Why this former Facebook executive keeps investing in A.I. and messaging start-upsAnand Chandrasekaran built the Facebook Messenger software developer ecosystem for almost three years. Now, he’s investing in artificial intelligence start-ups that are building messaging apps.Chandrasekaran was Facebook’s director who led the growth of the Messenger platform for three years from July 2016 until January 2019. He left the company after growing Messenger’s developer ecosystem to one with more than 300,000 chat bots, according to a May 2018 Facebook blog post. “We grew the platform to quite a bit of success on the back of these developers,” Chandrasekaran told CNBC in a recent interview. [ CNBC ] New Investment: AdHawk [ MPD ]We’re very excited to announce Interplay Ventures’ latest investment: AdHawk. We invested in the company’s recently announced $13M Series B (TechCrunch). AdHawk has created a technology platform for the hardwood flooring industry. Their technology enables hardwood flooring retailers to launch a website (via their FloorForce property), easily implement ROI positive advertising campaigns and manage their existing clients through a CRM solution. Further, through their FlooringStores site they enable customers to identify products and retailers that best fit their needs. [ Medium ] Advent closes on $17.5B for ninth fundAdvent International has hit a $17.5 billion hard cap for its ninth flagship fund, surpassing a $16 billion target and topping a $13 billion predecessor from 2016 to close the largest vehicle in the firm's history. The behemoth is the largest fund raised by any private equity firm so far this year by a long shot, besting a $12.6 billion effort from Thoma Bravo that closed in January. It might not hold that title for long, considering Blackstone is raising a new vehicle that close on $25 billion later this year. [ Pitchbook ] New York companies are pulling in venture capitalNew York-based technology company Foursquare has secured $150 million in funding, according to company database Crunchbase, topping the city’s recent funding headlines. The cash infusion was announced May 31. According to its Crunchbase profile, "Foursquare is a technology company that uses location intelligence to build meaningful consumer experiences and inform business decisions. Foursquare’s business solutions include Pinpoint, Attribution, Pilgrim SDK and Foursquare Analytics, which empower brands to understand and connect to targeted audiences as well as measure foot traffic and advertising success. Foursquare’s Places API powers location data for Apple, Samsung, Microsoft, Tencent, Snapchat, Twitter, Uber and 125,000 other developers." [ Yahoo ] Startups Weekly: The Peloton IPO (bull vs. bear)Hello and welcome back to Startups Weekly, a newsletter published every Saturday that dives into the week’s noteworthy venture capital deals, funds and trends. Before I dive into this week’s topic, let’s catch up a bit. Last week, I wrote about the proliferation of billion-dollar companies. Before that, I noted the uptick in beverage startup rounds. Remember, you can send me tips, suggestions and feedback to kate.clark@techcrunch.com or on Twitter @KateClarkTweets. [ Tech Crunch ] GeekWire 200 update: Digital health startups rise in the Pacific NW, fueled by enterprise tech and AI talentSamir Manjure believes engineers at some of the world’s biggest tech firms are yearning for something more. “What I’m seeing is a lot of technical talent, especially in AI and machine learning, looking at solving problems that have societal impact,” said Manjure, CEO of KenSci, a startup that’s using artificial intelligence to reduce healthcare costs and predict when people will get sick. [ Geek Wire ] A peek inside Sequoia Capital’s low-flying, wide-reaching scout programTen years ago, Sequoia Capital began quietly encouraging founders of its portfolio companies to consider which of their founder friends they might like to get behind financially. Sequoia would let them write checks to those companies, and it would share with them any later rewards. [ Tech Crunch ] Foreign tech workers are turning to Canada as US immigration becomes more difficultThe tech industry in the US is booming. Foreign interest in tech jobs is not. That’s because despite the country’s acute need for highly skilled tech workers, its immigration system has become increasingly unwelcoming. Since the beginning of 2018, the share of interest from abroad in US tech jobs has remained about the same, according to new data from the global job listing site Indeed, but by most accounts it should be growing. [ VOX ] VC Slams Silicon Valley Heavyweights For Poaching London’s Top Startup TalentSilicon Valley’s aggressive push into London has been met with positive headlines but could turn out to be disastrous for the city’s flourishing tech startup ecosystem, which is the largest in Europe by some distance. Tech behemoths like Google, Facebook and Amazon have announced plans to hire thousands of staff at swanky new London offices in the last couple of years, and they’re poaching talented individuals from London’s big name startups—think meal delivery app Deliveroo, ID verification platform Onfido and simulated worlds startup Improbable—in order to fill their shiny new glass boxes. [ Forbes ] Who Is Mark Stevens? Here's What We Know About the VC Banned for Shoving Raptors Star Kyle LowryApple Inc. is preparing to buy startup Drive.ai in a small deal that will bring more engineers with