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Top News
Google’s plan to block web-tracking cookies is a source of concern for U.S. Justice Department investigators who have been asking advertising industry executives whether the move will hobble its smaller rivals, says Reuters. (Doesn't it seem like just yesterday that everyone wanted to get rid of these things?)
The former co-CEOs of bankrupt lab-testing startup uBiome were charged today with healthcare and securities fraud among other offenses in an indictment handed up by a federal grand jury in San Francisco. Jessica Richman and Zac Apte were founders of uBiome, once a high-profile startup selling tests for the microbiome. The WSJ has more here.
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MrBeasts's Management Company is Jumping into VC with a New Fund Backed Entirely by Creators
MrBeast’s management company is getting into the venture business.
Night Media, the six-year-old, Dallas-based multimedia talent management company, is closing a debut fund with $20 million in capital commitments from the powerful family-friendly online influencers who it manages, along with other social media stars.
The idea, says Night Media CEO Reed Duchscher, is to write initial checks of up to $300,000 into three categories: consumer-facing startups; gaming startups, especially those centered around user-generated content; and the creator economy, including startups supporting the creator economy.
The last is a world that Duchscher knows particularly well.
A native North Dakotan who was a wide receiver for North Dakota State University, Duchscher was working for a sports agency after graduating when he stumbled across a comedy group online called Dude Perfect. He so loved their work that he reached out to better understand who its members are and how they made money; within months, Duchscher struck on his own to work full-time with the group and seize on what appeared to be a big opportunity.
It was a savvy move. While Night Media no longer works with Dude Perfect, it now manages 16 other top influencer groups, with YouTube stars that include ZHC (19.7 million subscribers), Preston (15.6 million), Matt Stonie (13.7 million), Unspeakable (10.8 million), Azzyland (13.3 million), Typical Gamer (11.4 million) and Carter Sharer (7.6 million).
The crown jewel of the portfolio, so to speak, is MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson and who has amassed 55 million subscribers on YouTube. They're loyal, too. He posts just two to three videos each month, and they routinely rack up at least 30 million views. In a Bloomberg piece in December about Donaldson, famed filmmaker Casey Neistat said of him: “He lives on a different planet than the rest of the YouTube world.”
Some might settle for that level of success. Duchscher — who met Donaldson after sending him a direct message on Twitter — has instead been helping Donaldson and his other clients think about next steps.
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Massive Fundings
Aktis Oncology, a two-year-old, Cambridge, Ma.-based company trying to develop radiopharmaceutical treatments for solid tumors, has raised $72 million in Series A funding co-led by MPM Capital (which incubated the company), EcoR1 Capital and Vida Ventures. FierceBiotech has more here.
Bigfoot Biomedical, a seven-year-old, Milpitas, Ca.-based developer of insulin delivery and dosing devices for the treatment of diabetes, has raised $57 million in equity and debt funding from Madryn Asset Management. Mass Device has more here.
Fireblocks, a three-year-old, New York-based crypto custodian, has raised $133 million in Series C funding. Coatue, Ribbit Capital and Stripes co-led the round, joined by BNY Mellon, SVB and earlier investors Paradigm, Galaxy Digital, Swisscom Ventures, Tenaya Capital and Cyberstarts Ventures. TechCrunch has more here.
Kitopi, a three-year-old, Dubai-based cloud kitchen company, is raising between $150 million and $200 million for a Southeast Asia at a post-money valuation of $1 billion, according to Reuters. Kitopi has raised $117.2 million since its inception, including from BECO Capital and Lumia Capital. More here.
Plaid, the eight-year-old, San Francisco-based fintech startup whose planned sale to Visa fell apart in January, is raising about $600 million in a funding round that could value it at between $10 billion to $15 billion, according to The Information. Altimeter Capital, a hedge fund turned VC firm that has bought stakes in some of Silicon Valley’s top companies, is leading the financing, says the outlet. More here.
PolicyBazaar, a 13-year-old, Gurgaon, India-based lending marketplace and digital insurer, has raised $75 million led by Falcon Edge Capital. The company has now raised $630 million to date, including from SoftBank Vision Fund and Tiger Global Management. TechCrunch has more here.
Pollinate, a four-year-old, London-based startup whose cloud-based software platform wraps around a bank’s legacy payment systems to power merchant and consumer features like onboarding and loyalty programs, has raised $50 million in Series C funding. Insight Partners led the round, joined by earlier investors NatWest Group, Mastercard, National Australia Bank, EFM Asset Management, and Motive Partners. Pymnts.com has more here.
SecurityScorecard, an eight-year-old, New York-based cybersecurity ratings platform, has raised $180 million in Series E funding led by Silver Lake Waterman, with participation from T. Rowe Price, Kayne Anderson Rudnick and Fitch Ventures among others. Reuters has more here.
Vaccitech, a five-year-old, U.K.-based startup behind AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine, has raised $168 million in new funding that it plans to use to adopt its vaccine technology for the treatment of other diseases, says the WSJ. M&G PLC led the round, joined by Gilead Sciences, Tencent and the Monaco Constitutional Reserve Fund. The WSJ has more here.
Yotpo, a 10-year-old, New York-based e-commerce marketing platform, raised $230 million in Series F funding at a $1.4 billion valuation co-led by Bessemer Venture Partners and Tiger Global Management, with participation from ClalTech Investment, Coin Ventures, Hanaco, Vertex Ventures and Vintage Investment Partners. The round comes just eight months after the company close a $75 million Series E round. Forbes has more here.
Big-But-Not-Crazy-Big Fundings
Cubyn, a six-year-old, Paris-based e-commerce fulfillment startup, has raised €35 million co-led by Eurazeo and Bpifrance. TechCrunch has more here.
