Electrify America Charges Up With Huge $450M Round; Twelve Raises Large Round To Transform Carbon

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.

As inflation continues to push energy prices higher, and both consumers and companies look for ways to cut carbon emissions, investors’ interest in energy and ways to cut down on the use of fossil fuels was high this week. Three startups in the ecosystems of energy and carbon emissions made it into the top five. While companies in that realm did well, it was another slow week in funding. The final four companies made the list with raises less than $100 million.

1. Electrify America, $450M, electric vehicle charging: With the current prices at the pump, perhaps it is not shocking the top round this week is from a startup providing fast electric vehicle recharging. Reston, Virginia-based Electrify America locked up a $450 million equity investment at a post-money valuation of $2.45 billion. Siemens, through its financing arm Siemens Financial Services, invested a “low triple-digit million” dollar amount in the round and became a minority stakeholder. In addition, the Volkswagen Group said it will increase its original capital investment of $2 billion through 2026 in Electrify America. The company will use the new cash to help expand to 1,800 charging stations and more than 10,000 ultra-fast chargers in the U.S. and Canada by 2026.

2. Twelve, $130M, fuel: Energy and fuel played big this week with investors. Berkeley, California-based Twelve is next on the list after a $130 million Series B led by DCVC. The company’s carbon transformation technology converts captured CO2 into products historically made from fossil fuels. As part of the announcement, the company said it secured a strategic program investment from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. Twelve already is working with companies like Mercedes-Benz and Procter & Gamble to create products for the automotive, household and apparel industries. Founded in 2015, Twelve has raised nearly $200 million, according to Crunchbase data.

3. ReCode Therapeutics, $120M, biotech: Usually, extending a round does not mean increasing it by 150%, but ReCode Therapeutics apparently does things a little differently. The Menlo Park, California-based genetic medicines company closed a $120 million Series B extension—bringing the total of the Series B to $200 million. The extension was co-led by new investors, Leaps by Bayer—the investment unit of Bayer AG— and AyurMaya, an affiliate of ​​Matrix Capital Management.The firm intends to use the new proceeds to further develop its mRNA and gene-correction therapeutics. Founded in 2015, the company has now raised $282 million, per Crunchbase.

4. Evolved By Nature, $120M, chemistry: Cutting fossil fuels out wasn’t just big when it came to fuel and energy production this week—it even resonated for silk startup Evolved By Nature. The Boston-based company raised a $120 million Series C led by Teachers’ Venture Growth and Senator Investment Group. The company has created what it calls Activated Silk, which is made from natural silk protein. Activated Silk is designed to help replace synthetics and fossil fuel derivatives used to coat leather and other textile products. Evolved By Nature believes Activated Silk can be used in a variety of other applications as well, including personal care and medicine. Founded in 2013, the company has raised $190 million, according to Crunchbase.

5. Nomad Health, $105M, health care: The COVID-19 pandemic exposed holes in the health care system, especially as it concerned staffing of medical professionals. New York-based Nomad Health is looking to plug some of those holes. The digital marketplace for health care jobs closed a $105 million financing co-led by Adams Street Partners and Icon Ventures. The company will use the new funding to expand its marketplace beyond travel nurses to serve a larger group of health professionals, including laboratory technicians and physical therapists. The new round brings Nomad’s total funding to more than $200 million since its founding in 2015, according to the company.

6. Pave, $100M,  employee benefits: San Francisco-based compensation startup Pave raised a $100 million Series C led by Index Ventures that values the company at $1.6 billion. Founded in 2019, the company has raised $163 million, per Crunchbase.

7. Gloat, $90M, human resources: New York-based Gloat, an internal talent marketplace, closed a $90 million Series D led by Generation Investment Management. Founded in 2015, the company has raised nearly $193 million, according to Crunchbase.

8. Front, $65M, customer service: San Francisco-based Front closed a $65 million Series D led by Salesforce Ventures 1and Battery Ventures. The new funding gives the customer relationship software developer a $1.7 billion valuation. The round brings the company’s total financing to more than $200 million to date, according to the company

9. PicnicHealth, $60M, health care: San Francisco-based PicnicHealth raised a $60 million Series C led by B Capital Group. The company, which gives patients access to their medical records and allows them to contribute data to medical research, has raised a total of $97 million since being founded in 2014, according to Crunchbase.

10. Tomorrow Health, $60M, health care: New York-based Tomorrow Health, a home-based care company, raised a $60 million Series B led by Bond. Founded in 2018, Tomorrow Health has raised $92.5 million to date, per the company.

Big global deals

While Electrify America led the way this week for the largest round globally, several other big rounds occurred outside the U.S., including:

• China-based commercial space launch company ExPace closed a Series B worth approximately $237 million.
• Liechtenstein-based digital asset exchange platform Unizen raised a $200 million venture 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 June 25 to July 1. 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