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Top News
Facebook has announced that a 20-member Oversight Board intended to help make difficult content and policy decisions will not launch until “late fall" -- which suggests to some that this means after the U.S. presidential election. Facebook had announced this board 18 months ago and appointed its members in May.
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Blavity Has a Huge Opportunity with Black Millennials, Despite Struggling to Fit the VC Formula
Black Lives Matter may be the largest movement in U.S. history, according to four different polls cited recently by the New York Times that suggest anywhere from 15 million to 26 million people in the U.S. have participated in demonstrations over the death of George Floyd and others since Floyd’s death in late May.
Blavity, a six-year-old, L.A.-based media company that’s focused on Black culture, could hardly be better positioned to help outraged Americans better understand what’s really been going on. Blavity founder Morgan DeBaun says the outfit receives at least a handful of videos each week that feature egregious acts against Black Americans, and the same has been true since DeBaun, working at the time at Intuit, founded the company in 2014 after unarmed, 18-year-old Michael Brown was gunned down by a police office in her native Missouri.
Blavity tells the stories that the mainstream media has largely been missing, but that’s only part of the story. The company has also become a go-to destination for a growing number of Black millennials interested in fresh takes on culture and politics; in Black Hollywood and travel (via two other properties it runs); and in its sizable networking events, one of which attracted 10,000 people last year.
Last week, we talked with DeBaun about Blavity — which has raised a comparatively conservative $11 million to date, including from GV, Comcast Ventures, and Plexo Capital — to learn more about how the company seizes this moment, and whether investors see the opportunity. Our chat has been edited for length and clarity (you can hear the full discussion here).
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Massive Fundings
Kuaidian, a three-year-old, Beijing, China-based interactive reading platform, has raised $100 million in Series C funding led by Sequoia Capital China, with participation from GGV Capital and Morningside Venture Capital. China Money Network has more here.
OwnBackup, a five-year-old, Englewood Cliffs, N.J.-based cloud-to-cloud business continuity platform, has raised $50 million in new funding led by Insight Partners, with participation from Salesforce Ventures and Vertex Ventures. Earlier backer Innovation Endeavors also joined the round, which brings the company’s total funding to over $100 million. TechCrunch has more here.
Vor Biopharma, a year-old, Cambridge, Ma.-based oncology company focused on engineered hematopoietic stem cells, has raised $110 million in Series B funding. RA Capital Management led the round, joined by Fidelity Management & Research Company, the family office of Bain Capital Chairman Stephen Pagliuca, and Alexandria Venture Investments. More here.
Zolostays, a five-year-old, India-based co-living startup, has raised $56 million in Series C round from Investcorp, Nexus Ventures Partners, Mirae Assets, Trifecta Capital among others. The company has now raised $90 million altogether. The Economic Times has more here.
Big-But-Not-Crazy-Big Fundings
Chainalysis, a six-year-old, New York-based cryptocurrency investigation startup, has tacked on a $13 million extension led by Ribbit Capital to a previously announced Series B round that brings its total to $49 million. The company has now raised $66 million this year. Forbes has more here.
Farewill, a five-year-old, London-based startup that makes it easier for people to write their will, has raised £20 million ($25 million) from Highland Europe and earlier investors Augmentum, Jam Jar Ventures, and Kindred Capital. Business Insider has more here.
Flinks, a four-year-old, Montreal Quebec-based data-sharing startup that helps financial institutions gain financial insights and connect user bank accounts, raised $11 million CAD in Series A funding. NAventures -- the venture arm of Canada's National Bank -- led the round, joined by Intact Ventures, Luge Capital and Panache Ventures. Flinks also secured $5.2 million CAD in debt from National Bank. BetaKit has more here.
Notarize, a five-year-old, Boston-based online notary platform, has raised $35 million in Series C funding led by earlier backer Polaris Partners, with participation from another earlier backer, Camber Creek. More here.
Wagestream, a two-year-old, London-based platform that enables employees to access their wages as they earn them, has raised £20 million in Series B funding. Northzone led the round, joined by investors including QED Investors, Latitude Ventures and Balderton Capital. The company has now raised £65 million altogether. Tech.eu has more here.
Smaller Fundings
CALA, a four-year-old, New York-based marketplace that provides the retail infrastructure needed for influencers and existing fashion brands to design and launch new fashion brands, has raised $3 million seed round extension co-led by Maersk Growth and Real Ventures. The company has now raised $7 million altogether. Crunchbase News has more here.
MonkeyLearn, a six-year-old, San Francisco-based text analysis platform that allows companies to create new value from text data, has raised $2.2 million in funding led by Uncork Capital and Bling Capital. TechCrunch has more here.
Nayya, a year-old, New York-based software platform that helps employees choose and use their employee benefits, has raised $2.7 million in seed funding led by Social Leverage, with participation from Guardian Strategic Ventures, Cameron Ventures, Soma Capital, and individual investors. TechCrunch has more here.
PQShield, a two-year-old, U.K.-based post-quantum cybersecurity startup, has raised nearly $7 million in a funding round backed by Kindred Capital and Crane Venture Partners. Business Insider has more here.
SOC.OS, a months-old, London-based cybersecurity firm spun out of BAE Systems Applied Intelligence, has raised £2 million in funding from Hoxton Ventures and Speedinvest. More here.
Wintermute, a three-year-old, London-based market maker for digital assets, has raised $2.8 million in funding from Lightspeed Venture Partners. Coindesk has more here.
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New Funds
Cavalry Ventures, a Berlin-based early-stage venture fund, has closed its second fund with €80 million in capital commitments, more than three times the size of its debut fund. TechCrunch has more here.
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Exits
DocuSign announced today it has acquired six-year-old, Austin, Tex.-based Liveoak Technologies for approximately $38 million, giving itself an online notarization option. Liveoak had raised $28 million from investors. TechCrunch has more here.
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IPOs
As expected based on a Financial Times piece last month, Rocket Companies, a mortgage lender operating under the Rocket and Quicken brands, filed today with the SEC to raise up to $100 million in an IPO (which is likely a placeholder amount). Quicken Loans would become part of Rocket Companies under the offering; founder Dan Gilbert would wield outsize influence, too. Indeed, the filing shows that Gilbert would have control with 79% voting power in a multi-tiered stock structure. The Associated Press has more here.
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People
The troubled augmented reality headset company Magic Leap has hired Peggy Johnson, a business development executive at Microsoft, to be its chief executive as its focus shifts from consumers to businesses. Johnson was hired by Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella in 2014 after a 24-year career at Qualcomm; she tells the New York Times she took the job because she wanted to be a CEO.
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Data
More than 40% of people who spent money on movies, event tickets or at bars before the pandemic now plan to spend less on those activities, according to a new survey for CreditCards.com. The planned cutbacks may compound the already massive economic impact of the virus, notes Bloomberg.
The coronavirus, which has infected nearly 3 million Americans and killed over 130,000, has also caused millions to uproot themselves from their homes, reports Bloomberg. Roughly 3% of U.S. adults have moved either temporarily or permanently, and 6% say that someone has moved into their home because of Covid-19, according to new Pew Research Center data.
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Essential Reads
Buoyed by a massive jump in viewers during the lockdown, India's Flipkart has decided to double down on bite-sized, non-fiction content, says the Economic Times.
On Fiverr, an emerging class of social media experts write snappy Instagram captions for faraway brands.
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Detours
Twenty songs to get the party started, according to wedding DJs.
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