TechCrunch Startup News
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Accounting platform Synder raises $2M to automate e-commerce bookkeeping
The company bills itself as an easy accounting platform for e-commerce businesses. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Job offer management platform Compa emerges from stealth with $3.9M
The offer management platform provides “deal desk” software for recruiters to easily manage compensation strategies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Celebrity chef Michael Chernow whips up new lifestyle brand, Kreatures of Habit, raises $2.2M
Michael Chernow is already known as a restaurateur, chef, television host and entrepreneur, but now he can also add lifestyle and wellness guru to that list. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Shares is a new stock trading app with a focus on social features
Meet Shares, a new European startup that wants to add a social twist to financial investment —Â in that case, the company means ‘social’ as in ‘social network’. The startup has been developing its product under the radar for a few months already. It is also moving at a fast pace. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Forward Kitchens cooks up $2.5M to transform existing kitchens into digital storefronts
Forward Kitchens provides a turnkey tool for restaurants to set up an online presence. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
testRigor scores $4M seed to turn a list of actions into a QA testing script
Imagine typing out of a series of steps in plain English that would reflect a list of actions a human QA tester would undertake to test an app, then turning that list into an automated testing script. That’s exactly what testRigor, a member of the Y Combinator Summer 2021 cohort has done. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
NoRedInk raises $50 million Series B to help students become better writers
“In order to become a better writer, read your written words out loud.” That’s one of the first, and best, writing tips I ever received. I always found the advice ironic because it required me to change the medium of my writing to become a better writer. Still, all these years later, it’s true: vocalizing […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Elastic acquires build.security for security policy definition and enforcement
Less than a year after raising its $6 million seed funding round, Tel Aviv and Sunnyvale-based startup Build.security is being acquired by Elastic. Financial terms of the deal are not being publicly disclosed at this time. The deal is expected to close in Elastic’s Q2 FY22, ending Oct. 31, 2021. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Givz raises $3M in seed funding to make donations a marketing tool for businesses
Givz, which has developed an API-powered platform that gives brands a way to convert discounts into donations, has raised $3 million in seed funding. Eniac and Accomplice co-led the financing for the New York-based startup. Additional investors include Supernode Ventures, Claude Wasserstein of Fine Day, Phoenix Club and Dylan Whitman. Givz was founded in 2017 […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Y Combinator-backed Adra wants to turn all dentists into cavity-finding ‘super dentists’
Adra is bringing AI into the dentist's day-to-day workflow so they can spend less time finding cavities and more time with patients. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Rutter comes out of stealth with $1.5M in funding for its e-commerce API
Rutter is developing a unified e-commerce API that enables companies to connect with data across any platform. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Diamond Age raises $8M to speed up home construction with 3D printing and robot arms
Bay Area-based Diamond Age this week announced that it has raised $8 million. The seed round is led by Prime Movers Lab and Alpaca VC and features a slew of additional firms, including Dolby Family Ventures, Calm Ventures, Gaingels, Towerview Ventures, GFA Venture Partners and Suffolk Construction. The startup looks to put a slew of […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Split.io announces $50M Series D to continue growing feature flag platform
As developers build applications, they often want to test new functionality on a limited set of users to blunt any possible negative impact or to gauge user reaction to the change before rolling it out more broadly. They use a technique called a feature flag, and Split.io, a startup that has built a platform to […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
FloodMapp wants to predict where water goes before it washes away your home
Floods are devastating. They rip asunder communities, wipe out neighborhoods, force the evacuation of thousands of people every year, and recovering them can take years — assuming recovery is possible at all. The U.S. government estimates that floods in recent decades (exclusive of hurricanes and tropical storms) have caused an estimated $160 billion in damage […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Mealworm farming company Beta Hatch raises $10M
Last time I was in Hong Kong, a startup gave me a jar of mealworms as a snack. They were crunchy and a bit odd looking (as one might expect from a jar full of baked larvae). They really didn’t offer much in the way of flavor, though, so maybe supply your own seasoning. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Food conglomerate Forward Foods becomes Starday, raises $4M
