Software to ID deepfakes, Satya Nadella's new gig, and the newest must-have for homeowners

June 16, 2021
Top News
 
Amazon is appealing to social media companies to help curb the spread of fake reviews on its site. In a blog post today, the company said bad actors are increasingly turning to outside social media platforms to buy and sell fake product reviews, making it more challenging to tackle the issue. CNBC has more here.
 
Artificial intelligence researchers at Facebook and Michigan State University say they have developed a new piece of software that can reveal whether a piece of media is a so-called deepfake and also identify the specific AI that was used to create it.
Sponsored By ...
 
TopFunnel helps teams hire the right people, faster and more cost effectively than traditional means. TopFunnel unlocks sourcing automation at scale for startups up to teams over 100,000. Empower founders, execs, and recruiters to source and schedule like pros. See the Talent TAM, benchmark vs the competition, track diversity, and execute on your goals. StrictlyVC readers get $10k of credits.
Massive Fundings
 
10x Future Technologies, a five-year-old, London-based provider of fintech services to established banks, raised $187 million in Series C funding at a roughly $700 million valuation. BlackRock and CPP Investments co-led the round, joined by JPMorgan Chase, Nationwide, Ping An and Westpac. The company was founded by Antony Jenkins, a former Barclays chief executive who was ousted in 2015 and founded 10x soon after. TechCrunch has more here.
 
Apna, a two-year-old, Bangalore, India-based upskilling platform, has raised $70 million in Series B funding at a $570 million valuation co-led by Insight Partners and Tiger Global, with participation from Lightspeed India, Sequoia Capital India, Greenoaks Capital and Rocketship VC. The company has now raised just over $90 million altogether. TechCrunch has more here.
 
Betterfly, a three-year-old, Santiago, Chile-based benefits platform, just raised $60 million in Series B from partners of DST Global, QED investors, Valor Capital, Endeavor Catalyst and the SoftBank Latin America Fund. The round comes just six months after Betterfly raised its $18 million Series A and brings the company's total funding to $80 million. More here.
 
Bringg, a nine-year-old, Chicago-based company whose software helps retailers with last-mile logistics, specifically to manage and even tap people fulfilling deliveries, has raised $100 million in Series E funding led by Insight Partners, with participation from Cambridge Capital, GLP, Harlap, Next 47, Pereg Ventures, Salesforce Ventures and Viola Growth. TechCrunch has more here.

BrowserStack, a 10-year-old, Chennai, India-based outfit that enables companies to move their software testing to the cloud, has raised $200 million in Series B funding at a $4 billion valuation led by Bond, with participation from Insight Partners and earlier investor Accel. Times of India has more here.
 
Gloat, a six-year-old, New York-based company that says it helps businesses fill roles from their internal workforce while connecting employees with mentorships and other new opportunities inside a company, has raised $57 million in Series C funding led by Accel, with participation from Eight Roads, Intel Capital, Magma Venture Partners and PICO Partners. VentureBeat has more here.

Greenlight Guru, an eight-year-old, Indianapolis, In.-based quality management software platform designed specifically for medical device companies, has raised more than $120 million from JMI Equity. The WSJ has more here.
 
Guideline, a six-year-old, San Mateo, Ca.-based 401(k) provider for small and midsize businesses, has raised $200 million in Series E funding led by General Atlantic, with participation from earlier backers Generation Investment Management, Greyhound Capital, Felicis Ventures, and Propel Ventures. The company has now raised $344 million altogether and is valued at $1.15 billion. Bloomberg has more here.
 
Imply, a six-year-old, Burlingame, Ca.-based startup developing a real-time analytics platform, has raised $70 million in Series C funding led by Bessemer Venture Partners at a post-money valuation of $700 million. The company has now raised $116 million to date. VentureBeat has more here.
 
Introhive, a nine-year-old, New Brunswick, Canada-based maker of sales tools to help companies increase their revenue, raised $100 million in Series C funding led by PSG, with participation from BDC, Aegis Group Partners, Evergreen Coast Capital and Mavan Capital Partners. TechCrunch has more here.
 
Iterable, an eight-year-old, San Francisco-based cross-channel marketing tech company whose board of directors last month fired its cofounder and longtime CEO, has raised $200 million in Series E funding that values the company at $2 billion. Backers in the round include Silver Lake, Adams Street Partners, Glynn Capital and DTCP along with earlier backers CRV, Viking Global, Blue Cloud and Capital One Ventures. According to Crunchbase, Iterable has now raised roughly $340 million altogether. Forbes has more here.
 
