Benchmark raising ninth fund, Cohler and Lasky step backTwo of Benchmark Capital's longtime general partners, Matt Cohler and Mitch Lasky, are stepping back as the venerable venture capital firm raises its ninth fund. Why it matters: Cohler was one of the earliest Facebook employees, and led Benchmark's investments in companies like Dropbox, Instagram and Domo. He's also been its rep on Uber's board since late last year. Lasky, a former gaming executive, is best known at Benchmark for leading its early investment in Snapchat. [
Axios ] Google’s head of its $110B+ ads and commerce business is leaving for Greylock PartnersSridhar Ramaswamy, Google’s head of commerce, is leaving the company after more than 15 years and will be joining Greylock Partners, sources inside the company told us and Google confirmed. Ramaswamy
will become a venture partner at Greylock Partners . At Google, his position will be filled by Prabhakar Raghavan, who was previously the company’s VP of apps for Google Cloud. [ Tech Crunch ] Khosla GP Ben Ling is raising his own VC fund and it’s called Bling CapitalBen Ling has filed to raise up to $60 million for a new fund called Bling Capital. Bling has long been Ling’s nickname both professionally and among friends. The early Facebook executive is still a general partner at Khosla Ventures, the firm confirmed this morning. Ling declined to comment. [ Tech Crunch ] Startup Nation: The most valuable VC-backed company in each US stateSilicon Valley is the undisputed tech capital of the US—but that doesn't mean California is the only place that produces valuable companies. To highlight VC activity in the rest of the country, we've created an interactive map showing the most valuable venture-backed company in each state and the District of Columbia. SoftBank Asserts More Control Over StartupsSoftBank is changing the tech landscape by investing massive amounts of money in startups. Increasingly, that money is coming with more strings attached. As it deploys its nearly $100 billion Vision Fund, the investing giant is negotiating deal terms that can go to great lengths to protect its returns and give it greater control over key decisions at companies, according to a review of public documents related to 16 of SoftBank’s U.S. tech investments and people familiar with some of the deals. The strict terms, most of which haven’t been previously reported, can cut into the value of other investors’ shares. [ The Information ] Checkout SoftBank's Deals, Exits and Fund Raised Data. Benchmark is staying focused, targeting $425M for ninth fundVC powerhouse Benchmark has filed to raise $425 million for its ninth flagship fund. While other firms close billion-dollar venture funds despite a history of smaller fundraises, Benchmark is sticking to its guns. The firm, known for its early bets on Twitter, Uber, Snap and WeWork, hasn’t fallen victim to the SoftBank effect. [ Tech Crunch ] The Top 10 Rising Cities For StartupsTony Franco and his two fellow founders of SafeChain Financial joined together through a local venture accelerator in 2016. They each made career bets on blockchain technology and went in search of funding last year. Investors were attracted to the leadership team and their goal to use blockchain to solve real-world problems. The company raised $3 million in VC money despite a lack of any meaningful revenue. [ Forbes ] Bloom & Wild closes £15m equity round led by PiperBloom & Wild has received an additional £15m in equity funding led by Piper, an investor in consumer branded companies. The online flower gifting brand was co-founded in 2013 by Aron Gelbard and Ben Stanway and has so far shipped more than 50 million flowers across the UK, France and Germany. [ UK Tech ] Deals, Exits, and Fund Raised data on our platform. Logistics Startup Project44 Raises A $45M Series CChicago-based freight tracking company project44 raised $45 million in a Series C round.With over $90 million in total outside venture funding, project44 is now the shipping, logistics, or supply chain management startup with the highest amount of VC backing operating in Chicago today. [ Crunch Base ] Check out Project44's major investor - In Early Markets, Services Can Be a Competitive AdvantageIn early markets, customers prefer entire solutions, not best in class point products. These solutions often include significant professional services and education. At the beginning of a new wave, most customers don’t understand the technology well. So, they seek experts to guide them. [ Tomasz Tunguz ] |