What Happens When a Startup Goes BustThat’s exactly what happened when we reported last week that Munchery had officially ceased operations. The San Francisco-based food delivery startup had raised more than $125 million in venture funding and reached a valuation of $300 million at its peak. Investors included Menlo Ventures, Sherpa Capital, Greycroft, and e.ventures. But to a small business owner like Lenore Estrada, the startup’s shutdown is more than just a line item — it’s payroll. [ Fortune ] Checkout Menlo Ventures Deals, Exits and Fund Raised Data. Meet the 20 startups in this year's GCT Startup-in-ResidenceAt the end of last year, Grand Central Tech announced plans to work with the Milstein real estate family to transform a midtown Manhattan high-rise into a tech hub called Company.
And startups remain an important part of the mix — in fact, Company is unveiling a list of 20 startups participating in this year’s GCT Startup-in-Residence program. [ Tech Crunch ] China’s Online Tutor Startup VIPKid Is Seeking $500 Million at $6 Billion ValuationChina’s online English tutor VIPKid is seeking to raise between $400 million to $500 million at a pre-money valuation of $6 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. If successful, the financing would nearly double the education startup’s value from $3.5 billion just a year ago, after it said it raised about $500 million. The company’s backers include Coatue Management, Tencent, Sequoia Capital. [ The Information ] Checkout Sequoia Capital's Deals, Exits and Fund Raised Data. Mimiro raises $30 million for its financial crime-fighting platformMimiro announced today that it has raised $30 million to fuel global expansion of its financial risk analysis platform. Based in London, the company was previously known as ComplyAdvantage but has changed its
name with this latest round of funding. The startup uses machine learning to detect and analyze the risk of potential financial crimes and says its platform allows for rapid verification of transactions and the identity of participants to increase trust and confidence. [ Venture Beat ] Grab raises $200M from Thailand-based retail conglomerate Central GroupGrab’s fundraising push continues unabated after the Southeast Asian ride-hailing firm announced that it has raised $200 million from Central Group, a retail conglomerate based in Thailand. Central’s business covers restaurants, hotels and more than 30 malls in Thailand, while it has operations in markets that include Vietnam and Indonesia. Its public-listed holding companies alone are worth more than $15 billion. [ Tech Crunch
] Partech is doubling the size of its African venture fund to $143 millionPartech has doubled its Africa VC fund to $143 million and opened a Nairobi office to complement its Dakar practice. The Partech Africa Fund plans to make 20 to 25 investments across roughly 10 countries over the next several years, according to General Partner Tidjane Deme. The fund has added Ceasar Nyagha as Investment Officer for the Kenya office to expand its East Africa reach. [ Tech Crunch ] This day in buyout history: Bottoms up for PEWhether a merlot, chardonnay or pinot noir is more pleasing to your palate, if you've had a recent glass of wine in Australia or the UK, there's at least a decent chance it came from Accolade Wines. With roots winding back to 1853, the company claims to be the top wine seller in both countries, producing 35 million cases of the stuff every year. [ Pitchbook ] More than half of today's unicorn health startups haven't published any influential research — and some experts say that raises the risk of another TheranosFew tech companies have crashed and burned in recent years like Theranos, a blood-testing startup that claimed it would revolutionize healthcare by doing away with "big bad needles." But money moves fast in Silicon Valley, where the company began — and sometimes it moves too quickly for the ideas behind it to keep pace. [ Busines Insider ] Swiss fintech startup Loanboox raises €20 millionZurich-based startup Loanboox has landed a €20 million Series B funding round at a valuation of €110 million from several investors, including Deutsche Kreditbank AG and the LGT Group. Loanboox has developed a platform for mediation of financing and investments for public corporations, banks, large companies and institutional investors. The company claims to have processed €17.5 billion in financing requests and boasts over 1,000 active customers. [ Startup Daily ] Softbank Leads $30 Million Investment in Cloud Storage