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Top News
A group of hackers say they breached a massive trove of security-camera data collected by Silicon Valley startup Verkada, gaining access to live feeds of 150,000 surveillance cameras inside hospitals, companies, police departments, prisons and schools. It's not the first time that Verkada has been in the headlines for the wrong reasons. The Verge has more here.
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MobileCoin, a Cryptocurrency Involving Signal Founder Moxie Marlinspike, Just Raised Fresh Venture Funding
MobileCoin, a cryptocurrency that has received technical guidance from Moxie Marlinspike, the creator of private messaging app Signal, has raised $11.35 million in fresh venture funding across two rounds from Future Ventures and General Catalyst.
The round, shared with us by a source familiar with the company, seems to suggest the cryptocurrency is one step closer to its possible use on the Signal platform, where it does not appear to be available currently.
We were unable to reach Marlinspike today. MobileCoin founder Joshua Goldbard, who lists himself as "Janitor" of MobileCoin on LinkedIn, declined to answer questions this afternoon after being reached on Signal. Investors pointed us back to the company when asked about how MobileCoin compares to other crypto-related outfits.
It was back in 2017 that Wired first profiled MobileCoin, describing it as on a mission to overcome many of the early, and in some cases, lingering, challenges with cryptocurrencies, including that they're too complicated for most people and merchants to use, they aren't adequately scalable, and transaction times take too long.
Dapper Labs, for example, the company behind the ventures CryptoKitties and NBA Top Shot, developed its own blockchain and "Flow" token last year owing to scalability issues it encountered with Ethereum, as well as its interest in developing a platform that was more "consumer oriented."
At the time, Wired added that while it "may feel like the last thing the world needs is yet another cryptocurrency" -- there are now more than 4,000 of them in digital circulation -- Marlinspike's track record with Signal "makes this a project worth watching."
Based on its website, MobileCoin's ambition appears to be focused around privacy-protecting payments made through "near instantaneous transactions" made over one's phone, even while the risks involved in storing cryptocurrency on a phone include potentially losing that value if the phone is left unlocked or the radio on the phone is hacked or if, say, iOS itself is hacked. (It happens, despite the robust permissions system that iOS uses to grant apps access to particular services and information.)
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Massive Fundings
Flutterwave, a five-year-old, San Francisco-based developer of payments infrastructure for banks and businesses across Africa, founded by a team of African ex-bankers, engineers and entrepreneurs, has raised $170 million in Series C funding at a post-money valuation of more than $1 billion. Avenir Growth Capital and Tiger Global Management co-led the round, joined by DST Global, Early Capital Berrywood, Green Visor Capital, Greycroft Capital, PayPal, Salesforce Ventures, Worldpay from FIS, and 9Yards Capital. The company has now raised $225 million altogether. TechCrunch has more here.
Jobandtalent, an 11-year-old, Spain-based digital temp staffing agency startup that operates a dual-sided platform that matches temps with employers in sectors like e-commerce, warehousing, logistics and manufacturing, has raised $120 million in Series D funding from SoftBank’s Vision Fund 2 just months after closing its Series C round with $108 million. The company has now raised just less than $370 million altogether, including from Atomico, Seek, DN Capital, InfraVia, Quadrille, Kibo and FJ Labs. TechCrunch has more here.
Pipe, a 20-month-old, Miami, Fl.-based SaaS financing platform that pairs startups with investors who are willing to pay them upfront a discounted rate for the annual value of their contracts, has raised $50 million in new funding. Siemens’ Next47 and Raptor Group co-led the round, which also included participation from Shopify, Slack, HubSpot, Okta, Social Capital’s Chamath Palihapitiya, Salesforce's Marc Benioff, Michael Dell’s MSD Capital, Republic, Alexis Ohanian’s Seven Seven Six and Joe Lonsdale. TechCrunch has more here.
Privacera, a 4.5-year-old, Fremont, Ca.-based maker of cloud data governance and security software, has raised $50 million in Series B funding led by Insight Partners. Other backers in the round include Sapphire Ventures, Battery Ventures, and earlier investors Accel, Cervin, and Point 72. The company had raised $13.5 million led by Accel last summer. Crunchbase News has more here.
