Crunchbase Daily: Webflow, Visa and MX Bank
Global startup funding rose in 2020 Startups and unicorns closed out 2020 in a much stronger position than the one they started the year in, with global venture funding up 4 percent year over year to around $300 billion, per Crunchbase data. While investors backed fewer companies, average deal size rose significantly, lifting the totals.
Webflow raises $140M at $2.1B valuation Webflow secured a $140 million Series B, raising its valuation to $2.1 billion. Accel and Silversmith led the financing for the San Francisco-based company, which allows users to build and design websites without coding.
MX banks $300M for financial data Fintech data company MX landed $300 million in a Series C financing led by TPG Capital. Founded in 2010, the Lehi, Utah-based company provides software used by banks and credit unions to help aggregate, analyze, and visualize financial data.
Visa, Plaid to terminate $5.3B merger amid antitrust scrutiny Visa and Plaid said that they are terminating a merger agreement announced a year ago. The decision follows antitrust litigation filed by the U.S. Department of Justice that alleged Visa’s planned $5.3 billion acquisition of Plaid would eliminate competition in the online debit market.
Rho raises $15M for commercial banking New York-based Rho Technologies, the financial technology parent of Rho Business Banking, raised $15 million in a Series A round led by M13 Ventures
LEX raises $6M for real estate securities Real estate securities marketplace LEX has raised $6 million in additional seed funding from a long list of venture firms and individual investors. The New York-based company’s marketplace lets accredited and unaccredited investors obtain minority positions in commercial real estate properties.
Compass files to go public as home sales surge Real estate unicorn Compass has confidentially filed an S-1 registration statement for a planned U.S. public offering. The filing for the New York-based company comes after residential real estate has seen prices rise as more people are working from home amid the pandemic.
Lessons for virtually connecting with angels For startup founders, pitching virtually to investors poses unique challenges, as nuances of a compelling pitch such as storytelling and establishing a connection with the audience are harder to achieve online. One angel investor offers some tips for founders gleaned from many months of virtual pitches as the new norm.
Checkout.com rings up $450M Checkout.com, a provider of tools and services for payments, has announced the close of a $450 million Series C round. Backers include new investors Tiger Global and Greenoaks Capital, with the financing setting a valuation of $15 billion for the London-headquartered company.
Keep up with the Crunchbase News Briefing To keep up on breaking news throughout the day, check out the Crunchbase News Briefing. This continuously updated daily feature on our main news site has summaries of notable funding announcements, IPOs, M&A, and other happenings in the startup world.
Outbound prospecting: Strategies for success in 2021 Kick off 2021 with the latest, and most effective, outbound prospecting strategies. Discover email personalization tips from Samantha McKenna, founder of #samsales Consulting, that will help you stand out, and learn how personal videos can help increase response rates by 500 percent.
By Crunchbase
