To our valued founders, investors, partners and friends: We would like to extend our sincerest gratitude for your support during the past year since we launched F50 on March 26, 2014. […]
Funding and Exit
- Coinbase acquires Distributed Systems to build ‘Login with Coinbase’ August 15, 2018Coinbase wants to be Facebook Connect for crypto. The blockchain giant plans to develop “Login with Coinbase” or a similar identity platform for decentralized app developers to make it much easier for users to sign up and connect their crypto wallets. To fuel that platform, today Coinbase announced it has acquired Distributed Systems, a startup […]Josh Constine
- To fight the scourge of open offices, ROOM sells rooms August 15, 2018Noisy open offices don’t foster collaboration, they kill it, according to a Harvard study that found the less-private floor plan led to a 73 percent drop in face-to-face interaction between employees and a rise in emailing. The problem is plenty of young companies and big corporations have already bought into the open office fad. But […]Josh Constine
- Karma raises $12M to let restaurants and grocery stores offer unsold food at a discount August 15, 2018Karma, the Stockholm-based startup that offers a marketplace to let local restaurants and grocery offer unsold food at a discount, has raised $12 million in Series A funding. Swedish investment firm Kinnevik led the round, with participation from U.S. venture capital firm Bessemer Venture Partners, appliance manufacturer Electrolux, and previous backer VC fi […]Steve O'Hear
- Alphabet invests $375 million in Oscar Health August 14, 2018Google parent Alphabet has invested $375 million in next-gen health insurance company, Oscar Health. Google has been a longtime supporter of the six-year-old New York company, having previously invested in Oscar through its Capital G investment wing and Verily health and life sciences research wing. “Alphabet has invested in Oscar over many years and has […] […]Brian Heater
- Chinese Tesla rival Nio files to raise $1.8 billion in US IPO August 14, 2018Tesla may be looking to go private, but Chinese rival Nio is going the other way after it filed to raise $1.8 billion in an IPO on the New York Stock Exchange. Nio was started in 2014, initially as NextCar, by Bin Li, an entrepreneur who founded online automotive services platform Bitauto. The company is backed by Chinese […]Jon Russell
- Singapore’s Openspace Ventures closes new $135M fund for Southeast Asia August 14, 2018It seems like everyone is out there raising new funds in Southeast Asia. Weeks after we reported Golden Gate Ventures hit a first close on its third fund aimed at $100 million, so Openspace Ventures — the Singapore-based firm formerly known as NSI — has announced a final close of $135 million for its second […]Jon Russell
- China’s Didi beefs up its newly-independent car services business with an acquisition August 14, 2018A week after spinning out its driver services business and giving it $1 billion in investment capital, Didi Chuxing has added to it through an acquisition. Xiaoju Automobile Solutions (XAS), which the Didi spinout is called, announced today it has bought Hiservice, a three-year-old company that provides after-service care for car owners using a digital platf […]Jon Russell
- WeWork China rival Ucommune raises $43.5M more at a $1.8B valuation August 14, 2018Barely weeks after WeWork China raised $500 million, one of its main rivals is refueling its tanks too. Ucommune — the company formerly known as UrWork until a WeWork lawsuit forced a rebrand — announced its $43.5 million Series C round. Beijing-based Ucommune’s new round was led by real estate-focused investment firms Prosperity Holdings and RK […]Jon Russell
- India’s budget hotel network OYO moves into wedding banquet services August 13, 2018OYO Rooms, the India-based budget hotel network that’s backed by SoftBank’s Vision fund, has prioritized expansion into China this year but that’s not all it’s up to. Back home in India, it just moved into the event hosting space through the acquisition of a wedding banquet company. Today, OYO said it has acquired Weddingz.in, a three-year-old company that [ […]Jon Russell
- Three Indonesian tech unicorns unite to back digital insurance startup August 13, 2018It’s almost unheard of to see three unicorns join forces to fund a startup, but that’s exactly what has happened in Indonesia. Ride-hailing company Go-Jek, e-commerce firm Tokopedia and travel booking startup Traveloka — each of which is valued in the billions of U.S. dollars — have come together to provide a Series A funding […]Jon Russell
