TechCrunch Startup News

Today Divvy, a Utah-based startup that focuses on corporate spend management, announced that it has closed a $165 million round at a $1.6 billion valuation. The company said that the new capital was raised from Hanaco, Schonfeld, PayPal Ventures, and Whale Rock, along with a cadre of prior investors. The new investment is not Divvy’s […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Slack did its best to ease the working world back into their jobs this morning by breaking, ensuring that everyone’s return to the grind would be as chaotic and unproductive as possible. Precisely when the downtime began is not clear, though problems amongst the TechCrunch staff began a little after ten o’clock in the morning. […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As 2020 comes to a long-awaited end, a series of filings indicate that venture capitalists are ending the year with fresh money. According to SEC paperwork, Learn Capital and USV have filed paperwork that shows the firms have raised new, multimillion-dollar funds. If you’ve been paying attention to news this past year, it’s clear that […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

CommonGround, a startup developing technology for what its founders describe as “4D collaboration,” is announcing that it has raised $19 million in funding. This isn’t the first time Amir Bassan-Eskenazi and Ran Oz have launched a startup together — they also founded video networking company BigBand Networks, which won two technology-related Emmy Awards, went public […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rocket launch startup Skyroot is closing out 2020 with a key milestone in the development program for their Vikram-I launch vehicle: A successful test firing of a solid rocket propulsion stage that serves as a demonstrator of the same tech to be used in the production Vikram. This is the first time that a private […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rendin, an Estonian proptech startup that wants to improve the home rental experience, including offering a no-deposit feature, has raised €1.2 million in seed funding. Backing the round is Tera Ventures, Iron Wolf Capital, Truesight Ventures, Atomico’s Angel Programme, and Startup Wise Guys. Launched in Estonia in March this year and currently expanding to Poland, […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The rivalry between China’s top online learning apps has become even more intense this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The latest company to score a significant funding round is Zuoyebang, which announced today (link in Chinese) that it has raised a $1.6 billion Series E+ from investors including Alibaba Group. Other participants included returning […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bandit MLÂ aims to optimize and automate the process of presenting the right offer to the right customer. The startup was part of the summer 2020 class at accelerator Y Combinator . It also raised a $1.32 million seed round in September from YC, Haystack Fund, Webb Investment Network, Liquid 2 Ventures, Jigsaw Ventures, Basecamp Fund, […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Even in a non-hell year, running a successful startup is a tremendous lift. After the events of 2020, however, no doubt many already lean businesses are hanging on by the skin of their teeth. For every company that saw increased interest in their offerings during the pandemic, there were several that simply couldn’t make it […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fluent Forever, a startup that uses a novel learning system to help its users master a new language faster, has raised a $4.9 million funding round led by Denver-based Stout Street Capital. Other investors in this round include The Syndicate, LAUNCH, Mana Ventures, Noveus VC, Flight.VC, Insta VC, UpVentures, Firebrand Ventures, Cultivation Capital, Spero Ventures […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

StepZen, a new startup from the crew who gave you Apigee (which was sold to Google in 2016 for $625 million) had a different vision for their latest company. They are building a single API that pulls data from disparate sources to help developers deliver more complex customer experiences online. Today, the startup emerged from […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bolt, a startup that offers online checkout technology to retailers, announced this morning that it has added $75 million to its Series C round, bringing the financing to a total of $125 million. WestCap and General Atlantic led the new tranche, which Bolt CEO Ryan Breslow told TechCrunch was raised at around twice its Series […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

OneTrust, the 4-year old privacy platform startup from the folks who brought you AirWatch (which was acquired by VMWare for $1.5B in 2014), announced a $300 million Series C on an impressive $5.1 billion valuation today. The company has attracted considerable attention from investors in a remarkably short time. It came out of the box […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Unlike unicorn companies, zebras are lean, efficient and consistent. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tap Network is providing a new approach to loyalty rewards programs that it describes as “rewards as a service.” You may recognize the Tap Network name, as well as its co-founder and CEO Lin Dai, from Hooch, a startup that offered a drink-a-day subscription service before shifting focus to a broader rewards program. Dai told […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

BigID has been on the investment fast track, raising $94 million over three rounds that started in January 2018. Today, that investment train kept rolling as the company announced a $70 million Series D on a valuation of $1 billion. Salesforce Ventures and Tiger Global co-led the round with participation from existing investors Bessemer Venture […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Against Gravity, the startup behind the social gaming platform Rec Room, has scored some new funding as it brings its once VR-centric platform to every major gaming platform out there. The startup has closed a $20 million Series C led by Madrona Venture Group . Existing investors including First Round Capital, Index, Sequoia and DAG […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Corporate spend management startup Ramp has raised $30 million more in a new round, it announced today. TechCrunch covered Ramp’s launch earlier this year, when it also detailed that it had raised around $23 million up to that point. The startup raised its latest round in August of 2020, with conversations about the deal kicking […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

