1.
Report: SoftBank is taking control of WeWork at an ~$8B valuation
WeWork, once valued at $47 billion, will be worth as little as $7.5 billion on paper as SoftBank takes control of the struggling co-working business, CNBC reports. SoftBank, a long-time WeWork investor, plans to invest between $4 billion and $5 billion in exchange for new and existing shares, according to CNBC . The deal, expected to be announced as soon as tomorrow, represents a lifeline for WeWork, which is said to be mere weeks from running out of
cash and has been shopping several of its assets as it attempts to lessen its cash burn. [ Tech Crunch ] Checkout 15K+ Venture Capital Data on our platform.
2.
$20B For Female Founders, North Carolina’s Unicorn, And WhatsApp For Startups
There’s something in the water in Austin. And Chicago, Providence, Minneapolis, and even Bondurant, Wyoming (population 100). Admittedly, it’s proving me wrong about how remote work, works. In other words, I’ve finally met all the people on the Crunchbase News team in real life. Because while I’m in San Francisco, most of the team hails from the towns and cities above. I never thought I’d feel so close to people I’ve only known through Zooms and Twitter DMs. Yet, as this week was one of our biggest “IRL” meetups yet as a team, we knew each other right down to our respective caffeine bedtimes. [ Crunchbase ] Checkout 15K+ Venture Capital Data on our platform.
3.
Online mortgage lender Athena raises $70 million in Series C
Fintech startup Athena has closed a $70 million Series C round as it looks to push into mortgage origination. The country’s largest industry fund, AustralianSuper, joined the raise alongside long-term backers Square Peg Capital, AirTree Ventures and Hostplus, as well as Salesforce Ventures and NAB Ventures. Square Peg’s Paul Bassat joined the Athena board last year when the company raised $15 million in a Series A. Six months later, in November 2018, it raised
$25 million in a Series B. The latest cash injection values the company at $230 million. [ Startup Daily ]
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4.
Sydney’s AirTree Ventures closes $275M fund as Aussie unicorns gather pace
The Australian tech industry has, in the last few years, started to generate a swathe of startups that have broken through internationally. Prior to this current era, Australia’s industry has been very much a local market in tech terms, with only occasional breakouts, like Atlassian . In fact, it’s now gaining a reputation as a serial producer of high-quality tech platforms, the hottest of which right now is Canva, which recently raised an additional $85 million to bring its valuation to $3.2 billion, up from $2.5 billion in May. Investors in the company include Bond, General Catalyst, Bessemer Venture Partners, Blackbird and Sequoia China. Notably,
Sydney-based AirTree Ventures also invested early. [ Tech Crunch] Checkout 15K+ Venture Capital Data on our platform.
5.
Venture capital industry wants more clarity on foreign investment rules
The National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) submitted a long list of comments on Thursday to CFIUS — the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, an interagency group housed within Treasury — regarding a year-old law that added more stringent rules for foreign investments in U.S. firms. [ Axios ] Checkout 15K+ Venture Capital Data on our platform.
6.
Adam Neumann ‘got on the last helicopter out of Saigon’: a business school professor’s brutal WeWork analysis
Don’t be afraid to challenge your thinking or change your mind. I’ve learned from my mentors that it’s perfectly healthy — encouraged, even — to have an idea tomorrow that contradicts your idea today. [ Medium ]
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7.
WHAT I'VE LEARNED ABOUT IPOS AND DIRECT LISTINGS
Today is the anniversary of Spotify IPO, which was the first direct listing of a technology company. It was championed by Barry McCarthy, the former CFO of Netflix and the current CFO of Spotify. Since then, Slack has also listed directly. And the combination of these two events has created a groundswell for more of them. [ TOMASZ TUNGUZ ]
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8.
E990 SurveyMonkey CEO Zander Lurie listens to customers &employees to drive growth, diversity on BoD
SurveyMonkey CEO Zander Lurie gives insights on driving growth through listening to both customers & employees, the importance of a strong & diverse board, comparing direct listings & IPOs, lessons learned from WeWork & more PLUS Odoo Partner Talk featuring Yosiat Gimbernard from LAUNCH Scale 2019
Checkout 15K+ Venture Capital Data on our platform.
9.
DEF2019 A New Venture Capital Methodology for Investing in Dual Use Technologies
In this talk, Peter Dixon, CEO Second Front Systems discusses how leading venture capital firms are performing pattern recognition in a search for unicorns, companies that will go on to be worth a billion dollars. Dual-use companies, which address both national security and commercial opportunities, traditionally fail to attract the interest of top venture firms. As the national security market becomes more accessible (thanks to organizations like In-Q-Tel, the Defense Innovation Unit, and AFWERX), the venture
capital ecosystem is taking notice. Into this arena comes a new, open-source, collaborative framework for both the venture capital community and US government to use in fostering dual-use companies for a resurgent National Security Innovation Base. Checkout 15K+ Venture Capital Data on our platform.
10.
Google startup chief talks tech and success
Google (GOOG) may be edging closer towards becoming a $1 trillion company but it is one of the most active companies in the world for developing new talent and companies. Checkout 15K+ Venture Capital Data on our platform.
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