Fundings & Exits – TechCrunch
Airbnb acquires ad tech startup AdBasis
It looks like accessibility isn’t the only thing that Airbnb wants to upgrade on its platform. On the same day that Airbnb announced that it acquired Accomable, an “Airbnb for disabled travellers”, it has emerged that it’s also made another small acquisition. Airbnb has acquired adtech startup AdBasis, which had built a platform and dashboard for ad testing and… Read MoreSource: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/techcrunch/fundings-exits/~3/8Xb6ovzL4yw/
Trocafone raises $15 million to expand its used electronics marketplace in emerging markets
Trocafone, the online marketplace for used electronics, has raised $15 million in new financing to expand its reach beyond Brazil and Argentina into other emerging markets. The company, which raised $7 million in a previous round of financing last year, said the new money came from Callfort, MIT Castor Ventures Fund, FJ Labs, Rocketship, Mercado Libre Fund and other undisclosed investors.… Read MoreSource: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/techcrunch/fundings-exits/~3/ILSMBSJ6Ec0/
Tencent reportedly invests $150M in cinema ticketing startup Maoyan
Tencent announced another impressive quarter of financials yesterday, but the Chinese internet giant — which is creeping towards a $500 billion market cap — made other financial moves this week. Reuters reported that the firm invested $150 million Chinese cinema ticketing startup Maoyan, which was created from a merger between dominant players Maoyan and Tencent-backed Weiying… Read MoreSource: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/techcrunch/fundings-exits/~3/CmPWIkpjNcM/
Roxy grabs $2.2 million seed investment to build Alexa-like voice devices customized for business
Some of the biggest names in technology are all in on voice-controlled devices like the Amazon Echo and Google Home, but Roxy, a Seattle-based startup believes that businesses need a voice system where they control the data and the voice commands are designed for their specific requirements. They announced $2.2 million in seed funding today. The company has built its own modular hardware… Read MoreSource: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/techcrunch/fundings-exits/~3/TanC3Rxcv2I/
Kickstarter reboots its Patreon competitor, Drip
Kickstarter hasn’t done a lot with Drip since acquiring the service from the Ghostly International record label a year and a half ago. Since then, the site has mostly continued its mission of helping bands and labels fund their projects through a subscription-based plan, with little input from its new owners. Today, however, Kickstarter’s hitting the reset button on the service. Read MoreSource: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/techcrunch/fundings-exits/~3/ewY3KFq8PvM/
Perkbox acquires digital rewards platform Loyalty Bay
Two companies are better than one: Perkbox, the U.K. startup that helps companies engage and reward employees and customers, has acquired London-based Loyalty Bay, which offers a SaaS platform for the automated delivery of digital rewards. Read MoreSource: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/techcrunch/fundings-exits/~3/agunA5lBHYw/
Qualcomm announces investment in Mobike and eight other Chinese startups
Qualcomm is continuing its charm offensive in China, a critical market where it has suffered hard blows in recent years including a $1 billion anti-trust fine, after it announced a flurry of new investments.
These are chaotic times for Qualcomm, which is fielding unwanted acquisition interest from Broadcom and battling Apple in court, but today it put the focus back on supporting upcoming… Read MoreSource: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/techcrunch/fundings-exits/~3/OCZf6XCacjw/
Marketing email company SendGrid raises $131 million after pricing its IPO at $16
SendGrid, the Denver-based marketing email company, raised $131 million after pricing its IPO at $16, above the expected range of $13.50 to $15.50. The company also upsized its IPO, selling 8.2 million shares, instead of 7.7 million. The company begins trading Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange, under the ticker, “SEND.” SendGrid helps businesses send marketing emails. It says… Read MoreSource: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/techcrunch/fundings-exits/~3/se099McrUWI/
Uber dealt with class action lawsuit alleging assault by drivers
A class action lawsuit has been filed against Uber, claiming that the company hasn’t done enough to inform the public about alleged harassment and assault by drivers. The legal complaint alleges that “thousands of female passengers have endured unlawful conduct by their Uber drivers including rape, sexual assault, physical violence and gender-motivated harassment.” Read MoreSource: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/techcrunch/fundings-exits/~3/jOj5z8OXG2s/
Poshmark raises $87.5 million for fashion resale marketplace
Poshmark, the app for fashion consignment, has raised another $87.5 million in funding led by Singapore-based Temasek. Menlo Ventures, GGV Capital, Mayfield and others also participated.
