Axel Springer is investing in Magic Leap for some reasonMagic Leap is the gift that keeps on giving. The company has been working for years on augmented reality technologies and raised a gigantic pile of cash on the way. German media company Axel Springer is announcing today that it is investing an undisclosed amount in Magic Leap. The German company is taking a stake in Magic Leap through its Axel Springer Digital Ventures division. In its press release, Axel Springer says that Magic Leap represents a good opportunity when it comes to consuming journalistic content and classifieds in a novel way (though I’m not convinced people want to read about garage sales in augmented reality). [ Tech Crunch ] Instacart raises $200 million as delivery battle with Amazon loomsSan Francisco-based Instacart isn’t ready to cede an inch to rival Amazon in the battle to bring groceries to your home. According to a new report from Bloomberg, Instacart has raised a fresh, whole-range, grass-fed round of $200 million in venture capital. The funding comes just a few days after reports that Amazon is testing delivery from the Whole Foods stores it swallowed last year. [ Venture Beat ] Alibaba Affiliate Ant Financial Seeks Up to $5 Billion in Funding Chinese technology giant Ant Financial Services Group is aiming to raise as much as $5 billion in a new funding round, according to people familiar with the matter, a move that would bolster the company’s financial position as it weighs a widely anticipated initial public offering. [ WSJ ] Indonesia's Astra and GDN join Go-Jek fundraisingIndonesian conglomerate Astra International (ASII.JK) will invest $150 million in Go-Jek, it said on Monday, joining the likes of Alphabet Inc's Google (GOOGL.O) in the ride-hailing start-up's latest round of fundraising. Astra Chief Executive Prijono Sugiarto said the group had wanted to invest in Go-Jek for some time but had been looking for the right timing. E794: Max Levchin (PayPal, Affirm & investor): Thiel, Musk, fighting fraud, Yahoo, "beneficience"Phil Libin, the co-founder of Evernote, is backing an AI chat bot to help people report workplace abuseThree in four workplace harassment incidents go unreported. That’s why Phil Libin, the co-founder of Evernote, is backing a startup that aims to make it easier for people to report inappropriate behavior.But since this is Silicon Valley, the startup is creating an app powered by artificial intelligence. The chat bot will prompt people about workplace incidents and record their responses, almost like a diary. Called Spot, the app launched on Tuesday and it asks users to recount their experiences of harassment and discrimination in the workplace. Co-founders Dr. Julia Shaw, Dylan Marriott, and Dr. Daniel Nicolae think their tool can encourage people to report their experiences more quickly and accurately than they would talking to someone in the HR department. “If you’re reporting harassment and talking to a human being, there might be bias involved, they may ask leading questions, and you might not trust they’re not going to be sharing that information with something else,” said Dr. Shaw, who holds a PhD in psychology from the University of British Columbia and is a research associate at University College London. [ Re/Code ] Expanding Your Time Horizon To Scale Your StartupWhen a startup takes form, the first weeks and months and years are spent furiously. The team assembles itself. The lightbulb illuminates. It is formed and reformed again and again as customers supply feedback. Eventually the team hews the right product. The startup raises capital. Then the team returns focus to hiring, evolving the product, and closing customers. However, continuing this way isn’t the path to huge scale. There’s a critical step missing. In the early days, the founders plan each week as it comes. Customer meetings, product releases, investor pitches. Three yards and a cloud of dust. Get up. Fight for another three yards. Every damn day. [ TOMASZ TUNGUZ ] HCF Catalyst reveals healthtech startups taking part in its third program intakeCorporate accelerator Slingshot has revealed the 10 startups taking part in this year’s HCF Catalyst program, the program’s third intake. With the startups working on technology as varied as virtual reality to telehealth for midwifery services, education for trainees and junior doctors, and artificial intelligence, the launch of the program comes after KPMG Australia this week released a report on ‘healthcare reimagined’, exploring how evolving technology and consumer expectations are already shifting and will continue to shift the way healthcare is accessed and delivered. Among the drivers of change identified in the report are tech improvements, including expanding data; people and needs, including demographic shifts and trends; the idea of the patient as consumer who demands best-in-class service; market forces, with new entrants and incumbents causing disrupting and convergence; costs; and regulatory reform. [ Wired ] Uber’s latest valuation: $72 billionHow much a company is worth is always a bit of an artificial question in Silicon Valley. That’s especially true with Uber. The settlement between Alphabet’s Waymo and Uber on Friday valued the company at $72 billion, which sources involved in the negotiation say is the company’s valuation after SoftBank invested $1.25 billion in the company last month. That’s higher than had been reported. Uber was valued at $62.5 billion before accepting $3.5 billion from Saudi Arabia in June 2016. Other investors during that deal chipped in another $2.1 billion, meaning the total $5.6 billion round valued the company at $68.1 billion, post money, meaning when you include the hard cash. When Uber gave up in China and sold that region’s business to Didi, Didi invested $1 billion at the existing valuation, according to reports, which should’ve boosted the valuation to $69 billion — that is, post money. [ Re/Code ] The Future of Medicine, From a Leader in Venture CapitalEric J. Topol, MD: Hello. I am Eric Topol, editor-in-chief of Medscape. I have a thoroughly delightful chance today to interview Vinod Khosla, who many years ago started Khosla Ventures, one of the most successful venture capital firms in the world. Vinod, I think you started out in engineering in India at one of the most prestigious institutes of technology, then you went to Carnegie Mellon, and then Stanford. But engineering wasn't where you landed long-term, because at some point you started Sun Microsystems, right? [ Med Scape ] This startup wants to introduce Africa’s new contemporary artists to the world’s collectorsThe hyper-realistic pencil and ink drawings by young, unknown Nigerian and Ghanaian artists often go viral on social media. Yet, few know how to acquire their work. The founders of an innovative new art gallery want to give talented young artists a platform to sell their work, while introducing a new generation of collectors to the growing excitement around contemporary African art. Artyrama dispenses with the intimidating white walls of a traditional gallery spacy by living completely online, allowing collectors to view and sell painting, photography and other media online. “It doesn’t have to be pretentious,” says Artyrama director Lanre Fisher, who comes from a family of art collectors (his parents were avid collectors and his uncle was a patron of Nigerian artist Ben Enwonwu). [ QZ ] Small businesses not doing enough to leverage tech to keep up with consumer expectations, report finds10 Tough Questions for Venture Fund Managers #OCSummit18Venture capital investments rose in Minnesota, nationally in 2017Why Canada's handsome, feminist Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is hanging out with tech billionaire Marc BenioffSexual Harassment In The Startup Industry Really Isn't Going Away Anytime SoonThis Startup Is Dreaming of a Global Brain on BlockchainSilicon Valley Needs To Ban Forced-Arbitration Agreements. We Asked 10 Tech Companies If They WillThe Berlin start-up bringing a 70s icon backA top venture capital firm predicts these 8 trends will take over cloud computing in 2018 |