SeekOut, a five-year-old, Bellevue, Wa.-based hiring platform that was founded by former Microsoft engineers to help talent acquisition teams recruit "hard-to-find and diverse talent," has raised $65 million in Series B funding led by Tiger Global Management at a post-money valuation of around $500 million. Earlier backers Madrona Venture Group and Mayfield also participated in the financing, which brings SeekOut’s total funding to $73 million. TechCrunch has more here.
Valo Health, a three-year-old, Boston-based drug discovery company that was incubated by Flagship Pioneering (and whose CEO, David Berry, remains a GP with the firm, even while he has no plans to leave Valo), has tacked on $110 million to a Series B financing that brings the round to $300 million. The new capital came from Koch Disruptive Technologies and takes Valo's total funding to $450 million. We talked with Berry yesterday about Valo, for which Flagship seemingly has especially outsize ambitions. More here.
Vendr, a two-year-old, Boston-based SaaS buying platform, has raised $60 million in Series A funding led by Tiger Global Management, with participation from earlier investors Craft Ventures, Y Combinator, Sound Ventures, Garage Capital, and F-Prime Capital. TechCrunch has more here.
WorkFusion, a 10-year-old, New York-based maker of intelligent process automation software, has raised $220 million in Series F funding led by Georgian, bringing the company’s total raised to date to more than $340 million. VentureBeat has more here.
Wrapbook, a three-year-old, New York-based startup that simplifies the payroll process for TV, film and commercial productions, has raised $27 million in Series A funding. Andreessen Horowitz led the round, joined by Equal Ventures, Uncork Capital, WndrCo (the investment company led by Jeffrey Katzenberg) and CAA co-founder Michael Ovitz. TechCrunch has more here.
Zego, a 4.5-year-old, London-based insurtech that got its start by offering flexible motorbike insurance for gig economy workers and now sells a range of tech-enabled commercial motor insurance products, has raised $150 million in Series C funding. DST Global led the round, joined by General Catalyst, along with earlier backers, including Target Global, Balderton Capital, and Latitude. TechCrunch has more here.
Big-But-Not-Crazy-Big Fundings
Daily, a five-year-old, San Francisco-based startup whose API makes it easy to add video chat to any product or website, has raised $15 million in Series A funding led by early Stripe employee-turned-investor Lachy Groom. Tiger Global Management and most of Daily’s seed investors also participated, bringing Daily’s total raise to date to $22 million. TechCrunch has more here.
M1 Finance, a nearly six-year-old, Chicago-based automated money management platform, has raised $75 million in Series D funding led by Coatue, with participation from Left Lane Capital and Clocktower Technology Ventures. The company closed its Series B and C rounds just last year. TechCrunch has more here.
Demostack, a seven-month-old, San Francisco-based no-code product experience, platform, says it has raised $17.3 million across two previously undisclosed rounds. Investors include Bessemer Venture Partners, Amiti Ventures, Operator Collective and Cerca Partners. TechCrunch has more here.
Ibex Medical Analytics, a nearly five-year-old, Tel Aviv, Israel-based AI-powered cancer diagnostics platform, has raised $38 million in Series B funding co-led by Octopus Ventures and 83North. TechCrunch has more here.
Preply, an eight-year-old, Barcelona, Spain-based tutoring marketplace for language learning, has raised a $35 million Series B funding co-led by Full In Partners and Owl Ventures. The raise comes nearly a year after the company landed a $10 million Series A. TechCrunch has more here.
Scoro, a seven-year-old, London-based company that makes work management software for professional service businesses, has raised $16.4 million in Series B funding. Kennet Partners led the round, joined by Columbia Lake Partners, Inventure, Livonia Partners and Tera Ventures. More here.
