Australian influencer marketing startup Tribe raises $7.5M as it eyes U.S. expansion

Tribe, which helps brands acquire content from so-called “micro-influencers,” has raised $7.5 million in Series A funding. The startup was founded in Australia in 2015 by TV and radio host Jules Lund, who told me he was responding to the growing demand for branded content. “Brands are desperate for content,” Lund said. “When you have […]

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Vlocity nabs $60M Series C investment on $1B valuation

As we wrote last week in How Salesforce paved the way for the SaaS platform approach, the ability to build extensions, applications and even whole companies on top of the Salesforce platform set the stage and the bar for every SaaS company since. Vlocity certainly recognized that. Targeting five verticals, it built industry-specific CRM solutions […]

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McDonald’s is acquiring Dynamic Yield to create a more personalized drive-thru

McDonald’s is announcing an agreement to acquire personalization company Dynamic Yield. The announcement does not include a price, but a source with knowledge of the deal said that it’s more than $300 million. Dynamic Yield works with brands across e-commerce, travel, finance and media to create what’s been described as an Amazon-style personalized experience. McDonald’s […]

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Social investment platform eToro acquires smart contract startup Firmo

Social investing and trading platform eToro announced that it has acquired Danish smart contract infrastructure provider Firmo for an undisclosed purchase price. Firmo’s platform enables exchanges to execute smart financial contracts across various assets, including crypto derivatives, and across all major blockchains. Firmo founder and CEO Dr. Omri Ross described the company’s mission as “…enabl[ing] our […]

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Lidar startup Ouster raises $60 million in production run-up

Ouster has raised $60 million as the San Francisco-based lidar startup opens a new facility that will have the capacity to assemble and ship several thousand sensors a month by the end of 2019. The new factory, which will have a grand opening ceremony March 28, currently produces hundreds of sensors per month. Ouster says […]

View More Lidar startup Ouster raises $60 million in production run-up

Lidar startup Ouster raises $60 million in production run-up

Ouster has raised $60 million as the San Francisco-based lidar startup opens a new facility that will have the capacity to assemble and ship several thousand sensors a month by the end of 2019. The new factory, which will have a grand opening ceremony March 28, currently produces hundreds of sensors per month. Ouster says […]

View More Lidar startup Ouster raises $60 million in production run-up

Alibaba acquires Israeli VR startup Infinity Augmented Reality

Infinity Augmented Reality, an Israeli virtual reality startup, has been acquired by Alibaba, the companies announced this weekend. The deal’s terms were not disclosed. Alibaba and InfinityAR have had a strategic partnership since 2016, when Alibaba Group led InfinityAR’s Series C. Since then, the two have collaborated on augmented reality, computer vision and artificial intelligence […]

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Flying taxi startup Blade is helping Silicon Valley CEOs bypass traffic

Blade, backed by Lerer Hippeau and Airbus, has begun chauffering the Bay Area’s elite.

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Startups Weekly: A much-needed unicorn IPO update

In this week’s newsletter: Details on Pinterest, Lyft, Uber and Zoom’s upcoming IPOs, plus Glossier and Rent The Runway’s big rounds.

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Equity Shot: Pinterest and Zoom file to go public

In the latest Equity Shot, Kate Clark and Alex Wilhelm take a closer look at Pinterest and Zoom’s IPO filings.

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Our 9 favorite startups from Y Combinator W19 Demo Day 2

Heathcare kiosks, a home-cooked food marketplace, and a way for startups to earn interest on their funding topped our list of high-potential companies from Y Combinator’s Winter 2019 Demo Day 2. 88 startups launched on stage at the lauded accelerator, though some of the best skipped the stage as they’d already raised tons of money. […]

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