Fundings & Exits – TechCrunch
Pokémon Go creator raises $200 million ahead of Harry Potter game launch
Pokémon Go creator Niantic has raised a new $200 million in funding, reports The Wall Street Journal. The Series B raise was led by Spark Capital, and includes participation from Founders Fund, Meritech, Javelin Venture Capital, You & Mr. Jones and NetEase, Inc. Spark partner Megan Quinn is also joining Niantic’s board as part of the new financing deal.
Niantic is known for its… Read MoreSource: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/techcrunch/fundings-exits/~3/-ETJmW3OXF8/
Mobile payment and loyalty platform Yoyo Wallet integrates with Starling Bank
In another example of Starling Bank jumping on the Open Banking/PSD2 train before legislation in the U.K. and Europe next year will force banks to do so, it is launching its latest API partnership: this time with Yoyo Wallet, the U.K.-based mobile payment and loyalty platform. Read MoreSource: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/techcrunch/fundings-exits/~3/KsvYv3lb0T0/
Indian home healthcare platform Portea Medical raises $26M Series C
Portea Medical, one of India’s biggest platforms for home healthcare visits, has raised $26 million in Series C funding to expand its service range. The round was led by Sabre Partners and MEMG CDC, with participation from returning investors Accel (which led Portea’s Series B two years ago), the World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation and Qualcomm Ventures. Read MoreSource: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/techcrunch/fundings-exits/~3/31ZdrABFJuA/
The rise of SPACs
Every few years efforts to redefine the IPO emerge, and as night follows day, investors get hurt and calls for tighter regulatory reform echo in legislative chambers and cable TV studios. The last significant “re-invention” emerged in the height of the dot-com boom when online brokers started selling newly issued shares directly to retail customers. We all know how that ended. Read MoreSource: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/techcrunch/fundings-exits/~3/fjYyrehpsNY/
PacketZoom lands $5M Series A investment to speed up mobile apps
PacketZoom, a startup that helps app developers speed up and optimize app delivery on mobile devices, announced a $5M Series A today. The round was led by Baseline Ventures with participation from First Round Capital, Tandem Capital and Arafura Ventures. Today’s investment brings the total raised to over $9M, according to Crunchbase. The company combines a content delivery network (CDN)… Read MoreSource: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/techcrunch/fundings-exits/~3/QR0m_ijuL1w/
Ten years on: Seedcamp outs new £41M seed fund and says it’s ready to invest in tokens
The London-based VC firm recently sold its first two funds to Draper Esprit, and today is announcing the first close of a new £41 million fund, double the size of its last. This year the VC is also celebrating its 10 year anniversary. Read MoreSource: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/techcrunch/fundings-exits/~3/mroUEq_O6DY/
Lightform raises $5M to turn old projectors into augmented reality machines
In Blade Runner 2049, one of the more interesting stylistic choices was how the film imagined futuristic augmented reality. While the Microsofts and Googles of our real dystopian world are currently approaching AR tech with headsets and smart glasses, Blade Runner 2049 relied entirely on external projection. This vision of the future may still seem a tad concerning, but it’s good news… Read MoreSource: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/techcrunch/fundings-exits/~3/V8CJ61t864M/
Apple acquired augmented reality headset startup Vrvana for $30M
As Apple reportedly ramps up work to ship an augmented reality headset in 2020, it has acquired a startup from Montreal, Canada that could help it get there. TechCrunch has learned that Apple has acquired Vrvana, maker of the Totem headset — which had rave reviews but never shipped. The deal was for around $30 million, two sources tell TechCrunch. We contacted Apple, and the… Read MoreSource: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/techcrunch/fundings-exits/~3/Ouem6Z3eJy0/
ADAY aims to simplify your wardrobe with $2M in funding
ADAY, a fresh entrant in the highly competitive world of direct-to-consumer fashion, has raised $2 million in new funding for its mission to simplify wardrobes with a line of durable, technical and chic womenswear. The company is the latest in an ever-expanding movement of startups that offer direct-to-consumer products for the fashion-conscious consumer. Read MoreSource: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/techcrunch/fundings-exits/~3/CAIHNIHnIv4/
Company raises $347K ICO, vanishes
A company called Confido raised a small ICO by selling special CFD designed to allow “safe and trustless cryptocurrency payments. According to ICODrops they raised their goal of about $400,000 and quickly disappeared, taking the cash with it. The site is currently a parked web server that points to nothing. The apparent founder and former eBay employee, Joost van Doorn, posted a message to… Read MoreSource: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/techcrunch/fundings-exits/~3/vOj7-USgfJE/
Instagram co-founder Kevin Systrom has backed the U.K. challenger bank Monzo
