How Blossom Capital plans to help Europe's startups reach full bloomSix years makes a hell of a difference in venture capital terms. Where Venture Capital Is BrokenIn his interview with Reed Albergotti, Social Capital founder Chamath Palihapitiya didn’t mince his words when describing why he is transforming Social Capital into a tech holding company (aka he wants to “flush” out bad investors). He was also quite blunt in his analysis of what is wrong with venture capital. The summary of his critique is that venture capitalists aren’t fully aligned with entrepreneurs because they are professional money managers who are basically making broad bets across a whole baskets of companies like an index fund. Entrepreneurs can’t rely on them to always be there. [ The Information ] SoftBank Leads $1 Billion Investment in Indian Hotel-Booking StartupSoftBank Group Corp. is doubling down on one of its biggest bets in India by leading a $1 billion investment in hotel-booking startup OYO Hotels. The Gurgaon, India-based company has received $800 million in a round led by SoftBank Group’s Vision Fund, which Chief Executive Masayoshi Son is using to back cutting-edge technologies, OYO said Tuesday. Prominent U.S. venture-capital firms Sequoia Capital and Lightspeed Venture Partners also contributed to the round, with a pledge of $200 million more to come. Highspot raises $35M to grow AI-fueled sales software used by Amazon, Dropbox, Twitter, othersDuring the last stretch of a 16-year career at Microsoft, Robert Wahbe was responsible for equipping sales teams with necessary information to help craft a perfect pitch to potential customers. He quickly realized it was a difficult task and made a bet that others were experiencing the same problem. [ Geek Wire ] Founders Fund Likely Leads $22.5M Round For In-Car Commerce Startup CargoCargo has raised $22.5 million in a new round of equity funding, according to SEC filings. The startup plays is playing in a small but potentially lucrative segment of the retail market: in-car commerce. If you’ve ever been in a Lyft, Uber, or other ride-hailing service, refreshments and treats such as water and gum aren’t uncommon. And for most drivers, the offerings are an inexpensive gesture of good service. But would these drivers give out spendier items like coffee drinks, energy bars, or a spare phone charger to their riders? [ Crunch Base ] Peter Thiel’s Asia fund to Japanese startups: Stop thinking localSoftBank Group, one of the world’s biggest tech investors, may be based in Japan. But its home country’s startup scene has been relatively muted compared to neighboring China and Southeast Asia. This can be partly explained by how the Japanese hold large, established corporations in such high regard. But this traditional perspective needs to change, according to two prominent investors speaking onstage at Tech in Asia Tokyo 2018. [ Tech In Asia ] The Markup, a tech-focused investigative news site, raises $20 million from Craigslist founderPeople talk a lot about how Uber and its rivals are disrupting transportation. Arguably, however, ride-hailing upstarts have had an even greater impact on how investors value the business of transporting humans and their stuff on the road. [ Crunch Base ] Porsche leads $80 million investment in WayRay to bring holographic AR displays to carsWayRay, a Swiss company that aims to enable holographic augmented reality (AR) displays in cars, has raised $80 million in a series C round of funding led by Volkswagen-owned German car company Porsche, with participation from Hyundai, Alibaba, China Merchants Capital, Jvckenwood, and Consortium of Sovereign Wealth Funds (JBIC and partners). [ Venture Beat ] Five Leading Venture Capital Firms Are Investing in BlockchainVenture Capital (VC) firms are known to have virtually no connection with the cryptocurrencies market. However, that changed and now more and more VC companies are willing to emerge in the digital assets market and their underlying technology. That’s how five leading Venture Capital firms ended up investing in blockchain. [ Oracle Times ] Deals, Exits, and Fund Raised data on our platform. Instagram’s Co-Founders to Step Down From CompanyKevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, the co-founders of the photo-sharing app Instagram, have resigned and plan to leave the company in the coming weeks, adding to the challenges facing Instagram’s parent company, Facebook. [ NY Times ] Check out Instagram’s' major investor - Sequoia Capital Three Observations About the Adobe/Marketo AcquisitionAbout two years ago, Marketo was publicly traded and valued at roughly $1.1B. Vista Equity paid $1.8B to take the company private, a 64% premium. At the time it was taken private by Vista, Marketo generated $241M in trailing revenue, growing at 35% annually. Its net income margin was -31%. Last week, Adobe announced they acquired Marketo for $4.75B. By the time of the sale, revenues had grown to $321M, growing at about 21% annually and profitable. Presumably, the company traded
investments in growth for profitability to service the new debt. [ Tomasz Tunguz ] |