Korean conglomerate SK leads $600M round for Chinese chipmaker Horizon Robotics
Horizon Robotics, a three-year-old Chinese startup backed by Intel Capital, just raised a mega-round of funding from domestic and overseas backers as it competes for global supremacy in developing AI solutions and chips aimed at autonomous vehicles, smart retail stores, surveillance equipment and other devices for everyday scenarios. The Beijing-based company announced Wednesday in a statement that it hauled in $600 million in a Series B funding round led by SK China,
the China subsidiary of South Korean conglomerate SK Group; SK Hynix, SK’s semiconductor unit; and a number of undisclosed Chinese automakers along with their funds. [ Tech Crunch ] Checkout 15K+ Venture Capital Data on our platform.
Seven Questions with BryanSchreier
MEET BRYAN
After a great run at Google, Bryan Schreier joined Sequoia in 2008 to help build companies including Dropbox and Qualtrics from their early days. He’s played in bands since his childhood, and music continues to be the epicenter of his social and family life. Rumor has it he also backs up Drew Houston at the Sequoia Base Camp sing along each year.
What is something you’ve learned that you lean on daily?
Q1
Early in my career, I started to put everything I need to get done on checklists. I have a few of them in my “to-do” app. One lists the most important things I want to get done today, and another lists people I need to call. I set up my phone and browser tabs so I see the checklists before emails or texts. [ Sequoia ]Checkout 15K+ Venture Capital Data on our platform.
Y Combinator accidentally let 15,000 people into an exclusive program — and now has decided to do it on purpose
When Y Combinator accidentally admitted 15,000 people to its 3,000-person Startup School online program last summer due to an almost funny technical glitch, it was an embarrassing moment for one of Silicon Valley’s marquee brands, and a rollercoaster of an experience for emotionally vulnerable startup founders. The accepted founders should have been rejected. The rejected founders should have been accepted. Emails and texts were flying in fast. [
Re/code ] Checkout 15K+ Venture Capital Data on our platform.
Two Austin-based VC Firms Are Each Raising $100M Funds
Texas startups will soon have two new sources for capital. Crunchbase News has learned that two Austin-based venture capital firms, ATX Seed Ventures and Quake Capital, are in the process of each raising $100 million funds. The news comes off a period in which the Austin tech scene saw a number of wins. Tech giants Apple and Google recently committed to expanding their presence in the Texas capital in a big way. And, venture investing in the city is picking up at an impressive pace. In January alone, Austin startups raised nearly as much as was raised in all of the 2018 fourth quarter. Checkout 15K+ Venture Capital Data on our platform.
Anitian, a Cloud Security and Compliance Automation Company, Lands $11 Million Series A Investment from ForgePoint Capital
Anitian, a cloud security and compliance automation company, announced today that it has secured $11 million in Series A funding from ForgePoint Capital, a Silicon Valley venture capital firm that specializes in investing in cybersecurity startups. [ PR Web ]
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The Most Active Corporate VC Firms Globally
The corporate venture capital ecosystem is expanding far beyond the likes of GV and Intel Capital. The number of new corporate venture arms reached record levels in 2018, according to our latest CB Insights Corporate Venture Capital Report. New CVC firms spanned across a variety of verticals, from logistics and shipping (Maersk Ventures), to auto and mobility (Porsche Ventures), to cryptocurrency exchanges (Coinbase Ventures). [ CB Insights ]
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SoFi founder Mike Cagney’s new company, Figure, just raised another $65 million
Figure, a 13-month-old, San Francisco-based company that says it uses blockchain technology to provide home equity loans online in as little as five days, has raised a whole lot of money in not a lot of time: $120 million to date, including $65 million in fresh funding from RPM Ventures and partners at DST Global, with participation from DCG, Nimble Ventures, Morgan Creek, and earlier investors Ribbit Capital and DCM. [ Tech Crunch ] Checkout 15K+ Venture Capital Data on our platform.
Karn Saroya on the Capital-Light Way to Start an Insurance Business
How Investors Think About Ideas - Kevin Hale
Presto raises $30M to bring its AI platform and tabletop ordering hardware to restaurant chains
The “restaurant of the future” may elicit thoughts of a chrome diner with robot servers and an otherwise hefty amount of Tokyo futurist kitsch, but the fact is that the forthcoming sit-down dining experience may just end up looking a lot like ordering from a takeout app. [ Tech Crunch ] Checkout 15K+ Venture Capital Data on our platform.
Insight Venture Buys Portfolio From Israel-Based Venture Firm Genesis Partners
It takes a lot more than a good idea and the right timing to build a billion-dollar company. Talent, focus, operational effectiveness and a healthy dose of luck are all components of a successful tech startup. Many of the most successful (or, at least, highest-valued) tech unicorns today didn’t get there alone. [ Calcalis tech ] Checkout 15K+ Venture Capital Data on our platform.
Innovative sex toys aren’t a joke, says Lora DiCarlo CEO Lora Haddock
On the latest episode of Recode Decode, Recode’s Kara Swisher spoke with Lora Haddock, the founder and CEO of a sex toy startup called Lora DiCarlo. Last year, the company was told it had won a CES innovation award for its first product, Osé, but the trade group that runs CES — the Consumer Technology Association — overruled the judges and revoked the award. [ Re/Code ] Checkout 15K+ Venture Capital Data on our platform.
