1.
SellerX is betting big on building a portfolio of Amazon brands – here’s why it raised €100 million in funding
When SellerX announced its €100 million seed round last month, it certainly turned some heads. While the investment was mostly in debt, the large figure still spoke to a ripening trend in e-commerce. SellerX, based in Berlin, buys up
businesses selling on Amazon, supports their expansion and revamps their brand. The startup was only founded this summer. The hefty investment was led by firms including Cherry Ventures and Felix Capital with e-commerce veterans like Zalando co-founder David Schneider and the former chief executive of Amazon UK Chris North chucking cash into the round. E-commerce has seen a notable spike in 2020. As Covid-19 lockdowns forced shops to pull their shutters and left high streets deserted, online shopping has accelerated enormously. [ tech.eu ]
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2.
Visa Partners With Ethereum Digital-Dollar Startup That Raised $271 Million
Ready? Let’s talk money, startups and spicy IPO rumors.
So very much happened this week. If you are just catching up, the Equity crew spent good time this week parsing through a host of recent early-stage venture capital rounds; if that’s your jam, head here. Today for the newsletter The Exchange is digging into later-stage news, though smaller startups will still make an appearance. We begin with notes on a company that was net-new to me when I met it earlier this week: Nextiva. Now north of $200 million in revenue, the company is a quiet giant and, notably, has not taken venture capital funding along its path to scale. Given how frequently conversation in the tech press concerns funding news it was a refreshing break to talk to Nextiva about how it managed to scale without leaning on high-burn growth and external capital. [ Tech Crunch ] Checkout 15K+ Venture Capital Data on our platform.
Special:
Kogan goes shopping: buys Kiwi online retailer Mighty Ape for $122 million
Online retailer Kogan.com is buying New Zealand competitor Mighty Ape for $122.4 million. Mighty Ape’s focus is on gaming, toys and other entertainment categories, and the category leader and is expected to generate revenue for full year FY21 (to 31 March 2021) of around AU$137.7 million, with a gross profit of AU$45.7 million and EBITDA of AU$14.3 million. It has more than 690,000 unique customers. The headline purchase price of AU$122.4 million is payable over four tranches and subject to variation under earn out through to delivery of FY23 financial results. Mighty Ape founder Simon Barton and executive team to be retained with incentives until at least delivery of FY23 financial results. [ Startup Daily ] Checkout 15K+ Venture Capital Data on our platform.
3.
The problem with VC-backed founders who say they don’t care about getting rich
In the legend, Robin Hood is a beloved outlaw stealing from the rich to give to the poor. Now the company named after the folktale—the decacorn stock trading app Robinhood—is at the center of an identity crisis as critics accuse the company of giving up their populist roots in favor of hyper-growth. While its founders may not have sought to become wealthy, they are still likely to become billionaires if Robinhood goes public, and the company’s investors are likely to be significantly enriched by a deal expected to be announced in coming months. [ Fortune ]
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4.
Amount Announces $81M in Series C Funding Led by Goldman Sachs
Amount, a leading technology provider for financial institutions, today announced it has secured an $81 million Series C investment led by Goldman Sachs Growth with participation from existing investors including August Capital, Invus Opportunities and Hanaco Ventures. "Most banks are looking for resources and infrastructure to accelerate their digital strategy and meet the demands of today's consumer," said Jade Mandel, a Vice President in Goldman Sachs' growth equity platform, GS Growth, who will be joining the
Board of Directors at Amount. "Amount enables banks to navigate digital transformation through its modular and mobile-first platform for financial products. We're excited to partner with the team as they take on this compelling market opportunity." Amount's battle-tested retail banking and point-of-sale technology accelerates digital transformation for financial institutions, empowering them to deliver a secure and seamless digital customer and merchant experience while leveraging Amount's world-class verification and analytics capabilities. Leading financial institutions including Banco Popular, HSBC, Regions Bank and TD Bank partner with Amount to drive growth and simplify their transition to digital financial services. [ PR Newswire ] Checkout 15K+ Venture Capital Data on our platform.
5.
T Rowe Hikes Paytm’s Valuation To Take Its Enterprise Value To $16 Bn
US-based mutual fund T Rowe has raised Vijay Shekhar Sharma’s Paytm‘s valuation by about 35% to $255 per share, totaling its valuation to $16 Bn. T Rowe Price Communications and Technology Fund has valued its investment in One97 Communications at $82,16,610 for 32,222 shares, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing of the company. The value of each Paytm share was $255 as of September 30 this year. Paytm spokesperson told ET, “We see strong
traction in our business across digital payments, consumer internet, merchant services and financial services. We are thrilled and motivated with all our shareholder’s support that Paytm has always enjoyed. This has helped us in creating India’s home-grown digital champion.” [ inc42 ]
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6.
Monthly Funding Recap November 2020: 14 New Unicorns From Meal Kits To Virtual Events, And M&A Ramps Up
Global funding slowed down a little in November, year over year, following a blockbuster third quarter. All told, global funding last month came in at $23 billion, down 12 percent from November 2019, according to Crunchbase data. Invested dollars in 2020 outpaced 2019 in both the second and third quarters, but is unlikely to do so in the final quarter of the year. [ Crunchbase ] Checkout 15K+ Venture Capital
Data on our platform.
7.
Tech startups weekly: Maker of four-legged robots raises €18.4M; Bolt’s new e-scooter; events platform raises €113.6M; and more
The European startup ecosystem is evolving and maturing. Most startups are undergoing a digital transformation and coming up with new innovations to stay relevant. This week, several tech startups have hit the headlines as these have secured funding for scaling up, product development, and recruitment. [ siliconcanals ] Checkout 15K+ Venture Capital Data on our platform.
