The interest around chat bots is rapidly growing, and Betaworks is looking to capitalize.
The startup studio responsible for companies like Giphy and Instapaper is today announcing that applications are open for BotCamp, a 90-day pre-seed program for chat bot startups. Investors in the program include betaworks and the Chernin Group, with sponsors from KPCB, General Catalyst, Atomico and RRE. Read More
from TechCrunch
As reported by TechCrunch in February, valet service Luxe has now confirmed that it has raised $50 million in Series B funding from car rental company Hertz. Redpoint Ventures and Venrock will also be participating in the round. Luxe also announced that Hertz Global Holdings CEO John Tague will be joining Luxe’s board. “Our investment will support Luxe’s ability to scale… Read More
from TechCrunch
AirMap, a startup that provides drone operators with airspace information to let them know when and where they can fly, today announced that it has raised a $15 million Series A funding round. The round was led by General Catalyst Partners, with Lux Capital (which led the company’s $2.6 million seed round), Social Capital, TenOneTen Ventures, Bullpen Capital and the Pritzker Group… Read More
from TechCrunch
Apparel makers Mizzen and Main LLC have closed $3 million in a modest Series B round of venture funding to ramp up inventory and sales of their signature menswear, according to founder and Chief Executive Kevin LaVelle. The Dallas, Texas-based startup is best known for combining the durable and breathable fabrics one would expect in athletic apparel with tailored looks for men. Think Nike… Read More
from TechCrunch
Search engines on large e-commerce sites often spit up a lot of results, which is great if you want to browse, but otherwise annoying. Twiggle thinks it has the solution. Internet conglomerate Naspers agrees, because it has led the Tel Aviv-based startup’s $12.5 million Series A. Yahoo Japan, State of Mind Ventures (a returning investor), and Sir Ronald Cohen also participated in the round. Read More
from TechCrunch
RiskRecon, a startup that helps companies make objective security assessments of third-party cloud vendors, emerged from stealth today with a $3 million seed round led by General Catalyst. Several unnamed private investors also participated in the round. I’m guessing one of those unnamed investors was TD Bank Group, based on the fact that Jeff Martin of TD Bank Group was also named… Read More
from TechCrunch
Smartling, the translation tech company, has acquired TechStars alumni Jargon on Crunchbase which makes tools for mobile developers who want to “localize” their apps for different international markets, and the devices and app stores that are relevant in each one.
New York-based Smartling is known for its “translation management system” software, and marketplace of… Read More
from TechCrunch
Verizon this morning has made another move to ramp up its media business, and specifically, bring new content to its mobile video streaming service, go90. The company (and AOL parent, which owns TechCrunch), says it will be taking an approximate 24.5 percent stake in the Dreamworks’ video company AwesomenessTV. The deal will also see Verizon and AwesomenessTV creating a short-form… Read More
from TechCrunch
In Europe, London tends to grab most of the fintech limelight but other tech hubs in the continent are producing their fair share of fintech companies with comparative success, not least in Germany. Enter Hamburg-based Finanzcheck, the consumer loans marketplace, which today is disclosing it has closed €33 million in Series C funding. The round was led by growth-investor HarbourVest,… Read More
from TechCrunch
Healthcare identity startup CrossChx announced this morning that they raised a $15 million Series C financing round from Khosla Ventures, Drive Capital, Silicon Valley Bank, NCT Ventures and Moonshots Capital. This brings their total funding to $35 million since being founded in 2012 Read More
from TechCrunch