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Top News
Parler, the two-year-old social media platform backed by conservative hedge-fund investor Robert Mercer and his daughter Rebekah, has seen Amazon, Apple and Google end their agreements with the service, owing to the potential spread of violent content on the site, say the companies. Parler is now trying to sue Amazon, alleging that Amazon conspiring against the company for Twitter's benefit.
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These Two Former Sequoia Investors Say the Most 'Compelling Emerging Market' is the U.S. Outside of Silicon Valley
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Roughly eight years ago, investors Mark Kvamme and Chris Olsen left Silicon Valley to open a venture firm, Drive Capital, in Columbus, Ohio. It wasn’t an easy decision. Leaving California wasn’t exactly fashionable at the time. In fact, While Olsen had grown up in Cincinnati, the Yale grad had landed at Sequoia Capital a couple of years out of college — a dream job — and had no interest in going anywhere. Meanwhile, Kvamme is a California native who attended UC Berkeley, grew up immersed in the world of startups (his dad was also a VC), and cofounded four companies before himself landing at Sequoia, where among his deals, he led the firm’s investment in LinkedIn.
Even after a series of developments would lead them to take the leap, the early ride was bumpy. There was no venture community. Midwestern startups were still few and far between. More, Kvamme, first lured to Ohio by his longtime friend John Kasich to take an economic development job that he thought would be temporary, was soon deemed a little too cozy with the state’s power players.
Looking back now, it’s a wonder they stayed. Yet it’s because they did that Columbus is primed for more VCs to join them, they convincingly argue. Indeed, Drive, which now manages $650 million and features nine investors, is receiving interest from 7,000 startups each year, and some of its portfolio companies are beginning to break out. The very first company to attract a check from Drive, an eight-year-old, Columbus-based hospital software maker called Olive AI, was assigned a $1.5 billion valuation just last month in a funding round led by Tiger Global. Another investment, in the five-year-old car insurance startup Root, also appears promising. Root, which went public in November, currently boasts a market cap of $4.7 billion, and Drive owns 26.6% of the company. (Olsen says it hasn’t sold a share.)
We talked late last week with Kvamme and Olsen about what they are building — and why VCs who may be thinking about leaving California for Austin or Miami might pay more attention.
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Massive Fundings
Atalanta Therapeutics, a 2.5-year-old, Boston-based developer of treatments for neurodegenerative diseases, has raised $110 million in Series A funding solely from F-Prime Capital. FierceBiotech has more here.
Curve, a nearly six-year-old, London-based startup offering online only banking services, has raised $95 million in Series C funding from IDC Ventures, Fuel Venture Capital and Vulcan Capital, among others, to fuel an expansion into the U.S. CNBC has more here.
EQRx, a 1.5-year-old, Cambridge, Ma.-based startup that made waves last year when it announced a plan to develop new medicines that would sell at cheaper prices than existing high-priced drugs, has raised $500 million in Series B funding, bringing its total funding to $750 million. The company did not name who invested in the new round; earlier investors include GV, Arch Venture Partners, Andreessen Horowitz, Casdin Capital, Section 32, Nextech and Arboretum Ventures. STAT has more here.
Getir, a 5.5-year-old, Istanbul, Turkey-based on-demand delivery startup that raised $38 million last year -- most of it from the personal investment vehicle of renowned VC Michael Moritz, as it is beyond Sequoia's "geographic footprint," as he explained at the time -- is in talks to raise around $100 million at a valuation north of $800 million, says Bloomberg. The company has raised $70 million altogether to date. More here.
Keep, a six-year-old, China-based fitness class app, has closed on $360 million in Series F funding led by SoftBank Vision Fund. Hillhouse Capital and Coatue Management also joined the round, along with earlier backers GGV Capital, Tencent, 5Y Capital, Jeneration Capital and Bertelsmann Asia Investments. The latest fundraise values the company at about $2 billion post-money, people with knowledge tell TechCrunch. More here.
Tuhu, a nearly 10-year-old, Shanghai, China-based company that has built an automobile after-sales products and services e-commerce platform that connects drivers with repair services, is in talks to raise at least $200 million in fresh funding at a valuation of $4 billion, says Bloomberg. Some of the company's earlier backers include Goldman Sachs Group, Sequoia Capital, Tencent, and Legend Capital. More here.
Visen Pharmaceuticals, a 2.5-year-old, Shanghai, China-based developer of endocrine drugs, has raised $150 million in Series B funding. Sequoia China led the round, joined by OrbiMed, Sherpa Healthcare Partners, Cormorant, HBM Healthcare Investments, Pivotal bioVenture Partners China, Logos Capital, and CDG Capital. More here.