Mnemo Therapeutics, a two-year-old, Paris-based biotech focused on improving CAR-T therapies, has raised €75 million in Series A funding co-led by Casdin Capital, earlier backer Sofinnova Partners and an undisclosed investor. Other investors include Redmile Group, Emerson Collective and Alexandria Venture Investments. MobiHealth News has more here.

PayCargo, a 16-year-old, Coral Gables, Fl.-based freight payment platform, has raised $125 million in Series B funding from Insight Partners. Crunchbase News has more here.
 
Templafy, a seven-year-old, Copenhagen-based SaaS platform focused on business document creation, just raised $60 million in Series D funding. Blue Cloud Ventures led the round, joined by previous investors Insight Partners, Seed Capital, Dawn Capital and Damgaard. The company has now raised $125 million altogether. TechCrunch has more here.
 
Tractable, a seven-year-old, London-based startup that invites users take and submit photos of damaged cars that are then “read” to make appraisals for insurance companies, has raised $60 million in Series D funding at a post-money valuation of $1 billion. Insight Partners and Georgian co-led the round, which brings the total raised by the company to $115 million. TechCrunch has more here.
 
Vianai Systems, a two-year-old, Palo Alto-based AI startup that was founded by former Infosys CEO Vishal Sikka and has been operating in stealth mode, just raised $140 million in new funding led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2. The company has now raised $190 million altogether. TechCrunch has more here
 
Waymo, the 11-year-old, Mountain View, Ca.-based Alphabet subsidiary that's developing self-driving cars, raised $2.5 billion in new funding. Backers include Tiger Global along with earlier backers Alphabet, Andreessen Horowitz, AutoNation, CPP Investment Board, Fidelity, Magna International, Mubadala Investment Co., Perry Creek Capital, Silver Lake, T. Rowe Price Associates and Temasek. CNBC has more here.
 
Big-But-Not-Crazy-Big Fundings
 
FamPay, a two-year-old, Bangalore, India-based fintech that allows teens to make peer-to-peer payments and card payments without the need to set up a bank account, raised $38 million in Series A funding led by Elevation Capital, with participation from General Catalyst, Rocketship VC, Greenoaks Capital and earlier backers Sequoia Capital India, Y Combinator, Global Founders Capital and Venture Highway. TechCrunch has more here.
 
JOOR, an 11-year-old, New York City-based digital wholesale management platform for retailers, has raised $46 million in Series D funding. Macquarie Capital Principal Finance led the round, joined by earlier backers ITOCHU Corporation, Battery Ventures and Canaan Partners. Pymnts has more here.
 
MachineMetrics, a seven-year-old, Northampton, Ma.-based autonomous machining startup, has raised $20 million in Series B funding led by Teradyne, with participation from Ridgeline Ventures and earlier investors Tola Capital and Hyperplane. More here.

Nate, a three-year-old, New York-based universal shopping app that allows users to buy now and pay later, save items, and follow friends' lists (among other things), has raised $38 million in Series A funding. Renegade Partners led the round, joined by Forerunner Ventures and earlier backers Coatue and Canaan Partners. More here.
 
Novo, a five-year-old, Miami, Fl.-based small business banking platform, has raised $40.7 million in Series A funding led by Valar Ventures, with participation from Crosslink Capital, Rainfall Ventures, Red Sea Ventures and BoxGroup. More here.
 
R-Zero, a year-old, San Francisco-based maker of UV disinfecting machines for commercial and institutional customers, has raised $41.5 million in funding led by World Innovation Lab, with participation from DBL Partners. Reuters has more here.
 
Scythe Robotics, a four-year-old, Boulder, Co.-based robotic landscaping company, has raised $13.8 million in Series A funding led by Inspired Capital, with participation from True Ventures, Zigg Capital and Lemnos. TechCrunch has more here.

Sense, a six-year-old, San Francisco-based recruiting platform, has raised $16 million in Series C funding from Avataar Venture Partners, along with earlier investors Accel and GV. More here.
 
Stork Club, a four-year-old, San Francisco-based maternity care platform that partners with major insurance providers to tell people how much they’ll pay out-of-pocket for maternity and fertility care up front so they can make informed decisions, has raised $30 million in Series A funding. General Catalyst led the round, joined by earlier investors Bowery Capital and Slow Ventures. Crunchbase News has more here.
 
