Entrepreneurs have traditionally looked for five things from their investors: capital, customers, product development, hiring and, eventually, an exit. Getting customer feedback as quickly as possible has been well-understood thanks to professor Steve Blank and author Eric Ries’s work at the start of the past decade and built into the National Science Foundation’s i-corps platform. But making it a reality is still challenging.
Month: November 2020
Powerlist Q&A – Joshua Berg, Magna Innovation Ventures
Q&A with Josh Berg, director, Magna Innovation Ventures
Nuro lures Vision Fund to $500m series C
Delivery vehicle provider Nuro has almost doubled its valuation to $5bn in a series C round featuring returning investor SoftBank Vision Fund.
Adobe to administer $1.5bn Workfront acquisition
Susquehanna International Group is set to exit the marketing collaboration software developer having invested just over a year ago.
SoftBank reaches new Tier in $250m round
The scooter sharing platform developer has pulled in series C funding through a round led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2 that will support its entry into new markets.
Prometheus Bio fires up $130m round
Nestlé and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center participated in a round that came four months after the precision IBD therapy developer rebranded from Precision IBD.
LinkAja connects to Grab in $100m round
Grab led a series B round for the digital wallet provider that also featured Telkomsel and corporate venturing units BRI Ventures and Mandiri Capital.
Decibel decides on $82m series D
Corporate venturing units GV and SR One both reinvested as the hearing loss therapy developer pushed its overall funding past the $190m mark.
SoftBank sees CVCs away from board
Vision Fund CEO Rajeev Misra and Marcelo Claure, head of SoftBank’s Latin American fund, are both set to depart from its board of directors.
Ather Energy activates series D round
Hero MotoCorp invested about $12m in a $35.1m round that took its stake in the smart electric scooter maker to nearly 38%.
Meta makes corporate venturing unit
The consulting firm’s newly formed $3.5m Meta Ventures vehicle will accept applications until the end of this month for its Bring Your SaaS challenge.
SoftBank bounces back
“The door is always open for a second and third [Vision] fund, but we’re not very popular,” according to Masayoshi Son, founder of Japan-listed internet conglomerate SoftBank in the Financial Times.
SoftBank Vision Fund rebounds
The corporate has booked a combined $8.5bn increase in the valuation of its investments in portfolio companies through its two Vision Funds.
Pony.ai makes leap to $267m series C
Newly minted strategic partner FAW Group was among the participants as the autonomous driving system developer pushed its valuation to $5.3bn.