Startup PliopsSoftBank Ventures Asia, an early stage investment fund set up by Japanese telecommunication company SoftBank Group Corporation, led a $30 million investment round in cloud storage startup Pliops Ltd., the latter announced Wednesday. Intel Capital, as well as Israel-based venture capital firms State of Mind Ventures (SOMV) and Viola Ventures also participated in the round. [ Bloomberg ] Two early executives at Lime have quietly left the scooter companyThis winter has been a season of turnover at Lime. A pair of early executives at Lime have in recent weeks left the scooter company, which is trying to go to the next level amid a cooldown in an industry that was once seen as the Next Big Thing. Lime Head of Finance Scot Mollot and Human Relations Chief Rosemarie Carbone have left the company, Lime confirmed. Their exits, previously unreported, are the latest leadership changes at the $2 billion, two-year-old company that has seen a lot of those changes recently. [ Tech Crunch ] [VC Unlocked] The Basics of Due DiligenceSony's out, and Panasonic's long gone; it's safe to say that the UK's decision to leave the EU hasn't gone down well with the great and good of the corporate world, with a number of companies, including the two Japanese giants, relocating their European operations in its wake. And as uncertainty lingers on, so do the warnings from boardrooms. Airbus posted a YouTube video of its CEO, Tom Enders, outlining how exactly the company would cut its UK workforce and siphon production from factories over the long term in the result of a "no-deal" exit. Charming stuff. [ Pitch book ] What Shutting Down Your Startup Feels Like - Avni Patel Thompson of Poppy with Kat ManalacAvni Patel Thompson founded Poppy, which helped parents book the best caregivers. They went through the YC Winter 2016 batch and recently shut down. Avni asked to come on the podcast to talk about what the process of shutting down was like. Cato Networks raises $55 million to protect cloud-based computing servicesCybersecurity company Cato Networks has raised $55 million to continue expanding its cloud-based platform that protects networks. The round was led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, with participation from all previous investors: Aspect Ventures, Greylock Partners, Singtel Innov8, USVP, and Cato Networks cofounders Shlomo Kramer and Gur Shatz. The company has now raised a total of $125 million in venture capital. [ Venture Beat ] Student Loan Startup Climb Credit Raises $50 Million From Goldman SachsFor 30 Under 30 alumni Raza Munir, things have come full circle. The former Goldman Sachs employee founded Climb Credit - a company that offers ROI lending for collegiate students. “We focus on financing education that can get students tangible career-growth and income-increase results,” says Munir. Climb Credit announced today that it has raised an additional $50 million in lending capital from the Goldman Sachs Urban Investment Group. [ Tech Crunch ] The Better India Raises $3.5 Mn In Series A Funding, Launches Ecommerce UnitThe Better India, an online impact company from Bengaluru, has raised 25 Cr ($3.5 Mn) in Series A funding led by venture capital firm Elevar Equity, as the company aims to scale up its ecommerce vertical. This round also saw the participation from the Rise Fund managed by TPG Growth. [ Firstround ] FabFitFun raises $80 million for its growing lifestyle brandNine years after launching its online magazine, and three years after diversifying into the subscription box business, FabFitFun has raised $80 million in a growth round of funding, led by Kleiner Perkins, with participation from its previous investors Upfront Ventures and NEA. The Los Angeles-based company has steadily expanded its retail and lifestyle empire through subscription boxes, video… and even an augmented reality app. [Tech Crunch] Kinestral Technologies Secures Over $100 Million in Series D Funding Led by SK HoldingsKinestral Technologies, Inc., developer and manufacturer of Halio™, the most advanced smart-tinting glass product for buildings and homes, today announced that the company has closed Series D funding of over $100M led by SK Holdings, one of the largest conglomerates in South Korea. Current investors 5AM Ventures, Alexandria Real Estate, Capricorn Investment Group and Versant Ventures also participated in the round. This investment will allow Kinestral to expand manufacturing, sales, and installation of Halio smart-tinting glass to meet rapidly growing global demand. [ Businesswire ] |