Underground Cellar, a nine-year-old, San Francisco-based online wine marketplace, just raised $12.5 million in Series A funding led by Accomplice, with participation from Golden Ventures and Bling Capital. The Spoon has more here.
 
Smaller Fundings
 
Coinme, a six-year-old, Seattle-based startup that allows customers to buy and sell bitcoin with cash at more than 15,000 physical locations through partnerships with Moneygram and Coinstar, has raised $10 million in new funding from earlier backers, which includes Pantera Capital. GeekWire has more here.
 
Crate.io, an eight-year-old, San Francisco-based startup developing a database platform called CrateDB, raised $10 million, including $2 million in debt, from earlier backers Draper Esprit, Vito Ventures and Flatz & Partners. VentureBeat has more here.
 
Handdii, a four-year-old, Melbourne, Australia-based property claims management platform, has raised $3 million in seed funding led by Brick & Mortar Ventures, with participation from Nine Four Ventures and Australia-based Scale Investors and Fifty-Second Celebration. More here.
 
Honey Insurance, a nine-month-old, Sydney, Australia-based home insurance startup that's designed to be simple and more proactive than traditional insurance offerings, has raised $11.9 million (USD) from a long list of institutional and individual investors. TechCrunch has more here.
 
Kindra, a two-year-old, Los Angeles-based wellness brand for menopause that was spun out of Proctor & Gamble, has raised $4.5 million in seed funding. Female Founders Fund led the round, joined by Primetime Partners, sisters Anne and Susan Wojcicki, Katie Couric Media, The Community Fund and H Ventures. More here.
 
MyYogaTeacher, a 2.5-year-old, Cupertino, Ca.-based on-demand yoga platform, has raised $3 million in seed funding led by TSVC, with participation from the M&A advisory firm Leonis Partners, Weekend Fund, All Access Fund and Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments. More here.
 
The Mentor Method, a six-year-old, Austin, Texas-based workplace inclusion and equity startup, has raised $1.4 million in seed funding led by Draper Associates. More here.
 
Rind, a three-year-old, New York-based startup that sells skin-on dried fruit snacks, has raised $6.1 million in Series A funding led by Valor Siren Ventures, a division of Valor Equity Partners. Food Business News has more here.
 
Selfbook, a three-year-old, New York-based maker of management and booking software for hotels, has raised $2 million in seed funding from TenOneTen Ventures, Abstract Ventures, and Better Tomorrow Ventures. More here.
 
Wagr, a year-old, Miami, Fl.-based app looking to wed social media with a fast-growing corner of the gambling market, has raised $4 million in funding led by Seven Seven Six, with participation from Greycroft, Pear Ventures, Tinder co-founder Justin Mateen, and former Saks CEO and chairman Brad Martin. Bloomberg has more here.
New Funds
 
20VC, a year-old, London-based venture firm led by investor-podcaster Harry Stebbings, has raised $33 million for a new early-stage fund and $107 million for a growth-stage fund, which is a lot, considering Stebbing's debut fund closed last year with $8.3 million in capital commitments. Investors in the two new funds include Massachusetts Institute of Technology Investment Management Company; RIT Capital Partners; Shakil Khan, a longtime individual investor who was also the first investor Stebbings's debut fund; public companies Atlassian, Mercado Libre and Unity; and the privately held companies Calm, Hopin, Linktree and Nubank. Some of the companies in 20VC's portfolio include Clubhouse, Dooly, Hopin, Linktree and RevenueCat. TechCrunch has more here.
 
Ahmad Atwan, a former Morgan Stanley managing director, has founded VC Fuel to make wagers on clean energy and infrastructure. Houston-based VC Fuel will bet on companies that help drive the transition to lower-carbon energy, such as renewable fuels, hydrogen, electric vehicles, carbon capture and storage, clean agriculture and sustainable manufacturing, among other areas. It’ll also invest in related infrastructure, Atwan said in an emailed statement to Bloomberg. More here.
 
G2 Venture Partners, a five-year-old, Menlo Park, Ca.-based venture firm that spun out of Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, has raised $500 million from limited partners like Shell Ventures and Daimler AG to support entrepreneurs that aim to make existing industries more efficient, environmentally friendly and socially responsible. TechCrunch has more here.
 
Isomer Capital, a six-year-old, London-based fund-of-funds that has backed VC firms Hoxton Ventures, Seedcamp, Kindred, Future Positive Capital, Entrepreneur First and Hardware Club, just raised a €100 million opportunities-type fund to directly invest in growth-stage startups from its VC funds’ portfolios, alongside those VCs. Sifted has more here.
 
