SoftBank invests in parking startup ParkJockey pushing valuation to $1 billionSoftBank continues to invest in the future of transportation — this time in ParkJockey, a startup that has built a technology platform aimed at monetizing parking lots. And ParkJockey, which was founded in 2013, is already using that capital to scale up. Along with the SoftBank investment news, ParkJockey also announced that it was acquiring two of the largest parking operators in North America. The startup, with help from Abu Dhabi-based Mubadala Capital and debt financing from Owl Rock, said it had reached an agreement to acquire Imperial Parking Corporation, a North American-based parking management company often referred to as Impark. The agreement follows ParkJockey’s acquisition of parking management operator Citizens Parking Inc. [ Tech Crunch ] Downturn Planning: Hope for the best, prepare for the worstA few months ago, I was asked by a very thoughtful B2B founder in our portfolio if he should be spending time building a downturn plan. It’s a great question, and one not to be taken lightly. At the time, things in the venture world were - and for the most part still are - going along swimmingly. As we reported in last quarter’s NYC Seed Deal Report, 2018 is on pace to see the most venture dollars ever invested in private companies across the country. New York has followed suit, with a sharp increase in Q3 deals and dollars from Q2, and a continuing trend of growing deal size. Even more significantly, total funding for Q3 hit $87.6 million in NYC - a figure we haven’t seen since Q1 2016. In short, things have been very, very good. Research over 15K+ Venture Capital Investors on our platform. Full Q&A: Y Combinator’s Sam Altman and Recode’s Kara Swisher discuss tech ethics, addiction and FacebookOn a recent episode of Recode Decode, Y Combinator president Sam Altman joined Recode’s Kara Swisher at the San Francisco bar Manny’s for a live discussion about the state of tech. Their conversation, moderated by the bar’s owner Manny Yekutiel, touched on the diversity of Silicon Valley’s employees, the future of artificial intelligence, whether Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg should fire himself and much more. [ Recode ] Research over 15K+ Venture Capital Investors on our platform. SoftBank continues to invest in the future of transportation — this time in ParkJockeySoftBank continues to invest in the future of transportation — this time in ParkJockey, a startup that has built a technology platform aimed at monetizing parking lots. And ParkJockey, which was founded in 2013, is already using that capital to scale up. Q&A with Diversity VC’s Check Warner on newly launched Diversity & Inclusion guide for tech companiesIf the last few years has seen a growing consensus that the tech industry has a diversity and inclusion problem, then what is clearly needed next are practical solutions. While most people agree that building a diverse and inclusive company culture is easier to achieve the earlier you set out to do so, for startups and even much larger companies it is often difficult to know where to start, let alone what your own eventual D&I strategy might look like. [ Tech Crunch ] Research over 15K+ Venture Capital Investors on our platform. SoftBank's mobile IPO is the second biggest in historySoftBank is raising $23.5 billion from the IPO of its Japanese mobile business, making it the second biggest stock market listing ever. Strong demand from investors for a piece of one of Japan's biggest wireless carriers prompted the Japanese tech company to increase the number of shares available by 160 million. It priced the shares at 1,500 yen ($13) each, raising a total of 2.65 trillion yen ($23.5 billion), it said in a statement Monday. [ CNN ] Tencent Music sued by investor ahead of $1.2 billion US IPOChina’s largest music streaming service has had a whirlwind year. With 800 million monthly users across multiple apps and a profitable business, Tencent Music Entertainment is gearing up for one of this year’s most anticipated initial public offerings in the U.S. But the firm has landed in hot water in the months leading up to its first-time shares sale. [ Tech Crunch ] Electric cars still only make up a fraction of a percent of passenger vehicles. But that’s quickly changing. Here’s more evidence of the coming transition: ChargePoint, the world’s largest network of electric vehicle chargers, just secured nearly a quarter of a billion dollars in new funding. The new round of investment comes from automakers, utilities, the oil and gas industry, and institutional investors. [ Tech Crunch ] We’re Growing The First Round Review TeamSince 2013, First Round Review has been telling the stories of incredible entrepreneurs. Now we’re looking for another teammate (based in SF, NY or remote). Get in touch by completing this application. We believe that there is powerful, untapped knowledge out there that can transform the way people build technology companies. There’s just one problem: It’s trapped in other people’s heads — people who are at the top of their fields, who rarely have time to share what they’ve learned (even when they want to). The Review is about liberating this knowledge to inspire and accelerate action through compelling
storytelling. We think of it as The Harvard Business Review meets The New Yorker. [ Medium ] Moderna raises more than $600M in biggest-ever biotech IPOA biotechnology company that sought to pull off the largest ever initial public offering in its sector has fulfilled its wish. Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Moderna announced Thursday that the pricing of its initial public offering was $604.3 million, making it the largest IPO ever for a biotechnology company. The company had initially sought to raise $500 million, according to an S-1 filing with the Securities Exchange Commission last month. The offering is expected to
close Tuesday, and the company will trade on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol MRNA. [ Med City News ] In brief: Tencent-backed fleet management firm nets $320m from Hopu, othersG7, a China-based internet of things (IoT) company, announced that it had completed a funding round with a record-setting US$320 million in October. This round was led by Hopu Investments. Other new investors include China Broadband Capital, Intelligent Fund of Funds, Mount Morning Capital, Total Energy Ventures, and TH Capital. [ Tech In Asia ] Growth vs. Profitability: How to Walk the Venture-Backed TightropeGrowth and profitability don’t necessarily rule each other out. Nevertheless, at one point or another, founders are forced to prioritize between the two. Having made this difficult decision himself, Oisin will tell about when Handy, the platform for booking household services, shifted focus from growth to profitability and how their success paid off for their clients too. E883 #AllAskJason: marketing, protecting IP, decacorns & supercorns, non-tech founders, transparencyE883: #AllAskJason: low-cost marketing, protecting stealable ideas, decacorns & superunicorns, early-traction momentum, advice for non-tech founders, transparency best practices, unique ideas, advice for kid entrepreneurs, running out of money - with LAUNCH CMO Presh Stacey Ferreira | What Do You Want To Be When You Grow Up? | SingularityU South Africa SummitStacey Ferreira, co-founder of the online bookmark vault and password manager MySocialCloud.com with her brother Scott Ferreira has investors including Sir Richard Branson, Jerry Murdock, and Alex Welch. Stacey shares her experiences with us in the venture capital world and looks at how the gig economy is reshaping the way we work. Visit singularityusouthafrica.org Research over 15K+ Venture Capital Investors on our platform. Legacy wins the Startup Battlefield Finals at Disrupt BerlinLegacy is aiming to make the issue of male fertility problems simpler and easier for men worldwide with a private, mail-in kit and included sperm testing and freezing services. |