Breaking - Y Combinator raising $1 billion for new fundSilicon Valley startup accelerator Y Combinator is raising up to $1 billion for a new venture capital fund, Axios has learned from multiple sources. No word yet on when it is expected to close. YC is also making changes to its investment organization. Why it matters: Y Combinator is one of the most influential startup entities in Silicon Valley, having incubated such companies as Airbnb, Dropbox and Stripe. But, at it's core, it's an investor — so it's no surprise to see it evolve and expand its reach. Details, per sources:
Blue Apron's VC backers have made gobs of money — while regular investors have taken a bathBlue Apron has been decimated since going public in June, losing 35% of its value thanks to a direct assault from Amazon and troubling customer-retention issues. The company, which was courting an IPO price of as much as $17 a sharefor a valuation of $3 billion in early June, has lost more
than half of its value since then. Blue Apron closed at $6.65 per share Wednesday for a market valuation of $1.32 billion. That doesn't mean investing in Blue Apron has been a disaster for all of its backers, though. Three venture capital backers have still made gobs of money. Investors who put money into the company later down the road have lost out, in contrast. Vinod Khosla: Venture capital has less sexual harassment than other industries To hear Vinod Khosla tell it, sexual harassment isn’t quite as common in venture capital as you might think. As a spate of allegations rock the business, Khosla said he was “a little surprised” by the revelations, but is still arguing that venture capital is relatively a safer space for women than other fields are today. “I did not know that there was any discrimination,” Khosla said, adding that it was “rarer than in most other businesses.” “I’ve never done a statistical survey,” Khosla admitted to an audience at a trade event in Palo Alto Thursday evening. But he said he is quizzing women about their experiences and it was nevertheless his “impression” that the problem was not quite as prevalent as a percentage as it is in other industries, such as autos or finance. Harassment allegations have already ejected two prominent venture capitalists from rival firms in recent weeks, and firms today describe an industry on edge and waiting for more shoes to drop. “It’s a reality because it’s perceived as a reality,” Khosla said of the sexual harassment problem, attributing its prominence to the high media profile of the ousters. “And perception is more important than reality.” [ Recode ] Fintech startup Klarna taps Permira for around $250M at $2.5B valuationKlarna, the Swedish startup that works with e-commerce businesses and retailers to provide financing and other payment services, today announced that it has picked up yet another large investment, its third inside of two months. Permira, the private equity firm and prolific late-stage tech investor, has taken a minimum 10 percent stake in the fintech business. Klarna and Permira are not confirming the exact amount getting invested, or the valuation. But TechCrunch understands that it is more than $225 million, and the FT is reporting a value of $250 million. Klarna the startup was last valued at $2.25 billion in 2015 and a source confirmed to us that this valuation has gone up as the business has grown. If a $250 million investment works out to 10 percent of its valuation, that would mean Klarna’s overall value has ticked up to $2.5 billion. Wealth Management Startup Betterment Gets $800 Million Valuation
Online financial adviser Betterment LLC has secured $70 million in new funding, boosting its valuation and giving it more clout to compete with rivals in an intensifying market. The new capital, raised from existing investors, values the New York-based startup at $800 million, up from $700 million in the last financing round in early 2016. Swedish investment firm Kinnevik AB led the round. Betterment said much has changed since the last influx of capital. “We’ve grown from $4 billion assets under management the last time we raised to nearly $10 billion now,’’ Jon Stein, Betterment’s co-founder and chief executive officer, said in a phone interview. “We’ve also launched more products, added more human advice, and we’ve got a lot in the works that will make for a really busy fall.’’ [ Bloomberg ] SoFi plans to launch VC fundOnline personal finance company SoFi, which is viewed as a 2018 IPO candidate, is working to launch a strategic venture capital group, CEO Mike Cagney told Axios from the sidelines of the Fortune Brainstorm Tech conference in Aspen. One big difference between this and most other corporate VC efforts, however, is that SoFi plans to solicit outside investor commitments (i.e., limited partners). The company itself would contribute a cornerstone commitment and serve as general partner. [ Axios ] Un-break my heart. Our investment in MendNicole Quinn of Lightspeed Venture Partners Have you ever had your heart broken? A relationship ending can be devastating. It can also be a catalyst for change. A gluttonous holiday season is often the catalyst to get a fitness coach. A new job in management is often the catalyst to get an executive coach. These are tried and tested methods of self-improvement. We have a coach for other areas of our life, so why don’t we have one for relationships? Now, you can. Ellen (“Elle”) Huerta, the founder of Mend, brought her unique insight into heartbreak to the screen on Planet Of The Apps. Elle’s passion stems from her own experience with heartbreak. Her own personal breakup made her take the leap to find help, and with Mend, she is now making a relationship coach available to all. Like so many of the founders we meet at Lightspeed, this company started with finding a solution to an authentic problem Elle faced. How we work at HomebrewSatya Patel of Homebrew In many of our first meetings with startups during the fundraising process, founders ask us exactly how we work with companies. So I thought it would be helpful to answer that question in public, both because it’s asked frequently and because it’s critical to the relationships that we build with founders who choose to partner with us. We have a few formal ways in which we work with founders (the informal being text, Slack, email and calls all day, every day!) during the seed stage. How Much Do Software Engineers Really Make in Each City?What is the best city in the world for a software engineer? San Francisco? New York? From a salary standpoint, Silicon Valley is the clear winner, boasting an average income of $110,554 per year, according to data from Glassdoor. But even with six-figure salaries, many developers are finding it difficult to afford the sky-high rent in the Bay Area. CoverWallet is excited to announce that we’ve partnered with Starr Companies to develop new online insurance products for small businesses. As a leading international insurance company, Starr will be combining its industry expertise with CoverWallet’s cutting-edge technological solutions in order to reach a broader market. Launched in early 2016, CoverWallet combines data, design, and technology to simplify the complexities of commercial insurance. We’re reinventing the way business owners understand, buy, and manage policies through our concierge-like service and digital platform. |