French fintech startup Lydia has extended its Series B round. Accel is leading the extension with all major existing shareholders also participating. Lydia first raised $45 million in January 2020 — Tencent led that investment. The startup is now raising another $86 million, which means that Lydia has raised $131 million in total as part […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mike Folgner has had his share of success building video editing tools, having sold Jumpcut.com to Yahoo and SnappyTV to Twitter. But as he explained in a new Medium post, he still sees “unfinished business” in the video industry. “Today, most major productivity software categories have made the leap from desktop software to the web,” […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fintech startup Revolut is tweaking its subscription plans with a new mid-tier offering called Revolut — it costs £2.99 per month. Like N26 Smart and Monzo Plus, the new plan is a pandemic-proof package that doesn’t focus as much on travel. For the past couple of years, challenger banks and alternatives to traditional bank accounts […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Less than a year after it raised a $15 million Series B, Public, a social-focused free stock trading service, has raised a $65 million Series C. The startup is not the only company to raise successive rounds this year. Welcome has managed the feat, along with Skyflow and others. Public’s Series C, therefore, fits into […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dott is better known for its electric scooter service that is available in a few cities across Europe. But the company is working on electric bikes and wants to launch a bike-sharing service in London and Paris in March 2021. Dott currently doesn’t operate in London. So it looks like it’ll be the company’s 16th […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Enterprise recruiting company iCIMS is announcing that it has acquired Altru. iCIMS declined to comment on the terms of the deal, but a source with knowledge of the companies told us that the price is a combination of cash and stock, totaling around $60 million. Founded in 2000, iCIMS offers a “talent cloud” used by […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Reddit announced that it has acquired short video platform Dubsmash. The deal’s terms were undisclosed. Dubsmash will retain its own platform and brand, and Reddit will integrate its video creation tools. Its co-founders, Suchit Dash, Jonas Drüppel and Tim Specht, will join Reddit. According to Crunchbase data, the app has raised $20.2 million from investors […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

