SoftBank was behind four of the five biggest venture capital deals last quarterSoftBank was behind four of the five biggest venture capital deals globally in the third quarter of 2017, according to a new report by PwC and CB Insights. SoftBank, both with other investors and with its $100 billion Vision Fund, invested $6.2 billion last quarter in Grab, WeWork, Flipkart and Roivant. The Japanese investment firm has been raising the stakes in Silicon Valley with its enormous infusions of cash. [ Recode ] Icon Ventures raises its biggest fund ever, though just by a smidgenFunds have been ballooning in size as more money continues to flood into Silicon Valley, looking for higher returns than can be found elsewhere. VCs also like raising progressively bigger funds because doing so gives them bragging rights. In fact, over the last 24 months, the narrative has been much the same: So-and-so team has raised more money than ever before. Some of these so-and-sos have included Accel Partners, which raised a record $2 billion last year; Canaan Partners, which raised a record $800 million in July; and Institutional Venture Partners, which closed its biggest fund yet last month, with $1.5 billion. [ Tech Crunch ] Former NEA investor Sheel Tyle is reportedly raising his own, $100 million fundSheel Tyle used to co-lead the seed-investing practice at New Enterprise Associates. Now he’s raising his own, $100 million fund, reports Forbes. Tyle has an interesting story. After graduating from Stanford at age 19 with a double major in biology and public policy, he went on to nab a law degree from Harvard while working first for the venture firm Bessemer Venture Partners and, by age 21, for NEA. He was an associate but was quickly promoted to principal and co-headed the firm’s seed practice, according to his LinkedIn profile. [ Tech Crunch ] Full transcript: ‘Reset’ author Ellen Pao on the Recode Decode podcast with Kara SwisherOn a recent episode of Recode Decode, hosted by Kara Swisher, investor and entrepreneur Ellen Pao joined Swisher in studio to talk about her new book “Reset: My Fight for Inclusion and Lasting Change.” The book deals with the aftermath of Pao’s ultimately unsuccessful lawsuit against her former employer Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, in which she alleged gender discrimination. She also talks about her ensuing work as interim CEO of Reddit, what she thinks of the controversial memo written by former Google engineer James Damore, and why we shouldn’t take tech companies’ proclamations of “free speech” idealism at face value. [ Recode ] Canvas Ventures' Lynn on Bitcoin, Diversity in TechA venture capitalist says he's so afraid for his reputation that he's canceling meetings with womenSilicon Valley's "bro culture" was turned upside down earlier this year after a succession of women stepped forward with stories of sexual harassment and discrimination at the hands of male venture capitalists. Influential executives like Justin Caldbeck of Binary Capital, Dave McClure of accelerator 500 Startups, and celebrity investor Chris Sacca were implicated in allegations of misconduct and forced out. As companies condemned the behavior and took steps to investigate claims, it seemed like Silicon Valley had finally started to move towards making the tech industry a better place for women. But a new report from The New York Times shows that all the well-intentioned promises may have resulted in some serious unintended consequences. [ Business Insider ] #204 Ben Bollen & Jason Goldberg: Simple Token - Bringing Tokens to Mainstream Consumer ApplicationsWhy Sheryl Sandberg Says 'Blind Spots' Are Stalling Workplace Inequality (and How She Plans to Fix It)How a 16-Year-Old Masayoshi Son Scored a Meeting With a Famous ExecutiveMongolia's Untapped Lending Market Has Earned This Japanese-Backed Fintech Startup A $30M ValuationBenchmark Capital partner on suing Uber’s former CEO and replacing him with Expedia’s Dara KhosrowshahiGetting Women Out of the Middle-Management TrapIs It Time to Regulate Silicon Valley?Lori Systems wins Best of Show at Startup Battlefield AfricaAirtasker raises $33 million to hit the UK as Seven West and Exto up stakesUber Pushed the Limits of the Law. Now Comes the ReckoningAlibaba is spending $15 billion on researching quantum computing, AI, and moreTech companies are provoking more ire by moving out of the suburbs and into cities, says urban history expert |