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August 10, 2020
Aaaand we're back from our brief summer hiatus.:) Did you miss us? [Dimple twist.]
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Top News
Microsoft is exploring a deal to buy TikTok's operations in certain countries, including the U.S., but some employees are concerned that the acquisition could call Microsoft's integrity into question, reports Business Insider.
In the meantime, unsurprisingly, TikTok is planning to sue the White House, challenging Donald Trump's executive order banning the service from the U.S. A federal filing could come as soon as tomorrow, says NPR, which adds that the lawsuit will argue Trump's far-reaching action is unconstitutional because it failed to give the company a chance to respond. The lawsuit is also expected to allege that the administration's national security justification for the order is baseless.
Who are the power brokers here? Recode speculates that the fate of TikTok could be shaped in part by the efforts of Sequoia's Doug Leone, a Trump donor who reportedly has told people he could use his influence with Trump to help the company. (According to the WSJ, Sequoia owns a little more than 10% of TikTok.)
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Massive Fundings
Skillshare, a 10-year-old, New York-based marketplace for online courses (with a newer focus on creative skills), has raised $66 million in new funding led by OMERS Growth Equity. Earlier backers Union Square Ventures, Amasia, Burda Principal Investments and Spero Ventures also joined the round. TechCrunch has more here.
Big-But-Not-Crazy-Big Fundings
Mux, a 4.5-year-old, San Francisco-based startup that provides API-based video streaming tooling and analytics, has raised $37 million in Series C funding led by Andreessen Horowitz, with participation from Accel and Cobalt. TechCrunch has more here.
Oomnitza, an eight-year-old, San Francisco-based IT platform that secures and manages a corporation’s "digital estate" -- from end-user hardware, to the various SaaS products used, to networking infrastructure -- has raised $12.5 million in Series B funding led by Shasta Ventures and Riverside Acceleration Capital. Crunchbase News has more here.
Routable, a three-year-old, San Francisco-based B2B payments company, has raised $12 million in Series A funding from Y Combinator, Founders Co-Op, Box Group, Liquid 2 Ventures, and numerous individual investors. More here.
CakeResume, a four-old, Taipei, Taiwan-based job search platform focused on tech jobs, has raised $900,000 in seed funding from Mynavi, one of the largest staffing and public relations companies in Japan. TechCrunch has more here.
Brio Systems, a three-year-old, Boston, Ma.-based maker of a Covid-19 testing system for the workplace, raised $1.9 million in seed funding. Investors included One Way Ventures, Techstars Ventures, Nimble Ventures, and Castor Ventures. More here.
Keyless, an 18-month-old, London-based biometric authentication and identity management company, has raised $2.2 million in funding. P101 SGR led the round, joined by Maire Investments, Luiss Alumni 4 Growth, Primomiglio SGR, and Xpring. Crunchbase News has more here.
Interlace, an 18-month-old, New York-based dating app founded by former HQ Trivia employees Paari Kandappan and Lisa Luo, has raised $4.2 million in funding, including from Lightspeed Venture Partners (which backed HQ Trivia). The app is apparently coming soon.
Ironscales, a seven-year-old, Atlanta, Ga.-based anti-phishing email security platform, has raised $8 million in Series B extension funding led by Jump Capital. VentureBeat has more here.
Mashroom, a 2.5-year-old, London-based maker of property management software, has raised £4 million in new funding from undisclosed investors and the U.K. Future Fund. TechCrunch has more here.
WorkPatterns, a two-year-old, San Francisco-based maker of employee management software, has raised $2.8 million in seed funding from Javelin Venture Partners, Founders Fund, Merus Capital, PLG Ventures, and numerous individual investors. Business Insider has more here.
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New Funds
A new, Los Angeles-based startup studio called Share Ventures -- led by MoviePass cofounder Hamet Watt -- has raised $10 million in funding and outlined plans to launch two to four companies every year. Watt was most recently an entrepreneur-in-residence at True Ventures. TechCrunch has more here.
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IPOs
Hennessy Capital Acquisition Corp. IV is in advanced talks to merge with Canoo, a three-year-old, Southern California company that intends to offer electric vehicles on a subscription basis, according to Bloomberg. The special purpose acquisition company is in talks with investors to raise about $300 million in new equity for the deal, which would value the combined entity at more than $2 billion, says Bloomberg. It further notes that deals involving autonomous driving technology and electric vehicles have been in favor among blank-check companies. Velodyne Lidar and Fisker also recently both agreed to go public via SPAC mergers. (More on Hennessy Capital here.)
CureVac, one of Germany’s leading contenders to develop a Covid-19 vaccine, said it aims to raise up to $245 million in a U.S. IPO. The group, which is controlled by SAP co-founder Dietmar Hopp, is also backed by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Hopp has agreed to purchase shares worth 100 million euros ($117 million) at the IPO, reports CNBC, while Endpoints News notes that the company will be valued at $2.6 billion if it prices at its midpoint range. (It's selling 15.3 million shares at between $14 and $16 apiece.)
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Exits
American Express is in advanced talks to buy the online small-business lender Kabbage in an all-cash deal that would value the company at as much as $850 million, including retention payments, according to Bloomberg. The outlet notes that in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, Kabbage "furloughed hundreds of workers and suspended customer credit lines as it contended with a slowdown in spending at small businesses nationwide. More recently, the Atlanta-based firm has focused on providing small businesses with loans from the U.S. government’s Paycheck Protection Program." Kabbage -- which has raised $2.5 billion in equity and debt financing altogether -- is backed the SoftBank Vision Fund among others. A couple of years ago, we sat down with Kabbage CEO Rob Frohwein and David Thevenon, the SoftBank partner who championed the deal, about "crafting a partnership that works." Thevenon has since left SoftBank and is now a general partner with Balderton.)
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People
Wendell Brooks has resigned from Intel Capital, where he had been president since 2015. Brooks said in an email to Intel Capital's portfolio companies that "it is now time for me to take the next step in my life's journey," adding that he would remain a part of the VC ecosystem, according to a report by the Global Corporate Venturing website. Pitchbook has more here.
Aaref Hilaly has joined Bain Capital Ventures as partner. Hilaly had spent seven years with Sequoia Capital before joining Wing Venture Partners last October, so this is a quick about-face. More here.
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Essential Reads
Startups braced for the worst. The worst never came.
A California judge today granted the state’s request for a preliminary injunction blocking Uber and Lyft from classifying their drivers as independent contractors rather than employees. In a 34-page decision faulting the money-losing companies’ “prolonged and brazen refusal” to comply with state law, Judge Ethan Schulman said the plaintiffs (including the cities of L.A., San Diego, and San Francisco) showed an “overwhelming likelihood” they could prove Uber and Lyft classified drivers illegally. Reuters has more here.
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Detours
Restaurants in Italy are reopening wine windows, used during the plague.
These twins made a 40-year-old single the fourth-best-selling song last week.
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