TransferWise, Modsy, Slack, WeWork Generation, Marqueta, Ivalua, Merck, Peloton Therapeutics and Sun Basket

Where funded founders went to school

Before launching a startup, most founders also went to school somewhere. In our annual ranking, Crunchbase News looks at which U.S. universities graduated the most founders of companies that raised $1 million or more in roughly the past year.

TransferWise sells $292M in shares

TransferWise held a $292 million secondary sale of shares this week, a move that allows the money transfer service to generate liquidity for existing shareholders as well as potentially put off plans for an IPO.

Modsy raises $37M for virtual decor

San Francisco-based Modsy, an ecommerce company that creates 3D renderings of customized rooms, raised $37 million in fresh financing from TCV, bringing its total funding to $71 million

Slack is no slacker in startup investment

Slack, soon to trade as WORK on the public market, has an active track record of investing in other startups. To date, the company and its corporate venture capital arm have backed 42 companies, including six so far this year.

Making sense of WeWork’s numbers

WeWork recently detailed financial results from the first quarter. They show that the company managed to grow revenue an impressive 113 percent year-over-year, while narrowing its still very large net losses.

Crunchbase: Why VCs need a content marketing strategy

With a growing list of active venture capital firms, gaining trust and building relationships with startups is now more critical than ever for investors. We give examples of VCs that excel in content marketing and tips on how to build your own credibility.

Generation closes $1B growth fund

Generation Investment Management, the firm co-founded by former Vice President Al Gore, has raised $1 billion for a new Sustainable Solutions Fund, which will make later-stage investments in sustainability-oriented startups.

Marqeta, Ivalua raise big rounds at unicorn valuations

Another day, another couple unicorn-sized rounds from companies you’ve never heard of. First, Marqeta, a provider of tools for configuring payments cards, has raised a $260 million Series E round led by Coatue at a reported $2 billion valuation. Then Ivalua, a provider of online spend management tools, has put together a $60 million round said to value the company at over $1 billion.

Merck buys Peloton Therapeutics for $1.05B plus earnouts

Pharmaceutical giant Merck is buying cancer drug developer Peloton Therapeutics for $1.05 billion in cash, plus up to $1.15 billion in potential milestone payments. Founded in 2010, Dallas-based Peloton previously raised more than $240 million in venture funding.

Sun Basket raises $30M for meal kits

Sun Basket, a self-described healthy meal kit delivery startup, has raised a $30 million Series E round. Repeat backer PivotNorth Capital led the financing, which brings the company’s total raised to $125 million since its founding five years ago.

Crunchbase: A venture capitalist emailed you. Now what?

If you’re a startup on Crunchbase or have had any kind of publicity, chances are good that VCs are emailing you about raising money. Here are some tips to maximize the benefit of these inquiries and a review on how to email a VC.

Unicorns aren’t rare and the word is overused

There are so many unicorns in the market today — they stampede by the hundred in 2019 — that they are impossible to keep tabs on. The only thing that’s really rare is profitable ones.

Chinese travel site Mafengwo raises $250M

Beijing-based Mafengwo, a site that helps Chinese travelers seeking destination and sight-seeing recommendations, has raised $250 million in a fresh funding round led by Tencent and joined by General Atlantic and Qiming Venture Partners.

Venture activity that has nothing to do with unicorns

And now, Crunchbase News takes a look at startup news that has nothing to do with the unicorn scene. This includes the latest deal for Scaleworks, an investor focused on growing SaaS revenues, Sonarworks, a Latvian company backed by regional investors, and improving conditions for the crypto crowd.

Salesforce puts $125M more into European startups

Salesforce Ventures, after exhausting its first Europe-focused fund of $100M, has announced a second fund for the region coming in at $125 million. To date, the corporate VC has invested in over 50 startups in 13 countries across the continent.

Shopify teams with Canadian incubator to promote black entrepreneurship

Commerce company Shopify is teaming up with DMZ, a tech incubator out of Ryerson University in Toronto, to help foster entrepreneurship among Black founders in Canada through a new fellowship program.

Crunchbase: Why you should stop worrying about your competitors

While it’s good to know where you are in the market relative to peers, overly concerning yourself with what the competition is doing is counter-productive. This article reveals a few things to stop doing in regards to monitoring business competitors.