Biotech Dominates A Busy Week

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This is a weekly feature that runs down the week’s top 10 announced funding rounds in the U.S. Check out last week’s biggest funding rounds here.

This week offered a change of pace on the giant round front as it was a biotech company, rather than an AI startup, at the top of the ranks. Kailera Therapeutics, a developer of obesity therapeutics, led with a $600 million Series B. Other sizable financings went to companies offering fractional aircraft ownership, fintech services and hair loss treatments.

1. Kailera Therapeutics, $600M, biotech: Waltham, Massachusetts-based Kailera Therapeutics, which focuses on treatments for obesity, announced a $600 million Series B financing led by Bain Capital Private Equity. The company plans to initiate Phase 3 trials by year end for an injectable therapy to treat obesity.

2. Bond, $350M, aviation: Bond, a company offering fractional ownership for its fleet of private aircraft, raised $350 million in debt and equity funding. The financing consisted of $320 million in debt and equity from funds and accounts managed by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts along with $30 million in equity investment from founding partners.

3. (tied) Deel, $300M, payroll and compliance: HR and payroll platform Deel picked up $300 million in fresh funding. Ribbit Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, and Coatue led the financing. The round set a $17.3 billion valuation for the 6-year-old company, which said it recently surpassed $1 billion in annual recurring revenue.

3. (tied) Vantaca, $300M, business software: Vantaca, a provider of software for homeowners associations and management companies, said it secured a growth investment of more than $300 million led by Cove Hill Partners. The financing set a $1.25 billion valuation for the Wilmington, North Carolina-based company.

5. Kardigan, $254M, biopharma: Kardigan, a startup focused on developing cardiovascular drugs, closed on $254 million in a Series B backed by T. Rowe Price, Fidelity, Sequoia Heritage and Arch Venture Partners. The round brings total funding to date to more than $554 million, per Crunchbase data.

6. Upgrade, $165M, fintech: Upgrade, a provider of consumer loans, credit cards and online accounts, pulled in $165 million in a Series G financing led by Neuberger Berman. Launched in 2017, San Francisco-based Upgrade has raised more than $750 million in venture funding to date, per Crunchbase data.

7. VeraDermics, $150M, dermatology, hair regrowth: New Haven, Connecticut-based VeraDermics, a startup developing therapeutics for dermatologic conditions, raised $150 million in a Series C round led by SR One. Funding will go toward ongoing trials for an oral therapeutic designed for hair regrowth.

8. Pelage Pharmaceuticals, $120M, hair loss treatment: Pelage Pharmaceuticals closed a $120 million Series B round co-led by Arch Venture Partners and Google’s GV. The Los Angeles startup is focused on a topical small molecule designed to reactivate dormant hair follicle stem cells for men and women experiencing hair loss.

9. Peptilogics, $78M, therapeutics: Pittsburgh-based Peptilogics, a developer of surgical therapeutics to treat and prevent serious medical device infections, raised $78 million in a Series B2 financing. Presight Capital, Thiel Bio and Founders Fund led the round.

10. MD Integrations, $77M, telehealth: Telehealth platform MD Integrations landed $77 million in growth financing from Updata Partners and Denali Growth Partners. The New York-based company works with digital health brands to provide access to a network of doctors for patient consultations.

Methodology

We tracked the largest announced rounds in the Crunchbase database that were raised by U.S.-based companies for the period of Oct. 11-17. Although most announced rounds are represented in the database, there could be a small time lag as some rounds are reported late in the week.

Illustration: Dom Guzman