8.
Everlywell Raises $175M Amid Huge Demand for At-Home Medical Testing
Lab tests were always an important aspect of healthcare, even before people were spending hours in line to get tested for COVID-19. And while it’s normal to get routine tests and bloodwork when you visit your doctor, at-home medical tests offer a level of convenience that could make a big difference in an individual’s well-being. Austin-based Everlywell was founded in 2015 to make lab tests more accessible, offering at-home tests for everything from fertility tests to food sensitivity
tests, STD tests, Lyme disease tests, HIV tests and many more. Some of these tests cost as little as $49. [ Built In Austin ] Checkout 15K+ Venture Capital Data on our platform.
9.
Ultimate.Ai Raises $20 Million Series A Funding For Its AI-Powered Customer Service Automation Platform
ultimate.ai, the Helsinki and Berlin-based company building the world’s leading virtual customer service agent, has raised $20M in Series A funding, led by OMERS Ventures and with participation from Felicis Ventures and existing investors HV Capital and Maki.vc. The funding follows a year of massive growth and momentum for ultimate.ai. Digital commerce took center stage in 2020, driving strong tailwinds for technologies that enable great customer experiences at scale. The company has tripled its
ARR over the last 12 months (for the second year in a row) and has also tripled its headcount, and with this large Series A round is set for even more explosive growth. [ aithority ]
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10.
How Some Black Startup Founders Are Thriving in a Pandemic Year
The world of venture capital is notoriously insular. For tech startups hoping to attract millions of dollars from private investors, having the right connections is often key to getting a meeting—and persuading investors to take a chance on an unproven idea. The result: getting seed funding has always been harder for Silicon Valley outsiders, including startups from outside New York City and the Bay Area, and founders from minority backgrounds. The numbers are particularly stark for Black founders: Between 2013 and 2017, 77% of founders of active U.S. startups that had received venture capital were white. Only 1% were Black. [ WSJ ] Checkout 15K+ Venture Capital Data on our platform.
11.
Zephr raises $8M to help news publishers grow subscription revenue
Zephr has raised $8 million in a new funding round led by Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments (owned by media giant Bertelsmann). The London-headquarted startup’s customers already include publishers like McClatchy, News Corp Australia, Dennis Publishing and PEI Media. CEO
James Henderson told me via email that rather than creating “a monolithic product that tries to do a bit of everything,” Zephr is “focused entirely on the experience and journey for the prospect or customer,” driving an average 150% increase in conversion rates and 25% increase in subscription revenue within the first six months. [ Tech Crunch ] Checkout 15K+ Venture Capital Data on our platform.
12.
U.S. company buys Canadian 'buy now, pay later' firm PayBright for $340M
Silicon Valley based payment company Affirm has agreed to acquire PayBright, one of the leading Canadian players in the growing "buy now, pay later" payment industry. Affirm said in a press release Thursday that it has agreed to pay $340 million for PayBright, which is works with 7,000 retailers to give customers the option to pay for their purchases in instalments. The instalment payment business is growing rapidly around the world — especially among younger consumers — as an alternative to credit cards, because it allows them to pay for their purchases in staggered payments that come with either no interest, or far less than are charged by conventional payment means. [ cbc ] Checkout 15K+ Venture Capital Data on our platform.
13.
Function of Beauty Sees $150 Million Investment
Customizable hair and skin care company Function of Beauty has received a $150 million strategic minority investment from L Catterton. The investment will accelerate the company’s product development, support its continued worldwide
expansion, and build upon its already industry-leading customized manufacturing capabilities. CircleUp and GGV also reinvested during this round, according to the L Catterton. Function of Beauty was founded in 2015 by CEO Zahir Dossa, COO Joshua Maciejewski and CSO Hien Kaplan. Dossa and Kaplan developed the first proprietary quiz in the industry, defining which ingredients and formulations would meet each customer's unique goals, and Maciejewski created the first-of-its-kind custom production system to fill each order. Function of Beauty is a true global leader, currently selling its products in 45 markets. Across its three locations, Function of Beauty employs more than 400 people. [ happiz ]
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14.
Moov Raises $27M in Series A Funding
Moov Financial, a Cedar Falls, Iowa-based fintech company, raised $27M in Series A funding. The round was led by Angela Strange and Peter Levine at a16z, with participation from Gokul Rajaram in addition to existing investors Bain Capital, Canapi Ventures, Uncorrelated Ventures, Gradient Ventures, Commerce Ventures, RRE Ventures, Abstract Ventures, Veridian Credit Union, and 27 angel investors. In conjunction with the funding, Angela Strange, General Partner at a16z, and Matt Harris, Partner at Bain Capital Ventures, are joining
Moov’s board. The company intends to use the funds to expand its team, further develop its enterprise offerings, and double-down on setting the standard for open collaboration on financial protocols. [ finsmes ] Checkout 15K+ Venture Capital Data on our platform.
15.
Web Summit: EIB provides Bizay with €20 million to support its R&D programme and product development, promoting employment in Portugal
The European Investment Bank (EIB) is investing €20 million in the Portuguese software company Bizay to finance the implementation of its research and development (R&D) programme and product development roadmap. One of Bizay's main focuses will be its tech-based B2B marketplace for customised products targeted at small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), such as retail stores, restaurants, hotels and small corporates. This financing will also promote job creation in Portugal, a
fundamental aspect for the European Union's post-COVID-19 economic recovery. The agreement was announced today at Web Summit by EIB Vice-President Ricardo Mourinho Félix and Bizay CGO José Salgado. [ ec.europa.eu ] Checkout 15K+ Venture Capital Data on our platform.
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