Indian home healthcare platform Portea Medical raises $26M Series C

Portea Medical founder and CEO Meena Ganesh Portea Medical, one of India’s biggest platforms for home healthcare visits, has raised $26 million in Series C funding to expand its service range. The round was led by Sabre Partners and MEMG CDC, with participation from returning investors Accel (which led Portea’s Series B two years ago),… Continue reading Indian home healthcare platform Portea Medical raises $26M Series C

Published
Categorized as Fundings

The rise of SPACs

Every few years efforts to redefine the IPO emerge, and as night follows day, investors get hurt and calls for tighter regulatory reform echo in legislative chambers and cable TV studios. The last significant “re-invention” emerged in the height of the dot-com boom when online brokers started selling newly issued shares directly to retail customers.… Continue reading The rise of SPACs

Published
Categorized as Fundings

Ten years on: Seedcamp outs new £41M seed fund and says it’s ready to invest in tokens

“The maturity of founders is just exponentially better and different from when we started in ‘07,” says Seedcamp co-founder and Managing Partner Reshma Sohoni. “[They are] so much more knowledgeable, so much more practiced in the art of starting up”. I’m on a conference call with Sohoni, Seedcamp’s other Managing Partner Carlos Espinal, and three… Continue reading Ten years on: Seedcamp outs new £41M seed fund and says it’s ready to invest in tokens

Published
Categorized as Fundings

Lightform raises $5M to turn old projectors into augmented reality machines

In Blade Runner 2049, one of the more interesting stylistic choices was how the film imagined futuristic augmented reality. While the Microsofts and Googles of our real dystopian world are currently approaching AR tech with headsets and smart glasses, Blade Runner 2049 relied entirely on external projection to augment its world and the people in… Continue reading Lightform raises $5M to turn old projectors into augmented reality machines

Published
Categorized as Fundings

Apple acquired augmented reality headset startup Vrvana for $30M

As Apple reportedly ramps up work to ship an augmented reality headset in 2020, it has acquired a startup from Montreal, Canada that could help it get there. TechCrunch has learned that Apple has acquired Vrvana, maker of the Totem headset — which had rave reviews but never shipped. The deal was for around $30 million, two sources… Continue reading Apple acquired augmented reality headset startup Vrvana for $30M

Published
Categorized as Fundings

ADAY aims to simplify your wardrobe with $2M in funding

ADAY, a fresh entrant in the highly competitive world of direct-to-consumer fashion, has raised $2 million in new funding for its mission to simplify wardrobes with a line of durable, technical, and chic womenswear. The company is the latest in an ever-expanding movement of startups that offer direct-to-consumer products for the fashion-conscious consumer. Venture-backed lifestyle startups… Continue reading ADAY aims to simplify your wardrobe with $2M in funding

Published
Categorized as Fundings

Company raises $347K ICO, vanishes

A company called Confido raised a small ICO by selling special CFD designed to allow “safe and trustless cryptocurrency payments. According to ICODrops they raised their goal of about $400,000 and quickly disappeared, taking the cash with it. The site is currently a parked web server that points to nothing. The apparent founder and former… Continue reading Company raises $347K ICO, vanishes

Published
Categorized as Fundings

Instagram co-founder Kevin Systrom has backed the U.K. challenger bank Monzo

Monzo, one of a number of “challenger” banks in the U.K. aiming to re-invent the current account, is assembling quite an array of backers, many with a U.S. bent. It’s most recent round, which gave the startup a £280 million post-money valuation, saw the likes of Goodwater Capital, Stripe, and Michael Moritz invest, and before… Continue reading Instagram co-founder Kevin Systrom has backed the U.K. challenger bank Monzo

Published
Categorized as Fundings

Baidu and electric vehicle startup NIO lead $195M investment in Chinese limo booking app

Chinese internet giant Baidu is continuing its push into the automotive space after it led a RMB 1.3 billion ($195 million) Series B investment in Shouqi Limousine & Chauffeur, an offshoot of the state-owned Shouqi Group which was Beijing’s first licensed ride-hailing app. NIO Capital, the investment arm of billion-dollar electric car startup NIO, and Silk Road… Continue reading Baidu and electric vehicle startup NIO lead $195M investment in Chinese limo booking app

Published
Categorized as Fundings

Japanese pawn shop app Cash acquired for $62.2M by DMM

DMM, one of Japan’s largest Internet and e-commerce conglomerates, announced today that it will pay 7 billion yen (about $62.2 million) for pawn shop app Cash. Launched this summer, Cash’s software automatically appraises an item’s value based on user photos and offers a cash advance with it as collateral. Cash was developed by Bank, a… Continue reading Japanese pawn shop app Cash acquired for $62.2M by DMM

Published
Categorized as Fundings