Airplane on Thursday launched runbooks, a developer tool for automating internal workflows, in private beta and on Product Hunt. Runbooks enables engineers to compose tasks and built-in integrations, like SQL, REST APIs and Slack, into workflows that run JavaScript code, can feed that into a SQL database or combine data from Stripe and be accessible
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EU lawmakers have formally proposed legislation for the gig economy they hope will improve conditions for platform workers across the bloc — including by establishing a framework to tackle the problem of bogus self-employment. The Commission’s overarching goal is to a create a level playing field between traditional businesses and gig platforms, as well as
While most of the market is focused on building and selling 5G infrastructure, an important piece that is overlooked is the application development on 5G networks, according to Vivek Ladsariya, general partner at SineWave Ventures. That’s what makes him excited to support a company like Shabodi. “Application developers have always wanted to abstract away network
As I wrote earlier this year, Deed‘s mission is a clearcut one: take the employee giving/charity/volunteer program that many big companies have, and make it better. Give it a proper home — one with a modern UI, built-in community management tools, and that hooks into your workflow (read: Slack) so as to not be forgotten.
First Resonance makes software for making hardware. The company’s Ion platform provides an all-in-one option for anyone who has to manage manufacturing lines, supply chains, engineering and design, among other things. Now, with $14M in new funding, the company aims to scale up its presence and make a full-court press on the hardware makers of
Jonathan Metrick Contributor Jonathan Metrick is the chief growth officer at Sagard & Portage Ventures, where he helps build some of the world’s leading fintech companies. More posts by this contributor Use cohort analysis to drive smarter startup growth Simon Lejeune Contributor Simon Lejeune leads user acquisition at Wealthsimple, the largest fintech in Canada. The
Peter Gajdoš Contributor Peter Gajdoš is a partner at Fifth Wall, where he co-leads the Climate Technology Investment team. When I started getting involved in clean tech 1.0 financing back in 2005, “climate change” was some future event. Hurricane Katrina had just happened, and many experts viewed it primarily as a failure of the government
A new report from early-stage venture capital firm Work-Bench confirmed what you probably already know: Startups with women founders are getting a mere sliver of the overall funding pie. What’s more, the percentages are far worse in the enterprise, where Work-Bench tends to invest. The numbers, which were based on Work-Bench research along with data from
Tradeshift — the late-stage startup tackling supply chain financing — has announced a $200 million funding round in equity and debt from a combination of existing and new investors, including Koch Industries, the giant industrial conglomerate. Also participating were IDC Ventures, LUN Partners, Private Shares, and Fuel Capital who increased their existing stakes in the
After the resounding success of several crowdfunding campaigns for its gamified smart bird feeder, Bird Buddy has raised an $8.5 million seed round. Its first product will ship in a few months, but it’s just the start of what the company hopes will be a new approach to using tech to better enjoy nature. It’s
Draper Associates founder Tim Draper says Bitcoin represents “trust and freedom” in the fiat currency world and is a great hedge against inflation. Draper also says he sees cryptocurrencies slowly taking over every industry. He speaks with Bloomberg’s Amanda Lang and Taylor Riggs on “Bloomberg Markets.”
