StrictlyVC: November 7, 2017

November 7, 2017

 

Hola from Portugal! Busy day. We had an, erm, spirited on-stage discussion about ICOs at Web Summit with VCs Tim Draper, Rebecca Lynn, and Ethereum cofounder Joseph Lubin. You can check it out here if you like.

 

We also enjoyed a lengthy back-stage chat with famed VC and early Facebook investor Jim Breyer, who served on the company’s board until 2013. We’re running out the door but we’ll have more from that discussion for you soon, too.

 

 

Top News

 

Waymo’s fully self-driving vehicles are here and ready to take your kids to school, the company announced today at Web Summit.

 

 

Sponsored By …

 

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New Fundings

 

AnchorDX, a two-year-old, Guangzhou city-headquartered precision medicine start-up, has raised $28 million in Series B funding led by the Chinese healthcare-focused investment firm 6 Dimensions Capital and Sijia Jianxin Fund. China Money Network has more here.

 

Bravely, a months-old, New York-based resource for confidential coaching for employees facing stress and issues at work, has raised $1.5 million in seed funding, including from Primary Venture PartnersBrooklyn Bridge Ventures,Correlation Ventures and Trail Mix Partners. New York Business Journal hasmore here (sub required).

 

CargoX, a two-year-old, São Paulo, Brazil-based company selling trucking services to corporations, has raised $20 million in Series C funding led by earlier investorGoldman Sachs, which had also led its $10 million Series B round last year. Other investors in the round include George SorosQualcomm VenturesAgility LogisticsValor Capital Group and Oscar SalazarMore here.

 

Excelero, a three-year-old, Tel Aviv, Israel.-based software-defined block storage company, has raised $25 million in venture funding led by Battery Ventures, with participation from Qualcomm Ventures, the Australian venture capital fundSquare Peg Capital, and numerous individual investors. The company says it has now raised $30 million altogether. Globes has more here.

 

Heyday, a 3.5-year-old, New York-based outfit that’s opening up pop-in facial shops, has raised $3 million in seed funding led by Lerer Hippeau Ventures. Fast Company has more here.

 

I.am+, a five-year-old, L.A.-based startup that competes in the corporate computing market with a voice assistant for customer service (and notably was founded by pop star and entrepreneur will.i.am), has raised $117 million in venture funding, reports Reuters. The company’s most recent, $89 million, round closed in March but hadn’t been previously reported. Salesforce Ventures is among its investors. More here.

 

Jitterbit, a 16-year-old, Alameda, Ca.-based API integration platform, has raised $25 million in Series C funding led by KKRMore here.

 

Mojiworks, a 1.5-year-old, U.K.-based games creator for chat and messaging platforms, has raised $2.8 million in Series A funding led by Balderton Capital, with participation from Lifeline Ventures and Sunstone Capital. TechCrunch hasmore here.

 

NousCom, a two-year-old, Basel, Switzerland-based oncology company, has raised $55 million in Series B funding led by Abingworth, with participation from 5AM VenturesLSP and Versant Ventures. FierceBiotech has more here.

 

NuID, a months-old, Seattle-based blockchain security and digital identity startup, has raised $1.64 million in seed funding, including from Jemison Investment Company and 8VC. FierceBiotech has more here.

 

Phoenix Travel Worldwide, a 20-year-old, Beijing, China-based travel agency that covers tourism destinations in more than 100 countries in Europe, North America and elsewhere, has raised roughly $105 million in Series C funding. The round was led by China’s CITIC CapitalHaier CapitalLenovo Holdings andLegend Capital. China Money Network has more here.

 

Powerful, a four-year-old, Miami, Fl.-based food and beverage company that markets all-natural, high-protein products, has raised $4 million in Series B funding led by River Hollow Partners, a lower mid-market private equity firm focused on consumer and retail brands in the natural products space. More here.

 

ThirdChannel, a five-year-old, Cambridge, Ma.-based retail intelligence platform, has raised $7 million in Series A funding led by Fung CapitalMore here.

 

 

 

New Funds

 

Goldman Sachs is teaming up with China Investment Corp and forming a fund of up to $5 billion to invest in U.S. manufacturers. The Wall Street Journal has more here.

 

 

Exits

 

Proofpoint, the publicly traded enterprise security company, is acquiringCloudmark, a 16-year-old, San Francisco-based firm that provides security protection for messaging services for $110 million. Cloudmark had raised roughly $39 million in venture funding, according to Crunchbase. TechCrunch has more here.

 

 

People

 

Uber has some “new cultural norms,” its new CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi, announced to the world today.

 

Silicon Valley investor Shervin Pishevar has filed a defamation lawsuit against a Republican-driven political opposition firm, alleging that it conducted a smear campaign that tied him to the Russian government, as well as an incident with a prostitute in Europe. A partner at the firm calls the claims “delusional.” Recode hasmore here.

 

Rex Tibbens is stepping down as COO of Lyft by year-end, reports Axios. This one is interesting. Tibbens joined just a bit over two years ago after four years at Amazon and more than a decade at Dell. According to Axios, he hasn’t yet decided on his future plans. Longtime readers might remember that late last year, there wastalk about Tibbens being “looked at” by the Trump administration for the role of U.S. Transportation Secretary, talk that Tibbens quickly squelched.

 

 

Jobs

 

S&P Global is looking for a corporate development manager. The job is in New York.

 

 

Essential Reads

 

Perhaps you’ve noticed: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is challenging anunusually large number of H-1B applications.

 

 

Detours

 

The most riveting host in late night (and the most overlooked).

 

 

Retail Therapy

 

The Cary42 portable game console. (There were only 50 made and this story came out seven days ago, so if you want it, get going.)


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