Every child’s first word is seismic, it was especially so for Clark: At the age of two, she was diagnosed as deaf. In a taped 2019 talk from her time in business school at Stanford, Clark tells the story of how her mother taught her to speak, starting word by word. And because no one’s more equipped to improve communication than someone who has truly spent time thinking about it deeply, Clark is now the cofounder and CEO of Arcade, a visual storytelling platform.
“That experience learning how to speak from my mother has taught me how precious it is to choose every word,” she said. “I’ve used words to tell myself what’s possible. They’re powerful. In many ways, I think Arcade is helping you achieve that power—not only coming up with the right words but showing them in the most creative way possible.”
It’s fitting that, in some sense, Clark’s job is helping companies find their voices, visuals, and stories. Arcade’s customers currently include Salesforce, Zapier, Atlassian, New Relic, Superhuman, and Carta, all of whom use the platform to develop interactive demos.
“I think that people underestimate Arcade,” Clark told Fortune. “They say ‘Oh, it’s just a demo tool,’ but I think the word ‘demo’ is limiting. It’s really about content, collaboration, and creativity.”
The company probably won’t be underestimated much longer, with more than 14,000 companies using the platform—and a new milestone. Arcade has raised a $14 million Series A, led by Kleiner Perkins, Fortune can exclusively report. Upfront Ventures and Foundation Capital, both existing investors, also participated in the round.
Founded in 2021, Arcade draws inspiration from video games in both its name and product, which includes features like pulsating dots and load times. That’s not an accident—Clark and I talked about comic books (she recently read video game designer Jordan Mechner’s graphic memoir Replay) and her belief in “playfulness and going through the product as adventure.”
Aditi Maliwal, Upfront Ventures partner, wrote the first check into Arcade in March 2021, and she’s watched Clark grow the company from a product into an enterprise sales company.
“It’s really hard to cross that chasm and it takes a long time, but she’s a force of nature,” said Maliwal, who’s known Clark for seven years. “I wear this bracelet every day that says ‘resilience’ and, to me, Caroline signifies resilience. She truly had to learn how to hear and how to speak. She’s learned how to hear through her eyes.”
Arcade’s opportunity fundamentally ties back to “the sea of software everywhere we go,” said Kleiner Perkins partner Mamoon Hamid. Clark had for years specifically wanted to work with Hamid, drawn to his track record investing in gorgeous workplace efficiency juggernauts like Slack, Figma, and Box. Hamid, who will join Arcade’s board, draws a parallel between Arcade and the evolution of tools like Slack, which brought a new level of visual and interactive communication to workplaces.
“What I love about Arcade is that it’s creating this market where, if you describe the category, it doesn’t sound all that interesting,” he told Fortune. “Enterprise chat doesn’t sound interesting, but when you overlay a great product you can use, it drives some enjoyment—like communicating via Slack ten years ago with colleagues when the alternative was chat inside of Gmail or text messaging. There’s a richness these tools offer… and in the same vein, Arcade is very powerful yet beautiful in the way it helps you tell stories.”
And, yeah, there’s an AI angle here—Arcade is currently investing in AI features like synthetic voice, automated translations, and recommendations that enhance the content creation process. But it’s all in the service of something that Clark speaks about more clearly than just about any professional storyteller I know: Precise communication not only matters but also makes a difference in real-world outcomes.
“This is a really big statement, but broadly there’s so much happiness in words, but also pain that comes from miscommunication when you hear the wrong set of words,” said Clark. “You hear the right set of words, and you’re inspired and motivated. It really matters because there’s just so much more joy that could come from being measured and thoughtful about words.”
To tell a story, you need to learn to hear, listen, and then talk. In its way, Arcade is about learning to speak—and it’s ready to be heard.
ICYMI…My colleague Jessica Mathews just published a banger interview with the inimitable Palmer Luckey, and my newly minted Term Sheet co-conspirator Leo Schwartz scooped Quiet Capital’s new $377 million fund. We also released our Fortune 50 AI Innovators list, featuring lots of startup names you’ll know, from Anthropic to Glean.
See you tomorrow,
Allie Garfinkle
Twitter: @agarfinks
Email: alexandra.garfinkle@fortune.com
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VENTURE DEALS
– Odoo, a Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium-based integrated business software provider, raised €500 million ($526.8 million) in funding. CapitalG and Sequoia Capital led the round and were joined by BlackRock, Mubadala Investment Company, HarbourVest Partners, and others.
– Ladder, an Austin-based strength training app, raised $15 million in Series B funding. Point72 and ADvantage VC led the round and were joined by PagsGroup and existing investors Tapestry VC and LivWell Ventures. Also, General Catalyst invested $90 million in the company.
– League One Volleyball, a Los Angeles-based youth volleyball clubs community, raised $100 million in funding. Atwater Capital led the round and was joined by existing investors Ares Management and Left Lane Capital.
– Spectro Cloud, a San Jose-based Kubernetes management platform, raised $75 million in Series C funding. Growth Equity at Goldman Sachs Alternatives led the round and was joined by existing investors.
– TEKEVER, a Lisbon-based unmanned aerial systems developer for maritime surveillance, raised €70 million ($73.7 million) in funding. Baillie Gifford led the round and was joined by the NATO Innovation Fund, the National Security Strategic Investment Fund, Crescent Cove Advisor, and existing investors Iberis Semper and Cedrus Capital.
– Lightning AI, a New York City-based deep learning framework developer, raised $50 million in funding from Cisco Investments, J.P. Morgan, K5 Global, and NVIDIA.