Having raised $160 million to date, the startup is well-capitalized and plans to use the money to build out its stylist-matching technology. Poshmark is launching voice integration with Amazon’s Alexa… Read MoreSource: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/techcrunch/fundings-exits/~3/Ov_jsTETnXc/
Bossa Nova raises $17.5 million for retail robots
Why count inventory when the robots can do it? Retailers are using machines from a startup called Bossa Nova Robotics to analyze what’s selling on the shelves. The robots drive autonomously through store aisles figuring out what has sold and then sends back data. The company is now raising $17.5 million Series B led by Paxion to scale its business. Intel Capital, Cota Capital and others… Read MoreSource: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/techcrunch/fundings-exits/~3/l_SKLtYEB0w/
Lofelt raises $5.4M to develop next-gen haptic tech for gaming, AR, VR, automobile, and more
Lofelt, a Berlin-based startup that is developing ‘next-generation’ haptic technology for use in a range of products — including gaming, AR, VR, automobile, consumer electronics, toys, medical, and entertainment — has raised $5.4 million in Series A funding. Leading the round is Wolfman.One, with participation from Q Venture Partners, Coparion, and previous backer… Read MoreSource: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/techcrunch/fundings-exits/~3/wx3v89VrPb8/
SoftBank could still walk away from Uber
Uber said Sunday that it agreed to move forward on a proposed investment from SoftBank Group. But SoftBank Investment Advisors sent a statement to reporters on Monday on behalf of CEO Rajeev Misra, emphasizing that it could still walk away. Read MoreSource: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/techcrunch/fundings-exits/~3/f9Zx13PDaxQ/
Stitch Fix gets a close look from consumer VC firm Goodwater Capital ahead of IPO
With Stitch Fix’s IPO on the horizon, Wall Street — and the rest of the tech industry — is going to be keeping a close eye on this next big consumer IPO as both a signal for the future of e-commerce startups like Stitch Fix and the consumer IPO market as a whole heading into the back half of the year. So one of the big metrics Wall Street and others will be focusing on is… Read MoreSource: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/techcrunch/fundings-exits/~3/OJE8UiB1Slk/
Roomi raises $11 million to find you a roommate
Looking for a roommate on Craigslist can be cumbersome. And it can be difficult to determine what the person will be like in real life. A startup called Roomi thinks it has a better solution for finding people to live with. Its app and website help you search for apartment listings with background-checked profiles from the tenants. It also pulls data from social media, like photos and… Read MoreSource: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/techcrunch/fundings-exits/~3/A_mLUy-FfBk/
Gaming firm Razer up 18% following Hong Kong IPO
Razer has continued a winning streak of IPOs from Asian companies after its share price surged as much as 41 percent up on its first day of trading on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The company, which makes accessories for PC gamers, laptops and is preparing to sell its first smartphone, raised $529 million from the sale of 1,063,600,000 shares. After deductions, Razer estimated its take-home… Read MoreSource: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/techcrunch/fundings-exits/~3/chDeCaZPR04/
SoftBank looks to finalize Uber investment today
After months of talks, SoftBank Group is close to finalizing its investment in Uber. Multiple sources tell TechCrunch that the deal is expected to be signed later in the day on Sunday. SoftBank plans to lead a $1 billion investment directly in the company alongside Dragoneer Investment Group. The joint venture will also buy up to $9 billion of shares from eligible existing shareholders in a… Read MoreSource: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/techcrunch/fundings-exits/~3/Da3h5Kw_4nY/
Robin goes all in on robotic lawn care and focuses on franchising
Robin, which pitched a combined “Uber for lawn care” and robotic-lawnmower-as-a-service at Disrupt SF’s Startup Battlefield last year, is making some big changes. It quietly sold the first part to Porch earlier this year, and is now focused on expanding the robot service nationwide via a franchising plan. (And they’re going to be on Shark Tank.) Read MoreSource: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/techcrunch/fundings-exits/~3/FpDc9s2cQCs/
Twilio competitor Bandwidth up 6% following IPO
Bandwidth, a company that helps businesses with voice and text communication, debuted on the Nasdaq on Friday, going up about 6 percent on its first day of trading. After pricing its IPO at the bottom of the expected range at $20 per share, the company closed Friday at $21.19, or up about 6 percent. Read MoreSource: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/techcrunch/fundings-exits/~3/entwRvudevQ/
Ambitious new media firm ByteDance is no longer a secret outside of China
ByteDance is a name that is about to become very familiar to everyone in international tech circles. Really it should already be. It is valued at $20 billion and its flagship Toutiao news reader app is one of China’s fastest growing internet services with 120 million daily users. It is in the process of raising a $2 billion funding round and revenue for this year is reportedly forecast… Read MoreSource: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/techcrunch/fundings-exits/~3/KRqBQzS0Oz0/
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