Monzo, one of a number of “challenger” banks in the U.K. aiming to re-invent the current account, is assembling quite an array of backers, many with a U.S. bent. Its most recent round, which gave the startup a £280 million post-money valuation, saw the likes of Goodwater Capital, Stripe, and Michael Moritz invest, and before that Thrive Capital became a backer. Now TechCrunch… Read MoreSource: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/techcrunch/fundings-exits/~3/ss9x4HSLHgo/
Baidu and electric vehicle startup NIO lead $195M investment in Chinese limo booking app
Chinese internet giant Baidu is continuing its push into the automotive space after it led a RMB 1.3 billion ($195 million) Series B investment in Shouqi Limousine & Chauffeur, an offshoot of the state-owned Shouqi Group which was Beijing’s first licensed ride-hailing app. NIO Capital, the investment arm of billion-dollar electric car startup NIO, and Silk Road Huachuang joined… Read MoreSource: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/techcrunch/fundings-exits/~3/0MjE_kvMRGE/
Japanese pawn shop app Cash acquired for $62.2M by DMM
DMM, one of Japan’s largest Internet and e-commerce conglomerates, announced today that it will pay 7 billion yen (about $62.2 million) for pawn shop app Cash. Launched this summer, Cash’s software automatically appraises an item’s value based on user photos and offers a cash advance using it as collateral. Read MoreSource: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/techcrunch/fundings-exits/~3/RmNl8a0AR4A/
Scalyr scores $20M Series A for super-fast log reading tool
In a time where every startup seems to be using machine learning to sift through massive amounts of data, Scalyr is a cloud-based service that is taking a different approach. It has built a tool the founder claims can sort through massive amounts of log data at lightning speed when compared to conventional logging tools — and it doesn’t require machine learning to make it… Read MoreSource: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/techcrunch/fundings-exits/~3/A54Ug1k-pOM/
Monzo’s latest round included £11M in secondary as founding employees partly cash in
Earlier this month, U.K.-based challenger bank Monzo announced that it had raised a further £71 million in a round led by Goodwater Capital, giving the startup a post-money valuation of £280 million. However, what wasn’t reported at the time was that the round included £11 million in secondary investment, meaning that only £60 million entered the company’s balance sheet and… Read MoreSource: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/techcrunch/fundings-exits/~3/habNhLJEy5g/
What is an IPO pop and why do VCs hate it so much?
Over the weekend, several VCs tweeted that my headline recapping Stitch Fix’s first day of trading was too harsh. The headline read, “Stitch Fix up just 1% on first day of trading, after reducing size of IPO.” I didn’t say it “fumbled” or label it as “weak” and “disappointing” like many other media publications, but that would… Read MoreSource: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/techcrunch/fundings-exits/~3/hEcinGGhd9A/
Tech In Asia raises $6.6M led by Korean conglomerate Hanwha
Tech In Asia, the Singapore-based media and events startup, has closed $6.6 million in fresh funding. The lead investor is a name that may not be too familiar to regular readers (yet) and that’s Hanwha Investment and Securities. The fund is an affiliate of Hanwha, a Korean conglomerate which started out in explosives in 1952 but has since expanded into a range of verticals including (now)… Read MoreSource: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/techcrunch/fundings-exits/~3/kKJS0dLQ5HQ/
Southeast Asia’s aCommerce lands $65M led by KKR-backed Emerald Media
Southeast Asia-based aCommerce, a startup that helps brands get into e-commerce and digital media in the fast-growing region, has pulled in $65 million in new funding led by Emerald Media, an Asian firm backed by global investor KKR.
The Series B deal takes Bangkok-based aCommerce to $94 million raised to date. Existing backers Blue Sky, MDI Ventures and Switzerland-based DKSH also took… Read MoreSource: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/techcrunch/fundings-exits/~3/My0Okl6VKSA/
Alibaba invests $2.9B in hypermarket operator Sun Art to continue its offline retail push
Alibaba is continuing its expansion into offline retail after the Chinese e-commerce giant bought up more than one-third of one of Chinese most prolific operators of hypermarket stores. The firm announced today it has spent HK$22.4 billion (around US$2.88 billion) to acquire of 36.16 percent in Sun Art Retail Group, a Hong Kong-listed business that operates 446 hypermarkets across 224… Read MoreSource: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/techcrunch/fundings-exits/~3/vrCAJzCAlNI/
Zego picks up £6M Series A led by Balderton for its gig economy worker insurance
Zego, the London-based startup that appears to have spotted a gaping insurance hole in the so-called gig economy, has raised £6 million in Series A funding. The round was led by Balderton Capital, with participation from existing backers, including LocalGlobe and unnamed angel investors in the insurance sector. The company plans to use the new capital to increase engineering and other… Read MoreSource: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/techcrunch/fundings-exits/~3/njAJudSqd5o/
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