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4 n e w h a v e n B I Z | M a r c h 2 0 2 1 | n e w h a v e n b i z . c o m A r o u n d t h e R e g i o n Guilford's Quantum-Si to go public in $1.46B merger Another startup founded by Guilford bio- science entrepreneur Jonathan Rothberg is going public through a merger with a "blank check" company. Quantum-Si, which describes itself as a pio- neer in next-generation semiconductor-chip based proteomics, announced it is merging with HighCape Capital Acquisition Corp. in a deal that values the company at $1.46 billion. e deal is expected to close during the second quarter of this year, pending share- holder approval. e combined company will trade on Nasdaq under the symbol "QSI." HighCape Capital Acquisition Corp. is a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, sponsored by HighCape Capital LP, a New York healthcare focused investment firm founded by Connecticut serial entre- preneur and venture capitalist Kevin Rakin. SPACs are shell companies formed specif- ically to raise capital through an initial pub- lic offering to acquire an existing company. Quantum-Si will net around $514 million in the deal. Rothberg, who founded Quantum-Si in 2013, will become executive chairman of the publicly-traded company and continue to hold a controlling interest. Quantum-Si says it has developed a next-generation protein sequencing plat- form that is on track to launch commercial- ly in 2022 for research use. Shelton energy-savings company secures new patents Energy startup Budderfly has secured two new patents aimed at protecting its process for helping customers cut energy costs. e Shelton-based company indicated it now has six patents, with more pending. Al Subbloie, president and CEO, said the patents, awarded by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, demonstrate the compa- ny's "industry-leading approach to energy management." Budderfly provides businesses with short- and long-term savings related to their energy costs and usage, such as through equipment upgrades, system maintenance and monitoring. One of the new patents protects the company's process that allows it to provide en- ergy savings without a time-delaying audit or having to predict future usage. A second patent involves the company's ability to combine energy usage and client opera- tional measurements on a user-friendly monthly bill, the company said. UConn opens Stamford incubator for data science startups e University of Connecticut has opened an incubator for startup companies in the data sciences fields, adding to its Technology Incubation Program (TIP) in Farmington and Storrs. e Stamford incubator will host early- to mid-stage companies focused on data science in a nearly 5,700-square-foot facil- ity on 9 West Broadway St., in Stamford, according to UConn. Five startups will form the Stamford TIP's inaugural cohort, UConn said. Startups will have access to offices and shared work areas, UConn's research infrastructure, faculty experts, student talent, business mentoring and networking opportunities, UConn said. Guilford's Butterfly Network begins trading on NYSE Guilford pocket-sized ultrasound device maker Butterfly Network Inc. began trad- ing on the New York Stock Exchange in February aer completing its merger with Longview Acquisition Corp. Butterfly's stock opened at $24.80. It trades under the ticker symbol BFLY. e startup founded in 2011 by Con- necticut bioscience entrepreneur Jonathan Rothberg received roughly $589 million in cash from the merger. e deal, reached in November, values Butterfly at $1.5 billion. Butterfly invented a low-cost, hand-held ultrasound device, called Butterfly iQ, that resembles an electric hair trimmer and plugs into an iPhone for instant imaging. e device is powered by Butterfly's patent- ed technology known as "ultrasound-on- a-chip." Norwalk's Signify Health raises $564M in IPO Signify Health Inc., which has offices in Norwalk, began trading on the New York Stock Exchange in an initial public offering in February, raising $564 million. e company plans to use the money for general corporate purposes, and for po- tential acquisitions or investments in other businesses or technologies it believes will complement its expansion efforts. Signify Health is a healthcare platform that uses analytics, technology and health- care provider networks. It aims to improve how care is delivered and paid for, so peo- ple can spend more time at home, instead of in care settings. Drug Farm raises $56M for hepatitis B drug trial A biotechnology company with head- quarters in China and a presence in Connecticut recently raised $56 million to advance a new drug for hepatitis B into human testing. Drug Farm, founded by a former longtime vice chair of genetics at Yale University and helmed by a biotech veteran from Guilford, said it will use the Series A funding to advance its lead drug, DF-006, into clinical trials this year. e funding will also be used to develop additional drug candidates in Drug Farm's pipeline, which includes treatments for cancer and autoimmune diseases. e company describes its lead drug as a treatment for chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) that works by modulating the body's own innate immunity. Sema4 to go public in SPAC merger valuing company at $2B AI-driven health intelligence company Sema4 announced in February that it is merging with a "blank check" company and going public in a deal that values the Stam- ford-based startup at $2 billion. e rapidly-growing company, which also has a lab in Branford, said its merger with CM Life Sciences is expected to close during the second quarter of this year, pending approval from CM shareholders. CM Life Sciences is a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, led by healthcare investment firm Casdin Capital and hedge fund Corvex Management, both of which are based in New York. Spun out of New York's Mount Sinai Health System, Sema4 opened its Stamford headquarters in 2017 and now employs 500 people in Connecticut. e company uses artificial intelligence to build predictive models in the areas of women's health and oncology. It also offers genomic health screening and modeling, and recently partnered with the state to conduct large-scale COVID-19 testing. Hyperfine raises $90M for portable MRI rollout Guilford-based Hyperfine Research Inc., the Jonathan Rothberg-founded startup that last year launched an inexpensive, portable MRI system, raised $90 million. Investors in the Series D round included GV (formerly Google Ventures), the investment arm of Google's parent company, Alphabet, which has previously invested in prominent tech startups such as Uber and Slack. Hyperfine said it will use the funding to "aggressively scale up" commercial expansion of its portable MRI system, Swoop, and to accelerate plans for "multiple country launches." GSB Wealth Management acquires East Haven investment firm GSB Wealth Manage- ment LLC, a subsidiary of Guilford Savings Bank, recently acquired the assets of CTMA Wealth Management of East Haven. CTMA, a registered investment adviser, currently manages $198 million in client assets. B R I E F S N ew York-based M&T Bank has agreed to acquire People's United Bank and its parent People's United Financial for $7.6 billion. e all-stock transaction will combine two of the largest lenders in the Northeast. e two publicly-traded banks have approximately $200 billion in combined assets and more than 1,100 branches spanning from Maine to Washington, D.C. People's United has been the Buffalo's M&T to buy People's United for $7.6B largest driver of bank consolida- tion in its home state in recent years, acquiring Hartford-based United Financial and community PHOTO | COURTESY BUTTERFLY INC. PHOTO | FILE IMAGE Jonathan Rothberg lender Farmington Bank. Under the terms of the deal, set to close in the fourth quar- ter, People's United's Bridgeport headquarters will become M&T's New England regional headquar- ters. e combined company would be led by M&T Chairman and CEO Rene Jones. People's United Chairman and CEO Jack Barnes will join M&T's board of directors, but any other future job title wasn't disclosed. n Jack Barnes is the CEO and chairman of People's United Financial. Al Subbloie PHOTO | ANDREW VENDITTI Butterfly iQ uses semiconductor technology to replace large and expensive ultrasound carts. PHOTO | YALE UNIVERSITY Tian Xu, a former vice chair of genet- ics at Yale University, is the founder of Drug Farm. PHOTO | CONTRIBUTED Ken Russell, president and CEO of GSB Wealth Management.

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