? Mailchimp’s $12B exit offers some clues]( For many years, Silicon Valley has drawn two different profiles for startups: those that receive VC funding and those that stick to bootstrapping. For the latter camp, the stereotype has been that bootstrapped companies have a long and arduous path to growth, followed by a much lower return at exit. But after [Intuit]( $12 billion acquisition of [Mailchimp]( it’s time to reconsider those options, writes guest author [Jonathan Cogley](. He offers up three key questions for startups mulling whether to take outside funding or go it alone. [Industrial cybersecurity back as infrastructure threats make headlines]( Regardless of what happens in the future, it seems like OT security companies could be in for another active cycle—in terms of both fundraising and M&A—as the government and utilities race to stop ransomware. We take a look at the current players and recap some big fundings and acquisitions that took place in 2021. [Corporate impact capital can help industry marry purpose, profit]( The pandemic has highlighted the scale of the social and environmental challenges we face, from food insecurity to accessibility of health care. As a result, socially responsible investing has surged since the start of the pandemic, with investors pouring $51 billion into sustainable funds last year. The numbers send a clear signal: Investors want companies to do more than just make money, write guest authors [Blair Miller]( and [Allyson Hewitt](. [What is Crunchbase’s rank and trend score?]( For salespeople, it’s imperative to prioritize the right prospects. Crunchbase’s rank and trend scores are designed to surface the companies you need to know about and help you identify the perfect time to reach out. [Keep up with the Crunchbase News Briefing]( To keep up on breaking news throughout the day, check out the Crunchbase News Briefing. This continuously updated daily feature on our main news site has summaries of notable funding announcements, IPOs, M&A, and other happenings in the startup world. Exclusive End-Of-Year Promo Close out the year strong with Crunchbase Pro - now 20% off with code CLOSE2021 [Get Started]( [Trial Crunchbase Enterprise free for one month]( [Power your team to close more deals with our sales prospecting solution, available to teams now for a free trial!]( [TRY NOW]( Crunchbase Pro: Searches and Lists Name Type Entries [Funded healthcare-related robotics companies]( Companies 312 [Sales automation software companies that raised more than $5 million]( Companies 142 [Investments in satellite communication companies since 2010]( Funding Rounds 439 [More Featured Searches and Lists]( [Check out our Crunchbase solutions here]( – prospecting tools made for everyone Recent Investments [Integrity Marketing Group]( [$1.2B]( / [Private Equity Round]( Integrity Marketing Group provides product design, marketing systems, and profitability for insurance products. Categories: Advertising • Digital Marketing • Marketing Founders: [Bryan Adams]( [Mike Wingate]( [Tom Schueth]( Investors: [Silver Lake]( (Lead) [Flink]( [$750M]( / [Series B]( Flink is an online startup that offers grocery deliveries in ten minutes. Categories: E-Commerce • Food and Beverage • Food Delivery • Grocery Founders: [Christoph Cordes]( [Julian Dames]( [Nikolas Bullwinkel]( [Oliver Merkel]( [Saad Saeed]( Investors: [DoorDash]( (Lead), [Mubadala Capital Ventures]( [Octopus Energy]( [$300M]( / [Funding Round]( Octopus Energy builds technology that reduces the cost of energy to improve customer experience. Categories: Energy • Energy Efficiency • GreenTech • Renewable Energy Founders: [Greg Jackson]( [James Eddison]( [Stuart Jackson]( Investors: [Canada Pension Plan Investment Board]( (Lead) More Fundings Company Amount / Round Lead Investor [Robotic Research]( $228M / [Series A]( [Enlightenment Capital]( [Shiprocket]( 14B INR / [Series E]( [Lightrock]( [CloudBees]( $150M / [Series F]( [Goldman Sachs Asset Management]( [CloudBees]( $95M / [Debt Financing]( [Goldman Sachs Asset Management]( [Repl.it]( $80M / [Series B]( [Coatue]( [PetDx]( $62M / [Series B]( [LongView Asset Management]( [Cakap]( $10M / [Series B]( [Centauri Fund]( [Clensta]( 200M INR / [Series A]( [Inflection Point Ventures]( [All Recent Funding Activity]( Recent Acquisitions [LifeHealthcare]( Pending acquisition by [Ebos group]( for 1.2B AUD More Acquisitions Company Acquired By Amount [Mir Protocol]( [Polygon (Previously Matic Network)]( $400M [All Recent Acquisition Activity]( Upcoming Tech Events Accelerator Deadlines Date Accelerator Location Jan 31, 2022 [Thomas Jay Ellis Capital]( Manhattan Feb 1, 2022 [StartLife]( Wageningen [More Upcoming Deadlines]( Don’t see your event? 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