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July 10, 2020
Friday! [Throws chair down stairs]. Hope you have a terrific weekend, everyone.
Before we go, check our fresh-squeezed podcast if you're curious about the business of social media influencers -- from finding and grooming talent, to landing advertisers, to keeping everyone incentivized financially. We learned a lot this morning by talking with an up-and-coming star about her work, along with cofounder of the L.A.-based agency that's providing the infrastructure around such talent but also has some interesting ideas about where this increasingly lucrative world could be headed -- and who may be leading it.
More Monday.:)
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Top News
Amazon this morning asked employees to delete the Chinese-owned video app TikTok from their cellphones, citing “security risks,” according to a company email sent on Friday that said that employees must delete the app from any devices that “access Amazon email.” But then, it said the email was sent out in error (which is, um, bananas given the scale of Amazon). According to the Information, one company that really has told employees to cool it with TikTok on company-owned phones is Wells Fargo, which asked workers to delete the app earlier this week. More here.
Microsoft's LinkedIn programmed its iPhone and iPad applications to divert sensitive information without users’ knowledge, according to a class-action lawsuit that was filed this afternoon and reported on by Bloomberg. The apps use Apple’s Universal Clipboard to read and siphon the data and can draw information from other Apple devices, according to the complaint, which says the violations were exposed by Apple and independent program developers. More here.
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Massive Fundings
Epic Games, the nearly 30-year-old, Cary, N.C.-based owner of "Fortnite," has raised $250 million from Sony in exchange for a 1.4% stake in its business. CNBC has more here.
Harbour BioMed, a four-year-old, Cambridge, Ma.-based cancer drug startup with one therapeutic currently being tested in patients with advanced solid tumors in Australia, has raised $103 million in Series C funding. The round was led by Hudson Bay Capital, with participation from OrbiMed, Country Garden VC, GTJA Investment Group, Octagon Capital, and Sage Partners. FierceBiotech has more here.
Rivian, an 11-year-old, Plymouth, Mi.-based all-electric truck-maker, has raised a whopping. $2.5 billion in new funding led by T. Rowe Price, with participation from Soros Fund Management, Fidelity, Baron Capital, and earlier investors Amazon and BlackRock. TechCrunch has more on the round here.
Taulia, an 11-year-old, San Francisco-based company that facilitates payments between companies and their suppliers, just raised $60 million in funding led by fintech investment arm of Ping An Insurance of China, with participation from JPMorgan, and a venture arm of Saudi Arabian Oil Co. that's commonly known as Aramco. The WSJ has more here.
Big-But-Not-Crazy-Big Fundings
Inimmune, a 4.5-year-old, Missoula, Mt.-based developer of adjuvants for vaccines, raised $22 million in Series A funding led by Two Bear Capital, a venture firm founded by the controversial former Sequoia Capital partner Michael Goguen. The Flathead Beacon has more here.
Butler Hospitality, a four-year-old, New York-based ghost kitchen operator, has raised $15 million in Series A funding from the Kraft Group, &vest, Scopus Ventures, and Mousse Partners. Crunchbase News has more here.
LumiThera, a 7.5-year-old, Seattle-based company that makes a medical device for ocular disorders that stimulates cells with LED lights, has raised $14 million in Series C funding. WaterStar Capital led the round, joined by Imagine Ventures, Keiretsu Capital, Water Star Mercury Fund, Nikon Corp., and Celeste Management. GeekWire has more here.
Solugen, a four-year-old, Houston, Tex.-based decarbonization startup, has raised $30 million in extended Series B funding. Refactor Capital led the newest tranche, joined by Founders Fund, Knollwood Investment Advisory, Valor Equity, LowerCarbon, Box Group, AeraVC, and YC. Forbes takes a look at the company here.
Tranquis Therapeutics, a four-year-old, San Mateo, Ca.-based immuno-neurology startup whose therapeutic approach targets underlying myeloid immune cell dysfunction that has been linked to a variety of nervous system disorders, just raised $30 million in Series A funding. Remiges Ventures and SR One co-led the round, joined by Vivo Capital, Hillsborough Venture, and Correlation Ventures. FierceBiotech has more here.
Amie, a months-old, Berlin-based productivity app, has raised $1.3 million from Creandum and Tiny VC. TechCrunch has more here.
FitXR, a nearly four-year-old, London-based startup that makes VR fitness apps, including one centered on boxing, has raised $6.3 million. Hiro Capital led the round, joined by earlier investors BoostVC, Maveron and TenOneTen Ventures. More here.
