Justin Caldbeck sues Binary Capital co-founder Jonathan Teo, claiming he ‘made no effort to save the firm’Embattled venture capitalist Justin Caldbeck (pictured) is suing his former co-Binary Capital founder Jonathan Teo, alleging breach of contract, fraud and more. Caldbeck, accused of sexual harassment and unwanted sexual advances in 2017, took an indefinite leave of absence from Binary Capital, leaving to Teo all the responsibilities of the $175 million fund. Shortly after, Teo offered to step down in a last-ditch effort to keep the firm afloat. Ultimately, Binary Capital shut down and New York venture capital firm Lerer Hippeau assumed responsibility for its $125 million debut investment vehicle, 70 percent of which has been deployed, per details shared in the lawsuit. [ Tech Crunch ] Inside the Apple Factory: Software Design in the Age of Steve Jobs [ a16z ]Even though hundreds of millions of people use Apple products every single day, very few people have been able to reveal the secrets and the stories behind designing them. But software engineer Ken Kocienda, who worked there in the final years of the Steve Jobs era -- "the Golden Age of Apple" -- offers an inside look at Apple's creative process in his widely acclaimed book, Creative Selection. He's the "Directly Responsible Individual" (more on that title within!) for designing iPhone multi-touch and much more under the watchful eye of Steve Jobs... who, by the way, would have been 64 years old today. The VC Female Founders DashboardVenture capital funding overall has surged in recent years, but the numbers haven't leapt forward for female founders at the same pace. Last year, companies founded solely by women garnered 2.3% of the total capital invested in venture-backed startups in the US last year. Tiger Global and Ant Financial lead $500M investment in China’s shared housing startup DankeA Chinese startup that’s taking a dorm-like approach to urban housing just raised $500 million as its valuation jumped over $2 billion. Danke Apartment, whose name means “eggshell” in Chinese, closed the Series C round led by returning investor Tiger Global Management and newcomer Ant Financial, Alibaba’s e-payment and financial affiliate controlled by Jack Ma. [ Tech Crunch ] Maze Therapeutics debuts with $191M to go after genetic modifiersThird Rock Ventures launched Maze Therapeutics with $191 million in committed capital and a mission to “translate genetic insights into new medicines.” The biotech aims to make sense of the proliferation of human genetic data that has emerged in recent years and understand how some genes provide protection against disease so that they can be targeted with drugs. [ fiercebiotech ] Oyster Point Pharma Scores $93 Million Series B to Focus Its Gaze on Dry Eye DiseasePrinceton, NJ-based Oyster Point Pharma closed on a Series B round worth $93 million. It was co-led by Invus Opportunities and Flying L Partners in collaboration with& Falcon Vision. Existing investors New Enterprise Associates (NEA)and Versant Ventures participated, as well as new investor Vida Ventures. [ Biospace ] The top 10 VC investors in blockchainAssets recorded on a blockchain are legally considered personal property in Wyoming thanks to new state legislation passed earlier this month, pending gubernatorial approval. This further propels the slowly evolving pro-blockchain sentiment in the US legal system. In 2018, at least 17 states had bills either signed into law or under review regarding the legal recognition of digital assets recorded on blockchain, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. [ Pitchbook ] Mithril Capital’s Ajay Royan Talks About Working with Peter Thiel and Why ‘Investing Is Hard’It’s been an interesting month for Ajay Royan. On the one hand, Mithril Capital—the venture capital firm he co-founded with Peter Thiel in 2012—just had its biggest win to date after Johnson & Johnson agreed to buy Mithril-backed medical robotics firm Auris Health for $3.4 billion. [ Fortune ] Mirakl raises $70 million to facilitate ecommerce sales with softwareMirakl, a Paris-based software company that develops ecommerce solutions for corporate and retail clients, isn’t shy about throwing its weight around in the $50.8 billion software-as-a-service (SaaS) enterprise app market. Case in point? It today announced that it’s secured $70 million in series C financing led by Bain Capital, with participation from existing investors 83North, Felix Capital, and Elaia Partners. That brings the startup’s total raised to $100 million. [ Venture Beat ] Meet J2’s Vivek Shah, the CEO quietly presiding over a $4 billion media businessYou probably haven’t heard of Vivek Shah