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Pulled Ant Group IPO costs Alibaba nearly $60B in market cap
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Mesut Ozil Looks Beyond Soccer With Move Into Venture Capital
Soccer star Mesut Ozil is forging a new career in finance, joining San Francisco-based venture capital fund Class 5 Gl`obal as a strategic adviser. The Arsenal midfielder joins a growing list of sports stars who have transferred their tactical skills on the field to the world of startup investments, from David Beckham to Serena Williams, Kevin Durant and Carmelo Anthony. Ozil won Spain’s La Liga with Real Madrid and was a pillar of Germany’s 2014 World Cup winning team. He retired from international competition in 2018 after accusing German media and soccer authorities of discriminating against him due to his Turkish roots. Ozil stirred controversy last year when he invited Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan -- a fierce critic of the European
Union -- to be the best man at his wedding. [ Bloomberg ] Checkout 15K+ Venture Capital Data on our platform.
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Dr Oetker acquires German drinks delivery startup flaschenpost for €1 billion
German drinks delivery startup flaschenpost (or ‘bottle post’) has been sold to food giant The Oetker Group for €1 billion. The Oetker Group interestingly attempted to create their own version of the service with their offer of ‘Durstexpress’, but have now decided to acquire the original, which promises to deliver drinks to customers’ doors in under 2 hours. If you’ve not heard
of flaschenpost yet, this Münster-based startup, which was founded in 2016, is a fast growing beverage delivery service currently live across 23 German cities. Orders can be placed via the app, and the drinks are delivered free of charge within 120 minutes. Today, the startup employs around 7,000 people, including drivers and warehouse workers, and has created its own water and beer brands, which count for 15% of sales. [ eu-startups ]
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10D Launches $110M Venture Fund Focused On Israeli Seed, Series A Startups
Israeli venture capital firm 10D, which previously operated under the temporary name, Ofek Ventures, announced a $110 million venture fund targeting early-stage startups. The firm was started by Yahal Zilka, Rotem Eldar and Itay Rand, who were separately invested in companies including Waze and WalkMe. 10D is providing seed and Series A investments in startups. It typically makes $1 million to $5 million in initial investments, and follow-on investments of up to $10 million, Eldar told Crunchbase News. With the new fund, he expects to be able to invest in 15 Israeli companies. [ Crunchbase ]
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Private equity's campaign funding spree points to 2020's high stakes
After racking up hundreds of billions in assets over the past four years, private equity is bracing for an election that could usher in game-changing consequences for the industry.
Campaign contributions by PE professionals have risen to more than $170 million during the 2020 election cycle as of Oct. 23, according to data compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonprofit that tracks political spending. That total handily surpasses the industry's previous record of $117.5 million raised in the 2016 election cycle.
President Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden have both said that the 2020 race marks the most consequential election of their lifetimes. That may be especially true for private equity's buyout barons, who would be more likely to see their taxes rise should the Democrats retake control of the White House and Congress. [ Pitchbook ] Checkout 15K+ Venture Capital Data on our platform.
5.
Oaktree, Reef Technology Launch $300 Million Property Fund
Reef Technology Inc., a startup that manages hubs in parking lots used for food delivery and other services such as Covid-19 testing, launched a $300 million fund in partnership with Oaktree Capital Management LP. Reef and Oaktree’s infrastructure arm have formed the
Neighborhood Property Group to acquire strategic real estate assets, the companies told Bloomberg News on Monday. The new business will partly target areas experiencing population booms after people left cities such as New York and San Francisco because of the pandemic. [ Bloomberg ]
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REEF Technology raises $700M from SoftBank and others to remake parking lots
It seems like SoftBank and the Mubadala Corp. aren’t finished taking big swings at the commercial real estate business in the U.S. Even after the collapse of WeWork, the investors are doubling down on a similar business model as part of a syndicate investing $700 million into REEF Technology. REEF began its life as Miami-based ParkJockey, providing hardware, software and management services for parking lots. It has since expanded its vision while remaining true to its basic business model. While it still manages parking lots, it now adds infrastructure for cloud kitchens, healthcare clinics, logistics and last-mile delivery, and even old-school brick and mortar retail and experiential consumer spaces on top of those now-empty parking structures and spaces. [ Tech Crunch ] Checkout 15K+ Venture Capital Data on our platform.
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Impact, Meet Inclusion: Zeal Capital Launches $50M Fund for Diverse Edtech Founders
Impact investment funds, which try to generate social and environmental benefits alongside financial returns, are a dime a dozen. But one outcome that has yet to materialize is leveling the playing field for minority and underrepresented entrepreneurs seeking to raise capital. According to Transparent Collective, a nonprofit supporting minority business founders, Black entrepreneurs make up just 1 percent of all startup founders who receive venture funding. The figure is even lower for Latina
women. [ edsurge ] Checkout 15K+ Venture Capital Data on our platform.
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‘Stealth’ VC firm Aditum Bio launches its second biotech startup
Someone should tell SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son he could use encrypted apps like Signal and Telegram when communicating with his lieutenants. Joe Jimenez, a former Novartis CEO, and Mark Fishman, the former head of the Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, announced a new biotech startup on Monday: Tempero Bio. The two are backing Tempero through their venture capital firm, Aditum Bio, which has raised $133 million to spend on four to six other new startups. Aditum’s first company, Teres Bio, launched in December, but Monday’s announcement marks the first time Jimenez and Fishman are speaking publicly about their work. [ statnews ] Checkout 15K+ Venture Capital Data on our platform.
