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October 2, 2020
Before we dive in: if you care about politics, check out the newest StrictlyVC Download. In it, we talk with Jessica Alter, cofounder and CEO of Tech for Campaigns, an unapologetically partisan, three-year-old nonprofit that marries people across the tech world with Democratic campaigns that need their help -- and they need a lot of help, as Alter tells it.
A former tech founder who grew frustrated over Donald Trump's first Muslim travel ban in early 2017, Alter and her cofounders quickly concluded that Democrats were years behind their Republican rivals in terms of digital savvy, in large part because Republicans operate like a "conglomerate," she says, whereas the Democrats take a "portfolio" approach that is far more decentralized. "When leaders say to do things, it trickles down and people do it," Alter says of the Republican party. It's a different story with Democrats, she explains. We learned a lot about what's happening behind the scenes. You might learn something, too.
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Top News
Facebook did not care for "The Social Dilemma." At. All.
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Controversial Former Uber Exec Emil Michael Has Registered Plans for a $250 Million SPAC
SPACs, or special purpose acquisition companies, are all the rage right now, and people are emerging from all corners to raise them.
Among the latest entrants -- and someone who might be of interest to Silicon Valley watchers -- is Emil Michael, a former Uber executive and top lieutenant to former CEO Travis Kalanick. Earlier today, Micheal registered plans with the SEC to raise $250 million in an IPO for a blank-check company that will broadly acquire a company in the tech sector.
IPO Edge had reported earlier today that the SPAC might be in the works.
The filing lists as special advisors Alphabet's former executive chairman Eric Schmidt, and Betsy Atkins, a founder of Ascend Communications and investor who has served on so many boards that last year she wrote a book about it. Indeed, among her other roles currently, she's on the boards of Volvo, Wynn Resorts, and Oyo Hotels.
Michael was as senior vice president of field operations at Tellme Networks, then later served as COO of the startup Klout before landing at Uber, where he was a senior vice president for business for nearly four years.
He gained prominence in the role, but also some disrepute after he publicly made comments about hiring opposition researchers to quite journalists critical of the company and following a later report that he had attended an "escort bar" in Seoul with other Uber executives, including Kalanick. Indeed, when he left the company in 2017, Uber declined to say if he left of his own accord.
Despite -- or perhaps even because of -- his trajectory at Uber, Michael was reportedly vetted at one point for the position of Secretary of Transportation after Donald Trump was elected president.
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Massive Fundings
Bioshin, a 2.5-year-old, Shanghai-based wholly owned (until now) of Biohaven Pharmaceuticals that is focused on developing medicines for the Asia-Pacific region, has raised $60 million in Series A funding. OrbiMed led the round, joined by Cormorant Asset Management, HBM Healthcare Investments, Surveyor Capital, and Suvretta Capital Management. The WSJ has more here.
Flame Biosciences, a three-year-old, New York-based clinical-stage biopharma-focused on cancer and inflammatory diseases, has raised $100 million. Rock Springs Capital led the round, joined by T. Rowe Price Associates, Cormorant Asset Management, Janus Henderson Investors, and numerous other investors. More here.
Olema Oncology, a 14-year-old, San Francisco, Ca.-based biopharma focused on the commercialization of targeted therapies for women’s cancers, has raised $85 million in Series C funding. Vivo Capital led the round, joined by Avoro Capital Advisors, BlackRock, Deerfield Management Company, and OrbiMed.
Payrix, a five-year-old, Frisco, Tex.-based startup that enables vertically-focused SaaS companies to embed and manage payments natively within their software, has raised $50 million in extended Series A funding from Blue Star Innovation Partners and Providence Strategic Growth. Dallas Morning News has more here.
Reliance Industries, a 14-year-old, Mumbai, India-based subsidiary of Reliance Industries that has become the largest retailer in India, just sold a 1.4% stake in its business to Mubadala Investment Co. in exchange for 62.5 billion rupees ($853 million). LiveMint has more here.
Strava, the 11-year-old, San Francisco-based app that runners and cyclists use to track their workouts, is raising up to $400 million in new funding in a deal that could triple its valuation to at least $1 billion, says Bloomberg. More here.
Uber Freight, the logistics arm of Uber, has raised $500 million in Series A funding. Greenbriar Equity Group made the investment in a deal that values the unit at $3.3 billion. TechCrunch has more here.
Big-But-Not-Crazy-Big Fundings
Dewey's Bakery, a 90-year-old, Winston-Salem, N.C.-based cookie and cracker maker, raised $25 million in funding from Eurazeo. FoodBev Media has more here.
Eclypsium, a three-year-old, Portland, Ore.-based enterprise device security company that helps detect, analyze, and prevent security threats at the firmware level, has raised $13 million in funding. Investors included AV8 Ventures, TransLink Capital, Mindset Ventures, Alumni Ventures Group, Ridgeline Partners, Intel Capital, Madrona Venture Group, Andreessen Horowitz, and Ubiquity Ventures. GeekWire has more here.
