1.
Scoop: Warby Parker now valued at $3 billion
Warby Parker, a New York-based eyeglasses designer and retailer, raised $245 million in new funding at a $3 billion valuation, Axios has learned from a source familiar with the company's finances. Between the lines: Warby had been widely viewed as a 2020 IPO candidate, but seems to have opted to remain private longer due to both the pandemic and some struggles for other direct-to-consumer personal product brands. - Investors in the round included D1 Capital Partners, Durable Capital Partners, T. Rowe Price.
- The company previously raised a total of $290 million, including a $75 million infusion in early 2018 at a $1.75 billion valuation. [ Axios ]
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2.
Chan Zuckerberg Initiative backs Indian education startup Eruditus in $113 million fundraise
Mumbai-based Eruditus, which works with top universities globally to offer more than 100 executive-level courses to students in over 80 nations, said on Monday it has raised $113 million in a new financing round as it looks to further scale its business to reach more learners. The Series D financing round for the 10-year-old startup was co-led by Leeds Illuminate and Prosus Ventures . Chan Zuckerberg Initiative and existing investors Sequoia India and Ved Capital also participated in the round, which brings Eruditus’ to-date raise to over $160 million. Eruditus is now valued at over $700 million, a person familiar with the matter said. Avendus Capital was the financial advisor to Eruditus on this transaction. [ Tech Crunch ] Checkout 15K+ Venture Capital Data on our platform.
Special:
Preaching Equality, Start-Up Didn’t Practice It With Employees
Onstage at an industry conference last year, Henry Ward, chief executive of the financial technology start-up Carta, described his vision for transforming the way that workers get paid. Working for a paycheck had evolved from indentured servitude and serfdom, he said. In the next era, employees would own a stake in their companies. [ NY Times ] Checkout 15K+ Venture Capital Data on our platform.
3.
9 big things: A $44B unicorn stampede hits Wall Street
Ever since Spotify pioneered the direct listing as a new route for unicorns to go public in 2018, a growing number of venture capitalists have proselytized the deal type as a superior alternative to an IPO. There was only one problem: Companies couldn't raise new funding in a direct listing, making it an unrealistic option for businesses in need of growth capital. This week, the SEC removed that barrier, approving new regulations that will allow companies to sell new shares in direct listings on the NYSE. And two unicorns that filed for direct listings this week could be among the first to benefit—one led by a Facebook co-founder, and another that is the brainchild of Facebook's first investor.
In more traditional IPO news, five other unicorns filed this week for Wall Street debuts. Add it all up, and you get some $44 billion worth of startups now planning a shift from private to public. [ Pitchbook ]
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4.
Chinese EV startup Xpeng Motors raises $1.5 billion in US public market debut
Chinese electric vehicle startup Xpeng Inc. raised $1.5 billion through an initial public offering in the U.S. as investor interest in EVs and clean energy outstripped concerns over escalating tensions between the U.S. and China. The automaker, which is headquartered in Guangzhou, China and has offices in Silicon Valley and San Diego, said in a filing that it sold 99.7 million shares for $15 each, raising about $1.5 billion. The automaker had originally planned to sell 85 million shares with a price guidance of between $11 and $13. [ Tech Crunch ] Checkout 15K+ Venture Capital Data on our platform.
5.
SEC expands direct listing options on NYSE as IPO alternatives abound
The SEC has approved a new type of direct listing on the New York Stock Exchange that permits companies to sell new stock, adding yet another pathway to the public markets outside of traditional IPOs. The approval came just days after the Nasdaq filed a similar request with the SEC, which would also allow companies to sell new shares in a direct listing.
Historically, the NYSE and Nasdaq have allowed existing investors to sell shares in a direct listing, but companies couldn't use the process to raise new capital. "This is really big," Benchmark general partner Bill Gurley tweeted of the SEC's decision. "We could get to a modern approach where Silicon Valley companies, founders, employees, and investors don't have a 40% costs of capital to enter the public markets." [ Pitchbook ] Checkout 15K+ Venture Capital Data on our platform.
6.
Proptech Habi snags US$10M to bring more iBuying and data to Colombia
Contxto – Buying or selling a home loses its dazzle when considering how time-consuming it can be. But Colombian proptech Habi is set on adding a fresh coat of paint to Latam’s lackluster real estate market. Last Wednesday (26), the startup announced its Series A
for US$10 million. Inspired Capital led the round and was joined by 8VC, Clocktower, Vine Ventures, Zigg, Homebrew, and Operator Partners. Angel investors like Looker’s co-Founders participated as
well. Launched just last year, the proptech has embraced iBuying—a model that couples tech with fast property buying, remodeling, and selling. Likewise, it built a database for house hunters to sort through. [ Contxto ] Checkout 15K+ Venture Capital Data on our platform.