Resolve, which specializes in “buy now, pay later” capabilities for B2B transactions, announced today that it has raised $25 million in equity funding. The investment comes just months after the company secured a combined $60 million asset and equity financing. Insight Partners led its latest round, which also included participation from existing backers Initialized Capital,
Pod Foods is keeping grocery shelves full of the emerging food brands that consumers are asking for and announced today $10 million in Series A funding to continue developing its digital wholesale business-to-business marketplace. We profiled the Austin-based company’s founders Larissa Russell and Fiona Lee back in 2019 when they raised $3 million in a
Head of Instagram Adam Mosseri testified before Congress for the first time Wednesday, defending the app’s impacts on teens and its aspirations to bring younger children formally into the fold. In September, leaked documents from Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen painted a picture of a company that knows it takes a toll on the mental health
When it comes to investment in e-commerce aggregators in Latin America lately, when it rains, it pours. Merama, which acquires or launches Latin American digital brands, hit a $1.2 billion valuation — just 12 months after incorporation — following a new $60 million follow-on investment led by Series B investors Advent International and Softbank. It
Italy’s competition authority announced that it had fined Amazon €1.129 billion, or roughly $1.3 billion at today’s exchange rate. According to the antitrust watchdog, Amazon has abused its dominant market position and pushed third-party sellers to use the company’s logistics service ‘Fulfillment by Amazon’ (FBA). The Italian authority, the Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del
Two months after its seed round announcement, Singapore-based startup Upmesh has raised a $7.5 million pre-Series A round led by Monk’s Hill Ventures. The new funding brings its total raised so far to $10.5 million. Upmesh will use the pre-Series A funding to expand its regional presence in Southeast Asia and launch its first Instagram
Digital identity startup Passbase, which offers SDKs for running remote identity checks, has raised $10 million in Series A funding as it dials up attention on crypto compliance — touting tools to help fintechs with rapidly evolving regulatory requirements. The funding is led by Costanoa Ventures, with participation from Lakestar, Eniac Ventures, Cowboy Ventures, and
The Kenyan fintech Kwara was launched in 2019 to help credit unions (savings and credit cooperatives societies, SACCOs) in the East African country shift to digital platforms by providing them with its proprietary Back-end-as-a-service (BaaS) software. The startup’s trajectory has been steep, as its clientele shot up from two to 50 in just over two
Everyday business decisions require data and are often questions someone has already asked and had answered. However, where all of that knowledge lives is not always accessible if you aren’t in research or have a panel of experts. NewtonX wants to change that. The business-to-business insights company on Wednesday announced $32 million in Series B
Felix Capital, the London VC firm that has built a portfolio emphasizing investments in startups in the ecosystem that supports the creative class, is bringing on two more partners, Julien Codorniou and Susan Lin, as it continues to expand into a wider range of categories. Codorniou had been a longtime executive at Meta (formerly Facebook),
In 2014, more than 40% of U.S. seed- and early-stage venture dollars went to Bay Area startups. But that was a long time ago. In recent years, Bay Area startups have accounted for a smaller percentage of U.S. VC investment, according to “Beyond Silicon Valley,” a new report co-produced by venture firm Revolution and PitchBook.
The venture capital market is on a tear, pumping capital into a host of startups around the world. It’s generally considered a great time to raise capital and build a technology-centered, disruptive business. For some, that is. While the venture capital boom of the last few years has helped a great number of founders, the
Meta (formerly Facebook) today is introducing a new “Professional” mode for user profiles, designed to be used by creators looking to monetize their followings on the social network. The new mode, which is initially available to select creators in the U.S., will present creators with additional money-making opportunities and expanded insights that had been previously
During the good number of hours I’ve spent researching and writing about vertical farming in recent months, one key word keeps popping up: proximity. So many of the resources spent on modern farming are devoted to transporting produce long stretches, ramping up carbon footprints in the process. Gotham Greens isn’t vertical farming, exactly, but it
Synthesia, a startup using AI to create synthetic videos, is walking a fine, but thus far prosperous, line between being creepy and being pretty freakin’ cool. Today, it announced the close of a $50 million Series B funding round led by Kleiner Perkins, with participation from GV and existing investors Firstmark Capital, LDV Capital, Seedcamp
Just a few weeks after announcing stock and crypto trading, French fintech startup Lydia is announcing that it has raised a $100 million Series C round. With this funding round, the startup has reached a unicorn valuation, which means that it is currently valued at more than $1 billion. Dragoneer and Echo Street are investing
Candela makes an unusual style of watercraft called a hydrofoiling boat, which glides above the sea on fins for a smoother, more efficient ride — doubly unusual, in fact, in that it is electrically propelled. The company has raised $24M to accelerate production of its existing small craft and a larger commercial one, in pursuit
Apple is focused now on building a fully autonomous electric car. This is a Bloomberg scoop. The stock moved higher on the news. Mark Gurman reports on “Bloomberg Technology.”
E-commerce roll-up play Opontia launched in June, raising $20 million in debt and equity to acquire older, small e-commerce brands in the Middle East and Africa. Today, the company confirmed to TechCrunch that it has closed a subsequent round, a $42 million Series A nine months after it was founded. Roll-up plays are generally known