– Pickle Robot, a Cambridge, Mass.-based physical AI robotic automation systems developer, raised $50 million in Series B funding from Teradyne Robotics Ventures, Toyota Ventures, Ranpak, and others.
– Rox, a San Francisco-based AI agent developer for salespeople, raised $50 million in funding from Sequoia Capital, GV, and General Catalyst.
– Inversion, a Los Angeles-based space-to-Earth cargo delivery service provider, raised $44 million in Series A funding. Spark Capital and Adjacent led the round and were joined by Lockheed Martin Ventures, Kindred Ventures, and Y Combinator.
– Zarminali Health, a Chicago-based pediatric care provider, raised $40 million in seed funding from General Catalyst.
– Lightyear, a New York City-based enterprise telecom management software provider, raised $31 million in Series B funding. Altos Ventures led the round and was joined by existing investors Ridge Ventures, Amplo, Zigg Capital, and Susa Ventures.
– Ample, a San Francisco-based EV battery swapping company, raised $25 million in funding from Mitsubishi.
– Prompt Security, a New York City-based generative AI security platform, raised $18 million in Series A funding. Jump Capital led the round and was joined by Ridge Ventures, Okta, F5, and existing investor Hetz Ventures.
– OneCell Diagnostics, a Cupertino, Calif.-based precision oncology company, raised $16 million in Series A funding. Celesta Capital led the round and was joined by Tenacity Ventures, Cedars Sinai, Eragon, and Singularity Ventures.
– Faircraft, a Paris-based lab-grown leather developer, raised €15 million ($15.8 million) in funding from Kindred Ventures, Cap Horn, BPI, and others.
– Aira Technologies, a San Francisco-based AI cellular network infrastructure technology developer, raised $14.5 million in Series B funding from AT&T Ventures, Intel Capital, IQT, existing investors NeoTribe and Acrew, and others.
– Four Growers, a Pittsburgh-based harvesting robots developer, raised $9 million in Series A funding. Basset Capital led the round and was joined by existing investors Ospraie Ag Science, Y Combinator, and others.
– Locad, a Singapore-based e-commerce logistics engine developer, raised $9 million in pre-Series B funding. Global Ventures and existing investor Reefknot Investments led the round and were joined by Sumitomo Equity Ventures and existing investors Antler Elevate, Febe Ventures, and JG Summit.
– Hopae, a San Francisco-based digital identity solution provider, raised $6.5 million in funding. SV Investment led the round and was joined by Z Venture Capital and Bon Angels Venture Partners.
– Distru, an Oakland, Calif.-based ERP platform for the cannabis industry, raised $6 million in Series A funding from Poseidon Investment Management and Global Founders Capital.
– Converge Bio, a Tel Aviv-based drug discovery and development generative AI platform, raised $5.5 million in seed funding. TLV Partners led the round and was joined by angel investors.
– CalmWave, a Seattle-based alarm fatigue solution provider for ICUs, raised $5.3 million in funding. Third Prime led the round and was joined by Catalyst by Wellstar, Silver Circle, Rebellion, Impulsum, and existing investors Bonfire Ventures, Tau Ventures, and Hike Ventures.
– FertilAI, a Giv’atayim, Israel-based AI-driven patient insights provider for fertility treatment, raised $4.5 million in funding. Longevity Venture Partners and Redseed led the round and were joined by angel investors.
– Ubitium, a Düsseldorf, Germany-based universal microprocessor developer, raised $3.7 million in seed funding from Runa Capital, Inflection, and KBC Focus Fund.
– Eden AI, a Lyon, France-based AI integration platform, raised €3 million ($3.2 million) in seed funding. Galion.exe led the round and was joined by 50 Partners and angel investors.
– Taito.ai, a Helsinki-based employee performance management AI platform, raised $2.7 million in seed funding. Accel led the round and was joined by angel investors.
– Novus, a Boston-based AI orchestration platform, raised $2.5 million in seed funding from Venture Lane, MIT Sandbox, Vestel Ventures, and others.
– Theo Ai, San Francisco-based predictive legal AI platform, raised $2.2 million in pre-seed funding. NextView and nvp capital led the round and were joined by Ripple Ventures, Beat Ventures, and SCVC Fund.
PRIVATE EQUITY
– Growth Catalyst Partners acquired InspiredMinds!, a Weybridge, England-based technology and science strategy provider. Financial terms were not disclosed.
– Harrington Process Solutions, backed by Bain Capital, acquired Fluid Gauge Company, a South San Francisco, Calif.-based flow-control solutions distributor. Financial terms were not disclosed.
– H.I.G. Growth Partners acquired a majority stake in Carebox, a Sanford, N.C.-based clinical trials connection platform for patients and physicians. Financial terms were not disclosed.
– Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan and Nordic Capital agreed to acquire Max Matthiessen, a Stockholm-based pensions, insurance, and investments financial advisor. Financial terms were not disclosed.
FUNDS + FUNDS OF FUNDS
– Frazier Healthcare Partners, a Seattle-based private equity firm, raised $2.3 billion for its 11th fund focused on middle-market healthcare companies.
– Bling Capital, a Miami Beach, Fla.-based venture capital firm, raised $270 million for its fourth fund focused on the consumer tech, internet, mobile, marketplace, data, fintech, SaaS, and automation sectors.
PEOPLE
– Sixth Street, a San Francisco-based investment firm, added Henry Davies as managing director. Previously, he was at Astorg.