Riva Health, a three-month-old, Burlingame, Ca.-based mobile cardiology app startup cofounded by Dag Kittlaus, former co-founder of both Siri and Viv, and Tuhin Sinha, cofounder of one of the largest cardiovascular research studies in the world (Health eHeart), has launched with $15 million in funding led Menlo Ventures, with participation from UCHealth and University of Colorado Innovation Fund, among others. More here.
Shelf Engine, a six-year-old, Seattle-based inventory management platform for grocers so they can better plan the perishables they need, has raised $41 million in Series B funding. General Catalyst led the round, joined by GGV Capital, Foundation Capital, 1984 Ventures, Correlation Ventures, Founders’ Co-op, Soma Capital, Firebolt Ventures and Initialized Capital. The Spoon has more here.
Secureframe, a one-year-old, San Francisco-based cybersecurity compliance startup, has raised $18 million in Series A funding led by Kleiner Perkins, with participation from Gradient Ventures and Base10 Partners. TechCrunch has more here.
Smaller Fundings
Asteya, a three-year-old, Miami-based disability insurance startup, has raised $10 million in funding, including from I2BF Ventures, Capital Factory, Cap Meridian Ventures, Northstar Ventures, Atrum and Bumble CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd. Coverager has more here.
Diem, a seven-month-old, London-based debit card startup founded this year, has raised $5.5 million in seed funding led by Fasanara Capital. TechCrunch has more here.
Eazel, a six-year-old, New York-based virtual art gallery platform, raised $1.5 million in Series A funding from Seoul-based InterVest. More here.
Edge Pathways, a one-year-old, New York-based STEM education platform focused on providing a path to a competitive engineer degree to college students from diverse backgrounds, has raised $8 million in seed funding from First Round, Emerge Education and Rethink Education. More here.
Even, a three-year-old, Denver, Co.-based startup selling foods that it says can counter medication-induced nutrient depletions, has raised $1.5 million in seed funding from Align Ventures, Spring Street Group and GAN Ventures. More here.
Meallogix, a two-year-old, San Diego, Ca.-based startup whose software automates operations and business processes for meal prep company owners, has raised $1.7 million in pre-Series A funding led by Tech Coast Angels, with participation from Spark Growth Ventures. The Spoon has more here.
Noon Energy, a three-year-old, Palo Alto, Ca.-based developer of ultra-low-cost battery technology for long-duration energy storage, has raised $3 million in seed funding led by Prime Impact Fund, with participation from Collaborative Fund, At One Ventures and Xplorer Capital. Renewable Energy Magazine has more here.
Pixxel, a three-year-old, L.A.- and Bangalore, India-based hyperspectral imaging startup, raised $7.3 million in seed funding, including from Techstars and Omnivore VC. TechCrunch has more here.
Pledge, a seven-year-old, Venice, Ca.-based fundraising platform, raised $3 million in seed funding. Maven Ventures led the round, joined by Designer Fund, Mantis VC, MS&AD Ventures, Randi Zuckerberg and Bill Tai. Forbes has more here.
Saleor, a two-year-old, Poland- and U.S.-based headless e-commerce platform, raised $2.5 million in seed funding led by Cherry Ventures. TechCrunch has more here.
Visage, a five-year-old, San Francisco-based collaborative candidate sourcing platform, has raised $7 million in Series A funding led by First Analysis, with participation from the Urban Innovation Fund. More here.
Not-Quite-Raised-Yet Fundings
NotCo, a six-year-old, New York- and Chile-based vegan milk startup, is seeking to raise new funding at a $1 billion valuation at least, its CEO tells Bloomberg. ("It has to be . . . we won't budge from there," he says.) The company, which previously raised $120 million, counts Bezos Expeditions, L Catterton, General Catalyst, Maya Capital, Future Positive, SOSV and Kaszek Ventures as past investors. More here.
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Going Public
Fifth Wall Acquisition II, the second blank-check company organized by the prop-tech-focused venture firm Fifth Wall, has filed for a $150 million IPO. Renaissance Capital has more here.
OfferPad, a Chandler, Az.-based online platform for home-sellers, says it's going public at a $3 billion implied valuation through a tie-up with the blank-check company Supernova Partners Acquisition, a SPAC led by former Zillow CEO Spencer Rascoff. Offerpad had raised roughly $450 million from investors. TechCrunch has more here.
Grocery-delivery app Instacart recently discussed waiting until the fourth quarter for its stock market debut -- or at least several months after the vast majority of American adults are expected to have been vaccinated against the Covid-19 virus -- reports the Information. It says that the company's backers want retail investors to have a clearer understanding of how fast the company might grow after the pandemic.
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People
Meka Asonye has joined First Round Capital as an investment partner. He was previously a sales exec with MixPanel for one year and with Stripe for more than four years. Forbes has more here.
Aparna Chennapragada, a 12-year veteran of Google who was most recently vice president in charge of the internet company’s consumer shopping business, is becoming the chief product officer of the trading app Robinhood. CNBC has more here.
A SpaceX engineer pleaded guilty to a DOJ charge of insider trading, the agency announced today. James Roland Jones, undoubtedly doomed by the nickname “MillionaireMike,” used information obtained on the dark web to trade public securities with non-public information, the DOJ said. CNBC has more here.
An internal Goldman Sachs survey finds first-year analysts physically and mentally drained from working 95 hours—or more—a week and enduring an onslaught of criticism and unrealistic expectations. “Being unemployed is less frightening to me than what my body might succumb to,” says one to Vanity Fair.
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Essential Reads
Clearview AI, the controversial facial recognition company, is doing better than ever.
Facebook is building an Instagram for kids.
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Detours
On Sunday around 2 p.m., a Twitch streamer in L.A. turned his camera on; he hasn’t stopped streaming since.
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