|
Such a thrilling game tonight. Congratulations, Jayhawks fans.:)
|
|
|
|
|
Shares of Twitter soared today on news that Elon Musk has personally bought a 9.2 stake in the social media company. Dealbook asks a lot of good questions about what it could mean. Bloomberg meanwhile wonders if Musk will mount a hostile takeover of Berghain, the Berlin nightclub that reportedly denied him entry over the weekend.
SEC Chair Gary Gensler said today that his agency is aiming to exercise greater regulatory oversight of the $2 trillion cryptocurrency market to protect investors from an onslaught of scams. In a speech delivered virtually, Gensler said the SEC plans to register and regulate crypto platforms, including working to separate out the custody of assets to minimize risk. CNBC has more here.
Horror and atrocities mount in Ukraine. Here's a look at what happened today.
|
|
|
|
|
If you had invested $10,000 in Renaissance Technologies’ Medallion fund in 1988, you could’ve cashed out in 2018 with a cool $200,000,000. Medallion’s secret sauce? It’s run by computer scientists and mathematicians, not slick-talking Wall Street suits. But unless you are a PHD-caliber Python coder, quant investing has been out of your reach … until now. Composer lets you easily drag, drop, and swap your own rules-based strategies - no engineering degree required. So stop investing with your gut and start power-trading today. *See important disclosures.
|
|
|
|
| Roelof Botha is Now the Global Head of Sequoia Capital |
|
|
|
|
Storied venture capital firm Sequoia Capital announced today that leader Doug Leone would be stepping aside from his role as “Senior Steward” to be replaced by Roelof Botha, managing partner of Sequoia’s U.S. and Europe operations.
Leone, the global managing partner of Sequoia Capital, wrote in a letter published on Twitter that he will remain a general partner in existing funds and will represent Sequoia on boards of directors.
“The spirit of growth and renewal drives our culture of generational transfer,” Leone wrote. “We are proud to be the only venture capital partnership to have successfully navigated multiple leadership transitions over five decades.”
Leone and another famed Sequoia investor, Michael Moritz, were previously handed the reins from firm founder Don Valentine in 1997. Moritz stepped away from the role in 2012,
citing an illness at the time, though he has remained active with the firm and sits on various boards, including that of the Stockholm-based, buy-now-pay-later giant Klarna, the Turkish grocery delivery company Getir, and U.S. payments behemoth Stripe.
For Botha, the new gig -- which is in effect starting July 5, 2022 -- is part of a years-long transition and was very much expected. In 2017, he was made U.S. head of the firm working under Leone. Botha then also became a “Sequoia Steward,” which he previously described as having “more responsibility for strategy, for team composition, for fundraising — including spending more time with limited partners and helping decide when do we raise, the size of the funds, the composition of our LP base.”
Certainly, Botha will be facing new opportunities, as well as new challenges, as Sequoia extends its already outsized footprint.
More here.
|
|
|
|
|
Hadrian, a two-year-old, Hawthorne, Ca.-based space startup focused on autonomously machining parts for the aerospace and defense industries, has raised $90 million in funding from Lux Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, and a long list of other backers, including Caffeinated Capital, Founders Fund, Construct Capital, and 137 Ventures. CNBC has more here.
Labster, an 11-year-old, Copenhagen-based outfit that enables science students to learn in virtual labs, raised $47 million in funding led by Sofina Group and Pirate Impact , with participation from Owl Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz, and Balderton Capital, among numerous others. Business Insider has more here.
LinkSquares, a seven-year-old, Boston-based company whose "intelligent" software helps brands maintain and ink new legal contracts, has raised $100 million in Series C funding led by G Squared. The tranche, which had participation from new investor G2 Venture Partners as well as existing backers, brings the startup’s total funding to $161.4 million at an $800 million valuation. TechCrunch has more here.
Shein, the 10-year-old, Singapore-based fast-fashion company, is reportedly in talks with General Atlantic to lead a VC round at around a $100 billion valuation, which would make it the third-most-highly-valued private company in the world after TikTok owner Bytedance and SpaceX. ($100 billion? Really?) Bloomberg has the story here.
|
|
|
|
| Big-But-Not-Crazy-Big Fundings |
|
|
|
|
4C Medical Technologies, a seven-year-old, Minneapolis-based medical device company that develops minimally invasive therapies for structural heart disease, including mitral regurgitation, has raised $35.4 million in Series C funding led by MicroPort CardioFlow Medtech. FierceBiotech has more here.
