LanzaTech Lands Huge Raise; Form Energy Gets New Funding For Batteries

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

Cleantech has been red hot this year, and this week a startup in the sector took the top spot. In fact, the top two spots went to companies focused on sustainability, as for a change it seemed investors were willing to open their pocketbooks.

1. LanzaTech, $500M, cleantech: We talked just last week about how cleantech continues to see interest from investors despite venture’s pullback. That seems to go double for companies that deal in carbon. LanzaTech is a carbon recycler, and this week the Illinois-based company received a $500 million commitment from Brookfield Renewable to finance upcoming projects using its technology. The deal size could double if certain milestones are met. The company’s tech takes the carbon out of emissions and converts it into things such as sustainable fuels and material. Founded in 2005, the company has now raised more than $800 million, according to Crunchbase data.

2. Form Energy, $450M, energy: One of the biggest problems with wind and solar energy is that both are intermittent and lithium-ion batteries can only store their energy for so long. Enter iron-air batteries, which can store energy longer and promise to be cheaper. That obviously is what TPG Rise is betting on, as it was the lead investor in  a new $450 million round for Massachusetts-based Form Energy. The round also included investments from others, including Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Ventures. The 5-year-old startup plans to use the new funding to build a manufacturing facility for its batteries and ramp up production. Founded in 2017, the company has raised nearly $820 million, according to Crunchbase.

3. Arctic Wolf, $401M, cybersecurity: Convertible notes are something that could become more en vogue as the venture capital pullback continues. This week Eden Prairie, Minnesota-based Arctic Wolf went that route. The managed security provider raised $401 million in convertible notes led by existing investor Owl Rock. Convertible notes work like a short-term loan, but convertible notes are repaid to the investor at a later point in equity—i.e. after an IPO—typically at a discount, and can also include an interest rate. Arctic Wolf raised $150 million at Series F in July 2021—taking the company’s valuation from $1.3 billion to $4.3 billion. At that time, then-CEO Brian NeSmith said an IPO was likely the next logical move. However, that was a much different time. Founded in 2012, Arctic Wolf has raised nearly $900 million, according to Crunchbase data.

4. Mavenir, $155M, telecom: Cloud-native mobile network software developer Mavenir has been busy the last year-and-a-half. The Richardson, Texas-based company has raised $750 million in that time, including closing a $155 million capital raise this week. The company did not say who led the new round, but it was reported it came from an existing investor that has upped its stakes. Tech private equity firm Siris will remain the majority equity holder alongside minority investor Koch Strategic Platforms, the company said. Founded in 2005, the company has now raised $854 million, according to Crunchbase.

5. Inari, $124M, agtech: When there is talk of gene editing, it usually involves a biotech startup looking to treat disease. However, some startups are doing it to help make our food chain more sustainable. Massachusetts-based seed developer Inari is one of them, and this week secured a $124 million Series E from investors that included Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Flagship Pioneering. Inari combines AI-powered predictive design with gene editing to make seeds to help address the need for a sustainable food system. In addition to the equity raise, Inari also secured access to $60 million in debt. Founded in 2016, Inari has now raised a total of $475 million, according to the company.

6. Cellarity, $121M, biotech: Massachusetts-based biotech startup Cellarity raised a $121 million Series C funding from investors including Flagship Pioneering, Japanese biotech firm Kyowa Kirin, and Hanwha Impact Partners. Cellarity launched out of Flagship Pioneering’s Flagship Labs in 2017 and says it has raised a total of $274 million.

7. Altana, $100M, supply chain: New York-based supply chain visibility platform Altana closed a $100 million Series B led by Activate Capital. Founded in 2018, the company has raised $122 million, per Crunchbase.

8. Nested Therapeutics, $90M, healthcare: Massachusetts-based Nested Therapeutics launched with a $90 million Series A led by Goldman Sachs Asset Management, The round was part of a $125 million round for the early-stage oncology startup.

9. Tally, $80M, fintech: San Francisco-based automated debt manager Tally raised an $80 million Series D led by Sway Ventures. Founded in 2015, the company has raised $172 million, according to Crunchbase data.

10. Securiti, $75M, cybersecurity: San Jose, California-based data protection startup Securiti closed a $75 million Series C led by Owl Rock. Founded in 2019, the company has raised $156 million, according to Crunchbase.

Big global deals

The largest rounds globally were dominated by U.S.-based startups. In fact, four of the top five rounds globally this week are on the above list. The biggest deal outside the U.S. was:

• Thailand-based T&B Media Global, a media investment firm, closed a $300 million corporate round.

Methodology

We tracked the largest rounds in the Crunchbase database that were raised by U.S.-based companies for the seven-day period of Oct.1 to 7. 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