Family office capital moved across defense technology, biotech and professional sports in the past two weeks, backing, among other deals, an autonomous drone manufacturer’s $250 million raise, a Seattle oncology company advancing its lead cancer therapy into human trials and a minority stake purchase in one of the world’s most valuable soccer clubs.
August 17 — Duquesne Family Office, the single-family office of investor Stanley Druckenmiller, disclosed a new stake of 88,000 Baidu American depositary shares, marking a fresh bet on Chinese technology as the search giant leans further into artificial intelligence. The firm has said more than half of Baidu’s revenue is now tied to AI products. (GuruFocus)
August 17 — WeBrokr confirmed it advised MyGolfSpy on a strategic investment from Graham Sports & Entertainment Partners and Bolt Ventures, the family office of sports investor David Blitzer. The deal, structured through a newly formed platform called Pin High Golf, gives the independent golf equipment testing outlet capital and operational support to expand its testing capacity, scale video and affiliate commerce, and pursue further acquisitions in golf media and data. Founder Adam Beach continues as CEO. (PR Newswire)
August 14 — A consortium led by Amit Bhatia agreed to acquire a roughly one-third stake in Liverpool Football Club from Fenway Sports Group in a deal valuing the Premier League club at more than $7 billion. The investor group, known as 1892 Holdings, includes Amazon founder Jeff Bezos in his first sports investment, as well as EE Capital, the family office of Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin and his wife Elaine. Bhatia, the son-in-law of steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal, will become Liverpool’s vice chairman and join its expanded board. (CNBC)
August 12 — InduPro closed a $77 million Series B financing and dosed its first patient in a Phase 1 trial of IDP-001, a bispecific antibody-drug conjugate targeting lung cancer and other solid tumors. The Column Group led the round, with existing backers Emerson Collective, the investment and philanthropy vehicle of Laurene Powell Jobs, and Euclidean Capital, the family office founded by the late Renaissance Technologies chief Jim Simons, returning alongside Vida Ventures and Merck’s MRL Ventures Fund. New investors Sanofi and Eli Lilly also joined. (Business Wire)
August 11 — Neros Technologies closed a $250 million Series C at a $2.5 billion valuation to scale production of its autonomous and interceptor drone programs. The round was co-led by Sequoia Capital and American Strategic Technology Fund, with participation from Thiel Capital, the investment vehicle of Peter Thiel, alongside Interlagos, Valor Equity Partners, Allen & Company, Spark Capital and Figma co-founder Dylan Field. The Torrance, California-based company holds contracts with the U.S. Army, Marine Corps and every component of Special Operations Command, and said the funding will support new drone programs including an FPV strike platform and a counter-drone interceptor. (PR Newswire)
August 5 — Triangle Group, a Singapore-based live entertainment platform, raised $15 million in combined equity and venture debt to build out touring and festival infrastructure across Asia-Pacific. The $10 million equity portion was led by DSG Consumer Partners and joined by Golden Gate Ventures and The Oberoi Family Office (the private investment firm chaired by actor, entrepreneur and investor Dr. Vivek Anand Oberoi), alongside a $5 million venture debt facility from Genesis Alternative Ventures. Former Live Nation Asia Pacific President Roger Field is joining the company as Executive Director and Operating Partner. (PR Newswire)