There are 143 tech billionaires around the world, and half of them live in Silicon ValleyIf you’d like to get really rich, really quickly while you’re still really young, Silicon Valley can make that happen. Of course, it’s also a place where bank accounts are depleted and dreams fail. But unlike Wall Street — where wealth is ploddingly created as bankers and consultants rise through the corporate ladder — wealth in the tech sector can strike like oil, with the right idea, the right timing and the right luck. That’s made clear in a new report on global billionaires from Wealth-X, which surveys the landscape of the 10-figured titans. [ Recode ] This former Wall Streeter turned down $2 million and pays herself less than her interns in order to build her company on her own terms
TheSkimm closes its $12M Series C with big names Shonda Rhimes and Tyra Banks on boardIn March, the female-led media company and newsletter provider theSkimm reported it was raising a $12 million Series C from Google Ventures and Spanx founder Sara Blakely, along with several existing investors. Today, the company is confirming its Series C round has closed with a number of new, mostly female investors joining — including big names like Shonda Rhimes and Tyra Banks. Earlier Series C investors included GV (formerly Google Ventures); Spanx founder Sara Blakely; plus former lead investors 21st Century Fox, RRE Ventures and Homebrew Ventures. [ Tech Crunch ] After resorting to Tinder to make friends, this freelance journalist created her own meetup app for women and it's blowing up
For Madrona Venture Group, four IPOs in 20 months and a brand-new fundMadrona Venture Group typically flies under the radar of Silicon Valley reporters, partly because it’s in Seattle. But the 23-year-old, early-stage venture firm has been having a pretty good run of late — success it just used to close its seventh fund with $300 million, the same amount it raised for its sixth fund in 2015. Among its investors: Bezos Expeditions, Vulcan Capital, and billionaire John Stanton, who is the chairman of the board of Trilogy International Partners (as well as the majority owner of the Major League Baseball team the Seattle Mariners). [ Tech Crunch ] Who's next? Predicting the future of $10B buyout fundsCheck out Part I to meet the members of the $10 billion fund club and Part II for a recap of key trends. As we've detailed over the past several weeks, 11 different private equity firms in the US have raised a $10 billion fund since the start of 2009. Today, it's time to examine who the next members of the club might be. When Will The Next Wave Of UI Advances Happen?Technology innovations swing to a pendulum’s cadence. Sometimes innovations begin with infrastructure changes and reverberate up the stack. Other times, front-end engineers innovate at the application layer, which demand downstream changes in the infrastructure to scale. [ TOMASZ TUNGUZ ] Nilanjana Bhowmik: Making a Mark in the Male-Dominated Venture Capital IndustryBoeing-Backed Startup Lands JetSuite for Electric Plane's DebutFran Hauser: "The Myth of the Nice Girl" | Talks at GoogleBlockchain Startup VChain Is Flying High After Its Royal Seal Of ApprovalThe top 12 VC investors in global construction techVenture Capitalists vs. Founders: Opportunities and Challenges in an Emerging Tech EcosystemMicrosoft buys a start-up that wants A.I. to make conversation with humansHong Kong proposes tax exemption for offshore venture capital funds using ITVF schemeWSJ’s John Carreyrou says Theranos is a ‘cautionary tale’ for the health-tech industryDemystifying venture capitalVivek Wadhwa: Why I am Silicon Valley’s greatest critic — and fan (+ video)Should You Be Concerned About Pixel Venture Capital SA.’s (WSE:TLH) Shareholders? |