Worktrans, a nearly six-year-old, Shanghai, China-based maker of HR management software, has raised $190.5 million in Series C and Series D funding. The $50.5 million Series C came from investors including Sequoia Capital China; its Series D funding came from Tencent and CICC Capital. DealStreetAsia has more here.
Big-But-Not-Crazy-Big Fundings
Ajaib Group, a 1.5-year-old, Indonesia-based company that offers both an online stock trading platform and an online mutual funds platform, raised $25 million in Series A funding. Horizons Ventures and Alpha JWC led the round, joined by SoftBank Ventures Asia, Insignia Ventures and Y Combinator. DealStreetAsia has more here.
Aulos Bioscience, a months-old, Cambridge, Ma.-based company developing treatments for solid tumors, has raised $40 million in Series A funding from ATP, the 22-year-old life sciences venture firm that spun the company out it into the world. FierceBiotech has more here.
Cortilia, a nine-year-old, Milan, Italy-based grocery delivery company, has raised €34 million in Series C funding. Red Circle Investments led the round, joined by earlier backers Indaco Ventures, Five Seasons Ventures, Primomiglio and P101 SGR. Tech.eu has more here.
Dable, a five-year-old, South Korea-based content discover platform, has raised $12 million in Series C funding at a post-money valuation of $90 million. The round was led by led by South Korean venture firm SV Investment, with participation from KB Investment and K2 Investment, as well as earlier investor Kakao Ventures. The company has now raised $20.5 million altogether. TechCrunch has more here.
Komodo Health, a 6.5-year-old, San Francisco-based healthcare data startup, revealed today it raised $44 million in Series D funding last year led by ICONIQ Capital. Earlier backers also joined the round, including Andreessen Horowitz, Oak HC/FT, IA Ventures, Felicis Ventures and McKesson Ventures. Some of that capital is being used now to Mavens, a developer of cloud-based software designed for specialty biotech and pharma companies for undisclosed terms. FierceBiotech has more here.
Sensei Biotherapeutics, a 21-year-old, Boston-based developer of personalized cancer drugs, has raised $$30 million in new funding, just four months after closing on $28.5 million in funding. Earlier backer Future Ventures led the round, joined by actress Uma Thurman. Sensei is already planning an IPO and has hired Citibank toward that end, says Bloomberg. More here.
Smaller Fundings
Alula, a year-old, New York-based online resource hub intended to support both cancer patients and their friends and family throughout their treatment, has raised $2.2 million in seed funding. Bonobos founder Andy Dunn led the round, joined by Metrodora Ventures, BBG Ventures, Thrive Capital, Village Global, and Homebrew. TechCrunch has more here.
Gig Wage,a 6.5-year-old, Dallas, Tex.-based payroll platform, has raised $2.5 million in extended Series A funding led by Foundry Group. The company has now raised $9 million altogether. The Dallas Morning News has more here.
Hello Ralphie, a 1.5-year-old, New York-based veterinary telemedicine company, raised $1 million in seed funding from HearstLab and WPMC Fund. More here.
Kenbi, a 1.5-year-old, Berlin, Germany-based healthcare startup, has raised €7 million in seed funding. The round was led by Redalpine, with participation from earlier backers Heartcore, e.ventures, and Partech. Tech.eu has more here.
SoleSavy, a two-year-old, Vancouver-based online community built around buying hard-to-acquire sneakers and other retail items, has raised $2 million in funding late last year. Among those to pitch into the round: Panache Ventures, Tiny Capital, and Bedrock Capital. TechCrunch has more here.
Xampla, a 2.5-year-old, U.K.-based spin-out from the University of Cambridge, has raised £6.2 million in seed funding to turn its natural, compostable plant-protein alternative into a replacement for microplastics and single-use plastics. The funding was led by Horizon Ventures and follows a £2 million investment round in April of last year. Sifted has more here.
Zipmex, a 2.5-year-old, Singapore-based digital assets exchange, has raised $6 million in funding led by Jump Capital. TechCrunch has more here.
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New Funds
Access Bridge Ventures, a newly launched, UAE-based (and focused) early-stage venture capital fund, has made a first close. The fund -- which is looking to close with at least $25 million in capital commitments -- has already garnered the financial support of notable regional institutional investors, including Mubadala Capital, Saudi Venture Capital Company, Jada, and several family offices. The Jordan Times has more here.
