Investment in female founders falters
Investment in female founders falters
While investment in venture is hitting records highs, funding for female founders appears to have declined. In the third quarter of 2018, funding for startups with at least one female founder accounted for just 14 percent of global venture investment.
Anaplan IPO prices at top of range
San Francisco-based Anaplan, a provider of business planning software, priced shares for its initial public offering at $17 each, the top of the proposed range, raising $263.5 million. It’s the latest unprofitable tech unicorn debut following a long string of IPOs from companies with fast growth and persistent losses.
Allogene soars in IPO
Biotech also boasted a big IPO. Shares of cancer immunotherapy startup Allogene Therapeutics soared over 30 percent in first-day trading Thursday, securing a market capitalization over $2 billion.
Atomic raises $150M to build startups
Atomic, a venture studio that invests exclusively in companies it founds, has raised $150 million for its second fund.
Allbirds ties up $50M for casual shoes
Allbirds, a maker of merino wool shoes in casual styles, raised $50 million in a Series C round backed by T. Rowe Price, Fidelity and Tiger Global.
Tech selloff brings bearish tidings
Tech stocks suffered serious damage following a broad market selloff this week. While it’s too early to see a ripple effect, lower public comps could mean bearish tidings for private technology companies after a long stretch of upbeat funding and valuation trends.
Snowflake secures $450M
For now, the avalanche of private investment continues. The latest, Snowflake, a cloud data warehousing provider, just raised $450 million in a late stage round led by Sequoia Capital. The financing sets a valuation of $3.5 billion for the five-year-old Silicon Valley company.
Edison closes $365M fund
Technology growth investor Edison Partners raised $365 million for its ninth fund. The firm plans to make investments of $5 million to $20 million in portfolio companies.
SmileDirectClub raises $380M at $3.2B valuation
Smile, you’ve got funding. Nashville-based SmileDirectClub, a provider of in-home teeth straightening equipment and teledentristy services, has raised $380 million at a $3.2 billion valuation in a financing backed by Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, Kleiner Perkins, and Spark Capital.
Moonshots raises $20M for veteran-led startups
Moonshots Capital, a Los Angeles and Austin-based venture capital firm, has closed on $20 million for its inaugural seed-stage fund, which will focus heavily on startups founded by military veterans.