Icon Savings Plan, a 2.5-year-old, San Francisco-based portable retirement savings plan company, has raised $3.2 million in seed funding. Former DCM general partner Tom Blaisdell led the round, joined by Rethink Impact, TASC Ventures, Kelly Innovation Fund, Portland Seed Fund, and Alumni Ventures. Crunchbase News has more here.
InOrbit, a 3.5-year-old, Mountain View, Ca.-based maker of robot management software, has raised $2.6 million in seed funding led by Animo Ventures, with participation from Yamaha Motor Ventures & Laboratory Silicon Valley, Kärcher New Venture, and others. More here.
Joe Coffee, a six-year-old, Seattle-based mobile ordering and pay network for coffee shops, raised an additional $1.3 million in seed funding led by Craft Ventures. GeekWire wrote about the company last year.
K4Connect, a seven-year-old, Raleigh, N.C.-based company that brings tech into senior centers, has raised $7.7 million in additional Series B led by Forte Ventures. The round, which had originally wrapped in October 2018, now stands at $21 million. TechCrunch has more here.
Nuggs, a nearly two-year-old, New York-based company that makes a chicken nugget simulation out of a texturized pea protein technology, has raised $4.1 million led by Lerer Hippeau. More here.
Popshop Live, a two-year-old, Los Angeles-based live streaming shopping platform, has raised $3 million in funding led by Floodgate and Abstract Ventures, with additional participation from Long Journey Ventures, Cyan and Scott Banister, Shrug Capital, Backend Capital and Halogen Ventures. TechCrunch has more here.
Shadowbox, a 3.5-year-old, Encinitas, Ca.-based developer of a no-code integration and automation platform, raised $1 million in seed funding. Blackbird Ventures led the round, joined by Crowdsmart.IO. More here.
Traplight, a 10-year-old, Tampere, Finland-based mobile gaming studio, has raised €8 million led by EQT Ventures. VentureBeat has more here.
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New Funds
Chelsea Clinton is in the very early stages of forming a venture capital firm, Axios says, reporting that its working name is Metrodora Ventures, apparently after the author of the first medical text known to have been written by a woman. For now, the outlet says, Clinton is investing as an angel, and if the fund gets off the ground, she will fold those bets into the vehicle. More here.
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IPOs
Rackspace, the San Antonio, Tex.-based company that leases server space and helps corporations store and access data in the cloud, filed to go public today without specifying the size of the offering. Rackspace is owned by the private equity firm Apollo Global Management. It had earlier gone public back in 2008 and was taken private again by Apollo in 2016. Reuters has more here.
Ant Group, the fintech company backed by Alibaba, is reportedly planning an IPO in Hong Kong that could value it at over $200 billion. Reuters has the story here.
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Exits
The U.S. entity of Japanese retailer Muji, known for its minimalist home goods, filed for bankruptcy today, another apparent victim of the pandemic. Muji U.S.A., which is operated by Ryohin Keikaku Co., reportedly listed assets and liabilities in the range of $50 million to $100 million, and estimated the number of creditors at 200 to 999. Bloomberg has the story here.
Silver Lake agreed to acquire Silae, a 10-year-old, HR software company that's based in Aix-en-Provence and claims more than 550,000 businesses as customers in France. Financial terms weren't disclosed but the Financial Times reports that it was worth more than €500 million. Private Equity News has more here.
Stitch Labs, a nine-year-old, San Francisco-based operations management platform that's used by e-commerce brands and had raised at least $23 million from investors like Triangle Peak Partners and Costanoa Ventures, has been acquired by the payments company Square. The terms weren't disclosed. The Street has more here.
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People
Elon Musk is now richer than Warren Buffett, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, after Tesla's stock surged 11% today, bumping up the net worth of Musk-- who owns one-fifth of the carmaker's outstanding shares -- by an insane $6 billion. Musk is now the world’s seventh-richest person, also ahead of tech titans Larry Ellison and Sergey Brin. More here.
Hjalmar Winbladh, a seven-time founder, is leaving EQT Ventures, the Stockholm-based firm he co-founded in 2016, he confirms to TechCrunch. More here.
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Essential Reads
ByteDance is considering changing the corporate structure of its popular short-video app TikTok, as it comes under increasing scrutiny in its biggest markets over its Chinese ties. The WSJ has more here.
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Detours
A timeline of officials trying to get Trump's financial records.
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