Participated · Debt Financing · Feb 2021

Sinch is a Sweden-based cloud communications company that provides messaging, calling and marketing (engagement) APIs for developers and enterprises. The company has pursued acquisition-led growth—after raising $690 million from SoftBank in December—to expand geographic reach and service offerings. It is publicly traded in Sweden with a market cap of about $13 billion. Sinch announced it is acquiring Inteliquent for $1.14 billion in cash, giving it a significant foothold in the U.S. voice market against rivals like Twilio. To finance the deal it raised SEK8.2 billion (~$986M) from Handelsbanken and Danske Bank and used other existing facilities. The acquisition complements Sinch’s recent purchases (for example ACL in India for $70M and SAP’s digital interconnect business for $250M) and is intended to strengthen its combined voice and messaging capabilities. Sinch provides cloud-based omnichannel voice, video and messaging services that help enterprises communicate with customers across mobile and digital channels. The platform focuses on mobile messaging and other digital channels to support customer experience and omnichannel engagement. The company is publicly traded on Sweden’s stock exchange and has a market cap of SEK 70 billion (about $8.2 billion). Sinch is profitable and generating cash, and previously paid $250 million to acquire SAP’s Digital Interconnect unit, which added roughly 1,500 enterprise customers, mostly in the U.S. Management says the company does not need to raise funding for ongoing operations, but plans to use proceeds from the recent share sale for further M&A. Demand for digital customer engagement has increased during COVID-19, which Sinch expects to capitalise on as it pursues additional acquisitions and expands its offering. Sinch was spun out of Rebtel to offer communications tools to mobile developers, providing messaging and voice calling SDKs and APIs for iOS and Android. The company enables app-to-app calling, instant and group messaging, SMS and call termination inside apps. Sinch says it can price many services below competitors like Twilio by leveraging Rebtel's licensing deals and partnerships, and its services are paid rather than free. Pricing for app-to-app calling and instant messaging is based on active users and minutes/messages used, while app-to-phone calling and SMS are charged per-minute or per-SMS. Sinch has about 40 employees and maintains offices in Stockholm and San Francisco. The spinout received $12 million in funding from Rebtel to launch as a standalone company.

Participated · Equity · Sep 2020

Bambuser's flagship product is Live Video Shopping, a cloud-based interactive live video streaming solution used by global e-commerce and retail customers to host live shopping on websites, mobile apps and social media. The company launched the product in late 2019 and reports rapid adoption by brands including H&M, Motivi, Moda Operandi, Frame, LUISAVIAROMA and Showfields. In Q2 2020, Bambuser's net sales grew 669% year-over-year; average viewers watched 11.18 minutes per show and 12% added at least one item to their cart (36% add-to-cart in beauty). The U.S. became the company's largest market despite having no physical presence after plans to open a U.S. headquarters were delayed by travel restrictions. Bambuser says the new funding will support physical expansion, aggressive recruitment and further product development to meet demand during the Q4 holiday season. The company was founded in 2007 and is listed on the Nasdaq First North Growth Market, with headquarters in Stockholm. Bambuser offers proprietary technology and products that let developers, organizations and brands integrate low-latency live broadcasting and viewing directly into mobile apps and workflows. The company’s platform is designed to drive ongoing engagement between broadcasters and their audiences. Bambuser’s mobile technology is installed on over 60 million devices worldwide. Led by CEO and co-founder Jonas Vig, the company focuses on serving professional B2B customers. It plans to use new funding to accelerate expansion, including deploying a dedicated sales team across key geographies such as Europe and North America. Bambuser also intends to launch the second generation of its Iris platform to advance its product offering. Bambuser provides a platform and backend that lets eyewitnesses and journalists record, transmit, and authenticate live user-generated video for major news events. The service is free for regular users while professional news organizations pay for access and integrations. Its technology is optimized to work over basic handsets and weak networks, an advantage the company traces to its early start in 2007. Bambuser recently rolled out an SDK to make it easier for organizations to embed its content on third-party sites. The company plans to focus on a B2B monetization strategy, expanding the platform for newsrooms and helping them source and verify UGC. Bambuser does not disclose user counts or revenues; the article notes it has raised at least $2.5 million in addition to the AP’s most recent investment. Bambuser is a Swedish live mobile streaming platform that enables users to share live mobile video with friends and followers worldwide. The service integrates with major social networks including Facebook, Twitter and Myspace and can be embedded in users' blogs or websites. It supports both consumer broadcasts and business use, allowing small organizations to large media companies to produce and distribute real-time and interactive mobile and web/DV-cam video experiences. The company has raised equity funding of an undisclosed amount. Bambuser intends to use the new capital to further expand its service. The funding announcement was published on 06/03/2011.

Led · Series C · May 2020

Doktor.se operates a digital healthcare platform that allows patients to receive medical advice and treatment online, complemented by physical care when needed. The company is focusing on international growth and has publicly stated a goal of becoming the largest player in the German market. Management is also preparing the business for an IPO, targeting a listing in 2026. To support these ambitions, Doktor.se recently raised new capital while simultaneously developing an additional growth vertical that will require some self-funding. The shareholder register includes high-profile backers such as Evolution Gaming founder Jens von Bahr (via Jovb Investments AB), Anicura founder Peter Dahlberg, and Chinese technology giant Tencent. The firm is currently contending with a dispute involving Region Stockholm, described by the CEO as “infected,” but maintains that the fresh capital will primarily be used for overseas expansion. No specific revenue or user metrics were disclosed in the article.