Deal highlights: Scale AI secures backing to expand “data foundry for AI,” Chequer and Kolon raise new funding, Google secures minority stake in Flipkart, and more

Scale AI raises $1 billion to expand ‘data foundry for AI’

AI ScaleFounded in 2016 by young entrepreneur Alexander Wang, the artificial intelligence data infrastructure company announced that it has raised $1 billion in a funding transaction, reaching a valuation of $13.8 billion.

The transaction, comprised of a combination of primary and secondary investments, was led by Accel with participation from nearly all of Scale’s existing investors, including Y Combinator, Nat Friedman, Index Ventures, Founders Fund, Coatue, Thrive Capital, Spark Capital, Nvidia, Tiger Global Management, Greenoaks and Wellington Management.

New investors participating in the deal include Cisco Investments, DFJ Growth, Intel Capital, ServiceNow Ventures, AMD Ventures, WCM, Amazon, Elad Gil and Meta.

Scale AI said in a statement that the funding will help advance the company’s mission of building a “data foundry for AI” to develop the critical data needed to power AI capabilities, including complex inference and multi-modal tasks, ultimately enabling artificial general intelligence (AGI).

Photo of Alexandr Wang, founder and CEO of Scale AI. Photo credit: Alexandr Wang (via Facebook)

Checkers secures $27.8 million in funding

Chequer, a developer of cloud-native security solutions, announced it has closed a strategic investment round, securing $27.8 million. Investors include Shinhan Venture Investment, Salesforce Ventures and Z Venture Capital.

Founded in Silicon Valley, Chequer has a large footprint in South Korea, serving clients such as Kakao Enterprise, Musinsa, and Hybe.

The company: Query Pieis a platform that helps companies centralize data and development infrastructure, control data access and tasks, reduce costs and improve revenue in the cloud.

Kolon to invest additional 12.4 billion won in Papa Mobility

Papa MobilityThe company, which operates a ride-hailing platform for the socially vulnerable, is reportedly on the verge of securing a 12.4 billion won investment from South Korea’s Kolon Group as part of a rights issue to raise up to 13.8 billion won in working capital on June 6.

Kolon has invested a total of 20.5 billion won in PapaMobility in three installments in 2022 and 2023, making this the fourth investment. —Korea Economic Daily

Latest funding deals in India:

• Alphabet Google Subject to approval, the company will invest $350 million for a minority stake in Indian e-commerce company Flipkart’s latest funding round, led by Walmart, to provide the company with capital to expand its business and strengthen its digital infrastructure. —Reuters
• MinbucksBengaluru-based biotech startup Mynvax has raised INR 216.3 million (US$ 2.6 million) in an extended Series A funding round led by Inviga Healthcare Fund with participation from Legacy Assets and other investors. The company plans to use the funds for research and development. —Entracker
• dangeran e-commerce platform for home furniture and décor, has raised INR 207.8 million (US$ 2.5 million) in a pre-Series A funding round led by Capier Investments with participation from Peak XV Partners’ Surge Ventures. EntrackerVaaree is likely to raise further funding in the same round.
• Foxyan online retailer specializing in beauty, grooming and cosmetics, has raised INR 216 million (US$2.6 million) in a follow-on funding round from existing investor Lightspeed India Partners. —Entracker

xAI, Honest Bank, HoneyNaps and others made headlines last Friday.

• xAIElon Musk-founded artificial intelligence company xAI is nearing a funding round at a valuation of $24 billion. Investors expected to participate in the round include Lightspeed Venture Partners, Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia Capital, and Tribe Capital. xAI could reportedly raise close to $6 billion.
• Honest BankThe Singapore-headquartered fintech and financial services company has secured additional funding of $2.5 million in Series B funding from Rakuten Venture Capital and Jeta Global, with investments of $1.5 million and $1 million respectively.
• Honey NapsA South Korean company specializing in AI-based sleep data analysis has raised $11.6 million after completing a Series B funding round. Investors include Korea Industrial Bank, Hi Investment Partners, and Quad Investment.

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