Songclip, a 3.5-year-old, Bay Area-based startup whose API, when integrated with other apps (including the photo- and video-editing app PicsArt), allows users to search for and share music, has raised $11 million in funding led by Evolution VC Partners. The Kraft Group, Michael Rubin, Raised in Space, Gaingels and Forefront Venture Partners also joined the round, which brings the company's total funding to $23 million. TechCrunch has more here.
Tackle.io, a nearly year-old, Boise, Idaho-based cloud marketplace subscription platform that helps software providers generate revenue, has raised $35 million in Series B funding led by Andreessen Horowitz, with participation from earlier backer Bessemer Venture Partners. More here.
Smaller Fundings
Calixa, a 1.5-year-old, San Francisco-based startup whose software tool for SaaS companies aims to make the bottom-up sales process more manageable, is revealing today that it raised $4.25 million roughly a year ago. Kleiner Perkins had led the round, joined by Operator Collective, Liquid 2 Ventures and a bunch of individual investors. TechCrunch has more here.
Capsule, a nascent, Paris, France-based outfit working on a decentralized social media platform (to navigate around possible censorship), has raised $1.5 million in funding led by Beacon Fund, a dedicated crypto fund that is itself backed by Polychain Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, and the Dfinity Foundation. Nadim Kobeissi, a cryptography researcher, founded the company. TechCrunch has more here.
Cube, a three-year-old, New York-based maker of planning and analysis software for corporate finance teams, has raised $10 million in Series A funding. Mayfield led the round, joined by Bonfire Ventures and Operator Collective. TechCrunch has more here.
Mentorcam, a 1.5-year-old, L.A.-based video messaging platform for consumer advice from experts, including former NFL player Michael Vick and former Miss Universe Natalie Glebova, has raised $1.4 million in funding. General Catalyst led the round, joined by Studio VC, Kosinski Ventures and Realize Tech Fund. More here.
Plan A, a 3.5-year-old, Berlin, Germany-based platform for corporate carbon footprint tracking and reporting, has raised $3 million in funding led by Demeter, with participation from Coparion and SoftBank. TechCrunch has more here.
Omeda Studios, a year-old, London-based gaming startup at work on a cross-platform third-person multiplayer online battle arena game called "Predecessor," has raised $2.2 million in seed funding. GFR Fund led the round, joined by Inventure, Progression Fund, 1Up Ventures, Aream & Co. and Ride Ventures. VentureBeat has more here.
Porter Road, a nearly 10-year-old, Nashville, Tn.-based online butcher shop focused on sustainability, has raised $10 million in funding led by L37 Ventures, with participation from River Park Ventures, Middleland, FJ Labs, MAX Ventures, Tribeca Venture Partners and Slow Ventures. TechCrunch has more here.
Trufan, a 2.5-year-old, Toronto-based startup selling tools helping marketers analyze their social followings and collect audience data, has raised $2.3 million in seed funding led by Moneta Ventures, with participation from GP Ventures, Protocol Ventures and Athlete Technology Group, along with numerous angel investors. The company has now raised $4.1 million altogether. TechCrunch has more here.
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New Funds
Ascension Ventures, the 20-year-old, healthcare venture arm of St. Louis-based health system Ascension, just announced a new $285 million fund that brings the unit's total assets to more than $1 billion. Limited partners in the fund -- Ascension Ventures's fifth -- include 13 health system partners. More here.
Coatue Management, the 21-year-old, tech-focused investment firm, is raising its second early-stage venture fund, according to an SEC filing that does not list a target. The outfit closed on its debut venture fund, a $700 million vehicle, in 2019. More here.
Passion Capital, the London-based early-stage venture firm, is planning to crowdfund the final stage of third and latest £45 million ($62.5 million) fund. It may be the first time retail investors have been invited to become limited partners in a venture fund in Europe. TechCrunch has more here.
Pegasus Tech Ventures, a firm that helps corporations launch startup investment funds, announced a new partnership with Japanet, one of Japan’s largest television shopping companies. Specifically, the two have established a $50 million venture fund to invest in startups from around the world. TechCrunch has more here.
