INTELLI™ Weekly Insights
Monday October 17, 2022 | Volume 1 Series 15 | INTELLI™ Funding signals, PreIPO's first deal soon to be live on the platform (MindMaze), and more.
☀️ Good afternoon! Whether some of you are grabbing that extra espresso to knock out a few more hours of work, or settling in with a nice glass of red as you wind down from the day (for our European friends), the team at INTELLI™ is ready to share a fresh round of updates for you to wrap up this week.
We’ll keep today’s Insights fairly short since we’re giving you our INTELLI™ Analyst review on MindMaze, as well as our top list of featured financing signals. In the coming weeks and months, as we formally launch INTELLI, we’ll actually be giving you full-blown datasets and the ability to click on a company or industry and get an enhanced report tailored for you.
First, a few announcements & reminders:
📅 PreIPO’s 2nd Panel Event: The Web2 to Web3 Transition is on October 28th, 2022 at 11 AM EST (Register / RSVP here).
💻 INTELLI™ will launch in a public beta format to all of you readers, so please reply if you’re interested in accessing the platform for a sneak peak! Here’s a recap of the platform:
⚠️ Pre-Sale Launching Soon on PreIPO.com
INTELLI Insight Report & Analysis: MindMaze
(Est. ~$1.6B valuation)
Company Overview:
MindMaze is developing a VR platform to map and respond to brain activity for healthcare and other applications. The company's products include Rehab DTx, Restore DTx, and digital assessments designed for the neuro care industry. Founded in 2012 and based in Lausanne, Switzerland. Developed digital Neurotherapy (DTx) devices designed to accelerate the brain's ability to recover, learn and adapt. The company uses immersive virtual reality, motion capture, and neurophysiological recording technologies to develop new technologies for neurorehabilitation, gaming training, and real-time 3D imaging that enable recovery of motor function in patients after stroke or brain injury. I am developing an interface.
Core Services
Rehab DTx: Therapies and techniques that enable physicians to maximize motor and cognitive rehabilitation through the continuum of care
Restore DTx: Evidence-based, next-generation, protocolized therapy for the restoration of true motor, cognitive and cardiovascular function after neuronal injury, degeneration, and aging
Assessment: Diverse Digital Assessments for Accurate and Reliable Quantification of Patient Motor and Cognitive Recovery
Founding Year
2012
Website
mindmaze.com
Employees
~4,760
Base Office
Chem. de Roseneck 5, 1006 Lausanne, Switzerland
Key Leadership
Tej Tadi (Founder & CEO)
INTELLI™ Analyst Review:
Why this Company matters right now:
On February 2022, MindMaze secured a $105 MM USD financing round to accelerate its global commercial growth plans, invest in R&D and consolidate the clinical development pipeline of its industry-defining digital therapeutic solutions for a wide spectrum of neurological diseases. In addition to that, MindMaze secured a $125 MM USD financing round on October 2021. Therefore, the company was able to raise $240 MM USD in less than six months.
MindMaze is undergoing an aggressive expansion plan that includes prioritizing the US market expansion and conducting several acquisitions. The company has hired six senior management positions between November 2021 and May 2022 to conduct this process in the most effective way. In addition to that, the company is well connected to very important private equity firms from the US, the EU, and the UK that have led or participated in several MindMaze venture rounds.
Key things "coming up" / that might come up in this company's near future:
MindMaze will be using the funds obtained from its February 2022 $105 MM USD funding to expand to the American market. Concord Health Partners (a US-based healthcare private equity firm focused on investing in and supporting healthcare companies) led the financing round. Furthermore, because of Concord’s investment, MindMaze will initiate a partnership with The American Hospital Association (AHA). The AHA includes nearly 90% of US hospitals, health systems, and other healthcare organizations as well as 300,000 executives from healthcare organizations in the field.
MindMaze has conducted five new senior management incorporations to prioritize accelerating its commercial capabilities with a primary focus on the US market. In May of 2022 Mind Maze announced the appointments of Patricia Bradley as Chief Commercial Officer; Sue Olsen, as Senior VP and General Manager for the US; Shefali Shah as Global VP, Market Value and Commercial Effectiveness; Stefanie Scheurer, Director of Sales and General Manager for Northern Europe; and Nils Ketelsen as VP of Finance.
*Predictions that we have on this company's next moves:
MindMaze is likely to conduct several acquisitions during the near future using the considerable funds secured. During the last twelve months (as of August 2022), MindMaze raised $230 MM USD in two rounds: $105 MM USD on February 2022 and $125 MM USD on October 2021. Large Private Equity groups that have the necessary expertise on acquisitions in different geographies led the rounds. Some of the firms are Concord Health Partners (US market focus), AlbaCore Capital Group (Europe’s leading specialist investors), and Hambro Perks (UK, sector expertise & scalable companies).
