| Hi, happy Monday, all! Hope your week is off to a great start.:) We’ve been a little crazed today, so no column. |
| Top News |
| Congress has released Mark Zuckerberg’s prepared testimony ahead of a Wednesday hearing before the House Energy and Commerce Committee. The greatest bubble in history is popping, according to Bank of America’s chief investment strategy; he wrote in a note last night that the cryptocurrency is tracking the downfalls of the other massive asset-price bubbles in history less than one year out from its record. |
| New Fundings |
| Armis, a 2.5-year-old, Palo Alto, Ca.-based enterprise IoT security company, has raised $30 million in Series B funding led by Red Dot Capital Partners and Bain Capital Ventures, with participation from earlier backers Sequoia Capital and Tenaya Capital. The company has now raised $47 million altogether. TechCrunch has more here. Bitmovin, a five-year-old, San Francisco-based online video software and infrastructure company, has raised $30 million in Series B funding led by Highland Europe, with participation from earlier backers Atomico, Constantia New Business, Dawn Capital, and Y Combinator. The company has now raised $43 million. TechCrunch has more here. BookNook, a two-year-old, Oakland, Ca.-based reading instruction startup that powers personalized and small group learning, has raised $2 million in seed funding co-led by Better Ventures and the Urban Innovation Fund, with participation from Reach Capital, Impact Engine, Kapor Capital, Redhouse Education, and Edovate Capital. TechCrunch has more here. City Pantry, a five-year-old, London-based office catering marketplace, has raised £4 million ($5.7 million) in funding led by Octopus Investments, with participation from Newable Private Investing and earlier backers. TechCrunch has more here. Comma.ai, a 2.5-year-old, San Francisco-based transportation startup that has been in a near-state of constant iteration (we’re not exactly sure what it’s working on right now), has raised a fresh $5 million in funding, according to a new SEC filing. TechCrunch has more here. Ecovia Renewables, a four-year-old, Ann Arbor, Mi.-based biotech company focused on developing high-performing bio-based chemicals and fuels, has raised an initial $1 million in seed funding, including from Seppic Group, a designer and manufacturer of specialty ingredients. More here. Edovo, a five-year-old, Chicago, Il.-based tablet-based education startup for incarcerated people, has raised $9 million from Impact Engine, Lumina Foundation, Kapor Capital and others. More here. Great Jones, a nearly year-old, New York-based full-service residential property management company, has raised $8 million in Series A funding led by Crosslink Capital, with participation from Juxtapose and several New York City real estate and tech entrepreneurs. More here. Holberton School, a three-year-old, San Francisco-based two-year program that trains full-stack engineers, has raised $8.2 million in Series A funding led by earlier backers daphni and Trinity Ventures, with participation from new investor The Omidyar Network. The company has now raised $13 million altogether. IceKredit, a nearly three-year-old, Shanghai, China-based risk management platform, says it has raised roughly $25 million in Series “pre-B” capital led by Yoozoo Network, with participation from YongRui Investment and other investment firms. More here. Intangible Labs, a 10-month-old, New York-based cryptocurrency startup that’s backed by Andreessen Horowitz, Bain Capital Ventures, Digital Currency Group and Pantera Capital, has raised a whopping $125 million through a Simple Agreement for Future Tokens (SAFT) sale, a new SEC filing shows. The company is developing Basecoin, an adjustable-supply cryptocurrencies that, unlike fixed-supply (and wildly volatile) cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum, is designed to maintain a stable value in volatile conditions. Coindesk has more here. Juro, a two-year-old, London-based startup that makes contract workflow tools, has raised $2 million in seed funding led by Point Nine Capital, with participation from earlier backer Seedcamp. TechCrunch has more here. Magenta Therapeutics, a two-year-old, Cambridge, Ma.-based biotechnology company that’s aiming to make stem cell transplants accessible to more patients, has raised $52 million in Series C funding. Casdin Capital led the round, with participation from EcoR1 Capital, Eventide Asset Management, Watermill Asset Management and earlier backers Be the Match BioTherapies and Access Industries. More here. Nexford University, a year-old, Washington, D.C.-based company that will develop a curriculum based on employer needs (it isn’t being more specific than that right now), has raised $4 million in seed funding, including from Magnify Ventures, and unnamed angel investors. A tiny bit more here. Ocrolus, a four-year-old, New York-based startup that says its software can analyze uploaded bank and credit card statements quickly, cheaply and with near perfect accuracy, has raised $4 million in Series A funding led by Bullpen Capital, with participation from QED Investors, Laconia Capital Group, ValueStream Ventures, and RiverPark Ventures. More here. Plus Products, a 2.5-year-old, Palo Alto, Ca.