TechCrunch Startup News
3,873 episodes — Page 49 of 78
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
Serverless Stack raises $1M for open-source application framework
Open-source framework startup Serverless Stack announced Friday that it raised $1 million in seed funding from a group of investors that includes Greylock Partners, SV Angel and Y Combinator. The company was founded in 2017 by Jay V and Frank Wang in San Francisco, and they were part of Y Combinator’s 2021 winter batch. Serverless […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
i80 Group has quietly committed $1B in credit to the fintech and proptech worlds
Not every startup wants to raise venture capital. And then there are those that do want to raise VC money but don’t want to use it for specific things. In recent years, a number of firms have emerged looking to meet the credit needs of such venture-backed and growth startups: i80 Group is one of […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Mural raises $50M Series C after tripling its ARR in the last year
This morning Mural, a startup that builds digital collaboration software with a focus on visual presentation, announced that it has closed a $50 million Series C. The new capital, co-led by prior investors Insight Partners and Tiger Global, values the startup at more than $2 billion. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Spendesk raises $118 million for its corporate spend management service
French startup Spendesk has announced earlier today that it has raised a $118 million funding round (€100 million) led by General Atlantic. Overall, the company has raised $189 million (€160 million) since its inception. Existing investors Index Ventures and Eight Road Ventures participated once again in today’s funding round. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Okendo raises $5.3M to help D2C brands ween themselves off of Big Tech customer data
While direct-to-consumer growth has exploded in the past year, some brands are finding there’s still plenty of room to forge ahead in building a more direct relationships with their customers. Sydney-based Okendo has made a splash in this world by building out a popular customer reviews systems for Shopify sellers, but it’s aiming to expand […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Little Spoon scoops up $44M to grow its children’s nutrition delivery service
The quest to disrupt the traditional baby food aisle continues as more of today’s parents seek out nutritional food for their children. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Metal 3D printing company Fabric8Labs raises $19M
Fabric8Labs this morning announced that it has raised $19.3 million. The Series A was led by Intel Capital and features Lam Capital, TDK Ventures, SE Ventures, imec.xpand, Stanley Ventures and Mark Cuban. It follows $4 million in seed funding raised in mid-2018. The San Diego-based startup specializes in metal 3D printing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
CityRow raises $12M for connected rowing machines and studios
Founded in 2014 as an in-person rowing studio, CityRow was relatively early to adopt the at-home connected model. The New York-based company launched a digital platform in 2018, two years before the pandemic completely transformed the way many of us work out. Of course, things have been trending that way a while, but 2020 accelerated […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
LeagueApps raises $15M to be the ‘operating system’ for youth sports organizations
Youth sports are an integral part of our communities, bringing families together and helping kids all over gain confidence and skills. Most of us don’t think about all the work that goes into setting up, growing and maintaining these leagues. It’s a lot. Today, LeagueApps, which aims to be the operating system for youth sports […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Rise Gardens grows with $9M Series A to help anyone be an indoor farmer
As more consumers embrace plant-based diets and sustainable food practices, Rise Gardens is giving anyone the ability to have a green thumb from the comfort of their own home. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Taste intelligence startup Halla closes $4.5M Series A1 to predict which grocery items shoppers will buy
Halla wants to answer the question of how people decide what to eat and now has $4.5 million in fresh Series A1 capital from Food Retail Ventures to do it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Lightyear nabs $13M Series A as online network procurement takes shape
It seems like everything is being pushed online now, but network procurement stubbornly has remained an in-person or phone-based negotiation. Lightyear, an early stage New York City startup decided to change that last year, and the company announced a $13.1 million Series A today. The round was led by Ridge Ventures with participation from Zigg […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Shopmonkey raises $75M Series C to help auto repair shops streamline their business
Walking into an auto repair shop can sometimes feel like taking a step into the past. The handwritten notes and receipts, the clunky point-of-sales system and scheduling tools — if those are even there — can make customers feel like they’re in the 1990s, not the 21st century. Shopmonkey is trying to change that. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Gourmey is a cell-based poultry startup working on lab-grown foie gras
Meet Gourmey, a new French startup that recently raised a $10 million founding round in equity and debt. The startup is working on meat grown in laboratories from animal cells. In particular, the company is focusing on poultry and aims to convince chefs that they should use the company’s products in their restaurants. “We’ve been […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Cadoo gets $1.5M to gamify fitness with betting challenges
Cadoo, a US-startup that’s gamifying fitness by turning it into a betting opportunity, using the prospect of winning (or losing) cold hard cash to motivate people to get off the couch, has collected $1.5 million in seed funds from Sam & Max Altman’s Apollo VC and the student-focused Dorm Room Fund. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Looking Glass launches second-gen holographic displays
Brooklyn-based Looking glass today announced the release of a pair of second-gen holographic displays. Following up on late-last year’s release of the entry-level Portrait, the startup is offering new versions of the Looking Glass 4K and 8K systems, which sport 15.6- and 32-inch displays, respectively. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Sourcegraph raises $125M Series D on $2.6B valuation for universal code search tool