or the company he runs, J2 Global — but you have heard of some of the companies in J2’s portfolio. Shah says he subscribes to the Charlie Munger axiom: “Buy fair businesses at great prices, or great businesses at fair prices.” [ Re/Code ] Sequoia-backed Medallia raises $70M at a $2.4B valuationHackers attack personal computers every 39 seconds. That’s according to a Clark School study at the University of Maryland, which found that malicious campaigns against networks and accounts affect one in three Americans annually. Corporations have it nearly as bad: 64 percent faced web-based breaches recently. And the damage adds up. Juniper Research reports that cybercrime will cost businesses a total of over $2 trillion in 2019. [ Tech Crunch ] Zūm, a ridesharing service for kids, raises $40 millionRidesharing isn’t just for transporting teenagers and adults anymore. Zūm, a ridesharing startup for kids, just raised a $40 million Series C round led by BMW i Ventures with participation from Spark Capital and Sequoia Capital. This brings the company’s total funding to $70 million. [ Tech Crunch ] Chinese Car Sales Startup Chehaoduo Raises $1.5B From The SoftBank Vision FundChinese startup Chehaoduo raised $1.5 billion from the Saudi Arabia-aligned SoftBank Vision Fund this week, bringing its total fundraising tally to some $3.4 billion. There’s no shortage of car-selling websites and online services in the world. In America, CarGurus is a well-known entrant and member of the 2017 IPO class. But while there’s plenty of competition and even some zany ideas, there’s still a huge market to tackle,
and thus lots of capital flowing into companies out to do just that. [ Crunchbase ] Sorenson Capital cruises past target to close first venture capital investment fundSorenson Capital has beaten its target for its debut venture capital fundraise by reaching a $110m-plus final close for the vehicle.The firm’s Sorenson Ventures fund will target early-stage enterprise software and security businesses, and has already been used to back eight companies including CyCognito, Botkeeper and Octarine. [ altassets ] 2019 US VC Funds Take A More Boutique ApproachOver the past year, we’ve written a lot about the rise of supergiant venture capital funds. Ever since the rollout of the $100 billion SoftBank Vision Fund, established VCs have been outdoing each other to raise ever-bigger funds. [ Crunchbase ] China's CDH targets raising $1 billion in venture capital arm: sourcesChina’s CDH Investments is aiming to raise nearly $1 billion in dollar and yuan funds through its venture and growth capital arm to invest in sectors including healthcare and logistics, said people with direct knowledge of the matter. [ Reuters ] Cloud Elements raises $25 million to expand its API integration platformEach year, Warren Buffett writes an open letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders. Over the last 40 years, these letters have become an annual required read across the investing world, providing insight into how Buffett and his team think about everything from investment strategy to stock ownership to company culture, and more. [ CB Insights ] ClassDojo, an app to help teachers and parents communicate better, raises $35MMessaging apps have become the de facto way that many people today keep in regular contact with each other, and that trend has also found its way into the classroom. ClassDojo, a startup that has built a platform for teachers and parents to communicate small and big updates to each other, today is announcing that it has raised $35 million in funding. [ Tech Crunch ] Google employees won a battle against forced arbitration. Now they’re pushing for nationwide legislation.Several Google employees joined members of Congress and other activists today in support of legislation that would end forced arbitration, a practice that denies employees the right to take their employer to court in the case of a workplace dispute such as sexual harassment. [ Re/Code ] The Psychological Price of Entrepreneurship This article won an award in the Magazine Personal Service category in the 2014 Annual Awards Contest of the Deadline Club, the New York City chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. By all counts and measures, Bradley Smith is an unequivocal business success. He's CEO of Rescue One Financial, an Irvine, California-based financial services company that had sales of nearly $32 million last year. Smith's company has grown some 1,400 percent in the last three years, landing it at No. 310 on this year's Inc. 500. So you might never guess that just five years ago, Smith was on the brink of financial ruin--and mental collapse. [ INC ] |