Here’s a surprise turn of events: Softbank — maker of the friendly Pepper robot and a major M&A player in the tech world — has just announced that it is acquiring two more robotics companies from Google owner Alphabet as part of its own deeper move into the field: it is buying Big Dog developer Boston Dynamics and the secretive bipedal robotics firm Schaft. A spokesperson… Read More
from TechCrunch
Beauty parlors manage a lot of appointments, but about half of them are still using pen and paper, estimates Shedul. The startup is trying to change that, by offering scheduling software for the the salon and spa industry. And it’s been catching on because it’s free. Now they’re raising $6 million. Read More
from TechCrunch
Hype hasn’t been an issue for Andy Rubin’s new hardware startup, Essential. Speculation has been circling the Android founder’s next move since he unceremoniously parted ways with Google.
Funding, it seems, hasn’t really been a problem, either. Bloomberg is reporting that the nascent smartphone maker has raised $300 million to bring its technology to the masses.
A… Read More
from TechCrunch
The augmented reality acquisition space is hot — Facebook, Snap, Apple and others are throwing money at teams and technologies that promise to increase user engagement. Spektral, a Danish startup, is the latest venture-backed visual effects company setting its sights on the massive space. Spektral is announcing a $2.8 million round today from Litecap and Amp Ventures to continue… Read More
from TechCrunch
For most of the history of blockchain-based currencies and assets, the story has been all about Bitcoin. At a market capitalization of around $40 billion, it remains the most valuable cryptocurrency. But with the rise of a new ‘chain on the — ahem — block, namely Ethereum, and new ways to fund the development of new crypto-platforms with ICOs, the narrative is shifting somewhat. Read More
from TechCrunch
Yubico, the company behind the increasingly popular YubiKey two-factor authentication key, has raised a $30 million funding round. This marks the first major institutional funding round for Yubico, which had previously only raised $4.5 million from angel investors. New investors include New Enterprise Associates, the Valley Fund and Bure, a major growth equity firm from Sweden. Existing… Read More
from TechCrunch
Addepar, the provider of data collection and monitoring services for the financial industry (it’s Palantir’s somewhat less ethically compromised cousin), has raised a whopping $140 million in its latest round of funding. Think of Addepar as the tool that gives portfolio managers for the world’s super rich a way to see exactly what those super rich own. Read More
from TechCrunch
Yahoo’s shareholders have approved the sale of Yahoo’s operating business to Verizon in a vote held today and confirmed in a press release sent out following the meeting. Read More
from TechCrunch
French startup Algolia just raised a $53 million Series B round led by Accel, a couple of years after raising $18.3 million with… Accel also leading the round. So it looks like it’s a love story between the VC firm and the software-as-a-service startup. Read More
from TechCrunch
Revolut, the rather noisy London fintech startup that offers a card and current account features that comes with low currency exchange, has taken venture debt from U.S.-based Triplepoint Capital, according to a regulatory filing. The amount remains undisclosed, though I understand the financing is to see the company through to a much larger Series B round currently in the works. Read More
from TechCrunch