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Ÿnsect raises $224M debt and equity for bug farms

Ÿnsect, a French startup that builds insect farms for use in feedstocks, has added $224 million in equity and debt funding.

Backers in the round include Los Angeles VC firm Upfront Ventures and the FootPrint Coalition, an eco-focused investment vehicle financed by actor Robert Downey Jr.

The financing includes $139 million in debt and another $65 million in equity, according to a TechCrunch report.  It will go towards constructing what Ÿnfarm says will be the world’s largest insect farm, with an aim of producing more than 100,000 tons per year.

The company sees a core use for its product in fish feed for aquaculture, as well as potential in pet foods.

Funding rounds

• Dialpad raises $100M Series E: Dialpad, a provider of cloud-based phone, video and contact center systems for businesses,  has raised $100 million in a Series E funding round led by OMERS Growth Equity, at a  reported valuation of $1.2 billion.

Other news

• SEC charges McAfee with fraud: The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced that it has charged businessman and computer programmer John McAfee with fraud for promoting investments in initial coin offerings (ICOs) to his Twitter followers without disclosing that he was paid to do so. McAfee’s bodyguard, Jimmy Watson, Jr., was also charged for his role in the alleged scheme.
• Faraday eyes public offering via SPAC: Electric vehicle maker Faraday Future is reportedly in talks about potentially going public through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company, according to a Reuters interview with company CEO Carsten Breitfeld.

Illustration: Dom Guzman