Good day. Fontinalis Partners, a mobility-focused venture firm founded in 2009 with offices in Detroit and Boston, said in August that it raised a $104 million third fund. Average pre-money valuations for seed deals in the mobility sector dropped to $10.6 million in the first half of the year from roughly $12 million during last year, according to analytics firm PitchBook Data Inc. Partner Chris Stallman offered WSJ Pro insight on how the firm plans to target the fund and how the mobility landscape has shifted. Here are excerpts of his written responses.

WSJ Pro: What parts of the mobility sector is Fontinalis interested in with Fund III?

Mr. Stallman: We are at the moment putting additional focus on four key themes:

1. Clean mobility -- we have made five investments in 2021 so far related to electric vehicles.

2. E-commerce enablement and the technologies central to the shift from traditional retail to e-commerce.

3. Industrial and supply chain transformation.

4. Enabling technologies like artificial intelligence and machine learning, cybersecurity, sensors, additive manufacturing, and other "deep tech."

WSJ Pro: What have been the key shifts in the mobility venture market over the last few years?

Mr. Stallman: We are seeing both a broadening of the mobility theme and the successes and experiences of "first-generation" mobility companies spawning new startups. An example of broadening, we have an investment in a weather intelligence company, Tomorrow.io. Weather has huge implications for a variety of industries and many of Tomorrow.io's customers and partners are automakers, logistics firms, airlines, rail companies, etc.

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Fintech Funding. Blend Financial Inc. hauled in $56 million in a new financing led in part by a firm co-founded by former Twitter Inc. Chief Executive Dick Costolo, as it pushes ahead with the expansion of its benefits platform, WSJ Pro's David Carnevali reports.

The San Francisco-based fintech, which does business as Origin, offers a suite of services to companies' workforces that include advising on retirement, equity grants, real estate and taxes. It raised the Series B round led by Mr. Costolo's 01A, General Catalyst and angel investor Lachy Groom, notching a valuation of $400 million, a fourfold increase from that of the previous round in June of last year.

Matt Watson founded Origin in 2018 with João de Paula after cutting his teeth on the trading floor of Citigroup Inc. and successfully running another business, which he sold. Mr. Watson, who is Origin's chief executive, said the company stands out from the pack because its technology can collect "all information that an individual is willing to share" to create a financial plan while also leveraging a network of certified financial planners who follow the workers at every step of the process.

4.8%

Expected rise of consumer prices in the fourth quarter from a year earlier, up sharply from the 2% rise that the Biden administration forecast in May. (WSJ)

China Plans to Ban U.S. IPOs for Data-Heavy Tech Firms

China plans to propose new rules that would ban companies with large amounts of sensitive consumer data from going public in the U.S., people familiar with the matter said, a move that is likely to thwart the ambitions of the country's tech firms to list abroad, WSJ reports. In recent weeks, officials from China's stock regulator have told some companies and international investors that the new rules would prohibit internet firms holding a swath of user-related data from listing abroad, the people said. The regulators said that the rules target companies seeking foreign initial public offerings via units incorporated outside the country, according to the people.

EV Company Rivian Files Confidentially for Public Listing

Electric-vehicle startup Rivian Automotive said Friday that it has confidentially submitted paperwork with financial regulators for a proposed listing, joining a growing list of battery-electric upstarts looking to tap the public markets, WSJ reports. Rivian, whose backers include Amazon.com Inc. and Ford Motor Co., said the size and price range for the proposed public offering haven't been determined. The company said it expects the initial public offering to happen after the Securities and Exchange Commission completes its review process. Bloomberg earlier reported the filing.

Industry News

Funds

Two months after announcing a $2.2 billion Crypto Fund, Andreessen Horowitz has launched a $400 million seed fund. The Menlo Park, Calif.-based firm has recently participated in funding rounds for Shield AI, a developer of AI and self-driving technologies for military aircraft, and data exploration and visualization platform Preset Inc.

Amplify Partners has doubled the size of its $100 million Amplify Select Fund. The $200 million vehicle will make growth investments in existing Amplify portfolio companies and will be invested alongside Amplify Partners IV LP, the firm's $275 million flagship early-stage fund. The focus of both funds is digital transformation being driven by advances in cloud infrastructure, developer tools, AI, data science and cybersecurity.

People

Clarify Health, a provider of on-demand healthcare analytics, appointed Jeff Meister as chief financial officer. He was most recently CFO at commercial real-estate intelligence provider Green Street. San Francisco-based Clarify said in March that it raised $115 million in Series C funding from investors including Insight Partners, Spark Capital, Concord Health Partners and others.

Virtual professional coaching provider BetterUp Inc. named Tom Van Gilder as the company's first chief medical officer. He was previously CMO of Walmart. Founded in 2013, San Francisco-based BetterUp is backed by investors including Iconiq Growth, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Salesforce Ventures, Crosslink Capital and Tenaya Capital.

New Money

Ionova Life Science Co., a Chinese cancer drug developer, completed a $100 million funding round. Tsing Song Capital, Shenzhen Capital Group and Greater Bay Area Homeland Development Fund led the investment, which included additional contributions from Dyee Capital and Lilly Asia Ventures.

Disqo, a Los Angeles-based consumer insights platform, closed an $85 million Series B growth round led by Sageview Capital. New investors March Capital and Valuestream Ventures also participated in the funding, along with existing backers Alpha Edison and Bonfire Ventures. Sageview Capital's Dean Nelson and March Capital's Wes Nichols will join Disqo's board.

Lynk Pharmaceuticals Co., a China-based startup developing drugs for autoimmune diseases, inflammation and cancer, closed a $50 million Series B round. Lilly Asia Ventures led the funding, and was joined by investors including New Alliance Capital and Legend Capital.

Workstream, a San Francisco-based hourly worker hiring platform, landed $48 million in Series B funding. BOND and Coatue Management led the round, which included support from Founders Fund and several others.

Elopage, a Berlin-based startup providing a commerce and payment infrastructure to digital entrepreneurs, snagged $38 million in Series A financing from investors including Target Global, Partech and Avid Ventures.

Hunters, a Tel Aviv-based cybersecurity platform, grabbed a $30 million Series B round. Bessemer Venture Partners led the funding, which included participation from YL Ventures, Blumberg Capital, M12 and U.S. Venture Partners.

OsteoCentric Technologies, an Austin, Texas-based developer of a less invasive method of securing implants to bone, secured $30 million in growth capital led by Squadron Capital and OnPoint Advisors.

Overjet, a Boston-based dental artificial intelligence startup, raised a $27 million Series A round led by General Catalyst and Insight Partners.

Balance, a business-to-business checkout platform for merchants and marketplaces, fetched $25 million in Series A financing. Ribbit Capital led the round, with additional participation from Avid Ventures, Lightspeed Ventures, Stripe, Y Combinator Continuity, SciFi VC, UpWest and others.

Oomnitza Inc., a San Francisco-based enterprise technology management startup, picked up a $20 million round of growth funding. Lead investor C5 Capital was joined by Aspenwood Ventures, Gula Tech Adventures, Riverside Acceleration Capital and Shasta Ventures in the round.

AnChain.AI Inc., a San Jose, Calif.-based blockchain security provider, picked up a $10 million Series A investment. SIG Asia Investments led the round, which saw participation from Fin Venture Capital, Nima Capital, Amino Capital and Hard Yaka.

SuperGaming, an Indian game development startup, raised $5.5 million in Series B funding. Lead investor Skycatcher was joined by AET Fund, BAce Capital, Dream Incubator and 1Up Ventures in the round.

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Around the Web

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

08-30-21 0914ET