Forward Foods, creating healthy and sustainable food products, changed its name to Starday and raised $4 million in seed funding to take on “big food” incumbents. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Apple’s sustainability-focused Impact Accelerator invites first 15 Black- and brown-owned companies
Among Apple’s more recent social good initiatives is the Impact Accelerator, an effort launched about a year ago intended to find and elevate minority-owned small businesses taking on sustainability and climate change. The program now has its first 15 participants, gathered from all over the country for a three-month program and a shot at an […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Tropic picks up $25M to streamline software procurement experiences
The pandemic was a catalyst for showing companies looking to cut costs, just how much they were spending on their software tools. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Shopistry bags $2M to provide ‘headless commerce without the headaches’
Shopistry enables customers to create personalized commerce experiences accessible to all. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
ThirdAI raises $6M to democratize AI to any hardware
ThirdAI is building tools to speed up deep learning technology without the need for hardware like graphics processing units. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Kiddom grabs early revenue amid $35M Series C funding
Kiddom, a platform that offers a digital curriculum that fits the core standards required by states, announced today that it has raised a $35 million Series C round led by Altos Ventures, with participation from Owl Ventures, Khosla Ventures and Outcomes Collective. The financing came nearly three years after Kiddom’s Series B, a $15 million […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Talkdesk’s valuation jumps to $10B with Series D for smart contact centers
Talkdesk uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to improve customer service for mid-market and enterprise businesses. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Motivo raises $12.5M Series A to speed up chip design with AI
Chip design is a long slog of trial and error, taking years to bring a design to market. Motivo, a five year old startup from a chip industry veteran is creating software to speed up chip design from years to months using AI. Today the company announced a $12.5 million Series A. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Consumer goods software company Aforza bags $22M to open US headquarters
Built on Salesforce and Google Cloud platforms, consumer goods companies can use Aforza to digitally transform product distribution and customer engagement. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Space manufacturing startup Varda inks deal with Rocket Lab for three spacecraft
Orbital manufacturing startup Varda Space Industries is moving fast. Only a few weeks after announcing a $42 million Series A, Varda has signed a deal with launch company Rocket Lab for three Photon spacecraft to support the startup’s initial missions. The first spacecraft will be delivered in the first quarter of 2023, with the second […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Bite Ninja scoops up pre-seed funding to reimagine restaurant working environments
The company's remote hiring technology enable restaurants to fill last-minute drive-thru or cashier shifts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The art of startup storytelling with Julian Shapiro
"Signal is more important than frequency in an era where we're overloaded with content." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
WoodSpoon’s food delivery service cooks up support for home chefs with $14M round
The co-founders reached out to local home chefs and gathered them together in a marketplace where they could share their culture and passion of food with others. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Canopy raises $15M Series A after posting 4.5x customer growth in H1 2021
Canopy's leaders expect focused fintech products to win out over large bundles of services. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
CommandBar raises $4.8M to make web-based apps searchable
James Evans and his co-founders at CommandBar were working on a different software product when they hit a wall while trying to find certain functionalities within the software. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The first Zambian startup to get into YC is developing Africa’s first card-issuing API
More than 40 African startups from a handful of countries have gone through YC over the past decade. Zambia joins that list today, and its entrant, Union54, is a worthy first entry. Union54 (54 is a nod to the number of African countries) is a fintech company founded by Perseus Mlambo and Alessandra Martini. The […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Micromobility startup Voi raises $45 million to end sidewalk riding, improve safety
Micromobility startup Voi has raised $45 million, funds it says will be used to research and develop technology that will improve safety, keep users from riding on sidewalks and ensure scooters are properly parked. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
3 invaluable founder lessons I learned on my immigration journey
In my journey to the U.S., I became good at three things: accepting uncertainty, building resilience and maintaining a positive mental attitude. I needed them all to get my startup off the ground. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Bluecore lands $125M Series E on $1B valuation as e-commerce personalization grows