Budget Insight, an 11-year-old, Paris-based company that says it provides European banking, insurance, and fintech companies with a way to connect their applications to the bank of their users, has raised $35 million from PSG Equity. Tech.eu has more here.
Future Family, a six-year-old, San Francisco-based loan provider focused around making fertility services like IVF and egg freezing more accessible, has raised $25 million in Series B funding. Munich Re Ventures led the round, joined by TriVentures, MS&AD Ventures, ORIX and earlier investors, including Aspect Ventures. The company has now raised $150 million altogether. TechCrunch has more here.
Gotrade, a three-year-old, Singapore-based startup whose app invites international users to buy fractional shares of U.S. stocks and ETFs, has raised $15.5 million in Series A funding. The round was led by Velocity Fintech Ventures, with participation from Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, BeeNext, and Kibo Ventures, among numerous others. TechCrunch has more here.
Moneybox, a seven-year-old, London-based savings and investment platform, has raised £35 million ($49 million) in Series D funding led by Fidelity International Strategic Ventures, an existing investor, and new investor Polar Capital. Tech.eu has more here.
Season Health, a three-year-old, New York-based food recommendation platform that partners with health care providers to better serve their patients, has raised $34 million in Series A funding led by Andreessen Horowitz. Other investors include LRV Health and Company Ventures. Season had previously raised $11 million in seed funding. Fast Company has more here.
VideaHealth, a four-year-old, Cambridge, Ma.-based dental diagnostics startup that says it can help identify and communicate dental diseases and other conditions to dentists while they are actively attending to patients, has raised $20 million in Series A funding led by Spark Capital, with participation from Zetta Venture Partners and Pillar VC. MobiHealth News has more here.
|
|
|
|
|
Clockwork, a 1.5-year-old, Chicago-based financial planning and analysis platform for small businesses, has raised $2 million from Underscore VC. Built in Chicago has more here.
Leal, a six-year-old, Bogota, Colombia-based consumer rewards startup, has raised $10 million in Series A funding co-led by Rakuten Capital and IDC Ventures. More here.
Pursuit, an 11-year-old, San Francisco-based tech job training startup, raised $10 million led by Blue Earth Capital. TechCrunch has more here.
|
|
|
|
|
Venture capitalist and political strategist Bradley Tusk hosts Firewall, a twice-weekly podcast covering the intersection of tech and politics. Check out our recent episode with journalist, Sebastian
Mallaby on his latest book 'The Power Law: Venture Capital and the Making of the New Future,' where he and Bradley discuss the early days of venture capital and how it's transformed over the years.
|
|
|
|
|
5AM Ventures, the 20-year-old, Bay Area-based life sciences-focused venture firm, has closed on two new funds that total $750 million in capital commitments. One of the new funds, which closed with $450 million, is aimed at early-stage companies; the other targets its existing companies as well as public or private investments in later-stage companies outside its portfolio. More here.
|
|
|
|
|
Morningstar has agreed to buy Leveraged Commentary & Data from Standard & Poor's and will integrate the private debt data giant into its PitchBook subsidiary. The deal is valued at up to $650 million, including a $600 million up-front cash payment. Axios says the sale process is said to have been competitive, which explains the multiple on LCD's $56 million in annual revenue.has more here. More here.
|
|
|
|
|
Streetwear authority Hypebeast is making a big bet on the booming sneaker resale market. The Hong Kong-founded digital media company has been a top source of intel for people selling and buying designer sneakers for 15 years. Now, it’s going public in part to fund its own sneaker resale platform, a move that would pit it against marketplaces like StockX and Goat. The company said today it plans to list on the NASDAQ through a SPAC deal that’s expected to raise $180 million; it will trade under the $HYPE ticker. Quartz has more
here.
|
|
|
|
|
SoftBank executive Ronald Fisher is stepping down as head of U.S. investment operations, per an internal memo sent Friday and obtained by Axios. Fisher, who has been with SoftBank for 27 years, will transition into a senior advisory role on April 15. He will be succeeded by Andrew Kofman, although SoftBank Vision Fund CEO Rajeev Misra will oversee U.S. investment decisions going forward. More here.
|
|
|
|
|
