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May 5, 2020
Hello! Hope you had a happy Tuesday and enjoyed a delicious tequila cocktail. We have not, but the day isn't over. (Salud!) More tomorrow.:)
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Top News
In a memo to employees today and viewed by TechCrunch, Airbnb CEO and cofounder Brian Chesky delivered some very difficult news to employees, disclosing that 1,900 would be laid off, or a quarter of its 7,500 workforce. According to the memo, the layoffs will impact certain product groups, including Airbnb Studios and a Transportation group that focused on building partnerships with services that make travel more seamless -- efforts that TechCrunch says will be placed on hold. Other units of the business, including Hotels and Luxe, which was Airbnb's foray into super-luxury travel, which will be scaled back. It's a dramatic turn of events for the company, which not so long ago was planning one of the most highly anticipated IPOs of 2020. Much more here.
California is suing Uber and Lyft, accusing the ride-hailing companies of misclassifying their drivers. Reuters has more here.
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Sponsored By ...
The founder of Skillshare’s newest venture is a fractional ownership platform called Otis that lets almost anyone invest in cultural assets previously accessible only to the wealthy-- from contemporary art to rare collectibles, sneaker grails and more. For additional info, and to view current offerings, download the app. For disclosures and risk, go here.
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More Than 40 Security Execs are Banding Together to Back Startups
Ensuring that a company’s information assets and technologies are protected remains a tall order for many a chief information security officer (or CISO). Cybercriminals can be both persistent and creative.
Now, a group of 46 of these professionals is taking the wraps off a syndicate that allows them to compare notes and war stories and will see them advising — and making financial bets on — some of the nascent cybersecurity startups whose tools can potentially keep the bad guys at bay.
Called Silicon Valley CISO Investments, or SVCI, the idea is to identify these startups, fund them, advise them on pitfalls to avoid, and introduce them to potential customers, including their own employers in some cases.
It's a small amount that the group will invest -- just enough to form a relationship with a startup that the group wants to keep tabs on. It's also just enough to form potential conflicts of interest, though the group insists that it's being careful.
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Massive Fundings
Cockroach Labs, a nearly five-year-old, New York-based open-source distributed database, has raised $86.6 million in Series D funding just nine months after closing its $55 million Series C round. Altimeter Capital and Bond Capital co-led the round (Altimeter also led the Series C), joined by other earlier investors Benchmark, GV, Index Ventures, Redpoint Ventures, Sequoia Capital, and Tiger Capital Management. TechCrunch has more here.
MasterClass, the eight-year-old, San Francisco-based online course company, is reportedly raising at least $100 million at an $800 million valuation. It last raised capital in 2018 at a $410 million post-money valuation. Bloomberg has the story here.
N26, a seven-year-old, Berlin-based online bank, has added another $100 million to its Series D round at the same valuation of $3.5 billion. In total, N26 has raised $570 million as part of its Series D round. According to Crunchbase, the company has now raised $782 million altogether. TechCrunch has more here.
Big-But-Not-Crazy-Big Fundings
Finite State, a three-year-old, Columbus, Oh.-based maker of supply chain security and risk management software for IoT and embedded devices, has raised $12.5 million in Series A funding. Energy Impact Partners led the round, joined by Zetta Venture Partners. More here.
Jellyfish, a three-year-old, Boston-based engineering management platform, has raised $12 million in Series A funding led by Accel and Wing Venture Partners. Business Insider has more here.
Orca Security, a year-old, L.A.-based cybersecurity startup focused on cloud vulnerabilities, has raised $20 million in Series A funding. GGV Capital led the round, joined by YL Ventures and SVCI. TechCrunch has more here.
Peanut, a 3.5-year-old, London-based app that began as a tool for finding new mom friends and has evolved into a social network now used by 1.6 million women to discuss a range of topics, just raised $12 million in Series A funding, led by EQT Ventures. Index Ventures and Female Founders Fund also joined the round, bringing Peanut’s total funding to date to $21.8 million. TechCrunch has more here.
