The Big Lesson Silicon Valley Can Learn From the Theranos ScandalMore than $700 million: That’s how much capital Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes raised from investors for her blood-testing company. And she did it by using language like this: “We do routine, specialty, and esoteric tests. What we’ve done is take those, and develop the chemistry and analytic systems that made it possible to run them on a microsystem.” [ Fortune ] This Silicon Valley sleeper hit app just got $52 million to do for spreadsheets what Microsoft did for computers
Fuel Capital's Leah Busque on Her Shift from the Startup World to VCLeah Busque, partner at Fuel Capital, discusses her transition from TaskRabbit and where she sees opportunities for VC funding on "Bloomberg Technology." [ Bloomberg ] Inside Cruise’s Bumpy Ride: The Limits of Self-Driving CarsDespite some advances, Cruise’s vehicles being tested in San Francisco are still repeatedly involved in accidents, or near-accidents where a person has to grab the wheel of the car to avoid a collision. As a result, despite promises that autonomous vehicles could be available in the next few years, it is likely to be a decade before the cars come into wide use in major cities, according to a person with direct knowledge of Cruise’s technology. [ The Information ] TheSkimm is raising $12 million from Google Ventures and other investors to build its subscription businessTheSkimm started out as a newsletter aimed at millennial women, but its founders have always said they wanted to expand into other product lines. Now co-founders Carly Zakin and Danielle Weisberg have more money to make that happen: They have raised a $12 million round led by Google Ventures, along with Spanx founder Sara Blakely. Earlier investors, including 21st Century Fox, RRE and Homebrew, are in this round as well. The company has raised $28 million since 2012. Investors the company talked to said Zakin and Weisberg were looking for a $100 million valuation; their last round, in September 2016, valued the company at around $55 million. The company declined to comment on its current valuation or whether it had sold secondary shares as part of this round. [ Re/Code ] Silicon Valley's ubiquitous sneaker startup gets ready for summerAllbirds, the company that made a splash as Silicon Valley's shoe equivalent of the ubiquitous hoodie, is releasing two new shoe styles, both made of a new summer-friendly material. Peter Thiel is betting on bitcoin because one cryptocurrency will become the 'online equivalent to gold'
Stock-trading app Robinhood is in talks with investors to raise about $350 million in new venture funding at a $5.6 billion valuation, according to the Wall Street Journal. The startup, which has raised $176 million to date, was valued at $1.3 billion last April. This Startup Is Helping Unilever And L'Oreal Tear Up The Market Research RulebookGoogle's parent company just made its first-ever investment in an A.I. chip start-upFour Digital Tips For Analyzing Your Startup Idea's ViabilityResearching Psilocybin's Effects on Depression - Dr. Rosalind Watts[VIDEO] Talking everything Caltex Spark with Slingshot AcceleratorLyft is building a self-driving platform with auto supplier MagnaStartup Grind Sacramento features SkySlope Founder Tyler SmithGirl Geek Academy launches all-woman games development hackathon #SheHacksGamesSilicon Valley companies are undermining the impact of artificial intelligenceFinally Light Bulb Closes $50M Series D Round to Support R&D, Expand Retail NetworkThe VC/Company RelationshipR/GA and Cannes Lions Innovation's Start-up Academy Returns for 2018 Use This Equation to Determine, Diagnose, and Repair TrustEric Liedtke, Guy Raz & Karlie Kloss | Create the World You Want to Live In | SXSW 2018IDEAYA Biosciences Raises $94 Million Crossover Series B Financing |