Spotify’s singular focus on music sees it adding subscribers faster than the iPhone company with a streaming app on the side. Spotify has added 20 million paid subscribers in under a year, while it’s taken Apple Music over a year and a half to make that progress. Spotify now has 60 million subscribers, compared to Apple Music’s 27 million as of June. Spotify’s ability… Read More
from TechCrunch
Reddit, the 12-year-old, San Francisco-based online discussion platform that has long called itself the “front page of the internet,” just closed its biggest round ever, from a whole lot of investors, reports Recode. Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia Capital, Coatue Management, Vy Capital, Fidelity, Sam Altman and Ron Conway all chipped into the $200 million financing. Read More
from TechCrunch
Valerie Jarrett, who served as Senior Advisor to President Obama, is joining Lyft’s board, the company announced Monday. The team already includes Lyft’s co-founders, Ben Horowitz from Andreessen Horowitz, Ann Miura-Ko from Floodgate and other industry players. The company believes that Jarrett, who previously chaired the Chicago Transit Board, “brings experience tackling… Read More
from TechCrunch
Ding, a London-based hardware startup, has raised more than £263,000 (~$345k) via the Seedrs equity crowdfunding platform as it works to get its first product — a wi-fi connected doorbell — to market this year. Read More
from TechCrunch
What a difference a week makes. Less than seven days after Flipkart’s much-rumored acquisition of Snapdeal appeared to be nearing completion after months of speculation, the deal has officially died.
All that stood between a reported $900-$950 million acquisition was the approval of Snapdeal’s board, but now talks are over and Snapdeal will continue on as an independent company. Read More
from TechCrunch
SAIF Partners, one of India’s most active tech investment firms, has returned with a new fund of $350 million, its sixth to date. Unlike other firms, SAIF opted to keep its newest fund at the same size as its previous one because it allows it to be selective on deals, a number of partners told TechCrunch in an interview. SAIF has more than $4 billion in assets under management. Its… Read More
from TechCrunch
SimplyCook, the recipe kit with a flavoursome difference, has raised £2 million in further funding. Investors in the round are Maxfield Capital, Episode 1 Ventures, 500 Startups, and a handful of unnamed U.K. angels. Read More
from TechCrunch
After months of watching Snap’s volatile ride on the stock market from the sidelines, some insiders will be allowed to sell their shares Monday. Known as the “lockup period,” employees and early investors of companies are generally restricted from selling their shares during the initial months following an IPO. The duration of this period varies and in Snap’s case, 150… Read More
from TechCrunch
Carwow, a platform to that helps you buy a new car, has closed $39 million in Series C funding. The round was led by new investor Vitruvian Partners, with existing investors Accel Partners and Balderton Capital also participating. At today’s exchange rate it brings total funding to approximately $62.6 million. Read More
from TechCrunch
In an insurer’s ideal world, there’d be a profitable policy for every conceivable risk. Click once, and you’re covered. But in the real world, insurance hasn’t kept up with the changes of recent years. The millennial generation has entered adulthood intent on completing — online — any complex transaction in a couple of minutes. But insurance policies look… Read More
from TechCrunch