Tag: Funding

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FreshBooks reaches $1B+ valuation with $130.75M for its SMB-focused accounting platform

FreshBooks, a Toronto-based cloud accounting software company focused on SMBs, announced today it has secured $80.75 million in a Series E round of funding, as well as $50 million in debt financing. Existing backer Accomplice led the equity financing, which the company described as “an inside round” that propelled FreshBooks to unicorn status with a…
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10 August 2021 0

India’s UpGrad enters unicorn club with $185 million fundraise

UpGrad, a Bangalore-based startup that specializes in higher education and upskilling courses, said on Monday it has raised $185 million in a new financing round that valued it at $1.2 billion. Singapore’s Temasek, the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation, and IIFL financed the round, first tranche of it — about $120 million — was completed…
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9 August 2021 0

Indiegogo’s CEO on how crowdfunding navigated the pandemic

Andy Yang joined Indiegogo at a turbulent time. As the crowdfunding platform’s then-CEO stepped aside for personal reasons, the service also reportedly grappled with layoffs. Coming on board after a stretch with Reddit, the new CEO would have less than a year at the helm before COVID-19 turned the globe upside down. Now 13 years…
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6 August 2021 0

Best Buy investing millions in Brown Venture Group, a firm exclusively backing BIPOC founders

Last summer, in the wake of George Floyd’s murder, Best Buy committed to “do better” when it came to supporting communities of color. As part of the retail giant’s self-proclaimed mission to better address underrepresentation and technology inequities, the company announced today that it is investing up to $10 million in Brown Venture Group. Minnesota-based…
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5 August 2021 0

Suma Brands raises $150M to acquire more third-party brands for its Amazon roll-up play

Amazon has become a lynchpin in the e-commerce machine over the years in part because it’s a site we consumers can visit to buy just about anything we want — sold either by Amazon or its 5 million+ third-party merchants — and easily get it delivered to our homes. But the system is not completely…
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4 August 2021 0

Planted raises another $21M to expand its growing plant-based meat empire (and add schnitzel)

Swiss alternative protein company Planted has raised its second round of the year, a CHF 19M (about $21M at present) “pre-B” fundraise that will help it continue its growth and debut new products. A U.S. launch is in the cards eventually but for now Planted’s exclusively European customers will be able to give its new…
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2 August 2021 0

Kuda, the African challenger bank, raises $55M at a $500M valuation

Kuda Bank, the London-based, Nigerian-operating startup that is taking on incumbents in the country with a mobile-first, personalised and often cheaper set of banking services built on newer, API-based infrastructure, has been on a growth tear in the last several months, and to fuel its expansion, it has now raised another round of funding. TechCrunch…
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2 August 2021 0

Microsoft in talks to back India’s Oyo

Indian budget hotel chain Oyo may have lost a lot of business amid the pandemic, but it is inching closer to finding a new investor: Microsoft. Microsoft is in advanced stages of talks to invest in Oyo, according to two people with knowledge of the matter. The size of the investment and the valuation are unclear. Oyo…
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29 July 2021 0

Coralogix logs $55M for its new take on production analytics, now valued at $300-$400M

Data may be the new oil, but it’s only valuable if you make good use of it. Today, a startup that has built a new kind of production analytics platform for developers, security engineers and data scientists to track and better understand how data is moving around their networks is announcing a round of funding…
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29 July 2021 0

Business messaging platform Gupshup raises $240 million from Tiger Global, Fidelity and others

Gupshup, a business messaging platform that began its journey in India 15 years ago, surprised many when it raised $100 million in April this year, roughly 10 years after its last financing round, and attained the coveted unicorn status. Now just three months later, the San Francisco-headquartered startup has secured even more capital from high-profile…
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28 July 2021 0