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It is the biggest US stock market listing by a Chinese company since Alibaba's debut in 2014. from BBC News - Technology https://ift.tt/3hrWso3

Sixteen-year-old Archer Calder developed an app to help his nonverbal sister Della communicate. from BBC News - Technology https://ift.tt/2UddTRo

Geoffrey Moore Contributor Share on Twitter Known for his seminal book "Crossing the Chasm," Geoffrey Moore is an author, speaker and adviser who splits his consulting time between startup companies in the Wildcat Venture Partners portfolio and established high-tech enterprises — including Salesforce, Microsoft, Autodesk, F5Networks, Gainsight, Google and Splunk. Jeff Bussgang, a co-founder and general partner at Flybridge Capital, recently wrote an Extra Crunch guest post that argued it is time for a refresh when it comes to the technology adoption life cycle and the chasm . His argument went as follows: VCs in recent years have drastically underestimated the size of SAMs (serviceable addressable markets) for their startup investments because they were “trained to think only a portion of the SAM is obtainable within any reasonable window of time because of the chasm.” The chasm is no longer the barrier it once was because businesses have finally understood

Peanut , the maker of a social networking app for women,  is entering into the investing space with today’s launch of a microfund called StartHER . As the name implies, the new fund will focus on investing in women as well as other historically excluded founders “of all ages, life stages, ethnicities and sexual orientations,” the company says. In particular, StartHER aims tackle the difficulties specific groups have in raising their first capital — something typically referred to as the “friends and family round.” Peanut argues there’s inherent bias in assuming that every startup founder has access to what are, essentially, wealthy friends or family who can spare a little startup capital. These rounds often range in size from $10,000 to as large as $150,000 or more, and can make a difference when it comes to getting a new company off the ground. “The assumption that founders should have networks able to invest in their businesses creates an unfair starting line for most groups. If we

The sale came with a bundle of assets, including an animated video and a letter from Sir Tim. from BBC News - Technology https://ift.tt/3w67vbJ

Australian rocket launch startup Gilmour Space Technologies is betting that bigger isn’t always better. The company has developed a small launch vehicle it calls Eris, a 25 meter (82 foot) rocket that can deliver payload of up to 215 kilograms (474 lbs) to sun synchronous orbit. Now, it’s raised a $61 million AUD ($46 million USD) Series C round to take Eris to space next year. Eris is much smaller than other launch companies’ rockets. Relativity Space’s Terran One has a max payload capacity to LEO of around 1,250 kg (2,756 lbs); even SpaceX’s Falcon 1, its first and smallest orbital rocket, could deliver 450 kg (990 lbs). Gilmour Space is wagering that the lighter payload will result in lower costs for a burgeoning suite of customers looking to send spacecraft to orbit. The funds will also go toward nearly doubling the company’s workforce, from 70 to 120 employees, and developing a new commercial spaceport at Abbot Point, Queensland. Australian legislators approved construction of

Over the past year, there has been a surge of newly formed digital banks aimed at specific demographics. The banks in nearly all cases are trying to meet the needs of certain populations that they believe are feeling left out or underserved by traditional financial institutions. The latest such neobank to emerge is New York-based Daylight , which describes itself as the first LGBTQ+ digital banking platform in the United States. (There is a digital bank in Brazil with a similar mission called Pride Bank ). Founded by L GBTQ+ entrepreneurs Rob Curtis (CEO), Billie Simmons, a trans woman (COO) and Paul Barnes Hoggett (CTO), Daylight is announcing today that it has secured $5 million in a seed funding round. Kapor Capital and Precursor Capital co-led the round, which included participation from Anthemis Group, Clocktower, Financial Venture Studio and Citibank. Daylight says its mission is to “build a more equitable financial life for LGBTQ+ folks and their chosen families.” The comp

Mandolin just marked its first birthday earlier this month, and yet the Indianapolis-based startup is already announcing a $12 million Series A. That’s a quick follow up to the $5 million seed it raised in early October of last year. Turns out the global pandemic is a pretty fortuitious time to launch and grow a concert streaming platform. The oversubscribed round was co-led by 645 Ventures and Foundry Group and featured additional funding from existing investors like High Alpha and TIME Ventures (Marc Benioff). The big question, of course, is what happens to a company like Mandolin when the world starts opening back up? Sure concert livestreams got a massive boost as fans and artists alike were seeking an outlet as touring ground to a halt. But what now that venues are starting to reopen. “As artists return to performing in sold out venues, Live+ will undoubtedly become a can’t-live-without digital complement that amplifies live shows,” CEO Mary Kay Huse said in a release. “Our ne