French startup In&motion has raised a $12 million (€10 million) funding round led by Upfront Ventures with 360 Capital also participating. The company has been working on wearable airbag systems for motorbikes. Integrated in a vest, the airbag is completely autonomous and can detect crashes in 60 milliseconds. The company has worked on a device […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As the pandemic has raged on, it has shined a spotlight on the importance of procurement, especially in certain sectors. Fairmarkit, a Boston startup, is working to bring a modern digital procurement system to the enterprise. Today, the company announced a $30 million Series B. GGV Capital and Insight Partners led the round with help […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nobody likes dealing with taxes — until the system works in your favor. In many countries, startups can receive tax credits for their R&D work and related employee cost, but as with all things bureaucracy, that’s often a slow and onerous task. Boast.ai aims to make this process far easier, by using a mix of […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This morning Candu, a software startup that provides no-code web tools for SaaS apps, announced a $5 million funding round. TechCrunch caught up with founder Jonathan Anderson and lead investor Villi Iltchev, a partner at Two Sigma Ventures, to chat about the deal. First thing: This round, a bit like Scotch, has aged. It’s from […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lemonade is launching its renters insurance in France. This is the company’s third European launch after the Netherlands and Germany. Originally from the U.S., Lemonade is now a public company with a current market capitalization close to $4 billion. Lemonade will compete directly with a local competitor called Luko. Both companies share a lot of […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Richard Socher, former chief scientist at Salesforce, who helped build the Einstein artificial intelligence platform, is taking on a new challenge — and it’s a doozy. Socher wants to fix consumer search and today he announced you.com, a new search engine to take on the mighty Google. “We are building you.com. You can already go […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The pandemic has been terrible for many industries, but the book industry has gotten a rare reprieve in an otherwise dismal past decade. Locked in homes and forced to socially distance from others, us humans have more time on our hands and more need to connect to characters than ever before. That surge in interest […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Getsafe, the digital-first insurance startup that initially launched with an app for home contents insurance, has closed $30 million in Series B funding. Swiss Re, the reinsurer giant, led the round. Existing investors, including Earlybird and CommerzVentures, also participated. Getsafe has raised a total of $53 million to date since being founded in May 2015. […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When one of AWS’s east coast data centers went down at the end of last month, it had an impact on countless companies relying on its services including Roku, Adobe and Shipt. When the incident was resolved, the company had to analyze what happened. For most companies, that involves manually pulling together information from various […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Zephr has raised $8 million in a new funding round led by Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments (owned by media giant Bertelsmann). The London-headquarted startup’s customers already include publishers like McClatchy, News Corp Australia, Dennis Publishing and PEI Media. CEO James Henderson told me via email that rather than creating “a monolithic product that tries to […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fintech startup Stripe has announced an ambitious new product today called Stripe Treasury. The company is partnering with banks to offer a banking-as-a-service API. In other words, Stripe clients will be able to provide bank accounts to their customers — the service is invite-only for now. This is part of a bigger trend called embedded […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Esports One, a startup bringing the fantasy approach to esports, is announcing that it has raised an additional $4 million in funding. When I first wrote about Esports One in April, co-founder and COO Sharon Winter described it as the first “all-in-one fantasy platform” in the esports world, allowing you to research players, create fantasy […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Given the attention that TechCrunch pays to Y Combinator’s Demo Days, we also try to keep tabs on the same startups as they scale and raise more capital. Yesterday we covered YC Winter 2020 participant BuildBuddy, for example. Today we’re taking a look at Heru, a startup based in Mexico City that is announcing a […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wellory, a startup that bills itself as taking an “anti-diet approach” to nutrition and wellness, is announcing that it has raised $4.2 million in funding. The round was led by Story Ventures, with participation from Harlem Capital, Tinder co-founders Sean Rad and Justin Mateen, Ground Up Ventures, NBA Player Wayne Ellington, Hannah Bronfman and others. […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Eat Just will start offering lab-grown chicken meat in Singapore after gaining regulatory approval from the Singapore Food Agency (SFA). The cell-cultured chicken will eventually be produced under Eat Just’s new GOOD Meat brand through partnerships with local manufacturers and go on sale to restaurants before it is available to consumers. No chickens were killed […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As we’ve moved to work from home during the pandemic, it’s been challenging for remote workers to feel connected. Loop Team, a new entrant into the enterprise communications space, thinks the way we are communicating needs improvement. That’s why the startup is releasing Loop Team today, a tool that is trying to use software to […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This morning Salut, an app-based service that allows fitness trainers to host classes virtually, announced that it has raised $1.25 million in a new financing event. The round was led by Charles Hudson, an investor at Precursor Ventures. Founder Matthew DiPietro, formerly of Twitch, told TechCrunch that Salut soft-launched in mid-September, with a wider release […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Vista Equity Partners hasn’t been shy about scooping up enterprise companies over the years, and today it added to a growing portfolio with its purchase of Gainsight. The company’s software helps clients with customer success, meaning it helps create a positive customer experience when they interact with your brand, making them more likely to come […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Materialize, the SQL streaming database startup built on top of the open source Timely Dataflow project, announced a $32 million Series B investment today led by Kleiner Perkins with participation from Lightspeed Ventures. While it was at it, the company also announced a previously unannounced $8 million Series A from last year that had been […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hacker houses are making a comeback for entrepreneurs as remote work drags on. While founders are adapting to quarantine in style, a group of college women in their 20s aren’t waiting until they are done with undergraduate to plunge into the lifestyle themselves. Started by college juniors Coco Sack and Kendall Titus, Womxn Ignite is […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When you launch an application in the public cloud, you usually put everything on one provider, but what if you could choose the components based on cost and technology and have your database one place and your storage another? That’s what Cast.ai says that it can provide, and today it announced a healthy $7.7 million […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

WeGift, the London-based startup that has built an “incentive marketing” platform that lets businesses easily issue e-gift cards and other digital rewards to customers, has raised $8 million in new funding. Dubbed a Series A extension, the round is led by AlbionVC. Existing investors including Stride.vc, SAP.iO fund and Unilever Ventures also followed on. Following […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Just a few months after launching margin trading on Coinbase Pro, the company is disabling the feature. Margin trading lets you trade on leverage. But it works both ways — margin trading lets you multiply your gains and your losses. Starting on November 25, 2pm PT, users won’t be able to place new margin trades. […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dija, a new U.K. based startup founded by senior former Deliveroo employees, is closing in on $20 million funding, TechCrunch has learned. According to multiple sources, the round, which has yet to close, is being led by Blossom Capital, the early stage venture capital firm founded by ex-Index and LocalGlobe VC Ophelia Brown. It’s not […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Challenger bank N26 is adding a third subscription product called N26 Smart. N26 Smart is designed to be a mid-tier subscription plan with advanced banking features but without a travel insurance package. In Europe, in addition to the free plan, N26 already provides two subscription tiers called N26 You and N26 Metal. N26 You costs […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices