#StartupNews #Digest Weekly Digest: New Unicorns, Deals, an | Idea factory
#StartupNews #Digest
Weekly Digest: New Unicorns, Deals, and Acquisitions
Cybersecurity Startup from Israel Became a New Unicorn
According to Reuters, Perimeter 81 made a leap in its valuation compared to the previous round in August 2020, when it was valued at $200 million.
In the latest series C funding led by B Capital, the startup has scored $100 million which increased its valuation up to $1 billion and made it a new unicorn. The total of raised investments is $165 million. ION Crossover Ventures and Insight Partners also participated in the round.
Perimeter 81 offers secure network solutions on its cloud platform. The four-year-old company, which is not yet profitable, claims it has more than doubled its annual regular revenue compared to last year and is on track to generate tens of millions of dollars this year.
The new capital will be invested in product development to help the company provide one-size-fits-all solutions for corporate network security.
The Tel Aviv-headquartered company, which initially focused on medium-sized enterprises with fewer than 5,000 employees, has quickly become a leading player in offering zero-trust network access.
The reason is companies are investing more to meet the demands of remote work during the pandemic, as traditional security devices such as local firewalls become less relevant.
Perimeter 81 now has offices in New York and Los Angeles. The company claims to serve about 2,400 global customers from various industries, including IT company Ingram Micro and telemedicine firm Hims & Hers, with more than half of its revenue coming from the United States.
British Startup Netomnia Raised $386M
The startup of the fiber optic network Netomnia Ltd raised $385 million in the round led by DigitalBridge Investment Management.
According to the startup's founder and CEO Jeremy Chelo, additional funding came from previous investors Soho Square Capital LLP and Advencap Ltd, bringing Netomnia's total funding to £418 million, including £73 million of debt.
Jeremy Chelo has experience in fundraising for fiber-optic startups. Previously, he led the development of the London-based network startup Community Fiber. In 2020 it was sold to the private investment company Warburg Pincus LLC and DTCP, the venture arm of Deutsche Telekom AG.
The co-founder of Chelot and Community Fiber, Callum Dick, used the money from this deal to launch Netomnia, as well as the new Internet provider YouFibre. He says that Chelo is aimed to build fiber optic lines to a million homes across the UK over the next two years in a number of areas.
"The goal is simple: Netomnia wants to become the third national operator in the UK," Chelo said in an interview. This will mean competition with the dominant British network company, the former state monopoly BT Group Plc".
Warren Buffet’s Company Acquires Alleghany for $11,6B
The acquisition will strengthen Berkshire's position in the insurance business, which Warren Buffett called one of the "four giants" of his company, bringing most of its value.
Warren Buffett is sure that Berkshire will be the perfect permanent home for Alleghany. He believes that for 85 years, the Kirby family has created a business that is in many ways similar to Berkshire Hathaway.
The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2022. Although it was unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both companies, it is subject to approval by Alleghany shareholders and various regulatory authorities.
In addition, Alleghany now has a 25-day period during which the company can look for a better deal with another potential buyer.
The main activity of Alleghany is reinsurance and insurance of property and accidents. Alleghany's property and accident insurance subsidiaries include Transatlantic Holdings, Inc. (TransRe), a leading global reinsurance company; RSUI Group, Inc. and Capspeciality, Inc., an underwriter of special accident insurance and sureties.
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