Coinbase strikes a deal, another 'play-to-earn' funding, and Adam Mosseri is heading to Washington

Happy Thanksgiving, all! We are very thankful for you.:) 

We're cutting out a little early for the long weekend; hope you have a happy holiday.

Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, has agreed for the first time to testify before Congress, as bipartisan anger mounts over harms to young people from the app.

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* Dream Sports, a 13-year-old, Mumbai, India-based fantasy sports platform, has raised $840 million in funding led by Falcon Edge, DST Global, D1 Capital, Redbird Capital and Tiger Global. The round also saw participation from existing investors TPG and Footpath Ventures. The round values the firm at $8 billion, up from $5 billion in March this year when its raised $400 million in secondary financing. Money Control has more here.

* Ionity, a four-year-old, Munich, Germany-based electric vehicle fast-charging charging network provider whose owners include Daimler AG and Volkswagen Group, has scored a €700 million ($783 million) investment from BlackRock Global and existing shareholders to expand its footprint across Europe. TechCrunch has more here.

* Spinny, a six-year-old, Gurgaon, India-based startup that operates a platform to facilitate the purchase and sale of used cars, has raised more than $280 million in Series E funding co-led by Tiger Global and Abu Dhabi Growth Fund. The round -- the third that Spinny has raised this year -- values the company at $1.75 billion. TechCrunch has more here.

* Avocado Guild, a months-old, Sydney, Australia-based play-to-earn metaverse gaming company, has raised $18 million in Series A funding led by Animoca Brands and QCP Soteria Node. Other investors to participate in the financing include Three Arrows Capital, Solana Ventures, Polygon Studios, Hashed, Binance and executives of GoldenTree Asset Management. Coindesk has more here.

* Helm.ai, a five-year-old, Menlo Park, Ca.-based startup creating software for autonomous vehicles, has raised $26 million in Series B financing led by Amplo, JMPartners, Base Capital Funding, and Freeman Group, with participation from ACVC, One Way Ventures, Binnacle Partners, and individual investors. VentureBeat has more here.

* Asilimia, a four-year-old, Nairobi, Kenya-based startup that invites financial traders to make mobile money transactions that are devoid of transfer charges, has raised $2 million in pre-seed funding from various investors, including serial entrepreneur Fredrik Jung Abbou. TechCrunch has more here.

* Juicy Marbles, a 2.5-year-old, Kamnik, Slovenia-based startup that says its proprietary protein texturing tech enables it to produce plant-based whole cuts of "filet mignon," has raised $4.5 million led by tree-planting search engine Ecosia‘s new World Fund. TechCrunch has more here.

* Longevica, a 12-year-old, Munich, Germany-based research platform that's looking to advance longevity science, has raised $2.5 million in funding led by Xploration Capital. TechCrunch has more here.

* OnePipe, a 3.5-year-old, Lagos, Nigeria-based startup that runs the API infrastructure on behalf of numerous partner banks, has raised $3.5 million in seed funding co-led by earlier backer Atlantica Ventures, along with Tribe Capital and V&R Associates. TechCrunch has more here.

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* Bain Capital is pitching investors on its second technology-focused fund with a goal of raising $1.5 billion barely a year after wrapping up the strategy’s debut fund with $1.25 billion. The WSJ has more here.

* Blume Ventures said yesterday that it has raised $105 million in the first close of its fourth fund. The 11-year-old firm is one of the largest Indian venture funds. TechCrunch has more here.

* Crypto exchange Coinbase has acquired the crypto wallet startup BRD, according to a notice from its leadership team. Terms of the deal aren't being disclosed (seemingly). BRD, based in Zurich, looks to have raised at least $54 million from investors.

* Freshly-minted unicorn Sentry has bolstered its app-monitoring smarts by acquiring Specto, a mobile app profiling tool that makes it easier to collect performance metrics for iOS and Android apps. Specto represents Sentry’s first known acquisition in its ten-year history. VentureBeat has more here.

Global chip manufacturers are projected to lay out $146 billion in capital expenditures this year, about 50% higher than before the Covid-19 pandemic began and double the level of just five years ago, according to Gartner. The WSJ has more here.

Amazon recently lost a high-profile executive who oversaw the company’s growing brick-and-mortar division. Cameron Janes, Amazon’s vice president of physical retail, left the company on Tuesday, according to his LinkedIn profile. It's unclear where Janes is headed. CNBC has more here.

* As pandemic sales wane, Peloton turns to gaming to keep its momentum.

* The bright new age of venture capital.

* Inside the hunt for an elusive narco suspect.

* Dwight Howard on LeBron’s Pistons scuffle.

* Announcing Mauve Monday

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