VMG Partners, the nearly 16-year-old, San Francisco-based investment firm, has raised $850 million in capital commitments for its fifth fund focused on consumer brands. Food Dive has more here.
Worklife, a 1.5-year-old, Bay Area-based, seed-stage enterprise-focused venture firm founded by Brienne Kimmel, a former angel investor who previously worked formerly on product and go-to-market strategy at Zendesk, is targeting upwards of $60 million for her second fund, shows an SEC filing. More here.
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Exits
SoFi has agreed to acquire Golden Pacific Bancorp (GPB) for about $22.3 million. The dollar amount is not staggering, notes TechCrunch. More notable is that the deal gives SoFi a "quick route to getting a national bank charter. SoFi, a digital personal finance company, got preliminary approval for a bank charter last October. By acquiring GPB, the company gets a fast track into that process. Once the transaction closes later this year, GPB will become a subsidiary of the company." More here.
Epic Games announced today it has brought on the team from photogrammetry studio Capturing Reality to help the company improve how it handles 3D scans of environments and objects. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed. As TechCrunch explains it, photogrammetry involves stitching together multiple photos or laser scans to create 3D models of objects that can subsequently be exported as singular files. More here.
Dropbox agreed to buy DocSend, a seven-year-old, San Francisco-based document sharing and tracking platform, for $165 million. According to Crunchbase, DocSend had raised $15.3 million from Cowboy Ventures, August Capital and DCM Ventures, among others. VentureBeat has more here.
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Going Public
Roblox goes public tomorrow. CNBC looks at how the indie game makers turned it into a $30 billion company. More here.
Investment giant TPG filed for three new SPACs yesterday. Renaissance Capital has more here.
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People
The cryptocurrency boom has turned the compensation package that Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong secured last year into one of the most lavish pay deals in corporate America, as Bloomberg reports, noting that Armstrong could be in line for a windfall of more than $3 billion. More here.
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, who’s selling his first ever tweet as a non-fungible token, said today that he’ll donate the profits to charity. The highest offer, as of this morning, was for $2.5 million. After the auction ends on March 21, Dorsey said he'll convert the proceeds to bitcoin and donate it to GiveDirectly’s Africa Response fund. CNBC has more here.
President Biden has decided to nominate Lina Khan, a Columbia University legal scholar championed by anti-Big Tech activists, to the Federal Trade Commission. Politico has more here.
The $10 billion Bezos Earth Fund has a new chief executive in Andrew Steer, the former head of the World Resources Institute, an organization that Bezos described as “working to alleviate poverty while protecting the natural world.” As the head of the fund, Steer will be responsible for spending all its money down by the end of 2030. TechCrunch has more here.
BuzzFeed is laying off 47 employees at its newly acquired HuffPost, including writers and editors. In a note sent to staffers, BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti said HuffPost lost $20 million in 2020. The New York Times has more here.
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Data
Tencent is best known for its WeChat messaging app, but it's also one of the world's savviest tech investors. That point gets underscored by a new report in The Information that suggests the internet giant’s unrealized gains last year from its minority stakes in about 100 publicly listed companies amounted to $120 billion. That's roughly six times Tencent's estimated profit for 2020. One interesting comparison made in the report: Alphabet operates two venture arms, and its regulatory filings show it has about $19 billion invested in “nonmarketable equity securities,” which appear to include venture investments. By comparison, notes The Information, Tencent made nearly $17 billion in investments last year alone. More here.
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Essential Reads
The big picture: “Bitcoin uses more electricity per transaction than any other method known to mankind, and so it’s not a great climate thing," Bill Gates tells the New York Times. More here.
The crackdown on Jack Ma has cast a chill on China's tech entrepreneurs. In Bloomberg.
Following in the footsteps of Tesla, 13-year-old, Chinese app maker Meitu -- which has struggled to maintain its dominance in the portrait touch-up space -- has snapped up cryptocurrencies across two transactions to bolster its fortunes.The purchase is the first tranche of the firm’s investment plan to buy up to $100 million worth of cryptocurrency, which is financed by its cash reserves. TechCrunch has more here.
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