AngelList Creator Naval Ravikant Backs S&P-Style Cryptocurrency FundA startup led by former Facebook and Google employees is launching a cryptocurrency index fund. Backed by AngelList founder Naval Ravikant, Bitwise Asset Management is today coming out of stealth mode to reveal its first product, the Bitwise Hold10 Private Index Fund – a market cap-weighted basket of the top 10 cryptocurrencies by network value. With the launch, investors who participate in the fund will own shares meant to reflect the value of the underlying assets, allowing them to achieve what BitWise argues is a broad exposure to the cryptocurrency market. The fund's co-founders are Hunter Horsley, a former Facebook and Instagram product manager and Wharton graduate, and Hong Kim, a Google veteran and former Korean military software security expert. One of the key goals of the fund, Horsley said is to create a way for investors to gain exposure to cryptocurrency with the ease and economy of investing in an S&P 500 index fund. [ Coindesk ] India's Ola Raises $2 Billion From SoftBank, TencentOla scored $2 billion in new funding from a group of investors including SoftBank Group Corp. and Tencent Holdings Ltd., according to a person familiar with the matter, helping to bankroll Uber Technologies Inc.’s fiercest rival in India. Other backers in the ride-hailing startup’s latest financing round included a venture capital fund jointly run by Indian industrialist Ratan Tata and the University of California’s investment arm, as well as several U.S. institutional investors, people familiar with the deal said, asking not to be identified talking about a private deal. The company’s valuation after the financing wasn’t immediately clear. [ Bloomberg ] Women-focused dating app Bumble just launched its LinkedIn killer, 'Bumble Bizz'Bumble Bizz will live inside Bumble's app and will work just like the original Bumble and Bumble's friendship-focused section, BFF. Users will see people that are in their geographic location and are open to networking or mentoring. Then, users can swipe left or right depending on whether they're interested in connecting. [ Business insider ] Ben Narasin joins venture firm NEABen Narasin has joined the Silicon Valley office of venture capital giant New Enterprise Associates, Axios has learned. No comment yet from the firm, but he already has a listing in its voicemail directory. Who? Narasin is a dotcom vet (founded FashionMall.com) who later served as president of TriplePoint Capital and spent two years as a general partner with Canvas Ventures. He also has been an active angel investor, having been involved in seed rounds for companies like Zenefits and Kinnek. [ Axios ] Social Capital Hires a Partner to Lead Its New Growth UnitJust three months after hiring longtime tech exec Tony Bates to run its new growth arm, Social Capital has made another senior addition to the team. Sandhya Venkatachalam has joined the firm as a partner leading growth investing. Previously, she was one of the founding partners at private investment firm Centerview Capital. Venkatachalam will report to Bates, whom she’d previously worked with at Skype and Cisco. Bitcoin Bug Bites Japan and South Korea as China Clamps DownUntil recently, China was a center of Bitcoin activity while the rest of Asia looked on with little interest. Now, the tables have turned. The Chinese government has been clamping down on virtual currency activity at the same time that hundreds of thousands of Japanese have thrown themselves into Bitcoin trading, making Japan’s main Bitcoin exchange, bitFlyer, the largest in the world in recent weeks by some methods of counting. [ NY Times ] Here's The Top-Secret Report Of What Uber Knew Before It Acquired A Controversial Trucking StartupA key top-secret report that Uber fought to keep out of the public's eye was finally revealed late on Tuesday, ending months of speculation as to how much Uber knew about the self-driving truck company at the heart of a lawsuit. Waymo had sued Uber in February accusing it of misappropriation of trade secrets, following the acquisition of a self-driving truck startup called Otto. The cofounder of Otto, Anthony Levandowski, eventually became head of Uber's self-driving car efforts. Waymo has accused Levandowski of downloading 14,000 documents before he left Google and supposedly taking them to Uber. [ Forbes ] Why did Ellen Pao lose her gender discrimination lawsuit? ‘People were not ready’In 2015, when investor Ellen Pao lost her $16 million gender discrimination lawsuit against the venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, it seemed like a major defeat for women in tech seeking more inclusion, with some VCs privately deciding to hire fewer women as a result. On the latest episode of Recode Decode, hosted by Kara Swisher, Pao said the lawsuit nevertheless started a conversation about systemic bias in Silicon Valley, giving others the courage to report their own experiences. Pao recently released a book about the court battle and its aftermath, “Reset: My Fight for Inclusion and Lasting Change.” [ Re/Code ] "It's Really Important Not To Be Afraid Of Conflict," Says 23andMe CofounderDara Khosrowshahi takes flight: Uber CEO heads for London to deal with company’s latest crisisPeople of color — especially women — aren’t being promoted in tech as fast as they should beCRISPR-Focused Biotech Co-Founded By Forbes Under 30 Alumnus Raises $76 MillionThe problems healthtech and biotech startups in Australia are solvingWalmart has acquired the logistics startup Parcel to help launch same-day delivery in New York CityThe United States’ Share Of Global Early-Stage Capital Slips AgainFacebook's Zuckerberg Asks Forgiveness Amid Russia ProbeHow early-stage startups can make the most of their limited marketing spendShopify S-1 Analysis - Smiling All The Way To $10BPower move: Ex-Uber CEO appoints two directors to company's boardTo This Saudi Startup, Allowing Women To Drive Is A Game Changer |