Birchbox investors get wiped outViking Global Investors has agreed to acquire a majority stake in Birchbox, via a recap that will effectively wipe out the other venture capitalists that invested over $85 million (including at a valuation just south of $500 million). Why it's a big deal: Birchbox was the original "stuff in a box" company, kicking off a niche industry that would attract both startups and legacy retailers. Recode was first with the news, reporting that there had been unsuccessful sale talks with both Walmart and QVC. CEO Katia Beauchamp will remain in charge and no layoffs are expected. Bottom line: It's a reminder that innovation without execution is like uncooked bacon. Potentially amazing, but of little current value. [ Axios ] Massage-on-demand company, Soothe, raises $31 millionThe massage-on-demand service Soothe seems to be rubbing investors the right way with the close of a new $31 million round of funding. The Series C round from late-stage and growth capital investment firm, The Riverside Company, caps a busy first quarter for the massage service. It also relocated from Los Angeles to Las Vegas; named a new chief executive; and announced new geographies where its massage booking platform is now available. [ Tech Crunch ] 10 Startups That Reached a $1 Billion Valuation in Record TimeIn the startup world, the odds of a company achieving a valuation of $1 billion or more is considered so slim, it's named after a mythical beast -- the unicorn. In the entire US, there are just 135 private companies that are valued at over a billion dollars or more. Of those, only ten became so-called unicorns in less than three years, setting the speed record for all the rest. This list, based on data from Pitchbook, rounds up all of the companies in the US that hit the $1 billion valuation mark in record time. [ Inc. ] Ride-Hailing Firm Grab in Talks to Raise $1 BillionOne of Southeast Asia’s most valuable startups is making another grab for new money. Ride-hailing company Grab Inc., which recently acquired the Southeast Asian business of Uber Technologies Inc., is in talks to raise up to $1 billion in fresh funds, according to people familiar with the matter. [ WSJ ] Over 30? You're Too Old For Tech Jobs In ChinaOu Jianxin said goodbye to his wife and two young children shortly after 9 a.m. on a cold day last December. He was on his way to Chinese smartphone maker ZTE Corp.’s Shenzhen headquarters—he’d been let go from his job as a research engineer at the company more than a week before, but management had asked to speak with him again, he said. “There are internal conflicts in our company,” he told his wife. “I’m very likely to be the victim of that.” Whether there was an actual meeting is unclear. What is clear is that sometime after he arrived, Ou went to his former office on the 26th floor of the campus’s research and development building and jumped to his death. He was 42 years old. [ Bloomberg ] Wedding-Planning Startup Zola Raises $100 MillionAirbnb Inc. in travel, Uber Technologies Inc. in transportation, Zillow Group Inc. in real estate: Most industries have been changed dramatically by tech startups in recent years. Zola Inc. just tied the knot on a big financing round to try to do the same for the costly and complex business of weddings. [ Bloomberg ] Xiaomi, a Chinese Start-Up, Picks Hong Kong for a Major I.P.O.Xiaomi, the Chinese gadget maker that has become one of the world’s largest smartphone companies, has picked Hong Kong to list its shares in what is widely expected to be a major initial public offering. [ NY Times ] Homecare services startup Cera announces $17M Series A SoundHound has raised a big $100M round to take on Alexa and Google Assistant Why Silicon Valley Must Go to WarSoft Robotics raises $20 million to expand operations Full transcript: New York Times technology columnist Farhad Manjoo onstage for Recode DecodeAfter a year of Macron, start-up hum grows at Paris's Station FThe Dots: This Startup Has Raised Millions "To Kill LinkedIn" Despite Sexist InvestorsThis Start-Up Will Actually Downsize Your ClosetThese East Asian cities are leading the way for entrepreneurs — you can start up for under $3,000Funding your dream: How to sink your chances of venture capital money for your startupAlphabet’s AI venture capital firm makes first investment in Canada with BenchSci[PODCAST] Startup Meet Corporate – Episode 14: inkl |