7.
Narrative raises $8.5M as it launches a new data marketplace
Narrative has raised $8.5 million in Series A funding and is launching a new product designed to further simplify the process of buying and selling data. I’ve already written about the company’s existing marketplace and software for managing data transactions. With the
new Data Streams Marketplace, the process should be simpler than ever — not much different than buying products on Amazon. “Essentially, the idea was to take the best parts of the e-commerce and search models and apply that to a non-consumer offering to find, discover and ultimately buy data,” founder and CEO Nick Jordan (pictured above on the left) told me. “The premise is make it as easy to buy data as it is to buy stuff online.” [ Tech
Crunch ] Checkout 15K+ Venture Capital Data on our platform.
8.
As Companies Battle For TikTok, A Look Back At Its Funding History
TikTok’s been in the news a lot lately, as corporate giants Microsoft, Walmart and
Oracle reportedly put in bids to buy the wildly popular video app. And Friday afternoon, Bloomberg reported that investment firm Centricus and social video platform Triller were looking to buy the TikTok assets for $20 billion. Between President Trump’s attempt to ban the app in the U.S.—forcing it to find a buyer—and its new CEO quitting after just three months on the job, a lot has happened. Let’s take a look. A brief history of
TikTokThe app initially known as Musical.ly was launched in 2014 and based in the Los Angeles area. The company raised at least $150.4 million in funding from backers including GGV Capital and GX Capital, and became popular among teens to sing along with songs and make short-form videos. Musical.ly was valued at around $533.5 million after its Series C round in May 2016, according to Crunchbase. In November 2017, Chinese company ByteDance announced it was merging with (read: buying) Musical.ly. The reported price was about $800 million. [ Crunchbase ] Checkout 15K+ Venture Capital Data on our platform.
9.
SEC Expands Accredited Investor Definition
The Securities and Exchange Commission Wednesday amended its “accredited investor” definition to allow investors to qualify based on defined measures of professional knowledge, experience or certifications — including holding certain Financial Industry Regulatory Authority licenses — in addition to the existing tests for income or net worth. The 166-page amendments adopted Wednesday also expand the list of entities that may qualify, including by allowing any entity that meets
an “investments test.” “For the first time, individuals will be permitted to participate in our private capital markets not only based on their income or net worth, but also based on established, clear measures of financial sophistication,” said SEC Chairman Jay Clayton, in a statement. “I am also pleased that we have expanded and updated the list of entities, including tribal governments and other organizations that may qualify to participate in certain private offerings.” [ Think Advisor ] Checkout 15K+ Venture Capital Data on our platform.
10.
Business Unusual, June 8th, 2020 | Venture Capital Inequalities
11.
meet VCs (August 2020) | Meet the People Behind Venture Capital & Startup Investment
Our first meet VC live podcast event allowed our audience to Meet the People Behind Venture Capital & Startup Investment. During our one hour discussion, our panel of VCs and investors from across the country shared their own personal journeys in venture capital, knowledge on how to navigate discussions with VCs and answered notable questions on the process they take towards investing in companies.
Checkout 15K+ Venture Capital Data on our platform.
12.
Disrupting Venture Capital with Danielle Brewin Graham, MBA | Principal at Sandpiper Ventures
13.
Leaders Live with BLCK VC
Entre & Leaders Live are bringing Investor Interview Series showcasing Live talks with Founders, CEOs & Venture Capital Funds discussing the Business, Growth & Network Collaborations. Speaker: Sydney Sykes, Co-founder & Investor of BLCK VC Sydney moved to San Francisco in 2016 after graduating from Harvard undergrad where she studied Psychology and Economics, and lead the Women in Business organization. She then started working as an early stage investor at NEA, where she became passionate about early consumer companies and got a taste for angel investing, making her first investment in Inkbox. She also started Blck VC, a non profit focused on empowering Black investors and increasing diversity in VC. Blck VC is also the largest network of
Black venture investors in the country. After two and a half years in venture, she moved over to the operating side and now works at a fashion startup called Dolls Kill, where she manages the growth, forecasting, and strategy for their native brands. Sydney continues to spend most of her time co-leading Blck VC and looking for high potential early stage companies.
Checkout 15K+ Venture Capital Data on our platform.
14.
David Hornik on the People, Culture, Venture Capital, and Startups | August Capital | Jono Bacon
For those playing along with Silicon Valley bingo, there is an enormous amount of change going on in startups, venture capital, and beyond. This has been heightened by the impact of COVID-19 on founders, startups, and investors. Checkout 15K+ Venture Capital Data on our platform.
15.
E1102 Next Unicorns E15 Zero Mass Water's Cody Friesen is perfecting drinking water with hydropanels
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