StrictlyVC: June 26, 2018

Hi, happy Tuesday, all!
Top News
Uber can operate in London again for now

Goldman Sachs is reiterating its sell rating on Tesla, saying it expects the electric car maker’s widely watched Model 3 delivery number to fall short of Wall Street expectations

California has 48 hours to pass this privacy bill or else
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Confirmed: Sequoia Has Already Secured Three-Quarters of Its $8 billion Global Fund
Sequoia Capital, the 46-year-old venture firm, has secured $6 billion in capital commitments for an $8 billion global fund, according to a new report in the Financial Times. The report echoes a late April piece in the Wall Street Journal that reported Sequoia investors had already committed “roughly” $6 billion to the new fund. 

A source familiar with the matter confirms for us that both stories are accurate. 

The capital commitments thus far have come from investors with no prior relationship to Sequoia. The firm intends to turn to its previous investors for the rest of the capital commitments, which Sequoia is securing in increments of $250 million or more. 

Sequoia now plugs more than 50 cents from every dollar its backers provide it into its overseas bets, according to a separate source close to the firm, noting the firm’s China strategy has been proving particularly fruitful. Like numerous Silicon Valley firms, Sequoia decided to dip its toe into the market beginning in 2005. Unlike most Silicon Valley firms that opted not to remain in China, owing either to attrition or because of tenuous relationships with local VCs, Sequoia stayed put, empowering the founder of Sequoia Capital China, Neil Shen, to eventually build up offices in Beijing, Hong Kong, and Shanghai — and to assemble a portfolio that is today rife with highly valuable companies. 

Among the many companies Sequoia Capital China has funded: Meituan-Dianping, the group-discount service that sells locally found products and retail services and just filed to go public in Hong Kong; Ele.me, the food ordering company that sold a controlling stake in its business to Alibaba in April for $9.5 billion; DJI, the drone company, which was reported to be raising $1 billion in new funding this spring at a $15 billion valuation; VIP.com, the commerce platform that went public in 2012 and currently boasts a $7.2 billion market cap; and Didi, the mobile transportation giant that’s in a race against its U.S. rival Uber to conquer the global ride-hailing market. 

Sequoia Capital China is also an investor in the electric car company Nio, which filed confidentially for a U.S. IPO last month. 

More here.
New Fundings
Aclima, an 11-year-old, San Francisco-based company that designs and deploys distributed large scale sensor networks to map air quality, has raised $24 million in Series A funding. Social Capital led the round, with participation from the Schmidt Family FoundationEmerson CollectiveRadicle ImpactRethink Impact, Plum AlleyKapor Capital and First Philippine Holdings. TechCrunch has more here

b8ta, a three-year-old, San Francisco-based startup that helps shoppers try tech gadgets before buying them (even if those products aren’t yet in stores), has raised $19 million in Series B funding. Macy’s led the round, with participation from Sound VenturesPalm Drive CapitalCapitalandGraphene VenturesKhosla Ventures and Plug and Play Ventures. The company has now raised $39 million altogether. CNBC has more here

CarBlip, a year-old, Santa Monica, Ca.-based car-buying mobile application that’s aiming to compete with services like Wyper, has raised $2 million in new funding led by Nordic Eye Venture Capital, with participation from the startup studio and seed investment firm Science. TechCrunch has more here

CashShield, a 10-year-old, Singapore-based online fraud detection startup whose clients include Alibaba and Razer, has raised $20 million in Series B funding co-led by Temasek Holdings and earlier investor GGV Capital. Other participants in the round include Nest co-founder Tony FadellWavemaker Partners and Tao Zhang. TechCrunch has more here

Celonis, a seven-year-old, Munich, Germany-based “process mining” data analytics startup, has raised $50 million in Series B funding from Accel and 83North in a deal that values the company at $1 billion. The Financial Times has more here

Go-Jek, an eight-year-old, Jakarta, Indonesia-based ride-hailing and courier service whose investors include Tencent and Google, is in talks to raise around $1.5 billion in a new funding round, according to The Information. Go-Jek, whose app offers many services including rides, food delivery, and online shopping, was valued at about $4.8 billion in its previous fundraising earlier this year, say the outlet’s sources. More here

