The Consumer Roundup #37

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Hey Friends,

Happy Monday! A couple of events coming up if you’re based in LA or Austin

📆 Are you in town for FounderMade? Or do you live in LA? I’m co-hosting another LA coffee meetup on the morning of October 19th. You can RSVP Here.

📆 My friends at Orrick are throwing a party during Austin’s Startup Week on November 9th. You can RSVP Here

On to the fundraising update––––

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Consumer Brands

Vouri, the activewear apparel brand, plans to IPO next year. Their last round of funding was in 2021 when they raised $400 million from SoftBank at a $4 billion valuation – Bloomberg

Soeur, the French fashion brand, sold 80% of the brand to Style Capital. The deal values Soeur at $73.9 million - Fashion Network

Cove, the sustainable packaging company, closed a $6.6 million Series A extension led by Valor Siren Ventures - Axios

Boisson, the U.S. non-alcoholic retailer, raised a $5 million bridge round from Convivialite Ventures, the venture capital arm of Pernod Ricard, and Connect Ventures - FoodBev

Thomas Ashbourne Craft Spirits, the high-quality craft canned and bottled cocktails brand, raised an undisclosed amount from InvestBev - PR Newswire

Birkenstock is seeking a $9.2 billion valuation in IPO - CNBC

SuperOrdinary, a brand accelerator that helps brands enter and scale in China and accelerate globally, raised $58 million Series B from Manzanita, Alliance Consumer Growth, Demira GateUpper90 and SuperOrdinary founder and CEO Julian Reis - TechCrunch

Consumer Technology

Anthrophic, the AI safety and research company whose primary rival is OpenAI, raised $300 million led by Spark Capital - The Information

Headway, the health-tech platform that connects patients to in-network therapists, raised $150 million Series C, valuing the company at $1 billion. The round was led by Spark Capital with participation from Thrive Capital, Accel, Andreessen Horowitz and Health Care Service Corporation - Reuters

Nord Security, the internet security & VPN company, raised $100 million at a $3 billion valuation led by Warburg Pincus with participation from Novator Ventures and Burda Principal Investments - Silicon Angle

Blackbird Labs, a hospitality tech company that helps restaurants create loyalty programs and stay in touch with guests, raised a $24 million Series A led by Andreessen Horowitz with participation from QED, Union Square Ventures, Shine, Variant, and restaurant groups Quality Branded, Rustic Canyon Group, Soulva and Brooks Reitz - TechCrunch

IYK, which helps brands build digital experiences by linking digital collectibles to real-life products, raised a $16.8 million seed round led by A16z Crypto with participation from 1kx, Collab Currency, Lattice Capital, and gmoney - NFT Gators

Lex, the social and community app built to be an inclusive space for members of the LGBTQ+ community, raised $5.6 million led by Stellation Capital’s Peter Boyce - TechCrunch

Dharma, the travel startup that sells trips hosted by celebrities and brands, raised $4.7 million led by Convivialité Ventures (Pernod Ricard’s VC arm), with participation from FJ Labs, and Stephen Ross - PhocusWire

Breezit, the AI-powered wedding planner, raised $2 million pre-seed round led by Practica Capital - Tech Funding News

Meeno, the AI-powered chatbot aimed to fight loneliness, raised a $3.9 million seed round led by Sequoia with participation from Andrew Ng’s AI Fund and NEA - TechCrunch

Creator Economy

Aug X Labs, a video content tool targeting creators powered by AI, raised $3.1 million led by Unlock Venture Partners with participation from Dropbox Ventures, Flying Fish Ventures, and Hyde Park Venture Partners, Zenture VP, Magnesium Studio, Shae Hong, and Eric Ries - VentureBeat

Funds Raising Funds

Alpaca VC, the venture fund that invests in commerce enablement, blockchain infrastructure, consumer technology, the future of work, fintech and the creator economy, raised $78 million for its third fund - TechCrunch

Sports Leagues

League One Volleyball, the professional volleyball league, raised $35 million Series B led by Left Lane Capital with participation from Ares Management Funds and a handful of athletes - Sports Business Journal

Mergers & Acquisitions

Chico’s, the women’s apparel company, was bought by Sycamore Partners for $1 billion - Retail Dive

Blue Apron, the meal kit delivery company, was acquired by The Wonder Group for $103 million - Blue Apron

Second Nature Brands acquired Sahale Snacks for $34 million from The J.M. Smucker Co. - Vending Times

Letterboxd, a film review and social media platform, was acquired by Tiny for ~$50 million - The Verge

Bankruptcy

SmileDirectClub, which sells at-home dental products, which was once valued at $8.9 billion filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy - Yahoo! Finance