The American IPO market is hot for many companies, but surprisingly cool for others. The gap between the two cohorts of private companies looking to list is becoming notable. When Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi first set an IPO price range, The Exchange was curious about why the company felt so inexpensive. Compared to its American comps, shares in Didi simply felt underpriced at its proposed valuation interval. Recently, Didi stuck to its initial expectations by pricing at $14 per share , the upper end of its range, but no higher. This week also brought a lackluster float for Chinese grocery-delivery company DingDong, which cut its IPO raise but only managed a flat American debut. Another China-based online grocery delivery service that went public domestically last week, Missfresh, is doing even worse . With just those few data points, you’d be hard-pressed to be particularly bullish about U.S.-listed IPOs. Why go public in the United States if you are going to be underpriced a

BJ Jenkins Contributor Share on Twitter BJ Jenkins is CEO of Barracuda , a provider of cloud-enabled security and data protection solutions. He is a member of the boards of directors at SumoLogic and Generac Power Systems . It used to be a heavily traveled two-way street in corporate America: CEOs joined other companies’ boards to broaden their experiences, expand their influence, or simply because it felt good. Boards sought out CEOs because of the knowledge they bring and their unique ability to interact with the company CEO as an equal. But the number of sitting CEOs on outside boards keeps shrinking. As the CEO role has become more difficult and demanding, greater numbers of chief executives are shying away from external board roles and many boards now limit their own CEOs’ board assignments as well. The pandemic accelerated the trend, according to a report by management consulting firm Korn Ferry, citing “evidence that the unprecedented demands posed by the pandem

Drone delivery startup Zipline, a company that got its start delivering medical supplies across Africa, has raised $250 million in new funding. This latest round has vaulted the company’s valuation to $2.75 billion and will fuel further expansion of its logistics networks in Africa and the United States. Zipline made a name for itself first in Rwanda and then in Ghana, where it delivered blood, vaccines, life-saving medications and other essential supplies using autonomous electric drones. The company, which launched in 2014, is vertically integrated – meaning it designs and manufactures the unmanned drones, the logistics software, and the accompanying launch and landing system. Zipline CEO Keller Rinaudo told TechCrunch that this was more by necessity than design, noting that when the company first started developing its drone tech, it quickly realized that off-the-shelf components weren’t reliable or didn’t integrate well. “Over time Zipline has had to basically rip every single t

This morning Gusto , a unicorn that sells payroll and benefits management software, announced that it will now offer part of its service via an API to external platforms. The new product, dubbed Gusto Embedded Payroll, will allow vertical SaaS companies to provide payroll support to their own customers. The move to provide elements of its service through other firms’ offerings could bolster Gusto’s growth rate; for partner platforms the ability to provide payroll services may make their overall offering more attractive to small businesses. According to Gusto co-founder and chief product officer Tomer London , vertical SaaS companies are offering effectively a “business in a box” service today, making the addition of payroll to their own services a somewhat obvious move, as paying workers is a key element of running a company. Indeed, for many companies payroll is their largest expense. In the same interview, Gusto co-founder and CEO Josh Reeves indicated that more of Gusto’s servi

Hello and welcome back to  Equity , TechCrunch’s venture capital-focused podcast, where we unpack the numbers behind the headlines. For this week’s deep dive,  Alex  and  Natasha  brought on Alexis Gay, a former operator at Patreon who now makes her living as comedian and podcast host , to talk about the creator economy — including our disdain for that horrid phrasing. You may know her from her cheeky, on point shorts about tech culture (and tech Twitter). every single park hang in San Francisco pic.twitter.com/fApsQ674YD — Alexis Gay (@yayalexisgay) March 9, 2021 Gay gave us an honest look into the life of creator helper turned creator actual , admitting that her current job path wasn’t possible in 2018. Somewhere, somehow, a VC in the distance heard that admittance as an opportunity to back a creator economy startup. Here’s what we got into: Gay’s experience at Patreon, and why she left. Alex had some thoughts on the theme. It appears that growing list of creator-focu

