Who’s leading Series B investments? Investors signal Kubernetes enthusiasm continues with $40M Series B, and more - March 23, 2022

March 23, 2022 [Here’s who is leading Series B investment]( Venture capital firms still dominate as investors in Series B rounds, with growth equity taking on a larger presence as rounds get bigger and bigger at this stage, according to a recent Crunchbase News analysis. [Exclusive: Investors eye Kubernetes as Spectro Cloud raises $40M]( Spectro Cloud closed a $40 million Series B led by Stripes as the company looks to help companies build on the open-source Kubernetes platform. The deal follows a flurry of fundraising for other startups this year working with Kubernetes, a sector in which many investors see growth potential as the use of containers in building applications increases. [Gen Z makes its own investor networks]( Data shows that Gen Z is the first generation that feels more themselves online than offline, and the ramifications are enormous, writes Ripple Ventures’ Matt Cohen, who shares ways the generations can come together to drive innovation. [Alphabet spin off Sandbox AQ closes ‘nine-figure’ round]( Alphabet officially spun off its 6-year-old quantum tech group—Sandbox AQ—which emerged as its own company after closing a “nine-figure” financing round and naming former Google CEO Eric Schmidt chairman. [Omnipresent picks up $120M as remote HR space flourishes]( The latest large funding round in the still-hot HR space goes to Omnipresent, a provider of tools for managing payroll and compliance for international teams. The London-headquartered company pulled in $120 million in a Series B funding round led by Kinnevik AB and Tencent. [Forge Global makes trading debut after SPAC merger]( Private securities marketplace Forge Global made its market debut on Tuesday, one of a few for venture-backed companies this year. The company completed its merger with SPAC Motive Capital Corp. at a time when VC-backed startups going public through a traditional IPO have been virtually nonexistent. [Battery tech and fusion dominate big energy tech funding]( In areas from fusion energy to transportation electrification to hydrogen power, energy technology startups are scaling at scale. Using Crunchbase data, we decided to take a look at where the largest funding rounds are going in the sector. [Meet the top-funded female entrepreneurs in 2022 (thus far)]( In honor of Women’s History Month, we’re highlighting female entrepreneurs who are leading, inspiring and shaping the future. We leveraged Crunchbase’s Diversity Spotlight data to curate this list of 10 top-funded companies founded and led by female entrepreneurs so far in 2022. [Enhance Your Sales Team’s Prospecting]( [Crunchbase Enterprise is an all-in-one prospecting solution. Download this product overview sheet to learn how to close more deals without the headache.]( [Download Now]( Crunchbase Pro: Searches and Lists Name Type Entries [Logistics companies who have raised funding]( Companies 171 [Investments in machine learning companies in the last 6 months]( Funding Rounds 753 [Recently funded Video Marketing companies]( Companies 178 [More Featured Searches and Lists]( [Check out our Crunchbase solutions here]( – prospecting tools made for everyone Recent Investments [Omnipresent]( [$120M]( / [Series B]( Omnipresent provides a human resource and onboarding platform designed to help companies hire remote-working local teams worldwide. Categories: Employment • Human Resources • Management Information Systems • Recruiting • SaaS Founders: [Guenther Eisinger]( [Matthew Wilson]( Investors: [Kinnevik AB]( (Lead), [Tencent]( (Lead), [Episode 1]( [+ 3 more]( [CommerceIQ]( [$115M]( / [Series D]( CommerceIQ is an omnichannel management platform that helps large brands use machine learning and automation to increase e-commerce sales. Categories: Analytics • Consumer Goods • E-Commerce • Machine Learning • Sales • Software Founders: [Guru Hariharan]( Investors: [SoftBank Vision Fund]( (Lead), [Insight Partners]( [Madrona Venture Group]( [+ 2 more]( [Dave]( [$100M]( / [Convertible Note]( Dave is a banking app on a mission to create financial opportunity that advances America’s collective potential. Categories: Banking • Financial Services • FinTech Founders: [Jason Wilk]( [John Wolanin]( [Paras Chitakar]( Investors: [FTX Ventures]( (Lead) More Fundings Company Amount / Round Lead Investor [Apollo Agriculture]( $40M / [Series B]( [SoftBank Vision Fund]( [Tomo]( $40M / [Series A]( [SVB Capital]( [ForAllSecure]( $21M / [Series B]( [Koch Disruptive Technologies]( [Draup]( 1.5B INR / [Series A]( [HKW]( [authID.ai]( $10M / [Post-IPO Debt]( - [authID.ai]( $9.2M / [Convertible Note]( - [authID.ai]( $3.0M / [Post-IPO Equity]( - [May Mobility]( Unknown / [Corporate Round]( [Bridgestone Corporation]( [All Recent Funding Activity]( Recent Acquisitions [1plusX]( Pending acquisition by [TripleLift]( for $150M More Acquisitions Company Acquired By Amount [DRS Global Enterprise Solutions]( [SES S.A.]( $450M [All Recent Acquisition Activity]( Upcoming Tech Events Accelerator Deadlines Date Accelerator Location Mar 27, 2022 [MobilityXlab]( Gothenburg Mar 28, 2022 [mHUB]( Chicago [More Upcoming Deadlines]( Don’t see your event? 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