experience in autonomous vehicle technology to the iPhone maker, according to people familiar with the matter. It’s unclear how much Apple is paying. Drive.ai has raised about $77 million in funding since it was founded in 2015, and was valued at about $200 million in 2017, according to Pitchbook data. [ Bloomberg ] Third Rock Ventures Raises $770 Million as Biotech Funds ThriveBiotechnology venture capital firm Third Rock Ventures has raised the largest fund in its 12-year history, a sign that investor interest in funding early-stage science continues unabated despite volatile public markets. Third Rock said Thursday that investors poured $770 million into its fifth fund, which will seed a crop of 10 to 12 life-science companies. The firm has previously backed companies such as Agios Pharmaceuticals Inc.,Foundation Medicine and Bluebird Bio Inc., which this week won approval in Europe for the first gene therapy to treat the blood disorder beta thalassemia. [ Bloomberg ] EOS Startup Block.One Is Using Its Billions to Buy Back More EquityBlock.one, the company that built the EOS blockchain, is in the middle of another equity buyback in order to bring on more strategic investors, a source familiar with the matter told CoinDesk. The company has previously conducted equity buybacks in order to resell those shares to new investors that it sees as helpful to its business, the source explained. [ coindesk ] Woodford Internet Nemesis Claims VindicationIt began two years ago as a skirmish made for the social-media age: a renegade blogger badgering a pillar of the establishment who had made his name over decades of investing other people’s money. In this week’s stunning conclusion, it turned out the heckler was right: celebrity U.K. money manager Neil Woodford froze redemptions from his flagship fund to prevent its collapse, had some of his biggest clients walk away and faced widespread criticism. [ Bloomberg ] You probably haven’t heard of Nubank. But it could be a $10 billion company, so you should.Not many people in the US are familiar with Nubank, a digital bank that has become the most valuable startup in Latin America by extending credit cards to the unbanked and challenging the financial system of one of the world’s biggest markets, Brazil. [ VOX ] Uber’s COO and chief marketing officer are outUber’s chief operating officer Barney Harford and chief marketing officer Rebecca Messina are stepping down as part of an organizational shakeup put into motion just a month after the ride-hailing company went public. CNBC first reported the departures. The departures, which CEO Dara Khosrowshahi explained in an email to employees, were prompted by his decision to more directly control core parts of the business. Khosrowshahi told employees that he wants to be even more involved in the day-to-day operations of its biggest businesses, the core platform of Rides and Eats, and has decided they should report directly to him. [ Tech Crunch ] Woolworths to invest $20.92m in meal kit provider Marley SpoonAustralian supermarket chain Woolworths Group has invested AUD30m ($20.92m) in subscription-based meal kit provider Marley Spoon. The investment includes a senior secured convertible note of AUD23m ($16.03m) to allow the supermarket chain to participate in its growth. “This partnership gives Woolworths exposure to the high-growth ready-to-cook meal kits segment and aligns with our ongoing goal of meeting our customers’ needs for healthy and convenient meal solutions.” [ retail-insight-network ] Depop, a social app targeting millennial and Gen Z shoppers, bags $62M, passes 13M usersThe rising popularity of omni-channel commerce — selling to customers wherever they happen to be spending time online — has spawned an army of shopping tools and platforms that are giving legacy retail websites and marketplaces a run for their money. Now, one of the faster growing of these is announcing an impressive round of funding to stay on trend and continue building its business. [ Tech Crunch] This Israeli Blood-Testing Startup Is The Anti-TheranosRemember Theranos? That was the buzzy startup founded by a Stanford dropout who claimed the company could perform over 200 blood tests with a single drop of blood. Theranos raised $900 million that valued CEO Elizabeth Holmes's stake at $4.5 billion. The company did not deliver on its promises, last September if went bankrupt, and Holmes is facing felony conspiracy and fraud charges. [ Forbes ] In a surprise, Hans Bishop takes over as CEO of Grail, the liquid biopsy startuprail, the San Francisco company that has raised $1.6 billion to develop a blood test to detect cancer, announced Thursday that it had appointed Hans Bishop, previously the CEO of Juno Therapeutics, as its new chief executive. Bishop, who led Juno until it was sold to Celgene for $9 billion in March 2018, will be the third chief executive Grail has had since it was founded in 2015. He will replace Jennifer Cook, a former Roche executive; Grail said Cook was leaving the CEO job for family health reasons. [ Stat News ] Lyft sues SF over bike-share programLyft is suing the city of San Francisco, claiming that the city is violating its 10-year contract with Lyft that would give the company exclusive rights to operate bike-share programs. San Francisco, however, says the contract does not apply to dockless bike-share, but only station-based bike-share. [ Tech Crunch ] Curated by Venture Pulse Team. Find us on : [ Venturepulse.org, CrunchBase, AngelList ] |