Sophie Alcorn Contributor Share on Twitter Sophie Alcorn is the founder of Alcorn Immigration Law in Silicon Valley and 2019 Global Law Experts Awards’ “Law Firm of the Year in California for Entrepreneur Immigration Services.” She connects people with the businesses and opportunities that expand their lives. More posts by this contributor Dear Sophie: Is it possible to expand our startup in the US? Dear Sophie: What is a diversity green card and how do I apply for one? Here’s another edition of “Dear Sophie,” the advice column that answers immigration-related questions about working at technology companies. “Your questions are vital to the spread of knowledge that allows people all over the world to rise above borders and pursue their dreams,” says Sophie Alcorn , a Silicon Valley immigration attorney. “Whether you’re in people ops, a founder or seeking a job in Silicon Valley, I would love to answer your questions in my next column.” Extra Crunch members recei

Regulators and campaigners say more needs to be done. from BBC News - Technology https://ift.tt/3w577KI

Fresh off the heels of a $650 million Series E funding round, 3D printed rocket startup Relativity Space is now preparing to increase production capacity by a factor of ten, with the opening of a 1 million square-foot factory headquarters in Long Beach, California. Relativity’s current factory, a 150,000 square-foot facility also in Long Beach, will remain in production. That factory will continue to focus on the company’s first rocket, the expendable Terran 1 that’s designed for smaller payloads. The new facility is aimed at building out the development and production of Terran R, Relativity’s heavy-lift, fully-reusable two stage rocket. Neither rocket has seen orbit yet, but Relativity aims to launch Terran 1 in June 2022 and Terran R as early as 2024. Along with the factory opening, which is slated for January 2022, the company is also planning a hiring push – Relativity hopes to add at least 200 employees by the end of this year, CEO Tim Ellis told TechCrunch. The new facility h

There are so many startups pledging to reinvent the mortgage process that it’s hard to keep up. But for anyone who has had to go through the process of applying for one, it’s clear that there’s plenty of room for improvement. The latest startup to raise venture money with the goal of making the process “smarter and faster” is one that was founded by a pair of executives that spent years at real estate giant Zillow. Tomo is very early stage — so early stage that it is only launching operations in conjunction with announcing it has just raised $70 million in seed funding. That’s a massive seed round by any standards (the third-largest in the U.S., according to Crunchbase), but especially for the real estate tech space (perhaps the largest ever). Ribbit Capital led the financing, which also included participation from DST Global, NFX and Zigg Capital. Former Zillow executives Greg Schwartz and Carey Armstrong founded Stamford, CT-based Tomo in the fall of 2020 to take on big banks w

MKT1 is a strategic marketing firm founded by experienced startup executives that is everything but a marketing agency. It advises startups on marketing approaches, recruiting and mentoring workshops, with some angel syndicate investing as well. It also provides a job board, a newsletter , and workshops for marketers. Founders Kathleen Estreich and Emily Kramer say they are responding to a few big trends in the startup world. These days, young companies are raising more capital than ever and facing increased pressure to maintain rapid growth, but founders are typically focused on technology and product problems. The result, as they have sometimes seen first-hand, is marketing coming in too early or too late to truly help a startup grow. Instead, Kramer and Estreich help companies make marketing a core part of how they execute from their early days. Estreich, previously at Facebook, Box, Intercom and Scalyr, and Kramer, previously Ticktfly, Asana, Astro and Carta, were recommended to

Kikoff , a personal finance platform aimed at helping consumers build credit, announced today that it has raised $30 million in a Series B round. The capital is in addition to the $12.5 million the startup raised across previously unannounced seed and Series A rounds, which were both led by Lightspeed Venture partners. Portage Ventures led Kickoff’s Series B, which included participation from Lightspeed, GGV, Coatue and Core Innovation Capital. Previous backers of the company include NBA star Steph Curry, Wex CEO Melissa Smith and Teresa Ressel, former CFO of the U.S. Department of the Treasury. CEO Cynthia Chen and CTO Christophe Chong co-founded the San Francisco-based company in late 2019 with the goal of helping consumers without a credit history establish one, and helping those with credit histories to continue building credit. The pair came from “low to moderate income” families, Chen said, and say they want to help others who also come from similar economic backgrounds. Che