Hi, everyone! Happy first day of July.:)

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Top News in the A.M.

According to famed investor Steve Jurvetson (who is speaking at our September 16 event!), Google may be more serious about competing directly with Uber than it let on earlier this year when it dismissed a Bloomberg Business report that it had developed a commercial ride-share app. In fact, on Bloomberg TV yesterday, Jurvetson suggested that Google could end up undercutting Uber’s revenue by offering a service for free. “Google may very well beat them at their own game because they can get down to zero. They can take zero cut and offer a free app, which they are considering launching, called Free Ride, so this game could get very interesting,” he said. “They are considering it, they’re debating it. They’re on the fence as to whether they should offer it, but the go-to-market would be: Offer the free app, get people used to it while there are still human drivers and then flip them over to the Google autonomous cars.” Business Insider caught the exchange (and has the clip) here. Google — which invested $258 million in Uber in 2013 — isn’t responding to media inquiries for more information.

According to the (reliably accurate) blog 9to5Mac, the new iPhone 6S, expected to be announced this fall, looks pretty much exactly like the iPhone 6, but it will feature some “major internal changes.” More here.

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A Stanford Dean on the Danger of Overparenting By Parents, and Startups

In her new book, “How to Raise an Adult,” former Stanford University Dean of Freshmen Julie Lythcott-Haims argues that overparenting has grown to worrying extremes over the last decade-plus and that unchecked, it will be the ruin of society as we know it.

She noticed it in her own parenting, in fact. “There was a time when I was a finger-wagging dean, then realized: I’m still cutting my kids’ own meat, and they’re 8 and 10. I’m not judgmental, but I got this wonderful glimpse into the future where when too much is done for children, it makes them less capable.”

In conversation with this reporter, Lythcott-Haims explained how startups that similarly coddle their workers –- for the sake of making them more productive – aren’t helping things much, either.

You were at Stanford a long while. At what point did you think: It’s weird how involved all these parents have become?

I began to see it more and more over time – parents who were coming to the university with their sons and daughters and sticking around, sometimes literally and often virtually. I found it bewildering. My own experience as a student in the ‘80s didn’t include much involvement from my parents at all, and I began wondering what if my parents had been expected to register for my courses, settle roommate disputes, talk with my professors about my grades. Not that long ago, 18- to 20-year-olds had the capacity to do those things for themselves, and now, they seemed not to.

(You can read the rest of our chat here in TechCrunch.)

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New Fundings

Chrome River Technologies, an eight-year-old, L.A.-based maker of online expense reporting and automated invoice processing software, has raised $100 million in Series D funding from Great Hill Partners. Venture Capital Dispatch has more here.

Rocket Internet’s Global Fashion Group, a 10-month-old, Berlin-based umbrella group that includes Rocket Internet’s fashion-focused e-commerce services for emerging markets, has raised a fresh €150 million ($167 million) in funding, at a valuation of  €2.8 billion ($3 billion). The money comes from earlier backers Kinnevik, the Stockholm, Sweden-based investment group, and Rocket Internet itself, which now reportedly owns 24.2 percent of the company. TechCrunch has more here.

Kentik, a year-old, San Francisco-based cloud-based networking analytics company, has raised $12.1 million in Series A funding led by August Capital, with participation from First Round Capital and Data Collective. TechCrunch has more here.

MangoPlate, a two-year-old, Seoul-based service akin to Yelp in Korea, has raised $6.1 million in Series A funding led by Qualcomm Ventures, with participation from SoftBank Ventures Korea and YJ Capital, a venture capital firm established by Yahoo Japan. The company has now raised $7.2 million altogether. TechCrunch has more here.

Nativo, a five-year-old, El Segundo, Ca.-based company that enables online publishers to deploy and manage native ad placements across the Web, has raised $20 million in new funding led by Advance Vixeid Partners. Nativo had previously raised $11.2 million. Venture Capital Dispatch has more here.

Pneuron, a five-year-old, Nashua, N.H.-based company whose platform is used by organizations wanting to leverage their existing systems and infrastructure to connect data, applications, processes, and analytics, has raised $5 million in Series B-1 funding led by Safeguard Scientifics, with participation from Osage Partners and Scott Group. The company has now raised $13.2 million altogether. More here.

PubNub, a five-year-old, San Francisco-based data stream network for mobile applications and connected devices (it helps its customers scale and manage their applications), has raised $20 million in Series C funding led by Sapphire Ventures, with participation from earlier backers Relay Ventures and Scale Venture Partners. According to Crunchbase, the company has now raised $35 million altogether.

