The U.S. still leads SaaS startup scene
U.S. still leads SaaS startup scene
China has pulled ahead of the U.S. in venture funding totals for 2018. But the lion’s share of funding for one of the largest startup sectors, enterprise software-as-a-service ( Saas startup scene ), continues to flow predominantly to U.S. companies, a Crunchbase News analysis finds.
Tech stocks hit correction territory
Tech stocks entered correction territory this week, following a steep selloff Wednesday. Yet there’s been some good news in the mix too, as Tesla reported a profit, Microsoft smashed expectations, and Twitter shares soared following the company’s earnings release this morning.
Brazil’s StoneCo raises over $1B in IPO
Call it a stone cold IPO pricing smash. StoneCo, a Brazilian online payment processor, raised over $1 billion for its debut on Nasdaq, after pricing shares at $24 each, a bit above the proposed range. The successful pricing offers some bullish news for the unicorn crowd amid a bearish week for the broader tech stock market.
Metrc raises $50M to track cannabis
Lakeland, Fla.-based Metrc, a company that tracks cannabis plants and products across the supply chain, raised $50 million in a growth funding round led by Tiger Global Management and Snoop Dogg’s Casa Verde Capital.
Construction tech builds up funding
Investors are pouring money in construction tech startups. Funding for North American companies in the space hit over $1.2 billion so in 2018. While most of that went to a single company, SoftBank-backed Katerra, in Q1, more recent quarters are also showing huge year-over-year gain
Another day, another dip
U.S. public markets are falling apart again today. The tech-focused Nasdaq is off another two hundred points. Amazon and Alphabet are taking stripes, along with a number of recently-public unicorns. In the private markets, however, the pace and size of investments shows no sign of slowdown.
Bessemer raises $1.85B VC fund
Bessemer Venture Partners certainly isn’t scaling back. The firm closed $1.85 billion in commitments for its tenth flagship venture fund, its largest to date. The fundraise is the latest in a string of supersized venture capital funds announced this year, with Crunchbase News identifying at least 20 that top out at $1 billion or more.
Michael Jordan backs esports player Axiomatic
Esports startup Axiomatic reportedly raised $26 million in a fresh funding round with backers including basketball legend Michael Jordan. The funding comes as esports startups are racking up new investments.
Startups take on Big Tampon
A raft of startups offering organic tampons and other products aimed at making menstruation more comfortable are telling women they don’t have to settle. Period.
