Many ICOs are ‘complete scams,’ Benchmark’s Sarah Tavel saysAs the resident cryptocurrency believer at venture capital firm Benchmark, Sarah Tavel says digital coins like bitcoin are “not the internet, yet” — in other words, they’ll be a big deal, eventually. Just like the internet, though, there may be some false prophets en route to their acceptance. On the latest episode of Recode Decode, Tavel told Recode’s Kara Swisher and Teddy Schleifer that there’s a big difference between some cryptocurrencies, such as bitcoin and ethereum, and the tidal wave of Initial Coin Offerings that began flooding the ecosystem late last year. “A lot of these projects are going to collapse,” she said. “A lot of them have been complete scams.” [ Recode ] Edtech company Kidaptive raises $19.1 million for its adaptive learning platformEdtech startup Kidaptive, an adaptive-learning company that begin its life with a suite of curriculum-focused iPad games for kids, announced today it has closed on $19.1 million in Series C funding, in a round led by Formation 8 and Korean education company Woongjin ThinkBig. The investment follows a deal with Woongjin that will see Kidaptive powering an English language learning system Woongjin Compass wants to build; as well as deal with its parent company, a large publisher with half a million paying subscribers, to personalize their tablet experience. [ Tech Crunch ] Venezuela Is Jumping Into the Crypto CrazeIt was a surreal scene in an increasingly surreal country. Three prominent cryptocurrency proponents turned up at a forum at Venezuela’s central bank in late December, extolling the virtues of digital tokens as a way for the beleaguered country to fix its broken economy. Even for a government known for magical thinking, the idea was pretty rich: By starting the world’s first sovereign cryptocurrency, Venezuela could overcome its dire economic problems, from soaring inflation to cratering economic growth and perhaps the biggest drag of all, a raft of U.S. sanctions cutting it off from the global financial system. [ Bloomberg ] FOR WOMEN IN CRYPTOCURRENCY, A NEW EFFORT TO GROW THEIR RANKSFriday evening in February, a dozen women huddled over flutes of champagne in a corner of the cavernous, trendy Williamsburg Hotel in Brooklyn. Varying in age, nationality, geography, and professional background, some donned the startup uniform of hoodies and sneakers while others looked at home on Wall Street in tailored suits and heels. As they introduced themselves and explained how they knew the event’s host, venture investor Jalak Jobanputra, they emanated nervous energy and a shared enthusiasm for one topic: cryptocurrency. [ WIRED ] Pebble founder Eric Migicovsky has joined Y Combinator as a partnerIf you follow the startup industry, you likely know the story of smartwatch maker Pebble, including that famous Kickstarter campaign in 2012 that sought $100,000 but wound up raising more than $10 million instead. You might also remember thinking that Pebble’s fate was sealed once Apple launched its own now-ubiquitous smartwatch in 2014. You were right, if so. By late 2016, Pebble was forced to sell its software and intellectual property to another wearable giant, Fitbit, for less than $40 million — an amount that reportedly barely covered Pebble’s debt. [ Tech Crunch ] Uber CEO's Asia Trip Underscores Its Persistent Global AmbitionsUber Technologies Inc. isn’t ready to give up the world. Dara Khosrowshahi, in his first trip to Asia since becoming chief executive officer, made it clear that the ride-hailing company isn’t about to scale back its business to just countries where it already has a strong market position. During his first stop in Japan, he said he’s willing to forge partnerships with taxi companies in order to succeed, even though Uber has less 1 percent market share and only offers limited services there. “I saw Japan as an incredible opportunity, and when I asked the team why wasn’t our Japan business larger, I started learning the history of our approach to Japan, and it was an approach that frankly didn’t work,” Khosrowshahi said in Tokyo on Tuesday. “It’s clear to me that we need to come in with partnership in mind, and in particular a partnership with the taxi industry here.” [ Bloomberg ] Silicon Valley has diversity problems, now let’s focus on a fix“Silicon Valley has developed an echo-chamber. It doesn’t require a lot of research to clearly see that the majority of people working there are very similar when it comes to race, gender, socioeconomic background, and education. And that is a huge diversity problem.” These blunt words were spoken by Y-Vonne Hutchinson, an American diversity activist who recently spoke at the TechChill conference hosted in Riga, Latvia. Hutchinson is a former international human-rights lawyer and founder of the diversity-focused consultancy firm, ReadySet. The firm specializes in helping and training tech-companies to hire diversely, fight bias and eliminate harassment in the workspace. [ The next web ] Singularity University Raises Venture Capital From Boeing And WestRiver GroupSingularity University, a California Benefit Corporation that educates individuals and organizations on navigating accelerating technological change, announced late last week that it closed a $32 million Series B round of funding. The investment was led by Boeing and by WestRiver Group. The round also included investments from Silicon Valley Bank, TAL Education Group, Mukita and PeopleFund. Singularity University has a mission to educate leaders globally on how to use exponential technologies such as artificial intelligence, precision medicine, nanotechnology, and virtual reality to solve society’s biggest opportunities and issues. [ Forbes ] The Rise And Rise Of Supergiant RoundsStartup Of The Week: ChummyNew startup district coming to west HoustonYour Startup Needs This Key Element To Be Fundable Says This Top Asian VCxMatters snares $40 million Series D led by Goldman Sachs Private Capital InvestingFinally! A startup created a swimsuit for nursing momsIf you’ve just had a baby, hitting the beach doesn’t seem like an appealing idea. Most new moms don’t feel particularly comfortable with their bodies, since they are coping with stretch marks, pregnancy weight, and a loose belly. Then there are the logistics of nursing your newborn. That can be hard to do in many regular bikinis or swimsuits, which are designed to stay on tightly, rather than come off easily. Danielle Estrada, the founder of kids’ swimwear line Olivia + Ocean, has heard this story many times before from the parents buying suits for their kids. After months of doing consumer research, she’s been working to engineer the perfect swimsuit for the “Mom Bod.” While many swimsuits on the market that are advertised as body-flattering tend to have ruching to disguise the tummy, Estrada created a suit that has high compression in the tummy area to provide support. The suit is inspired by wrap dresses and the top contains a tie waist that allows you to nurse easily. [ FastCompany ] Adecco Group acquires recruiting startup Vettery for $100MThe Adecco Group, a global HR services firm headquartered in Switzerland, announced today that it has acquired Vettery. The financial terms were not disclosed, but a source with knowledge of the deal told us that the price was a little over $100 million. (It’s not clear how much of that is cash versus stock.) We’ve reached out to the Adecco Group for confirmation and will update if we hear back. (Update: A spokesperson responded that the company isn’t sharing financial details.) A Vettery spokesperson declined to comment. Vettery was launched in 2014. Shortly after that, co-founders Brett Adcock and Adam Goldstein told me they were hoping to reinvent the traditional recruiting process. They created a marketplace where job candidates browse offers, schedule interviews with the employers that interest them and receive a signing bonus from Vettery when they take a job — all assisted by an on-staff “talent executive.” [ TechCrunch ] E797: "Funding Your Startup" Jenny Lefcourt, Freestyle Capital's ultimate pitch to raise your roundAg Plan strives to preserve Silicon Valley’s farming heritageE796: Color CEO Othman Laraki uses genetics for preventative health & early disease detectionVenture capital initiative to fast-track production of high value-added productsA $1 Billion Valuation for Mobileye Founders' Latest VentureLABOR BOARD RULES GOOGLE’S FIRING OF JAMES DAMORE WAS LEGALWhat Does a Future With No Jobs Look Like?Why Decentralization MattersKathryn Minshew, CEO of The Muse, Discusses Career Platforms |