Confirmed: Sequoia has already secured three-quarters of what will be an $8 billion global fundSequoia Capital, the 46-year-old venture firm, has secured $6 billion in capital commitments for an $8 billion global fund, according to a new report in the Financial Times. The report echoes a late April piece in The Wall Street Journal that reported Sequoia investors had already committed “roughly” $6 billion to the new fund. A source familiar with the matter confirms for us that both stories are accurate. The capital commitments thus far have come from investors with no prior relationship to Sequoia. The firm intends to turn to its previous investors for the rest of the capital commitments, which Sequoia is securing in increments of $250 million or more. [ Tech Crunch ] Highland Europe closes new €463M fund to invest in growth-stage techHighland Europe, the European “growth-stage” technology investor, has closed a new €463 million fund, the firm’s third fund in just six years. Targeting “globally ambitious” European software and internet-enabled businesses, the VC typically writes initial cheques of between €10 million and €30 million. It says that startups seeking investment need to demonstrate that they have reached sufficient scale “to confirm the validity of their business model.” [ Tech Crunch ] Can Startups Improve ... Puberty?Now that direct-to-consumer startups have allegedly improved the experience of buying mattresses and contact lenses, they are attempting to disrupt one of life’s greatest disruptions. Puberty! A handful of young brands are trying to make growing up more comfortable and less shame-filled, particularly for girls. Steeped in the language of self-care, Blume launched in June with a suite of products including organic tampons and pads, cumin and rose hip acne treatment, natural deodorant, face wash, and PMS oil. Named in part for author Judy Blume, whose young adult novels have for decades served as a normalizing force on topics like menstruation and teenage sex, Blume’s mission is to head off the lasting self-esteem issues that can arise with puberty. [ Racked ] Go-Jek in Talks to Raise $1.5B to Challenge Grab in Southeast AsiaThree months after Uber’s exit from Southeast Asia, the region’s ride-hailing war is far from over as local startups backed by global tech giants are raising more money to fight against each other. Indonesia’s Go-Jek, whose investors include Tencent and Google, is in talks to raise around $1.5 billion in a new funding round, people familiar with the matter said. Go-Jek, whose app offers many services including rides, food delivery, courier and online shopping, was valued at about $4.8 billion in its previous fundraising earlier this year, one of the people said. [ The Information ] Stitch Fix CEO Katrina Lake has joined the board of GlossierA year and a half ago, Glossier founder and CEO Emily Weiss was just looking for an introduction to Katrina Lake. Now, Lake — the founder and CEO of Stitch Fix — has joined Glossier’s board of directors. With the move, Lake has become the first independent director for the startup beauty brand, joining Weiss, Glossier president Henry Davis and three venture capital investors on the company’s board. [ Recode ] Why VC Firm Meritech Just Made This 29-Year-Old From Kleiner Perkins An Equal PartnerThey’re investors in Box and Salesforce, Facebook and Snap. Over the past 15 years, they’ve had 71 exits, including 32 IPOs. But you’ve still probably never heard of Meritech Capital. Until now, its partners have liked it that way. But as Meritech adds another young partner to its ranks from one of Silicon Valley’s best-known venture brands, that’s starting to change. [ Forbes ] Europe’s newest unicorn is a process-mining startup founded by German studentsMunich’s status as Germany’s second tech hub got a boost today after process-mining startup Celonis announced it had secured $50 million in venture capital to become the newest unicorn in the country. That brings the total number of privately-owned German startups with billion-dollar valuations to five, according to CBS Insights data. [ QZ ] Bahrain Development Bank Closes US$100 Million Venture Capital Fund To Support MENA StartupsHow Jama Software, by targeting responsible growth, landed $200MBeleaguered electric vehicle firm Faraday Future gets $2B investment boostNeurotechnology startup Dreem raises $35 million to expand distribution of its sleep headbandCase Study: A Founder Steps Back from Her Start-UpChenxi Wang Launches Venture Capital Firm Rain CapitalPitchBook Releases New Framework to Uncover Key Drivers Behind Venture Capital Ecosystem Development |