Cash Flow: Meghan Markle Invests In Wellness, Another Wellness Unicorn, Britain’s Psychedelic Healthcare Fund

The game-changing investment, acquisition and funding news impacting the industry and driving the business of wellness this week.

Zenoti raises $160m, surpassing $1bn unicorn valuation

Zenoti, an enterprise cloud platform for the beauty and wellness industry, has closed a $160m Series D funding round at over a $1 billion valuation. The round was led by Advent International, one of the largest and most experienced global private equity investors. Tiger Global and Steadview Partners also participated in the round. 

The investment enables Zenoti to further accelerate its pace of innovation and reposition the industry to address heightened consumer expectations for health and safety during the global pandemic. While the beauty and wellness industry has been steadily migrating to Zenoti’s leading platform, the current crisis is a catalyst for further accelerating adoption.

Meghan Markle invests in oat milk latte brand Clevr Blends

Oat milk latte startup Clevr Blends has secured a strategic investment from Meghan Markle.

The Californian brand, which sells instant coffee mixed with dried oat milk and mushrooms, describes itself as a “woman-led, mission-driven wellness company”, and counts Oprah Winfrey as a fan.

Markle told Fortune: “This investment is in support of a passionate female entrepreneur who prioritises building community alongside her business. I’m proud to invest in Hannah’s commitment to sourcing ethical ingredients and creating a product that I personally love and has a holistic approach to wellness.”

Britain’s first psychedelic healthcare fund launches

Britain’s first investment fund dedicated solely to psychedelic healthcare has launched. The fund, launched by Neo Kuma Ventures which has already attracted millions of pounds in investment, has no set cap and will continue to draw venture capital through the first half of 2021. 

Neo Kuma Ventures, a London-based Venture Capital firm, will use the fund to invest in “the most exciting, high quality and scientifically sound players in the industry.” The newly formed firm has an investment thesis focused on clinically proven psychedelic medicines which it believes will hit the market in the next five years.

Image: ChiliSleep
Kryo, the company behind the ChiliSleep brand raises $37m

Kryo, the parent company of sleep technology brand ChiliSleep, has merged with Ebb Therapeutics to become a market leader in innovative sleep products and technologies. As part of the transaction, leading global investment firm KKR, Ebb’s largest investor, led a $37m investment to accelerate the merged company’s growth in the $432 billion global sleep market.

At a time when millions of Americans are struggling with sleep, the combined business brings together two complementary suites of products including core temperature-regulation products and wearable sleep devices, to help people take better control of their health by improving their sleep. 

A.I. startup Well Dot secures $40m for health recommendation platform

Well Dot, a startup providing users with daily health recommendations based on their health data and analytics, has closed a $40million Series A round with participation from existing investors General Catalyst, John Doerr, Mosaic Health Solutions and Hellman & Friedman partners.

In a statement, the company said it plans to use the capital to continue to invest in its people and technology as it expands its user base, content and the breadth of the offering.