-based company that makes cannabis-infused edibles, has raised roughly $6 million in Series B financing led by Serruya Private Equity Partners and Navy Capital Green Fund. More here. The Primal Pantry, a four-year-old, Maidenhead, U.K.-based food brand that sells snack bars, has raised £3 million ($4.2 million) in funding from NVM Private Equity. More here. TVSquared, a six-year-old, Edinburgh, Scotland-based global TV performance analytics provider, has raised $8 million in funding led by West Coast Capital, with participation from earlier backers, including Scottish Investment Bank. The company has now raised $21 million altogether. More here. WorkFusion, an eight-year-old, New York-based company whose robotic process automation software manages robots that perform repetitive work, has raised $50 million in Series E funding co-led by Hawk Equity and Declaration Partners, with participation from earlier investors Georgian Partners, iNovia Capital and NGP Capital. More here. |
| New Funds |
| A new Chinese blockchain fund called Xiong’An Global Blockchain Innovation Fund has a healthy $1.6 billion available to invest in innovative startups. The fund was launched publicly today by the Hangzhou, China-based venture capital firm . Tunlan Investment; reportedly, more than $400 million is coming from the Hangzhou city government. Coindesk has more here. Background Capital, a four-month-old, Bay Area-based firm founded by former CRV general partner Rafael Corrales, has raised $9 million for its debut fund, reports Axios. It says the outfit employs a super-angel strategy, with a group of LPs serving as “super-connectors” for founders. Slightly more here. Saama Capital, a five-year-old, Bengalaru, India-based early-stage venture firm, has raised $100 million for its fourth fund shows an SEC filing. The outlet Inc 42 has a bit more here. |
| IPOs |
| Pivotal Software, a five-year-old, 2,500-person, Bay Area-based business that’s majority-owned by Dell Technologies, has revealed some more plans about an upcoming IPO in which it plans to raise up to $681 million. Specifically, the company plans to sell 37 million shares of Class A stock for between $14 and $16 each, which would give it a valuation of roughly $4 billion at the top of that range. Silicon Valley Business Journal has more here. |
| Exits |
| Uber has acquired bike-sharing startup JUMP for an undisclosed amount of money that TechCrunch is hearing is close to $200 million. TC had reported last week that JUMP was in talks with Uber, as well as with investors who were interested in providing it with more capital. More here. |
| People |
| In an interview, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg tells The Atlantic he’s not walking away from the company, but he is looking for outside expertise. National Geographic is developing a a six-part limited series called “Valley of the Boom” that’s set in Silicon Valley during the ’90s tech bubble. John Karna will play Marc Andreessen. Actors Bradley Whitford and Steve Zahn are also signed on for the project. |
| Data |
| Instagram was just ranked the worst social network for young people’s mental health in a survey of people ages 14 to 24. |
| Jobs |
| Industry Ventures is looking to bring aboard an associate to help in sourcing and executing deals. We’re told that top-performing associates will be considered for a promotion to senior associate after their second year. The job is in San Francisco. Applicants should write to ira@industryventures.com. |
| Essential Reads |
| Three-year old SenseTime has raised $600 million from Alibaba to continue making surveillance software that analyzes images and faces. TechCrunch has more here. YouTube is in hot water again over how it deals with kids who use the video site. A federal grand jury in Arizona has indicted seven people behind the classified-ads website Backpage.com on 93 counts, including charges of facilitating prostitution and money laundering. |
| Detours |
| Here’s the secretive waterfront town where both Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates live, among other billionaires. The trick to perfecting that spring suit. What animals think about EPA chief Scott Pruitt. |
| Retail Therapy |
| Embattled casino mogul Steve Wynn is quietly selling $100 million worth of art at Christie’s, in case you’re in the market. |
| Correction |
| Oopla. In Friday’s email, we told you that Jared Fliesler just joined the reading subscription site Scribd from Matrix Partners, but Fliesler had actually left Matrix a couple of years ago and has spent the last couple of years as an angel investor, advisor and world traveler. Sorry (mostly to Fleisler) for the mix-up. |