Knoma, a 1.5-year-old, London-based lending startup that partners with online coding and other tech schools to provide loans to students, has raised £21 million in debt and equity funding from Global Founders Capital, Rocket Internet, Fasanara Capital and Seedrs, along with angel investors. Tech.eu has more here.
Solo.io, a three-year-old, Cambridge, Ma.-based API infrastructure company, has raised $23 million in Series B funding. Redpoint Ventures and True Ventures led the round. SiliconANGLE has more here.
Tend, a two-year-old, New York-based dentistry startup that's opening upscale offices that they pretentiously (by design, seemingly) call "studios," has raised $37 million in Series B funding led by GV. Other participants in the round include Tiger Global, Good Friends, Juxtapose, Redpoint and Zigg Capital. The company has now raised $73 million altogether. Forbes has more here.
Smaller Fundings
Airly, a three-year-old, Krakow, Poland-based startup whose air monitoring device is the size of an iPhone and which measures particulate matter and emissions like NOx, SOx, methane and carbon monoxide, has raised $2 million in seed funding from Giant Ventures, Sir Richard Branson’s and Sir Ronald Cohen’s families, and numerous others. TechCrunch has more here.
Altinity, a three-year-old, Gillingham, U.K.-based cloud service provider, has raised $4 million in funding from Accel. More here.
Course Studio, a months-old, British Columbia, Vancouver-based online class startup, has raised $1 million in seed funding. Axios has more here.
Lucid Scientific, an eight-year-old, Atlanta, Ga.-based biotechnology tools company, has raised $3 million in seed funding. Dynamk Capital led the round, Georgia Research Alliance’s Venture Fund. The startup has now raised $4.5 million altogether. More here.
Malomo, a two-year-old, Indianapolis, In.-based startup thatt helps e-commerce brands generate more revenue by turning their shipment tracking experience into a marketing channel, has raised $2.8 million in funding from Base 10, Harlem Capital, and earlier backers Hyde Park and High Alpha. TechCrunch has more here.
Paired, a year-old, London-based therapy app for couples, has raised $1 million in funding from numerous individual investors, including Taavet Hinrikus of TransferWise. TechCrunch has more here.
QUIN, a seven-month-old, Berlin, Germany-based startup whose tech aims to enables users to build, monitor, and optimize their own, customized ETF portfolio, has raised €1 million ($1 million) in seed funding, including from sino AG, Runa Capital, and APX. More here.
Writer, a two-month-old, Bay Area-based AI-based startup whose service watches as an employee types, flagging language that doesn’t match up with his or her employer's style guide or values, has raised $5 million in funding from Upfront Ventures, Aspect Ventures, Bonfire Ventures, and Broadway Angels. TechCrunch has more here.
Not-Saying-How-Much Fundings
Kavak, a four-year-old, Mexico City, Mexico-based used car platform, has raised an undisclosed amount of funding from SoftBank's Latin America fund at a post-money valuation of $1.15 billion, its CEO, Carlos Garcia, tells Reuters. The company, which has now raised more than $400 million to date, is reportedly the first so-called unicorn in Mexico. More here.
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New Funds
London-based venture capital firm Draper Esprit said yesterday that it plans to raise 100 million pounds ($128.89 million) in equity to invest in new opportunities brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. The company, which invests in technology firms across Europe, said it was offering shares at 555 pence each, a 1.3% premium to the stock’s closing price yesterday. As Reuters notes, its shares overall are up 15% this year. More here.
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IPOs
Home rental company Airbnb is aiming to raise around $3 billion in IPO, taking advantage of the "unexpectedly sharp recovery in its business" despite the initial slowdown it suffered after COVID-19 first took hold, says Reuters. More here.
Roblox, a San Mateo, Ca.-based gaming platform for tweens and teens, is prepping an early 2021 IPO or direct listing at what could be double the $4 billion valuation it secured earlier this year, says Reuters. More here.
Ozon Group, a 22-year-company that has long been called the Amazon of Russia, is preparing for an IPO of stock in the U.S. later this year or beginning of next, according to the WSJ. It cites the pandemic's impact on e-commerce platforms by spurring more people to shop online.
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People
Blossom Capital in London has hired Carmen Alfonso Rico as partner. She joins the firm from Samaipata VC, where she led the U.K. office. TechCrunch has more here.
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Essential Reads
Twitter is developing a new product called “Birdwatch,” which the company confirms is an attempt at addressing misinformation across its platform by providing more context for tweets in the form of notes.
Tribe Capital, a $360 million venture fund founded by a trio of former Social Capital investors, is close to announcing a program called Firstlook that will allow qualified individuals—those with a net worth of more than $1 million and an annual income of $200,000—to co-invest in startups in deals underwritten and managed by Tribe. (This sounds like a series of SPVs that are open to a wider assortment of investors than is typically the case.) The Information has more here.
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Retail Therapy
Mochidoki’s signature collection gift box.
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