RadiumOne, a six-year-old, San Francisco, Ca.-based company that makes programmatic marketing automation software, has raised $54 million in equity and debt funding. The round was led by Harmony Partners, with participation from Industry Ventures and earlier backers Adams Street Partners, Crosslink Capital, Trinity Ventures, and DFJ Esprit. The company has now raised $87.5 million altogether, shows Crunchbase. Business Insider has more here.

ScoreBeyond, a 2.5-year-old service that helps students prepare for standardized tests like the SAT, has raised $2.8 million in funding led by Khosla Ventures. TechCrunch has more here.

SeeClickFix, a 6.5-year-old, New Haven, Ct.-based company whose platform helps citizens to report and monitor non-emergency issues in their local communities, has raised $1.6 million in funding led by Elm Street Ventures, with participation from earlier backers O’Reilly AlphaTech Ventures and Omidyar Network, as well as new investors Connecticut Innovations and LaunchCapital.

Shapeways, an eight-year-old, New York-based 3D printing marketplace, has raised $30 million in funding from investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Lux Capital, INKEF Capital, and Hewlett-Packard. Business Insider hasmore here.

SkyKick, a 3.5-year-old. Seattle, Wa.-based cloud management software company, has raised $10 million in funding from investors, including Navin Thukkaram, Tim Ferriss, Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, and several (unnamed) strategic private equity investors. The company has now raised $17.2 million altogether.

Smartspot, a seven-month-old, New York-based computer-vision company whose smart mirror for gyms monitors a person’s workout and ensures he or she is training correctly, has raised $1.85 million in funding from from Khosla Ventures and Signalfire. TechCrunch has more here.

Sweetgreen, an eight-year-old, Washington, D.C.-based farm-to-table chain of restaurants that prepare healthy and affordable salads, has raised $35 million in new funding led by T. Rowe Price, with participation from prior investor Revolution Growth. The company has now raised $95 million altogether. TechCrunch has more here.

Trucker Path, a 1.5-year-old, San Jose, Ca.-based marketplace that connects shippers and truckers who are available to move their cargo, has raised $20 million in Series A funding led by Wicklow Capital of Chicago, with participation from China’s Renren. TechCrunch has more here.

Unikrn, a 10-month-old, Seattle-based gaming startup that’s focused on e-sports betting, has raised $7 million in funding led by Binary Capital. The company has now raised $10 million altogether, incuding from Mark Cuban, Advancit Capital, Freelands Group, 500 Startups, Indicator Ventures and Tabcorp. Gamer Network has more here.

Venafi, an 11-year-old, Salt Lake City, Ut.-based encryption key and security certificate manager, has raised $39 million in funding from Intel Capital, QuestMark Partners, and Silver Lake Waterman. The company has now raised $55 million altogether, shows Crunchbase. VentureBeat has more here.

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New Funds

Adam Hopkins, who has spent the last 11 years at Elevation Partners, including as a managing director (he joined as a principal, coming out of Silver Lake Partners), has created a new firm with Fred Anderson, a former Apple exec who cofounded Elevation. According to an SEC filing, the firm is called NextEquity Partners. It’s based in Menlo Park, Ca. And it’s not saying how much it’s raising.

Allegis Capital, a 19-year-old, Palo Alto, Ca.-based early-stage venture firm, has closed on $100 million toward a $150 million fund, it tells Venture Capital Dispatch. It also says that, more than ever, it will be investing its capital in cybersecurity startups. More here.

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Exits

Adam Hopkins, who has spent the last 11 years at Elevation Partners, including as a managing director (he joined as a principal, coming out of Silver Lake Partners), has created a new firm with Fred Anderson, a former Apple exec who cofounded Elevation. According to an SEC filing, the firm is called NextEquity Partners. It’s based in Menlo Park, Ca. And it’s not saying how much it’s raising.

Allegis Capital, a 19-year-old, Palo Alto, Ca.-based early-stage venture firm, has closed on $100 million toward a $150 million fund, it tells Venture Capital Dispatch. It also says that, more than ever, it will be investing its capital in cybersecurity startups. More here.

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People

In his last day at Twitter yesterday, outgoing CEO Dick Costolo said he underestimated the pressures that going public would place on the company and warned that things will only grow harder for his successor. More here, in the Guardian.