MindMaze is expected to conduct an active M&A strategy due to its relatively recent change in Chief Financial Officer (CFO). In November of 2021 appointed Kevin J. Gallagher as Chief Financial Officer. His previous role was Managing Director for Healthcare at Citigroup, where he was responsible for all sector coverage in the EMEA region. He previously served in a number of roles at Citigroup with a focus on the US healthcare market. His vast investment banking experience and incorporation in parallel of a $230 MM USD funding proves MindMaze has what is required to conduct an effective M&A strategy.
Opportunities the company has:
MindMaze benefited from the pandemic movement and contact restrictions. Because of the pandemic, the utilization of DTx applications in various fields boomed. DTx provides unique solutions to satisfy healthcare needs, reducing the danger of COVID-19 exposure. The pandemic joined the other major drivers for the growth of DTx, such as enhanced focus on preventive healthcare, high incidence of chronic diseases, and affordable gadgets due to technological advancements. DTx became a dominant and dynamic player in the digital health industry.
In addition to the boom in DTx, MindMaze is likely to benefit from the segments of DTx application. In 2021, the treatment & disease management segment accounted for the largest share of more than 80%. This treatment & management market will increase its domination and is likely to grow at a faster growth. This segment includes managing and treating diseases like chronic care, mental health & neurological disorders by using DTx. Digital therapeutics are being increasingly adopted due to the growing concern of chronic diseases.
Things that pose a risk to this company:
The general economic and market context may pose a threat to MindMaze. The company is still a technological company that can suffer from the venture winter may hamper MindMaze’s capacity to execute leveraged buyouts on acquisition targets. Particularly, if MindMaze is seeking to execute a large acquisition to set a foothold in the American healthcare market.
In addition to that, the unstable economic outlook may implicate output and consumption reductions. This situation may generate that patients and healthcare service providers may be unable or less willing to invest in DTx. This dynamic may hamper MindMaze’s ability to achieve its revenue targets.
What the "haters" would say about this company:
MindMaze aims to do everything at the same time: US market expansion, R&D investment, sales expansion in Northern Europe, and acquisitions. This unfocused strategy may result in the company not fulfilling any of its multiple targets. In a market characterized by increasingly larger companies, not even a $240 MM USD funding could be enough to fuel so many simultaneous fronts.
MindMaze’s latest funding occurred six months ago (as of August of 2022) and no acquisition to set a larger foothold in the US healthcare market has been executed. The company could have used this unstable economic context to execute at least a modest acquisition at a lower price, profiting from the market price negative shock. This lack of vision is particularly alarming considering that MindMaze’s CFO is a tenured investment banker.
Key takeaways / Hot takes:
MindMaze has what is required to consolidate itself as the dominant DTx market player. The company has a solid and tenured senior management team that has been recently awarded by top Swiss stakeholders. They have also secured enough financing ($240 MM USD in six months) to conduct a serious M&A strategy.
In this context, analyzing potential acquisition targets for MindMaze considering a well thought US healthcare market foothold would be of great interest to investors. Healthcare acquisitions in this particular sector will probably increase MindMaze’s FDA approval pipeline and further incorporate talent into the company.
Interested in learning more about MindMaze, or getting priority access to the deal? Email us here. Have some insights of your own to share? Leave a comment below.
Q3 Continues to See Cybersecurity Funding Decline
The recently ended third quarter saw only $2.6 billion go to startups in cyber, the lowest total since the same quarter in 2020, which saw $1.6 billion invested, according to Crunchbase data. Deal flow diminished in the quarter, which saw only 124 funding deals announced—the lowest since the third quarter of 2014.
Despite the downward trend in venture funding for the sector, several companies saw big rounds in the third quarter:
July | Coalition, the San Francisco-based cyber insurance startup closed a $250 million round at a $5 billion valuation.
July | Acronis, the Switzerland-based cybersecurity and data protection firm raised $250 million from institutional investors including BlackRock that valued the company at more than $3.5 billion.
September | San Mateo, California-based cloud-managed building security provider Verkada closed a large $205 million Series D led by Linse Capital that valued the company at $3.2 billion.
Slower Rate for Unicorn Births? ( Link 🔗 )
What’s old is new again — we’re seeing unicorn formation slow.
According to Crunchbase data, venture and growth investors in private companies scaled back their investment pace significantly as the slump in the public markets stretched into the third quarter. The downward trend is due both to the drop in overall VC funding and especially in late-stage funding.
🤝 Recent Acquisitions
Albertsons Companies a food and drug retailer is pending to be acquired by Kroger, a distributor and merchandiser of food, pharmacy, health, and personal items, seasonal merchandise, and related products and services for $25B.
KnowBe4 is a security platform for security awareness training and simulated phishing attacks was acquired by Vista Equity Partners, an investment firm that seeks to invest in enterprise software, data, and technology-enabled companies for $4.6B.
J. K. Shah Classes, an educational platform was acquired by Veranda Learning, a digital learning platform for 3.4B INR.
💰 Selected Venture Financing
Uniswap Labs, the creator of one of the largest crypto exchanges and facilitator of the defi ecosystem, raised a $165 million in a Series B funding round that was led by crypto-focused investment firm Polychain Capital.
GoHenry, a US and UK neobank for kids 6 and up, raised a $55 million Series B.
Tidal Financial Group, a Chicago, IL-based provider of an ETF investment and technology platform, raised $32 million in growth equity funding made by FTV Capital.
Walden Mutual Bank, a sustainable food-focused digital mutual bank, raised $24 million in special deposit shares to prep for launch in the US.
NorthStar, a Los Angeles-based financial advisor for retail investors, raised $24.4 million in funding.
IronVest, a security infrastructure app for financial institutions, raised a $23 million seed round.
Telda, an Egyptian consumer money app, raised a $20 million seed round.
Chronograph, a private markets tech provider, raised a $20 million in seed funding.
TripActions, the U.S. corporate travel and expense company, raised a $154 million equity round from investors including Andreessen Horowitz and Premji Invest at a $9.2 billion valuation with $150 million in structured financing coming from Coatue Management.
AyoConnect, an Indonesian financial data API, raised a $13 million Series B extension led by SIG Venture Capital, with participation from CE Innovation Capital and returning investor PayU.
Zerion, a San Francisco, CA-based provider of a digital wallet for web3 users, raised a $12.3 million Series B led by Wintermute Ventures.
Ntropy, a transaction enrichment API for financial services providers, raised an $11 million Series A round led by Lakestar with participation from QED Investors and January Investors..
Astra (a syndicate portfolio company), a card-to-card payments and funding service, raised a $10 million Series A round led by FPV Ventures with a $30 million debt facility through CoVenture.
Xalts, a Hong Kong-based digital asset management firm, raised a $6 million seed investment from investors including Citigroup and Accel.
Airwallex, a Hong Kong and Australia-based cross border banking startup, raised $100 million in a Series E round at a flat $5.5 billion valuation.
NorthOne, a New York-based small business banking startup, raised a $67 million Series B.
Pillow, a Southeast Asian and African crypto investing platform, raised an $18 million Series A round co-led by Accel, Quona Capital, Jump Capital, and existing investor Elevation Capital.
Mercantile, a New York-based industry-specific credit card provider, raised a $15 million Series A led by Index Ventures, and $7 million in debt.
Net Purpose, a platform for sustainable investors, has raised $11 million in a Series A round led by ETF Partners.
Tugende, a Ugandan small business credit card provider, raised a $10 million pre-Series B from existing shareholders led by Partech and two new investors, including Women’s World Banking.
OatFi, a buy-now-pay-later provider for business to business transactions, raised $8 million in equity and $50 million in debt.
Payable, a UK builder of a financial reconciliation ledger, raised €6 million.
Solvento, a Mexican payments and credit startup for truckers and fleets, raised a $5 million seed led by Ironspring Ventures.
Arch, a defi investing platform for everyday investors, raised $5 million co-led by Digital Currency Group and SoftBank spinoff Upload Ventures..
Getaway, a vacation property investment app, raised $4.4 million from Cowboy Ventures, XYZ Ventures and Night Ventures, as well as $1.5 million in debt financing..
Moon Mortgage, a crypto lending platform for real estate purchases, raised a $3.5 million seed round.
Jetstream, a Ghanaian startup that finances shipping trade, raised a $3 million seed from local and international investors.
FlapKap, a revenue-based financing provider for MENA e-commerce businesses, raised a $3.6 million seed round.
Axyon AI, an Italian provider of AI insights to asset managers, raised €1.6 million from ING and Unicredit.
Enable Banking, a Finnish financial API provider for customer control, raised €600,000 led by Wellstreet’s Fintech Fund and also included participation from Dutch investment firm Forward VC.
Shares, a European community-based investing app, raised money from Serena and Venus Williams.
CrowdStreet, an online real-estate investing platform, raised $43 million in equity and debt capital.