Zeitgold, a five-year-old, Berlin, Germany-based maker of automated bookkeeping software for small businesses, raised €27 million in Series B funding. Vintage Investment Partners led the round, joined by earlier investors Battery Ventures, HV Holtzbrinck Ventures, Saban Ventures, btov Partners, AXA Innovation Campus, and Deutsche Bank. TechCrunch has more here.
Smaller Fundings
Daily.co, a four-year-old, San Francisco-based video chat API service, has raised $4.6 million led by Freestyle. TechCrunch has more here.
Different, a three-year-old, Sydney, Australia-based property management platform, has raised A$7.1 million ($4.6 million) in Series A funding. PieLab led the round, joined by AirTree Ventures, Spring Capital, and Warburton Group. More here.
Dynaleo, a two-year-old, Edmonton, Alberta-based white-label maker of cannabis gummies, has raised C$2 million from Canopy Rivers. Benzinga has more here.
Qwilr, a six-year-old, New South Wales, Australia-based document design tool, has raised $7.25 million in Series A funding. AirTree Ventures led the round, joined by Skip Capital, Robert Muñoz, and earlier backers Point Nine Capital, Right Click Capital, and Macdoch Ventures. Crunchbase News has more here.
Sleuth, a year-old, San Francisco-based startup from three former Atlassian employees who want to bring more order to the continuous delivery process, has raised $3 million in seed funding led by CRV, with participation from individuals at New Relic, Atlassian and LaunchDarkly. TechCrunch has more here.
Tehama, a four-year-old, Ottawa, Ontario-based maker of global workforce deployment software, has raised $10 million in Series A funding. OMERS Ventures led the round, joined by BDC Capital. More here.
TimeDoc, a four-year-old, Chicago, Il.-based virtual care management platform, has raised $5.7 million in Series A funding led by Vocap Investment Partners, with participation from Grand Ventures, Serra Ventures, and Waterline Ventures, among numerous others. The company has now raised $8 million altogether. More here.
Treasury Prime, a three-year-old, San Francisco-based startup whose software helps banks automate and accelerate routine tasks, has raised $9 million in Series A funding from QED, SaaStr, and NYCA Partners. TechCrunch has more here.
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New Funds
Fitz Gate Ventures, a pre-seed and seed-stage outfit that invests primarily in startups from the Princeton ecosystem, says it has closed its second fund with $25 million in capital commitments. Initial checks are typically in the range of $500,000. More here.
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Sponsored By . . .
TechCrunch is bringing Disrupt online for the first time this year with the addition of the Disrupt Digital Pro Pass, which gives founders and investors who really want to engage as fully as possible with Disrupt, including all the programming on the primary stages and lots of real-time interaction with fellow attendees, founders in Startup Alley, engaging Q&A sessions and our all important exhibitors and partners. There are only a few left at the price of $245. Prices go up after they're gone. Get yours today!
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Essential Reads
Magic Leap is in talks to secure funding from a health care company, according to emails CEO Rony Abovitz sent to staff that were shared with The Information. The deal is in due diligence, the emails reportedly said, and could still fall apart. Magic Leap conducted a massive layoff two weeks ago; remaining Magic Leap employees have been told that if the company is “unable to obtain financing or realize an alternative corporate option” by June 21, they, too, will be let go. More here.
Earlier this week, Amazon informed staff members at its Staten Island fulfillment center that a worker had died from COVID-19, news that was reported early today in The Verge. Classified as an essential service, Amazon never shut down operations and workers at 74 of its warehouse and fulfillment centers have tested positive for the virus since. In late-March, an employee at a facility in Hawthorne, Ca. also died from the virus a few days after exhibiting symptoms. More here.
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Detours
The 5-year-old boy explained that he left home after an argument with his mother, according to the Utah Highway Patrol. “She told him she would not buy him a Lamborghini . . .He decided to take the car and go to California to buy one himself.”
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Retail Therapy
Facebook's Oculus division is building a new version of its Quest standalone virtual reality headset -- one that could be smaller, lighter, and have a faster image refresh rate for more realistic content. Bloomberg, which has the scoop, notes the company hasn't finalized which of the numerous potential successors it is testing will be released, and that either way, because of the pandemic, shipping could be delayed until next year.
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