Sid Sijbrandij, cofounder and CEO of eight-year-old Gitlab, a San Francisco-based maker of collaboration software for programmers, is setting up a $100 million venture fund to invest in Asia and other markets, reports DealStreetAsia. More here.
Telecom company Orange is making some changes to its venture capital arm. Orange Ventures is becoming a separate legal t can attract third-party investors, with Orange itself allocating $430 million (€350 million). TechCrunch has more here.
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Going Public
Lending startup Affirm is aiming for a valuation of more than $10 billion in its stock market launch after an upward revision in price range, it revealed today. The company was last valued by its private market investors at $3 billion. Reuters has more here.
Athlon Acquisition, a blank check company formed by Causeway Media Partners targeting the health, wellness, and fitness space, has raised $240 million. The group was originally targeting $200 million. Renaissance Capital has more here.
Intercontinental Exchange will take its cryptocurrency venture public by merging it with a SPAC, a deal that will further its goal of launching a consumer app for trading and making payments with digital assets. The venture, Bakkt, is expected to have a valuation of $2.1 billion after completing the merger with VPC Impact Acquisition Holdings, the companies said today. The WSJ has more here.
Bustle Digital Group, a U.S. media platform whose publications include fashion magazine W and Bustle, is exploring a potential merger with blank-check acquisition companies that would take it public, according to Reuters. The outlet says the company is aiming for a valuation of at least $600 million, including debt, and recently hired investment bank Farvahar Partners, to find a SPAC partner. Bustle founder Bryan Goldberg had told The Information back in September that Bustle is a "logical candidate" for a SPAC.
Faraday Future, the electric vehicle startup looks to go public via a merger with Property Solutions Acquisition Corp, according to a report from Bloomberg.Talks between the two companies are ongoing and a potential deal could value Faraday Futures at around $3 billion, Bloomberg reported, adding that a deal could raise $400 million in proceeds for Faraday. More here.
Lucid Motors, a California EV startup that gave up majority ownership to Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund last year in exchange for $1.3 billion, is reportedly, is in talks to go public through a merger with one of the special purpose acquisition vehicles of Wall Street veteran Michael Klein. The SPAC, Churchill Capital Corp IV, raised more than $2 billion last year; Lucid is reportedly working with financial advisers on the deal, which could be valued at up to $15 billion. More here.
ON24, a 23-year-old, San Francisco-based that sells cloud-based webcasting and virtual communication services, has registered plans with the SEC to raise $100 million in an IPO, after booked $128 million in revenue for the 12 months ended September 30, 2020. The company's biggest outside shareholders include USVP, Canaan Partners, Goldman Sachs and Rho Ventures, with stakes that range from 10% to 20% of the company. Renaissance Capital has more here.
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Exits
Snapchat’s parent company Snap has acquired StreetCred, a three-year-old, New York-based startup building a platform for location data. Snap confirmed the news to TechCrunch and said the acquisition will result in four StreetCred team members — including co-founders Randy Meech and Diana Shkolnikov — joining the company, where they’ll be working on map and location-related products. Terms of the deal aren't being disclosed. StreetCred had raised $1 million in seed funding from Bowery Capital and Notation Capital.
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People
Elon Musk said back in May that he planned to sell all of his homes and he appears to have done just that by the end of 2020. The sales of Elon Musk’s four homes—three of which are tucked in a Bel-Air cul-de-sac—closed a few days before Christmas for a combined $62 million. The buyer was listed as spec developer Ardie Tavangarian, who noted back in July in a statement to Bloomberg that he planned to combine them into a single project. Teslarati has more here.
Alex Guerrero has been promoted to general partner at the L.A.-based seed-stage enterprise focused venture firm Act One Ventures. Guerrero joined the firm in 2016 as a principal. More here.
Frazier Healthcare Partners has promoted three of its investors: Aditya Kohli is now a venture partner, Anna Chen is now a VP and Max Nowicki is now a senior associate. More here.
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Essential Reads
Walmart said today that it will launch a fintech start-up with Ribbit Capital, one of the investment firms behind Robinhood. CNBC has more here.
Rumble, a Toronto-based video-sharing site that has become popular among conservative pundits, has accused Google in a lawsuit of abusing the power of its search engine and mobile operating system to boost its YouTube video service over rivals. As notes the WSJ, it's the latest allegation of anticompetitive conduct against the Alphabet. More here.
Bitcoin and other digital coins tanked today, wiping off some $150 billion from the entire cryptocurrency market. CNBC has more here.
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Detours
"He's not going to like this sh*t at all," says Tiger Woods's family friend of a new, two-part HBO documentary about Tiger Woods.
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