Herbert Smith Freehills' private equity and venture capital team has advised Sonder on its A$16 million capital raise.
The round was led by existing investors Perennial and venture capital firm Tidal Ventures, and new strategic investors including Cliff Rosenberg (former Afterpay Board member and ex MD LinkedIn ANZ & SEA). The new capital will be employed to scale operations.
Founded in 2017, Sonder is an Australian company providing on-demand personal safety and wellbeing support through a technology-driven platform and physical responder network.
The Herbert Smith Freehills team was led by partner and Head of Venture Capital Peter Dunne, Co-Head of Venture Capital Elizabeth Henderson, and solicitors Myra Beal and Raj Mathew, working across the firm's Sydney and Brisbane offices.
Elizabeth Henderson said, "It has been a pleasure to work with Sonder, its founders and management over the past few years as the business has grown from strength to strength. We are delighted to see it achieve such an important milestone with its most recent capital raise. Sonder's offering combines technology innovation and digital delivery with old-fashioned human support to create a unique offering that is helping people live their best lives."
Sonder Co-Founder and CEO Craig Cowdrey said, "It's been great working with Herbert Smith Freehills on our latest capital raise. At this stage of Sonder's scaling journey, it is critical to have the right commercial and legal expertise to support our growth. This latest capital raise will help expedite our mission to reimagine safety and wellbeing for organisations - breaking down barriers for staff to reach out for help, and providing the right support at the right time."
This deal is another example of Herbert Smith Freehills' market-leading work in Australian venture capital raisings. Other recent examples include:
- SafetyCulture on its A$99 million Series C2 capital raise and secondary sale;
- Linktree on its US$45 million Series B capital raise;
- Deputy Group on its A$111 million Series B capital raise;
- Culture Amp on its A$120 million Series E capital raise.