Lead Edge Capital, a nearly 12-year-old, Santa Barbara, Ca.- and New York-based tech-focused growth stage investment fund, has closed a new public equity fund with $150 million in capital commitments. The vehicle is extension of Lead Edge’s investment strategy in the private markets (which we covered last October when it raised its last private market fund with $950 million in commitments). More here.
 
Ben Narasin, who has spent the last four years (nearly) with NEA as a venture partner, just launched a new venture fund called Tenacity Venture Capital that's backed by NEA and other investors and founders. We weren't told how much it has raised (or is targeting), but there's a bit more here.
 
Dan Loeb’s Third Point expects to raise more than $350 million when it finally closes its first dedicated venture capital fund at the end of the summer, according to an investor. Institutional Investor has more here.
Sponsored By ...
 
Anduin’s dedicated document sharing solution was designed simply and explicitly for private market fundraising. We’ve selectively packaged only those best-in-class data room features that fund managers need into a modern and clean interface. Be deal ready in minutes, and impress prospective investors with custom landing pages and advanced white labelling options. Our page-by-page analytics and engagement data helps you to focus on the right people to drive your deal forward. Arrange a demo today!
Going Public
 
Confluent, a seven-year-old, Mountain View, Ca.-based platform based on Apache Kafka that enables companies to easily access data as real-time streams, is aiming for a valuation of about $8.3 billion in a U.S. initial public offering, cashing in on a surge in demand for live-streaming software as companies move online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to Crunchbase data, the company has raised roughly $455 million from backers like Sequoia Capital and Index Ventures. Reuters has more here.
 
Full Truck Alliance Co., a Chinese startup that provides an Uber-like service for the road-haulage industry, aims to raise as much as $1.57 billion from its U.S. IPO, a filing showed. The company, also known as Manbang Group, runs a mobile app connecting truck drivers to businesses that need to transport goods within China. Major investors include SoftBank Group Corp.’s Vision Fund, Hong Kong-based All-Stars Investment Ltd., and Sequoia Capital China. The WSJ has more here.
People
 
Rexhi Dollaku has been promoted from principal to partner at the firm Base10 Partners, which Dollaku joined three years ago, following more than five years with Insight Partners, where he left as a senior associate. 
 
Former FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn is joining Flagship Pioneering, the venture capital firm that launched Moderna (whose COVID vaccine he approved six months ago), as chief medical officer.
 
Satya Nadella, Microsoft’s CEO, is becoming the software company’s chair, after running the company for seven years, when he replaced Steve Ballmer. Nadella is taking over the chairperson seat from former Symantec CEO John Thompson. CNBC has more here.
 
Raj Singh has joined JLL Spark, a San Francisco-based proptech investor, as a managing partner. He was previously head of investments and interim co-head at JetBlue Technology Ventures. More here.
 
Mark Zuckerberg’s approval among some Facebook employees has slipped, dislodging him from Glassdoor’s ranking of the Top 100 CEOs, a list he’s been on annually since 2013. Bloomberg has more here.
Data/Jobs
 
General Motors has upped the amount it says it will spend on electric and autonomous vehicle investments, saying today it will spend $35 billion through 2025 – an $8 billion increase from its previous plan announced in November 2020. TechCrunch has more here.
 
Construction of new housing in the past 20 years fell 5.5 million units short of long-term historical levels, according to a new National Association of Realtors report.
Essential Reads
 
The FDA has approved an engineered skin that’s placed on the wound, serving as a scaffold for a severe burn patient’s skin cells to grow. MedCity News has more here.
 
Spotify just launched its live audio app and Clubhouse rival, Spotify Greenroom. TechCrunch has the details here.
 
Podcasts are coming to Facebook next week. More from The Verge.
Detours
 
 
Can we trip our way to better mental health?
 
Now in fashion: personal observatories.
Retail Therapy
 
A San Marino Island home built by the architect of Apple Stores around the world.
Sponsored By ...
 
SaaStr, the world's largest non-vendor B2B software community, is back - in person! Don't miss this year's Annual on Sept 27-29 at the San Mateo County Event Center. The three-day conference will bring together more than 10,000 global SaaS founders, executives, and venture capitalists for a series of high-quality content sessions and networking opportunities. Across five stages more than 300 SaaS leaders will share their hard-earned learnings and actionable insights to help you scale up and grow your company faster. Readers can grab 20% off tickets with code StrictlyVC.  
Subscribe!

StrictlyVC

StrictlyVC, LLC, 1 Blackfield Drive, No. 239, Tiburon, CA 94920

Unsubscribe - Unsubscribe Preferences

Older messages

DraftKings takes a hit, the Amazon that customers don't see, and a vibrating bed by Yves Behar

Tuesday, June 15, 2021

The news you need to know July 15, 2021 Reminder, semi-vacation, no columns. More tomorrow.:) Top News The Senate confirmed big tech critic and prominent antitrust scholar Lina Khan as FTC Commissioner

LinkedIn gets another chance, Lordstown gets the Hindenburg treatment, and Bob Redford's horse ranch (one of them) is up for grabs

Monday, June 14, 2021

The news you need to know June 14, 2021 Hello! Just a quick fyi that we won't be running columns this week (we're on semi-vacation at the moment). More tomorrow.:) Top News Investors are

Beijing turns up the pressure, Facebook shops while it can, and a lost dog makes itself useful

Saturday, June 12, 2021

The news you need to know June 11, 2021 Friday! Adieu until Monday, everyone.:) Before we flip the switch, you leave you with the newest StrictlyVC Download, where you can find talk about Big Tech

Didi files to go public, Klarna's karma, and a Miami superspreader?

Friday, June 11, 2021

The news you need to know June 10, 2021 Hello.:) Top News As the Justice Department investigated who was behind leaks of classified information early in the Trump administration, prosecutors subpoenaed

A new stance on TikTok, a peek inside YC, and JBS admits that it also paid the ransom

Thursday, June 10, 2021

The news you need to know June 9, 2021 Hi! We're missing a section or two (we were off celebrating a beloved intern's birthday); more tomorrow.:) Top News JBS paid an $11 million ransom to

You Might Also Like

The ultimate 9-5 escape plan

Thursday, March 28, 2024

This is from THIS episode - Spotify - iTunes Reid Hoffman (founder of LinkedIn) once said “Entrepreneurship is like jumping off a cliff and building a parachute as you go down.” 😅🪂 I don't know

The Entrepreneur's Secret Weapon 💪

Thursday, March 28, 2024

​ ​ The Entrepreneur's Secret Weapon 💪 ​ ​u/Electrical_Ad_7754​ Hey friends! ​ Welcome to The Slice, a weekly curation of cool bootstrapped startups and actionable reads. We've got AI tools for

📂 Treat content like its your product

Thursday, March 28, 2024

​ ​ ​ ​ Today's newsletter is proudly supported by Embarque 🎉 ​ For two years in a row, SaaS founders and marketers reported content as the #1 driver of growth according to the State of SaaS

The ultimate 9-5 escape plan

Thursday, March 28, 2024

This is from THIS episode - Spotify - iTunes Reid Hoffman (founder of LinkedIn) once said “Entrepreneurship is like jumping off a cliff and building a parachute as you go down.” 😅🪂 I don't know

A Riff on Thought Leadership in the Age of Generative AI

Thursday, March 28, 2024

As an indie consultant, sharing my perspectives on my blog or social media, aka thought leadership, is an essential part of establishing credibility in my niche. But I've been quiet since November.

🗞 What's New: Building strong business partnerships

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Also: Use AI in your go-to-market strategy! ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

How this founder achieved 500% ROI with Next.js SaaS toolkit

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Hey everyone. Last weekend, I spent time with my team. We discussed our recent launch and plans, walked in the park, visited an art gallery, and relaxed in the bookshop. I loved it. We had great,

Out with unicorns

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Sifted's inaugural ranking of the fastest-growing startups in the UK & Ireland, a new tech visa in the UK and a hyperloop tunnel opens for testing in Europe. View in browser Sponsor Card -

Slateboarding, Propel, IndexPlease, Tinyform, SEOByAI, and more

Wednesday, March 27, 2024

Client onboarding at scale BetaList BetaList Weekly Slateboarding Exclusive Perk Client onboarding at scale Tinyform Exclusive Perk Free form builder tool to craft simple, powerful forms IndexPlease

Selling AI : Category Creation of a Different Flavor

Wednesday, March 27, 2024

Tomasz Tunguz Venture Capitalist If you were forwarded this newsletter, and you'd like to receive it in the future, subscribe here.​ ​Selling AI : Category Creation of a Different Flavor​ Selling