Building a Better Battery

A Startup's Journey on Building the Ultimate Battery, Patient Square Looks to Shake Up Healthcare VC Landscape, and Oil and Gas VCs are Back.

Author

Adam from VC Brags
February 01, 2023

Welcome Shareholders,     

In this daily edition of the Brags Newsletter, we'll cover the latest on a battery startup's meteoric rise, the largest healthcare fund ever raised in history, and an oil and gas VC looking to capitalize on the rebound in sentiment for energy. So sit back, grab a snack, and enjoy!

Startup of the Day

  • Battery Startup Our Next Energy (ONE) has raised $300 million from a Series B at a $1.2 billion post-money valuation led by Fifth Wall and Franklin Templeton to make its battery gigafactory a reality. 

Other investors in the round included Temasek, Riverstone Holdings and Coatue, AI Capital Partners, Sente Ventures. Since its founding in 2020, ONE has focused on building lithium-iron-phosphate cells, which will be produced in its gigafactory. The company plans to use proceeds from the new funding round to build its gigafactory in Michigan, which is expected to open by the end of next year.

ONE said that 2 gigawatt hours of capacity will come online at the end of 2024, with the remaining 18-gigawatt hours of capacity coming online subsequently over the next three years. The company has had a meteoric rise over the few years; it closed a $25 million Series A in October 2021 and $65 million throw a Series A1 in Match 2022. 

Who's Raising?

  • Healthcare Venture Firm Patient Square Capital has closed the largest ever fund by a healthcare VC with its $3.9 billion recent raise. 

Patient Square, which was founded in 2020, is being led by KKR healthcare veteran Jim Momtazee with a focus on investing in biopharma, devices & diagnostics, and providers. The firm was looking to initially raise $3 billion but closed with $900 million above target, despite a decline in public market healthcare activity.

Patient Square has led a number of high-profile deals, including the $300 million that was invested in Enavate Sciences, $270 million in a Series C for gene therapy company Kriya Therapeutics, and a $145 million funding round for UK-based Apollo Therapeutics. 

  • Houston-based energy investment firm North Hudson Resource Partners has just launched an inaugural fund to invest in mid-market North American Oil and Gas Production companies. 

The firm will provide senior secured loans of between $20 and $50 million to onshore oil and gas production companies which will be used to refinance existing debt, finance acquisitions, and fund exploration development.

The new fund is a departure from US energy investors, who have primarily targeted renewable energy-focused projects. North Hudson currently has over $850 million in assets under management, with its portfolio including interests across 4,500 wells located in Permian Basin, San Juan Basin, and Haynesville Shale.  

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