Sourcegraph, a late stage startup that wants to bring the power of search to code, announced a $125 million Series D investment today on a $2.625 billion valuation, a 3x growth from its previous valuation in December 2020, according to the company. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Mighty Buildings lands $22M to create ‘sustainable and affordable’ 3D-printed homes
Oakland-based Mighty Buildings, which is on a quest to build homes using 3D printing, robotics and automation, has raised a $22 million extension to its Series B round of funding. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
VU raises $12M to remove cybersecurity friction from digital experiences
Pretty soon, people won’t have to provide a fingerprint or a driver’s license to prove their identity — if VU has its way. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Dovetail, the venture studio that has worked with startups like Afterpay, is raising a new fund
Based in Sydney and Auckland, Dovetail is a full-service venture studio that works closely with founders who have a great idea, but may lack technical backgrounds. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Cloud security platform Netskope boosts valuation to $7.5B following $300M raise
Netskope, focused on Secure Access Service Edge architecture, announced Friday a $300 million investment round on a post-money valuation of $7.5 billion. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
r2c raises $27M to scale its security-focused code analysis service
This morning r2c, a startup building a SaaS service around the Semgrep open-source project, announced that it has closed a $27 million Series B. Felicis led the round, which the company said was a pre-emptive deal. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Rootly nabs $3.2M seed to build SRE incident management solution inside Slack
As companies look for ways to respond to incidents in their complex micro services-driven software stacks, SREs or site reliability engineers are left to deal with the issues involved in making everything work and keeping the application up and running. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Younited Credit raises $170 million for its data-driven credit offering
French startup Younited Credit has raised a $170 million funding round. Goldman Sachs is leading the round with existing investors Eurazeo, Bpifrance and AG2R La Mondiale also participating. The company offers several credit products to European consumers. It also has a diversified distribution strategy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
WellSaid attracts $10M A round for higher quality synthetic speech
WellSaid Labs, whose tools create synthetic speech that could be mistaken for the real thing, has raised a $10M Series A to grow the business. The company’s home-baked text-to-speech engine works faster than real time and produces natural-sounding clips of pretty much any length, from quick snippets to hours-long readings. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Lacuna raises $16 million in Series A to help cities manage mobility via digital twin
Lacuna Technologies, a startup that helps cities create and enforce transportation policies by building and managing open-source digital tools, has raised $16 million in a Series A round, bringing the company’s total investment to $33.5 million. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Satellite operator Planet to go public in $2.8B SPAC merger
Planet, which operates a network of around 200 satellites that provides Earth imaging, as well as analytics of the data derived from that observation, is going public in a merger with special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) dMY Technology Group IV. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Didi app pulled from app stores in China after suspension order
China has ordered app-store operators to remove the app of Didi from their stores, the latest as tension escalates between the nation’s largest ride-hailing giant and local regulators. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
E-commerce logistics startup Locad gets $4.5M seed round led by Sequoia Capital India
E-commerce is booming in Southeast Asia, but in many markets, the fragmented logistics industry is struggling to catch up. This means sellers run into roadblocks when shipping to buyers, especially outside of major metropolitan areas, and managing their supply chains. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Tinybird turns raw data into realtime API at scale
Meet Tinybird, a new startup that helps developers build data products at scale without having to worry about infrastructure, query time and all those annoying issues that come up once you deal with huge data sets. The company ingests data at scale, lets you transform it using SQL and then exposes that data through API […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Edtech startup Microverse raises $12.5M to bring income share agreements to the developing world
Edtech startup Microverse has tapped new venture funding in its quest to help train students across the globe to code through its online school which requires zero upfront cost, instead relying on an income-share agreement which kicks in when students find a job. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Singularity 6 raises $30M to fund upcoming fantasy ‘community simulation’ MMO
LA-based game studio Singularity 6 has banked more funding as it scales itself up and readies for the launch of its debut title. The startup tells TechCrunch, they’ve raised $30 million in a Series B bout of funding led by FunPlus Ventures. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Demand Curve: Email marketing tactics that convert subscribers into customers
Email has the highest return on investment than any other marketing channel because you have a captive audience who has opted-in to you communicating with them. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Codat raises $40M from Tiger for its SMB-focused API service
This morning Codat, a startup that provides APIs to link small-business fintech data to external services, announced that it has closed a $40 million round led by Tiger Global. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Rocket startup Gilmour Space raises $46M Series C to take small launch vehicle to orbit
Australian rocket launch startup Gilmour Space Technologies is betting that bigger isn’t always better. The company has developed a small launch vehicle it calls Eris, a 25 meter (82 foot) rocket that can deliver payload of up to 215 kilograms (474 lbs) to sun synchronous orbit. Now, it’s raised a $61 million AUD ($46 million […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices