Alphabet's stock split, New York's place in the crypto universe, and India now says it will tax, not ban, cryptocurrencies

India's government today announced plans to impose a 30% tax on income gained from digital assets like cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens (NFTs), in a move that will assuage earlier concerns about the country imposing an outright ban on cryptocurrencies.10 hours ago, says Forbes. The proposal, says TechCrunch, comes as cryptocurrencies and NFTs quickly make inroads in India, despite regulatory uncertainty. Binance-owned WazirX said last month that yearly trading volume on its platform exceeded $43 billion last year, representing “1,735%” growth over 2020.

Google parent Alphabet reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings and revenue. Shares popped more than 9% in extended trading. The company also announced a 20-for-1 stock split that will go into effect in July. CNBC has more here.

Block CEO Jack Dorsey today criticized Meta Platforms' failed cryptocurrency project, Diem, saying the company’s time would have been better spent focused on advancing Bitcoin. At a conference, he said Diem wasn’t open enough and that Meta was too focused on driving people to its own suite of products, like WhatsApp and Instagram. Bloomberg has the story here.

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Athelas, a nearly six-year-old, Mountain View, Ca.-based chronic care management company that partners with hospitals and health systems to give their patients remote monitoring tools, says it raised $132 million over two previously undisclosed rounds. General Catalyst led one round and Tribe Capital led the other. FierceBiotech has more here.

Betterfly, a nearly four-year-old, Santiago, Chile-based benefits platform, has raised $125 million in Series C funding at a $1 billion valuation. Glade Brook led the round, joined by Greycroft, Lightrock and earlier investors QED Investors and DST Global. The outfit has now raised roughly $200 million altogether. Bloomberg has more here.

Channable, a nearly eight-year-old, Utrecht, Netherlands-based e-commerce marketing management company (it helps companies better manage their online sales), has raised €55 million in Series B funding led by Partech, with participation earlier backer Peak. Tech.eu has more here.

Chargebee, an 11-year-old, Walnut, Ca.-based subscription management and recurring billing platform, raised $250 million in new funding co-led by Tiger Global and Sequoia Capital, with participation from Insight Partners, Sapphire Ventures and Steadview Capital. The company has now raised $468 million altogether, says VentureBeat, and it is valued by investors at $3.5 billion. More here.

Cruise, the autonomous vehicle division of General Motors, has raised $1.35 billion in fresh funding from previous backer SoftBank Vision Fund. It also announced today that it is opening up its driverless robotaxi service to the public in San Francisco. TechCrunch has more here.

Dott, a nearly four-year-old, Amsterdam-based e-scooter and micromobility startup, has raised $70 million in extended Series B funding through a mixture of equity and debt. (It isn't breaking out how much of which it has raised; it originally closed this round with $85 million, which also comprised both equity and debt funding.) Earlier investor Sofina led the round, joined by fellow previous investors EQT Ventures and Prosus Ventures. TechCrunch has more here.

Dealshare, a nearly four-year-old, Bangalore, India-based social commerce site focused on "high-quality, low-priced essentials," has raised $165 million in funding led by earlier backer Tiger Global (which has been involved in numerous previous rounds) and Alpha Wave Global (another previous backer) at a $1.6 billion valuation. The Economic Times has more here.

GWI, a 12-year-old, London-based market research outfit that collects and provides data points to advertisers through surveys, has raised $180 million in Series B funding led by Permira at a valuation north of $850 million. Reuters has more here.

Jellyfish, a nearly five-year-old, Boston-based engineering management platform, has raised $71 million in Series C funding from Accel, Insight Partners, Tiger Global and Wing VC. TechCrunch has more here.

League, a seven-year-old, Toronto-based operating system on which payers, providers, consumer health companies and employers can build their applications to increase engagement and personalization for consumers, has raised $95 million in Series C funding led by TDM Growth Partners, with Workday Ventures and other unnamed, earlier investors also participating. The company has now raised $205 million altogether. MedCity News has more here.

LoadSmart, a nearly eight-year-old, Chicago-based on-demand freight marketplace, has raised $200 million in Series D funding at a $1.3 billion valuation -- three times its Series C valuation a year ago. SoftBank led the round, joined by BlackRock, CSX and Janus Henderson. The company has now raised roughly $350 million altogether, per Crunchbase data. VentureBeat has more here.

Lunchbox, a three-year-old, New York-based digital ordering platform for enterprise restaurant chains and ghost kitchens, has raised $50 million in Series B funding led Coatue, with participation from Primary Venture Partners and 645 Ventures. Restaurant Business has more here.

MNTN, a 13-year-old, L.A.-based adtech company specializing in internet-connected TVs, has raised $119 million co-led by BlackRock and Fidelity. Reuters has more here.

RenoRun, a six-year-old, Montreal, Quebec-based outfit that promises on-demand construction and building materials, has raised $142 million (USD) in Series B funding co-led by Tiger Global and Sozo Ventures. TechCrunch has more here. 

Superpedestrian, a nearly nine-year-old, Boston-based company that prides itself on its "vehicle intelligence" tech, which it first installed in a bicycle wheel (the Copenhagen) and now is embedding into scooters, just raised $125 million in equity and debt funding from Jefferies, Antara Capital, Sony Innovation Fund, FM Capital and earlier backers Spark Capital, General Catalyst and Citi. TechCrunch has more here. 

Verdox, a nearly three-year-old, Woburn, Ma.-based startup that captures carbon dioxide directly from the air, has raised $80 million from investors, including Bill Gates-led Breakthrough Energy Ventures. Bloomberg has more here.

Waterdrop, a nearly six-year-old, Vienna, Austria-based beverage company that says it enriches its water with fruit and plant extracts, has raised €60 million ($70 million) in Series B funding led by Temasek. Bitburger Ventures and Founders Future also joined the round.

Wayflyer, a 2.5-year-old, Dublin, Ireland-based financing platform for e-commerce merchants that comes up with a repayment schedule based on the merchant’s revenue activity, has raised $100 million at a $1.6 billion valuation. DST Global and QED Investors co-led the round,  joined by Prosus, Madrone Capital Partners, JPMorgan and earlier investors, including Left Lane Capital. TechCrunch has more here.

Circula, a five-year-old, Berlin, Germany-based expense management startup whose app employees can use to digitally process expenses, just raised €12 million in Series A funding from Alstin Capital, Peak and Storm Ventures. EU Startups has more here. 

Ethris, a 12-year-old, Munich, Germany-based developer of mRNA therapeutics, has raised €23.3 million in Series B funding led by Laureus Capital. More here.

First Dollar, a two-year-old, Austin, Tex.-based startup that says it allows consumers to use their HSA, FSA and HRA benefits with a swipe of a card, without worrying about multiple cards or scanning receipts for reimbursements, has raised $14 million in Series A funding led by Blue Venture Fund. Built in Austin has more here. 

Jasper Health, a two-year-old, New York-based cancer care navigation platform, has raised $25 million in Series A funding led by General Catalyst. The round, which was joined by new and earlier investors Human Capital, W Health Ventures, Redesign Health, and 7wireVentures, brings Jasper’s total funding to approximately $31 million. More here.

Launch House, a two-year-old, L.A.-based social club for founders and engineers (it started out as a live-in accelerator during the pandemic), has raised $12 million in Series A funding led by Andreessen Horowitz. Other backers in the round include CAA cofounder Michael Ovitz, Electric Ant, 6th Man Ventures, and Bankless cofounder Ryan Sean Adams. Dot.LA has more here.

Metafy, a two-year-old, Pittsburgh, Pa.-based video game coaching service, has raised $25 million in Series A funding co-led by Tiger Global and Seven Seven Six. TechCrunch has more here.

Metronome, a two-year-old, San Francisco-based billing infrastructure startup that aims to help software companies launch, iterate, and scale their usage-based business models, just raised $30 million in Series A funding led by Andreessen Horowitz. TechCrunch has more here.

Olipop, a five-year-old, Oakland, Ca.-based maker of sodas with "digestive health benefits," has raised $30 million in Series B funding led by Monogram Capital Partners. The company also persuaded numerous celebrities to participate in the round, including Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Mindy Kaling and Gwyneth Paltrow. TechCrunch has more here.

Tint, a four-year-old, San Francisco-based embedded insurance startup, has raised $25 million in Series A funding led by QED Investors, with participation from previous investors Nyca, Deciens, Y Combinator and Webb Investment Network. Coverager has more here.

Withco, a 2.5-year-old, Brooklyn, N.Y.-based commercial property ownership platform for small businesses (it buys properties, then invites its tenants to buy them over time), says it has  raised more than $30 million in funding across two rounds, including from Canaan Partners, Founders Fund, Initialized Capital, NFX, Enlightened Hospitality Investments and Lennar. TechCrunch has more here.

Bizi, a year-old, Tel Aviv, Israel-based startup that provides small and medium-sized businesses in Israel with credit lines, has raised $7.5 million in seed funding led by BlueVine, with participation from Phoenix and Orshay. Calcalist has more here.

Forwrd, an eight-month-old, Tel Aviv, Israel-based business intelligence startup that tries to find "hot leads" for sales teams, has raised $3.5 million in seed funding from Angular Ventures. VentureBeat has more here. 

Jobilla, a six-year-old, Helsinki, Finland-based recruiting platform, has raised €8.25 million co-led by Jurri Partners and Trind VC. More here. 

Lost Lake Games, an 11-month-old, Seattle-based cross-platform gaming studio led by gaming industry veterans, has raised $5 million in seed funding led by Bitkraft Ventures, with participation from Lightspeed Venture Partners, Moon Holdings and 1Up Ventures. GeekWire has more here.

Pesto, a nearly three-year-old, San Francisco-based startup behind an avatar-based communication tool for teams, just raised $5 million in seed funding led by Headline. Other participants in the round include K9 Ventures, Rucker Park Capital, NextView Ventures, Collaborative Fund, and Correlation Ventures. TechCrunch has more here.

VendorPM, a two-year-old, Toronto-based marketplace that connects property managers with what it says are reputable vendors, has raised $6 million in seed funding led by Bessemer Venture Partners. TechCrunch has more here.

WhoseYourLandlord, a 6.5-year-old, New York-based software-as-a-service startup that helps landlords better understand whether their tenants are satisfied, what needs improvement, how long an occupant intends to stay and more, has raised $2.1 million in seed funding led by Black Operator Ventures. TechCrunch has more here.

YFS, a two-year-old, Cairo, Egypt-based instant delivery startup, has raised $7 million in Series A funding. DisruptAD led the round, joined by Flybridge Ventures and I Squared Capital. TechCrunch has more here.

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Seven Seven Six, better known as 776, announced today that it has closed on $500 million across two vehicles for its second fund. One fund, a $300 million vehicle, will be used to back startups at their “earliest possible” stage, says firm founder Alexis Ohanian; another $200 million will be allocated to growth-stage startups. As TechCrunch notes,  776 closed its debut fund with $150 million just a year ago. It now has $750 million worth of assets under management. More here.

Freestyle Capital, a 12-year-old, Bay Area-based early-stage venture firm, is hoping to raise $125 million for its sixth flagship fund and $50 million for a  fourth opportunities fund, per SEC filings first flagged by Axios. One of the outfit's cofounders, Josh Felser, left the outfit in 2020 to focus more narrowly on climate change. More here.

MaC Venture Capital, a three-year-old, L.A.-based early-stage firm,  is raising $200 million in capital commitments for its second fund, shows an an SEC filing. The outfit closed its inaugural fund with $103 million in capital commitments in March of last year. More here.

OpenView Venture Partners, a 15-year-old, Boston-based venture firm, is raising up to $800 million for its seventh fund, per SEC filings. It's a meaningful leap from the $450 million it raised for its sixth fund. More here.

Jeff D’Onofrio, the CEO of Tumblr -- a social platform that was once worth more than $1 billion and now belongs to WordPress parent Automattic -- quietly worked his last day on January 21. The company has not explained his departure, says a reporter from The Atlantic who interviewed him recently about the company's legacy.

Blake Robbins, an investor who cut his teeth at the seed-stage venture firm Ludlow Ventures in Detroit -- he joined the outfit as an associate in 2016 and was promoted to partner in 2019 -- just left to join the  venture firm Benchmark as a principal. The move would appear to give Benchmark a stronger tie to the Midwest for the first time. Further, Robbins may be the only principal in Benchmark's 27-year history. At least, we can't remember another investor being brought in as anything other than a general partner. (We've reached out to the firm for more information.) Jonathan Triest, who founded Ludlow, told us when he first hired Robbins: "I’ll likely work for this kid one day. Super insanely impressive gent." More here.

Billionaire Peter Thiel, who sits on the board of Facebook, helped to fund a "cyber warfare" startup that hacked WhatsApp . . .which is owned by Facebook. Forbes takes a look at this strange circle here.

New York tops Silicon Valley as the center of crypto startups, reports Fortune. Last year, the city attracted $6.5 billion, accounting for 46% of funding to blockchain or crypto-centric companies, per CB Insights data. Silicon Valley ranked second in the nation, attracting $3.9 billion. Elsewhere, Los Angeles and Miami both raked in $760 million. 

Cumulative U.S. Covid-19 deaths per capita are highest among other large, high-income countries.

Faraday Future is revamping its board, cutting the pay of two top executives and suspending at least one other, following an internal investigation that determined employees made inaccurate statements to investors and that its “corporate culture failed to sufficiently prioritize compliance,” according to a regulatory filing. The company, which has been embroiled in numerous controversies since its founding in 2014, became a publicly traded company last summer after merging with a blank-check company. TechCrunch has the story here.

Microsoft's proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard will be reviewed in the U.S. by the Federal Trade Commission, the WSJ reported earlier. It's to be expected, given that it's a $75 billion deal. Still, that means it's now in the "hands of an agency whose leader has questioned acquisitions by powerful technology companies," notes the outlet.

Covid-19 guidelines for moms who are just so tired of this sh*t.

Tom Brady is a man out of time.

Somebody check on Drake(?).

Two years into the pandemic, Room Rater's standards remain unyielding.

Couches inspired by "Tetris."

A replica of a famous 1900s racing schooner will soon be available for charter this summer. (The price is around $78,800 per week, and that's in in low season, we regret to inform you.)

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