Tacto, a small German artificial intelligence supply chain startup, is about to raise new funds from US giant Sequoia and is already in talks with another major investor to raise another round.
The Munich-based company, founded in 2020, has developed a platform for SMEs that provides an overview of their supply chains, procurement processes and transportation workflows.
Sequoia is expected to lead Tacto in the Series A round, six sources familiar with the deal told Insider. The round is believed to be worth about $20 million and the company will be valued at 75 to 100 times annual revenue, three sources said. The two sources added that it would value the three-year-old company at about $135 million after the acquisition.
Remarkably, the startup has already entered into talks to raise another round of funding in addition to its deal with Sequoia. Financing rounds occurring in such quick succession are rare and usually indicate strong investor interest in the company.
Tacto is also in talks with London-based Index Ventures to immediately raise another round of financing, five sources said. Index asked Tacto to preemptively introduce an even larger round into the business.
Sequoia and Tacto declined to comment when contacted by Insider. Index Ventures did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Sequoia’s presence is evidence of the growing interest of large American funds in young European start-ups. Andreessen Horowitz led a seed round in small artificial intelligence startup ElevenLabs in March and is also in talks with months-old company Mistral. This week, the American fund Coatue contributed to the seed round of the Dutch payment startup Fero.
Tacto is the latest startup to discuss a preemptive financing round, in which investors present deal terms to in-demand companies before they even begin the fundraising process. The collapse of growth financing has contributed to a sharp increase in the number of such deals.
Fintech Payrails, sales software company Cello and climate technology company Axle Energy are among those that have struck advance deals this year.
The potential second transaction has not yet been closed or finalized and is therefore subject to change. The deal could give Tacto an even higher valuation of around $300 million, two sources familiar with the process told Insider.
The company’s $5.6 million seed round in March 2022 was led by Berlin-based Cherry Ventures. UVC partners, the Visionaries Club and business angels also participated, including Personio CEO Hanno Renner.
Tacto’s fundraising comes against the backdrop of a bleak year for European ventures, with startup funding falling by almost 46%.
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