Greycroft raises $250M for its fifth early-stage fundGreycroft, the venture capital firm that’s backed companies like the Huffington Post, Plated and Venmo, is announcing that it has raised $250 million for its latest fund. The firm was founded in 2006 by Alan Patricof, Ian Sigalow and Dana Settle, and it now invests from a fund for seed and Series A deals (this is its fifth early-stage fund) and a separate fund focused on growth investments. Recent bets include scooter startup Bird and podcast network Wondery. [ Tech Crunch ] SoftBank Investors Explain the Mega-Fund’s Aggressive Investment StrategyIf money was not a constraint, what would you do differently in the next five to 10 years? That’s the question Softbank’s investment professionals pose to CEOs before they write a check from their mammoth $100 billion Vision Fund. The Japanese behemoth has poured billions into some of business’ biggest deals, including Uber, ARM Holdings, Nvidia, WeWork, DoorDash, GM Cruise, Katerra, and Wag. [ Fortune ] US female-founded companies have raised $7B so far this yearIn a year poised to bring in the most venture capital investment for US startups since the dot-com boom, female founders are also experiencing VC highs. Silicon Valley needs to figure out how to promote women and people of color. Andreessen Horowitz is doing that by changing one of its founding rules.During its first decade of existence, Andreessen Horowitz — one of Silicon Valley’s premier venture capital firms — held fast to a seemingly minor rule about the types of people who comprised its top investors: To become a general partner, you had to have founded or led a company as CEO. No exceptions. But amid the broader conversation nationally — and in Silicon Valley specifically — about gender diversity, the firm earlier this year quietly scrapped a rule that its critics said, unintentionally or not, made front-of-the-pack partnerships like Andreessen Horowitz’s just a collection of (mostly white) guys. [ Recode ] Ultimate Software is acquiring PeopleDoc for $300 millionPublic company Ultimate Software is acquiring French startup PeopleDoc for $300 million in cash and stock. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2018. These two companies both make HR solutions. Ultimate Software has been around for a while. It went public in 1998 and switched to a software-as-a-service solution in 2002 — this solution is called UltiPro. It lets you manage all things HR, from payroll to benefits, time management, onboarding, performance management and more. [ Tech Crunch ] $800 Million Says a Self-Driving Car Looks Like ThisThe mystery box sits inside an all-white room in an office building in San Francisco. It’s a large, wooden crate with no features other than the word “ZOOX” in big, black block letters and a sturdy-looking padlock. For about $100 million, you can get a key and have a look inside. Few have had the pleasure. What they saw is a black, carlike robot about the size and shape of a Mini Cooper. Or actually, like the rear halves of two Mini Coopers welded together. The interior has no steering wheel or dashboard, just an open space with two bench seats facing each other. The whole mock-up looks like someone could punch a hole through it. But because you’ve just invested $100 million in the thing, you’ve earned the right to have a seat and enjoy a simulated city tour while you pray that this vision of a driverless future will come to pass. [ Bloomberg ] China's Didi is said to plan spin off of car services unit in deal worth up to $1.5 billionChinese ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing Technology Co Ltd is planning to spin off its car services unit in a deal worth up to $1.5 billion ahead of the parent company's planned initial public offering, people with direct knowledge of the matter said. [ CNBC ] Dialpad raises $50 million Series D to expand AI transcription servicesAppLovin' takes $400 million investmentUber is back in the hot seat with gender inequality probeDagne Dover co-founders on choosing patient capital over venture capital Will Smith, Japanese Soccer Star to Launch $100M Start-up FundGroupon on steroids? Tencent-backed Pinduoduo to become next mega tech IPORoad To Billion Dollar Valuation - Rishi Khosla (OakNorth) + Ross Gallagher (Fintech Insider) Brian Balfour: Building a Growth Machine | Relay Ventures CEO Summit 2018Blockchain VCs, Accelerators and Incubators - Panel: Accelerating Growth for Early Stage Projects The Impact of Patient Capital and the Power of Venture Capital |