This is the Stanford thesis presentation that launched Juul
Against a backdrop of public backlash and looming federal regulations, the world’s biggest e-cigarette manufacturer has released video of the original thesis presentation that launched Juul, with the hopes of making the case that its purpose is to do no harm — or at least less harm. [ Tech Crunch ] Checkout 15K+ Venture Capital Data on our platform.
New Zealand-founded 90 Seconds raises $28 million Series B round
New Zealand-founded, Singapore-based video production startup 90 Seconds has raised US$20 million ($28 million) in Series B funding from a mix of new and existing investors, including AirTree Ventures, Sequoia India, Qualgro Venture Capital, and Right Click Capital. [ Startup Daily ]
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Female-Led Rockets Of Awesome Raises $19.5M Series C With Foot Locker Leading The Way
Rockets of Awesome, which operates a clothing subscription service and e-commerce site for kids, is the latest recipient of funding from Foot Locker Inc. New York-based Rockets of Awesome announced today that it has raised a $19.5 million Series C, with the shoe retailer contributing a $12.5 million “minority investment.” The round, which also included participation from existing backers General Catalyst, Forerunner Ventures, August Capital, brings
the company’s total funding raised to $49 million since its inception in 2016. Actress Gwyneth Paltrow also previously invested in the company. [ Crunchbase ] Checkout 15K+ Venture Capital Data on our platform.
Scaleworks Raises Larger, $80M Fund II To Pursue Its ‘Venture Equity’ Model
Non-traditional venture capital and alternative startup investment strategies are booming. Here’s a quick look at one such effort. Scaleworks, a company that deals financially with SaaS businesses, announced its second fund this week. The new capital pool, dubbed “Fund II,” totals $80 million. That’s $20 million larger than its first $60 million fund, which closed two years ago this month. [ Crunchbase ] Checkout 15K+ Venture Capital Data on our platform.
British email security startup Tessian raises $42 million from Sequoia
The US-based VC firm Sequoia Capital has led a $42 million funding round in Tessian, a cybersecurity startup headquartered in London; Latitude, Balderton Capital, and Accel also participated in the round. The deal was first reported by TechCrunch in January and confirmed by the company today. Founded in 2013 and formerly known as CheckRecipient, Tessian applies machine learning to enterprise email security in order to eliminate threats like spear phishing and
misdirected emails. Simply speaking, Tessian analyses the historical email data and then looks for anomalies in further communications in real time. [ Tech.eu ] Checkout 15K+ Venture Capital Data on our platform.
Threads emerges from stealth with $10.5M from Sequoia for a new take on enabling work conversations
The rapid rise of Slack has ushered in a new wave of apps, all aiming to solve one challenge: creating a user-friendly platform where coworkers can have productive conversations. Many of these are based around real-time notifications and “instant” messaging, but today a new startup called Threads coming out of stealth to address the other side of the coin: a platform for asynchronous communication that is less time-sensitive, and creating coherent narratives out of those conversations. [ Tech Crunch ] Checkout 15K+ Venture Capital Data on our platform.
Maritime Transport Company ZIM Backs Shipping Optimization Startup Ladingo
Israeli maritime cargo transport company ZIM Integrated Shipping Services Ltd. has led a $1 million seed round for shipping optimization startup Ladingo Ltd., the companies announced Wednesday. [ Calcalis Tech ] Checkout 15K+ Venture Capital Data on our platform.
GV leads $15 million investment in stealth Canadian cybersecurity startup Cmd
A Canadian cybersecurity startup is emerging from stealth today with a fresh $15 million in funding from Alphabet investment arm GV, with participation from startup studio Expa, Amplify Partners, and a host of additional “strategic investors.” [ Venture Beat ]
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Cequence Security hauls in $17M Series B investment to help protect applications
Cequence Security, a startup that helps companies protect applications against business logic attacks, announced a $17 million Series B investment today. The round was by led by Dell Technologies Capital with participation from Shasta Ventures, the firm that led the company’s $8 million Series A round last year. Today’s investment brings the total raised to $30 million, according to the company. [ Tech Crunch ] Checkout 15K+ Venture Capital Data on our platform.
Ionic Security raises $40 million to encrypt files accessed on the cloud
Atlanta, Georgia-based Ionic Security (formerly Social Fortress) has raised $40 million in series E financing led by JPMorgan Chase, with participation from an impressive cohort of existing and new investors, including Google and its venture capital arm, GV, along with Kleiner Perkins, Icon Ventures, Meritech Capital, TechOperators, Ten Eleven Ventures, Goldman Sachs, SunTrust Bank, and others. The company’s series D and B rounds totaled $40 million and $40.1 million, respectively, and Ionic formed a strategic technology partnership with Google Cloud back in 2017. [ Venture Beat ] Checkout 15K+ Venture Capital Data on our platform.
Untapped Opportunity: Minority Founders Still Being Overlooked
Maybe the VC community is tired of hearing about it; certainly, there are plenty of people who are tired of dealing with it. And yet, the funding landscape for minority and women-owned startups continues to underwhelm. In fact, most venture-backed startups are “still overwhelmingly white, male, Ivy League-educated and based in Silicon Valley,” according to a recent study conducted jointly by RateMyInvestor and DiversityVC. [
Crunchbase ]
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