The Briefing: Plus.ai Lands $200M, Kaepernick Forms A SPAC, And More
Summary
Former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick is the latest public figure to launch a blank-check acquisition company, filing paperwork for a $250 million SPAC called Mission Advancement Corp. The SPAC will seek to find an acquisition target at the “intersection of consumer and impact.” Kaepernick, famous for kneeling during the national anthem in protest against racial injustice, is working in partnership with Phoenix-based investment firm The Najafi Cos. Celo, an open-source blockchain ecosystem focused on making decentralized financial systems and tools accessible to anyone with a smartphone, raised $20 million in new backing from a group of purchasers and partners including Andreessen Horowitz. Thrasio and Branded Group, two startups that acquire successful Amazon resellers, separately raised large rounds of new venture funding on Feb. 9 as the e-commerce sector continues to draw intense investor interest. Founded in 2017 by Eric Schadt, Sema4 uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to analyze patient data to provide insights to transform the practice of medicine and how disease is diagnosed, treated and prevented.