Private Markets: iCapital secures $820M in new funding round

iCapital raised over $820M in a new funding round, bringing the company’s valuation to over $7.5B.

Meanwhile, Revolut was said to be in talks to raise new funding from investors at a $65B valuation, according to people familiar with the matter, in a transaction that would fuel global expansion for Europe’s most valuable start-up, Financial Times’ Arash Massoudi, Ivan Levingston and Laith Al-Khalaf reported this week.

SpaceX was also said to be discussing plans to raise money and sell insider shares in a deal that would value Elon Musk’s rocket and satellite maker around $40B, people familiar with the matter said, Bloomberg’s Ed Ludlow reported. The valuation would mark a significant premium to the $350B high mark set during SpaceX’s share buyback in December.

Some of the biggest capital raises by private companies this week include:

iCapital – The financial technology company with a focus on private markets and structured investments raised over $820M in funding round co-led and funded by accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates and T. Rowe Price Investment Management, and SurgoCap Partners, bringing the company’s valuation to over $7.5B. Publicly traded companies in the space include Blue Owl Capital (OWL).

Bilt – The fintech and rewards network that lets renters earn points toward homeownership raised $250M in a new funding round that puts the company at a $10.75B valuation. The round was co-led by General Catalyst and real estate investor GID. Publicly traded companies in the space include Affirm (AFRM), Ibotta (IBTA), and Green Dot (GDOT).

Airalo – The eSIM provider announced a $220M investment led by new investor, CVC. The investment includes new growth capital valuing Airalo at over $1B, marking its status as the industry’s first unicorn. Publicly traded companies in the space include KORE Wireless Group (KORE) and Sierra Wireless (SW).

Varda Space Industries – The startup pioneering pharmaceutical manufacturing in microgravity, said it raised $187M in a Series C funding round that was co-led by venture firms Natural Capital and Shrug Capital, with participation from Lux Capital, Peter Thiel, Founders Fund, and Khosla Ventures. Publicly traded companies in the space include Rocket Lab USA (RKLB), Redwire (RDW), and Planet Labs (PL).

Harmonic AI – The artificial intelligence lab co-founded by Robinhood’s (HOOD) Vlad Tenev secured $100M in Series B funding backed by Kleiner Perkins, Sequoia, Index Ventures, and Paradigm. Publicly traded companies in the space include C3 AI (AI) and Palantir (PLTR).

Unicorns to watch this week:

Epic Games – Operating in the gaming space, Epic Games is valued at $31.5B. Publicly traded competitors include Activision Blizzard (MSFT), Electronic Arts (EA), Take-Two Interactive (TTWO), Nintendo (NTDOY), Ubisoft (UBSFF), and Sony (SONY).

Pendo – This enterprise software unicorn is valued at about $2.6B and became profitable for the first time last year. Publicly traded competitors include Amplitude (AMPL).

Teamworks – The sports management SaaS platform funded by a former Duke football player has recently reached the $1B valuation and its customers include NFL teams and most Division I college athletic departments, as well as 90% of MLB teams. Publicly traded peers include Genius Sports (GENI).

xAI – operating in the AI sector, xAI has an estimated valuation of $24B. Publicly traded competitors include Alphabet (GOOGL), Meta (META), Amazon (AMZN) and Nvidia (NVDA).
Shield AI – Operating in the Defense and autonomous drones space, Shield AI has an estimated $3B valuation. Publicly traded competitors include Palantir (PLTR) and AeroVironment (AVA).

IPOs to watch:

Figma (FIG) – The cloud-based design platform has filed with the SEC for an initial public offering of shares of Class A common stock and applied to list its Class A common stock on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “FIG.” Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Allen & Company, J.P. Morgan, BofA Securities, Wells Fargo, RBC Capital Markets, William Blair and Wolfe/Nomura Alliance are listed as underwriters.

Ambiq Micro (AMBQ) – The company has filed with the SEC for an initial public offering of shares of common stock and intends to apply to have its common stock listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “AMBQ.” BofA Securities, UBS, Needham and Stifel are listed as underwriters.

Center Mobile (CTMB) – The company has filed with the SEC for a firm commitment initial public offering of ordinary shares, via which it will be offering 3.75M ordinary shares. R.F. Lafferty is listed as the underwriter.

Klarna (KLAR) – Affirm’s (AFRM) “Buy Now, Pay Later” rival Klarna is expected to go public in 2025. In its last funding round back in 2022, Klarna was valued at $6.7B, but an IPO could value the fintech company at $15B-$20B. Klarna has retained Goldman Sachs (GS), JPMorgan (JPM) and Morgan Stanley (MS) to lead the listing.

Stripe – The digital payments company is one of the most anticipated 2025 IPOs. While no specific date has been announced, many believe next year will be the one for Stripe’s public debut.

“Private Markets” is The Fly’s new recurring series of stories on the latest moves in the private sector, largest unicorn companies and initial public offerings to watch. Fly subscribers, add $PRIVATE to your portfolio for alerts on breaking news in the startup and venture capital space.