23andMe is raising about $200 million, led by Sequoia23andMe, the Mountain View-based genetic testing and analysis company, is raising close to $200 million in a funding round led by Sequoia Capital, multiple sources tell us. Sources say that Fidelity is also looking to participate. We’d first heard in spring that the 11-year-old company was looking for more money to expand its genetics research arm and develop new products. The fresh capital should allow it to continue growing its revenue, without the pressure of going public just yet, which sources say that cofounder and CEO Anne Wojcicki is reluctant to do. [ Tech Crunch ] The Lonely Lives of Silicon Valley ConservativesShashi Ramchandani, who manages a team of engineers at Google, has never been shy about being a conservative working in Silicon Valley. He showed coworkers emails he exchanged with Ivanka Trump after he mailed her photos he took at the Republican convention, and on election night, he texted colleagues snapshots from the floor of Trump’s victory party in New York City. “They saw me first as a Googler, then as a conservative,” Ramchandani said. [ Bloomberg ] Social enterprise ecommerce startup Secret Sisterhood aims to tackle gender inequality globallyWith a multitude of charities doing important work tackling the many problems of the world, it can be difficult to pick which organisations to put your support towards, even if you have a particular cause in mind. Helping connect women across the globe to charities working to put a stop to gender equalities is Sydney-based social enterprise Secret Sisterhood. By putting aside a 90 percent cut from the sale of items from its ecommerce store, Secret Sisterhood offers a way for buyers to contribute to some of that largest Australian charities aiming to empower women and tackle gender inequality. [ Startupdaily ] Index Ventures is coming in force to TechCrunch Disrupt Berlin this DecemberWe are delighted to announce our next wave of speakers for Disrupt Berlin. And what a wave. Index Ventures is one the world’s leading international venture capital firms. And we are incredibly excited to have 3 of its partners on stage at Disrupt Berlin! But before we outline the details, please just be aware that our final batch of Disrupt Berlin 2017 tickets at the deeply discounted rate of two for the price of one are ending soon. Yes, that’s two whole Disrupt tickets for the price of one. To them enter your email address here on or before September 5th. So you’d better hurry! [ TechCrunch ] Jeff Raider On How Harry's Wants To Cut Shaving Industry CompetitionJeff Raider, formerly of Warby Parker, took his success at the eyeglass startup and leveraged it to launch razor company Harry's. It's a risky endeavor considering the space is dominated by industry giant Gillette, ranked number 29 on Forbes most valuable brands list at $19.2 billion in 2017. Online rival, Dollar Shave Club, has already been making waves in the industry with their subscription box model but Harry's hopes to set their subscription business apart based on one factor: craftsmanship. [ Forbes ] A German startup building an electric jet taxi just raised $90 millionLilium, a German aviation startup developing an electric car-sized aircraft, has been backed by investors with $90 million (£70 million). Founded by four entrepreneurs in 2015, Lilium is a Munich-based startup with a patented mini aircraft that can take off and land vertically (like a helicopter), but also fly like a plane once airborne. [ Business Insider ] Recode Daily: Trump takes on Dreamers, Reid Hoffman takes on TrumpPresident Trump is expected to announce plans to end DACA today. Defying a chorus of corporate executives and critics in Congress, Trump wants to roll back the Obama-era protections that protect some 800,000 young undocumented “Dreamers” from being deported. Apple CEO Tim Cook called for a “solution rooted in American values,” noting that 250 of his “co-workers” would be affected by the change in policy. [Tony Romm / Recode] Cap Tables, Share Structures, Valuations, Oh My! A Case Study of Early-Stage FundingFor many entrepreneurs, especially first-time founders, raising outside capital can be daunting. Between all of the new vocabulary – like “term sheets,” “capitalization tables,” “pro rata,” and different valuation metrics – and the very real legal implications of the agreements being signed, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. [ CrunchBase ] A 25-year-old CEO emailed Mark Cuban to pitch his anti-fake-news startup for investment — and it workedMost investors won't even consider a startup pitch unless they know the founders or have had a "warm intro" to them. But 25-year-old Dhruv Gulati may be the exception to the rule, after he emailed billionaire investor Mark Cuban without any introduction to pitch his anti-fake-news startup Factmata — and persuaded Cuban to invest. [ Business Insider ] How Blockchain Is Kickstarting the Financial Lives of RefugeesWhy S'well Could Have Become a $100 Million Dollar Company Only in New YorkWhy is Silicon Valley obsessed with biohacking?Why investors gave Varun Dua $30 million even before he launched his startupElectric flying car startup gets Chinese cashTwo young investors launch new VC fund for deep tech startups[PODCAST] Hutong (Ad)Ventures – Episode 05: Mike Zhang |