Aurora raises $90M Series A, adds Reid Hoffman and Mike Volpi to its boardSelf-driving car startup Aurora has raised $90 million in a Series A round, with participation from both Greylock Partners and Index Ventures. The new funding adds to its available cash and will make it possible for the young startup to scale more quickly, but Aurora CEO Chris Urmson told me that the most important part of this deal from his perspective is that Aurora gets two, high-profile new board members out of the deal. [ Tech Crunch ] Why Katie Couric left Yahoo“They hired some big names, and yet they were in the witness protection program.”When Katie Couric joined Yahoo in 2014, the former “Today Show” and “CBS Evening News” anchor was one of several media celebrities hired to bring renewed attention to the company, including tech reviewer David Pogue and political columnist Matt Bai. But in practice, the tech giant didn’t know how to market its stars. “I would say to the Yahoo folks, ‘Could we please do a newsletter? I’ll push out everyone’s content,’” Couric recalled on the latest episode of Recode Decode, hosted by Kara Swisher. “They hired some big names, and yet they were in the witness protection program.” [ Recode ] Will bitcoin go to zero?The bitcoin headlines are still coming in hard and fast, despite a harrowing decline from the December high near $20,000. The sentiment bubble remains intact; even if the price bubble has been somewhat deflated. Handy’s Lesson for Gig Economy Startups: Profit vs. GrowthWhen home cleaning startup Homejoy went out of business in mid-2015, it kicked off a culling for a generation of startups trying to get rich from the “gig economy”—connecting delivery people, drivers and cleaners with customers. But a handful of firms survived, including Homejoy’s main rival, Handy Technologies. Around that time, Handy was burning $3.5 million a month, according to financial data made available exclusively to The Information. [ The Information ] Rodolfo Rosini enters VC, joins AI and machine learning accelerator Zeroth.ai as Partner If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em. Rodolfo Rosini, a genuine serial entrepreneur and well-connected figure in the U.K. startup scene, is giving up startup life to move over to the “dark side” and become a VC. [ Tech Crunch ] Gassner Becomes Silicon Valley’s Latest Billionaire on Veeva PopPeter Gassner has become Silicon Valley’s latest billionaire as shares of his Veeva Systems Inc. hit a record Wednesday after the cloud-software provider posted profit and sales that topped Wall Street estimates. The 53-year-old founder and chief executive officer is now worth $1.1 billion as Veeva shares surged 13 percent to $70.33 at 1:47 p.m. in New York. Veeva declined to comment on Gassner’s net worth. [ Bloomberg ] The Strategy This Millennial Entrepreneur Used To Raise 41 Million In Venture CapitalWhen Zoë Barry’s brother was diagnosed with severe epilepsy in 2010, her family struggled to get access to the rare medications that would treat his condition. Barry was devastated to learn that her family was not an exception to the rule but one of many faced with long delays in accessing specialty pharmaceuticals for ailing loved ones. She was determined to remedy the problem. Two years after her brother’s diagnosis, Barry founded ZappRx, a company that simplifies the process of ordering and filling specialty medication prescriptions. ZappRx provides a single platform where all the relevant information about a patient and their prescription can be accessed by pharmacists, payers, and medical providers at any time. Barry describes it as “Kayak meets Amazon for $100,000 specialty drugs.” [ Forbes ] The Three Mindset Habits That Helped This Scientist Launch A Startup Dan Lewis, CEO of Convoy, on the Future of FreightFintech Australia partners with small business ombudsman to lead charge for transparency among fintech lendersThe key metrics to measure when building a two-sided marketplaceAirbnb makes a play for the luxury travel market with new offeringsIndustrious picks up $80M to outclass WeWork for the enterpriseSwedish Spotify Duo Could Be Worth $2.4 Billion After ListingPrivate Equity As An Exit Option For SaaS StartupsCollective Health nabs $110 million in fundingThis MIT And Harvard Startup Is Making Writing Emails Easier And EffortlessStartup nation: The most valuable VC-backed company in each US state [interactive graphic]Venture Confidential - Ep. #15, Sourcing with Zetta's Jocelyn Goldfein |