Homee, a two-year-old, Tampa Fl.-based on-demand property maintenance app, has raised $11 million in Series A funding, including from Home DepotActivate Capital and Engage VenturesMore hereHonk Technologies, a 4.5-year-old, L.A.-based marketplace for towing services for consumers and insurance companies, has raised $18 million in a new round of funding led by Altpoint Ventures, with participation from earlier investors Structure Capital and Venture 51.TechCrunch has more here

IMGN Media, a three-year-old, New York-based startup that’s producing and programming content for social audiences, including on Instagram, has raised $3 million in Series A financing from Dot CapitalRhodium, talent agency UTAKDC Media FundBig Block MediaRon Zuckerman and more. The company has now raised $6 million altogether. More here

Jama Software, an 11-year-old, Portland, Ore.-based product development platform for building complex products and integrated systems, has raised $200 million in funding led by Insight Venture Partners, with participation from Madrona Venture GroupMore here

Matternet, a seven-year-old, Menlo Park, Ca.-based developer of an autonomous drone logistics platform, has secured $16 million in Series A funding led by Boeing HorizonX Ventures, with participation from Swiss PostSony Innovation Fund and Levitate CapitalMore here

Pared, a three-year-old, San Francisco-based app for restaurant owners and employees like line cooks and dishwashers who are looking to fill slots in their respective schedules, has raised $10 million in funding. CRV led the round, with participation from earlier backers Uncork Capital and True Ventures. TechCrunch has more here

Silver Peak, a 14-year-old, Santa Clara, Ca.-based maker of broadband and hybrid WAN software and services, has raised $90 million in funding from TCVMore here

TourRadar, an eight-year-old, Vienna, Austria-based online travel agency that targets the multi-day touring market, just raised $50 million in Series C funding led by TCV, with participation from earlier backers Cherry VenturesEndeit Capital, Hoxton Ventures, and Speedinvest. TechCrunch has more here

YOOBIC, a four-year-old, London-based SaaS platform helps brands and retailers track their merchandising and marketing operations, has raised $25 million in new funding led by Insight Venture Partners and earlier backer Felix CapitalMore here
New Funds
Dementia Discovery Fund, a venture capital outfit, says it has closed on $350 million in capital commitments for a new fund. The fund launched in 2015 with the goal of delivering new drug approaches for both the diagnosis and treatment of dementia by 2025. Among its investors is BiogenEli LillyGlaxoSmithKline,Johnson & JohnsonPfizerTakedaBill Gates, and the NFL Players Association. FierceBiotech has more here.
Jobs
NextGen Venture Partners, a network-driven venture fund, is looking to hire an investor based out of the Bay Area to source and execute early-stage investments. This role is for an individual who thrives working independently. Interested candidates can apply at jobs@nextgenvp.com
People
Casio Chairman and CEO Kazuo Kashio quietly passed last week at the age of 89. TechCrunch remembers him here

China’s richest people are buying into Xiaomi’s imminent Hong Kong IPO, including former CK Hutchinson Holdings chair Li Ka-shing. Bloomberg has more here

Anthemis Group, a fintech VC fund based in London, lost its long-time CEO after Nadeem Shaikh handed in his resignation earlier this week. Questions remain about his departure, however. TechCrunch takes a look

Spotify, nodding to broader ambitions, has hired a chief content officer. Dealbook has more here.
Data
Crypto collapse? More than 80 percent of 1,586 digital coins that Finder.com tracks in a weekly survey have decreased in price in the past seven days. The tokens fell 19 percent on average, Finder.com found in the week ended June 25. Bloomberg has more here.
Essential Reads
Well, that was fast. Facebook today announced that it’s reversing its cryptocurrency ban, effective immediately

“I delivered packages for Amazon and it was a nightmare.”
Detours
How P&G’s “The Talk” brought a new level of empathy to advertising.  

Wealthy people in Mexico and Brazil can’t get enough armored cars

Pete Davidson did not take his tattoo artist’s advice.
Retail Therapy
You can now rent the villa from “Under The Tuscan Sun.” It does not look terrible.

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