During the pandemic, especially when we were in lock down, just about every retailer had to build its online presence and do it quickly. As people move to shop online in larger numbers, being able to personalize that experience has become more crucial. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Robinhood is now a stonk
The wild swing in the price of Robinhood today appears from our vantage point to be another stonk moment. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Buildots raises $30M to put eyes on construction sites
Buildots' technology automatically validates images captured by hardhat-mounted 360-degree cameras, detecting any gaps between the original design and what's actually happening on construction sites. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Why Draper Esprit doubled down on its status as a publicly listed VC
Draper Esprit, another British venture capital firm, moved from the AIM to the LSE proper, with a secondary listing on Euronext Dublin. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Wireless charging firm Aira raises $12M
Founded in 2017, Arizona-based Aira didn’t waste any time proving out its technology. We’ve written about the company’s wireless charging a few times over the years, including the “FreePower” technology it has baked into Nomad’s charging pads, which brings a more streamlined version of the Apple’s abandoned AirPower. The tech allows for users to charge […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Planted raises another $18M to expand its growing plant-based meat empire (and add schnitzel)
Swiss alternative protein company Planted has raised its second CHF 17M (about $18.5M at present) round of the year, a “pre-B” fundraise that will help it continue its growth and debut new products. A U.S. launch is in the cards eventually but for now Planted’s exclusively European customers will be able to give its new […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Platform-as-a-service startup Porter aims to become go-to platform for deploying, managing cloud-based apps
Any DevOps team can use Porter to manage applications in the cloud, delivering the full flexibility of Kubernetes through a Heroku-like experience. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Catch takes hold of $12M to provide benefits that aren’t tied to employers
Catch is working to make sure that every gig worker has the health and retirement benefits they need. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Japanese sneaker platform SODA raises $56.4M, accquires rival Monokabu
Just half a year after leading SODA’s Series B, SoftBank Ventures Asia is raising its bet on the Tokyo-based sneaker resell platform. The early-stage venture capital arm of SoftBank Group announced today it has returned to lead SODA’s Series C, which currently totals $56.4 million. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
ConverseNow is targeting restaurant drive-thrus with new $15M round
One year after voice-based AI technology company ConverseNow raised a $3.3 million seed round, the company is back with a cash infusion of $15 million in Series A funding. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Student labor marketplace Pangea closes $2M seed round
The startup runs a marketplace that links college-age talent to companies in need of their services. Social media and web developer work are popular on the Pangea platform. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Egyptian ride-sharing company Swvl plans to go public in a $1.5B SPAC merger
Queen's Gambit Growth Capital, the women-led SPAC in charge of the deal, called Swvl 'a disruptive platform that solves complex challenges and empowers underserved populations.' Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
MedRhythms raises $25M to get patients back in tune after a stroke
The company's digital therapy platform works to measure and improve someone’s ability to walk after they have experienced a neurologic injury or disease. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Blameless raises $30M to guide companies through their software lifecycle
Blameless’ platform provides the context, guardrails and automated workflows so engineering teams are unified in the way they communicate and interact while building their software systems. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
SoftBank-backed Embark Veterinary valued at $700M after $75M Series B
Now that you have that COVID dog, Embark Veterinary wants to help him or her be in your life for a long time by offering DNA testing with the goal of increasing their lifespan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
iRocket to begin rocket engine testing at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center
Reusable rocket startup iRocket has entered into a new partnership with NASA in its quest to reach commercialization in just two years. The partnership will give iRocket access to testing facilities and engineering support, chiefly at the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The company is hoping that it will conduct its first […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Sproutl is an online marketplace for gardeners founded by former Farfetch executives
Meet Sproutl, a marketplace for gardeners living in the U.K. The startup founded by former Farfetch executives has raised a $9 million seed round. It wants to make gardening more accessible by providing a curated list of items, relevant advice as well as inspiration. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices