SoFi secured the money from existing investor Renren less than a month after closing a $1bn round that valued it at $4bn.
Month: October 2015
Merck identifies Exostar for $10m investment
Merck Global Health Innovation Fund has invested $10m in the digital identification service, adding to the $5m it provided in October 2014.
Marqeta banks on Commerzbank to raise $25m
Payments processing technology producer Marqeta has received $25m in series C funding from Commerzbank and others to support international expansion.
Has venture investors’ role been done?
There is a good question asked by academics, Ilya Strebulaev and Will Gornall: “How Much Does Venture Capital Drive the US Economy?” The answer has been “a lot”: as of December 2013, their sample of public companies showed 710 with total market capitalisation of $4.3 trillion had received venture capital backing, out of 4,063 firms… Continue reading Has venture investors’ role been done?
Coursera does series C homework for $61m
Open access education platform Coursera has reached the second close of its Times Internet-backed series C round after securing a commitment by EDBI.
Fieldwire constructs $6.6m early-stage round
The construction task management app developer raised the cash in a Bloomberg Beta-backed round that was led by venture capital firm Formation 8.
Cardionomic shows fluidity in $20m series A
Cleveland Clinic and Greatbatch were among the investors in a round that will support development of Cardionomic’s heart failure treatment device.
GetSafe opens up for Commerzbank
Commerzbank has co-led a round for the insurance management app that also featured Rocket Internet and several corporate-backed venture firms.
Merus inspires $60m IPO
Backed by Novo, Johnson & Johnson, Novartis and Pfizer, the immuno-oncology drug developer was previously reported in April 2015 to be seeking a $105m offering.
SimilarWeb’s series E round equates to $25m
UK-based web traffic analytics provider SimilarWeb closed a $25m series E round yesterday led by e-commerce company Naspers that also featured private investor David Alliance. SimilarWeb analyses a range of metrics such as traffic and user engagement for more than 80 million websites and three million mobile apps in order to help developers better understand… Continue reading SimilarWeb’s series E round equates to $25m
Alibaba to make billion-dollar Magic Leap
Magic Leap, which has already raised almost $600m from investors including Google and Qualcomm, could secure $200m from Alibaba as part of a $1bn round.
Bolo.me finds Baidu for $30m series B
Search engine provider Baidu invested in the round, which valued Bolo.me at $200m, as part of an agreement to integrate the startup’s e-commerce technology into its platform.
Everything.me ends up with nothing
Everything.me, the Israel-based developer of an Android app launcher backed by a range of corporates, has shut down, Tech.eu reported on Sunday. The news is unexpected, as the company, which counted internet browser developer Mozilla and telecoms companes Telefónca and Singapore Telecommunications among its investors, was hiring new engineers and software developers as recently as… Continue reading Everything.me ends up with nothing
The missing link: Overcoming Britain’s failure to commercialise advanced materials
You know the argument about how Britain excels at innovation but seriously struggles with commercialisation? I do not think there is a technology conference I have attended in the last decade, or a technology study I have read, where this has not been featured or mentioned. Reasons cited have usually included a shortage of capital,… Continue reading The missing link: Overcoming Britain’s failure to commercialise advanced materials