Airbnb Promises More Cash for Employees, Plots IPO by 2020Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky told employees Thursday it will pay cash bonuses for the first time in years, a move apparently designed to address growing frustration that the hospitality startup had yet to go public. Mr. Chesky indicated that the company would aim to go public by late 2020, before some employee stock grants expire, a person close to the company said. [ The Information ] Nigerian logistics startup Kobo360 accepted into YC, raises $1.2 millionWhen Nigerian logistics startup Kobo360 interviewed for Y-Combinator’s 2018 cohort a question stood out to founder Obi Ozor. “‘What’s holding you back from becoming a Unicorn?’ they asked. My answer was simple: ‘working capital,’” said Ozor. Kobo360 was accepted into YC’s 2018 class and gained some working capital in the form of $1.2M in pre-seed funding round led by Western Technology Investment announced this week. Lagos based Verod Capital Management also joined to support Kobo360. [ Tech Crunch ] Silicon Valley VC Explains The Tokenization Of Venture Capital And Role Of Cryptocurrency Venture capitalist and serial entrepreneur, Keith Teare, is known for creating EasyNet, Europe’s first Internet Service provider, and CYBERIA, the world’s first Internet cafe. Teare was also a founding shareholder of TechCrunch, which sold to AOL in 2010. [ Forbes ] Bullpen Capital closes 4th post-seed fund at $140 million, launches ‘playoff’ fund for later-stage investmentsPost-seed funding specialist Bullpen Capital has closed its “oversubscribed” fourth fund at $140 million and announced a new fund specifically for later-round investments. Founded in 2010, Bullpen Capital was
created to plug a gap that had previously been filled by so-called “super angels” in the investment realm. The San Francisco-based VC firm targets funding rounds that sit in between seed stage and series A, injecting small chunks of cash into startups as they move toward what the company calls a “super-size A round” that it said gives founders more control over their future. Doctrine raises $11.6 million for its legal search engineFrench startup Doctrine is raising a $11.6 million funding round (€10 million) from existing investors Otium Venture and Xavier Niel. Doctrine is building a search engine for court decisions and other legal texts. This is a key tool if you’re a lawyer or you’re working in the legal industry in general. There are now a thousand companies using the service. It currently costs around €129 per user per month. [ Tech Crunch ] Silicon Valley startup that stores DNA expands with Denver acquisitionHelix, a San Carlos company that stores customers’ genetic data in the cloud, has acquired HumanCode, a Denver startup that sells a DNA test analyzing traits of parents to predict what their baby might look like. [ SF Chronicle ] EverQuote Announces Pricing of Initial Public OfferingEverQuote, Inc. ("EverQuote"), a leading online insurance marketplace in the U.S., connecting consumers with insurance providers, today announced the pricing of its initial public offering of 4,687,500 shares of its Class A common stock at a public offering price of $18 per share, before underwriting discounts and commissions. The shares are scheduled to begin trading on the Nasdaq Global Market on June 28, 2018 under the ticker symbol "EVER." EverQuote is offering 3,125,000 shares of Class A common stock and selling stockholders are offering 1,562,500 shares of Class A common stock. [ Everquote ] PeaceTechLab Funds Startups To Build Out Global Peacebuilding EffortsIn a world full of divisiveness and conflict, one organization is working to use technology to accelerate and scale peacebuilding while empowering women founders. Washington, D.C.-based PeaceTechLab is an independent nonprofit organization that brings together engineers, activists, business school graduates, conflict experts, social scientists, data scientists, and other innovators to develop effective peacebuilding solutions in an effort to reduce conflict. [ Crunchbase ] With $300 million in new funding, Bird cements status as one of nation's fastest-growing start-upslectric scooter start-up Bird has closed a $300-million round of funding, cementing the 10-month-old Venice company’s status as one of the fastest-growing technology firms in the country. The latest funding round, led by Sequoia Capital in Menlo Park, Calif., values Bird at $2 billion, according to sources close to the matter. [ LA Times] Wave Capital Launches Marketplace Focused Early Stage Venture Capital FundMeet the 32-year-old CEO of the online pharmacy Amazon just bought for $1 billionA Deeper Dive Into The Dynamics Of The Seed MarketImperfect Produce is raising fresh cashAll the VC-backed IPOs in the US so far this yearThe World's Most Ruthless Food Startup: The Inside Story of How HelloFresh Clawed Its Way to the TopHow I Grew My Startup From My Kitchen to a Multimillion-Dollar Business |