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Tallinn-based cleantech Skeleton Technologies raises €41.3 million to help large companies save energy
Today Skeleton Technologies, an Estonian cleantech company which is one of the largest European manufacturers of ultracapacitor-based energy storage, announced it has completed a €41.3 million financing round. All existing investors participated in the equity raise and were joined by notable European entrepreneurs and international investors. This round constitutes one of the top five funding rounds for the cleantech sector in the EU this year and will
further accelerate Skeleton’s growth. [ eu-startups ]
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10.
Hustle Fund, a pre-seed firm, closes $30M for a new fund
Hustle Fund, a pre-seed fund built by former operators and founders, has raised $30 million for a new fund, per SEC filings. Hustle Fund first filed paperwork for this fund, its second to date, in May 2019 with intention to raise $50 million. Its inaugural investment vehicle closed at $11.5 million. Hustle Fund was unable to comment because it is still in fundraising mode. Hustle Fund was created by Elizabeth
Yin and Eric Bahn, two former 500 Startups partners, with the goal of investing in pre-seed software startups. The firm has traditionally operated by investing $25,000 in a company, usually with a minimum-viable product, and then works with the team to help them grow. It does around 50 investments per year, according to its website. [ Tech Crunch ] Checkout 15K+ Venture Capital Data on our platform.
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Therapeutic game developer SidekickHealth raises $20M in series A round
With plans to use video game elements to build care programs for multiple chronic diseases and conditions, SidekickHealth has raised $20 million in venture capital to support its projects. The Swedish digital therapeutics developer’s series A investment round was led by Wellington Partners and Asabys Partners, through its fund SAHII, with additional participation by Sidekick’s previous investors Novator and Frumtak Ventures. [ fierce biotech ] Checkout 15K+ Venture Capital Data on our platform.
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Alexis Ohanian tweeted about selling Reddit for $10 million in 2006, as his mom was dying of cancer
These days, start-up investor Alexis Ohanian is perhaps best known for being married to tennis legend Serena Williams. But Ohanian is also famous for co-founding Reddit. And just as famously — or infamously — he and his co-founders sold Reddit 14 years ago for what turned out to be pennies on the dollar compared to its most recent multibillion-dollar valuation. On Sunday, Ohanian, 37, published a string of tweets reflecting on the deal. “Halloween is always a surreal holiday for me,
because on Halloween 2006, we sold Reddit to Conde Nast,” Ohanian tweeted Sunday, the day after Halloween. “The deal was months in the making and I wish I’d had more advisors around the table giving me more perspective on the sale.” For one thing, Ohanian confirmed the amount for which publishing company Conde Nast paid for Reddit in 2006: $10 million. In 2019, Reddit raised $300 million in a Series D investment round led by the Chinese internet company Tencent, which valued the platform at $3 billion. [ CNBC ] Checkout 15K+ Venture Capital Data on our platform.
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“Sales Are Better Than I Imagined,” Says Mark Cuban About Vegan Investment
Mark Cuban is no stranger to the vegan industry, the Shark Tank entrepreneur has invested in numerous vegan start-up companies throughout the years such as Snacklins, Wild Earth, Veggie Mama, Delighted by Desserts, Wanna Date?, and Mrs.Goldfarb's Unreal Deli, maker of the world's first vegan corned beef. Last November, the super-star Shark Tank judge shelled out $250,000 for a 20 percent stake in Mrs. Goldfarb’s Unreal Deli, a food startup that makes “fine vegan meats” known for its corned beef alternative. The bet is turning out better than even he expected. When Cuban first bankrolled the founder, Jenny Goldfarb, the company forecasted $3 million in revenue for 2020, but now the billionaire says Unreal Deli is on track to do multiples of that and could hit $50 million in sales. It's now sold at Sarge's Deli in Manhattan as well as big retailers around the country. [ The Beet ] Checkout 15K+ Venture Capital Data on our platform.
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Tencent Backs its Former QQ Head’s Zoom-for-Business Startup
Tencent Holdings Ltd. led a $50 million investment in real-time communications software developer Zego, underscoring widespread interest in online education and videoconferencing in the post-pandemic era. The Shenzhen-based startup’s financing round was also joined by existing
backers Qiming Venture Partners and IDG Capital, Zego said. The company -- now part of Tencent’s massive investment portfolio -- didn’t disclose its latest valuation. Zego is competing in a burgeoning enterprise software sector with rivals including Agora Inc., which raised $350 million in a U.S. listing in June. [ Bloomberg ] Checkout 15K+ Venture Capital Data on our platform.
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Israel’s Nurami Medical raises $6 million for tissue repair solution
Nurami Medical, a Haifa-based company that develops medical devices unveiled on Tuesday a new technology that assists in the healing of post-surgical treatments. The company also announced that it had completed a series B financing round of up to $6 million, led by Almeda Ventures and Leon Racanati’s Glenrock. The company, which was founded in 2014 by Dr. Amir Bahar, Nora Nseir Manassa and NGT3VC venture capital fund had previously raised $5 million from private investors and the Israeli Innovation Authority. The capital will be used to fund clinical trials for its first product, ArtiFascia, which speeds up healing and repairs tissue after neurosurgery. [ calcalistech ] Checkout 15K+ Venture Capital Data on our platform.
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