Insurance lags behind other financial services in the adoption of digital technologies. Granted, a few unicorns have popped up from the modern digital insurance space such as Tractable and Lemonade; however, this sector hasn’t raced to the stage as quickly as say, payments or lending. With the global insurtech market worth over $5 trillion, there […]
Indonesia’s GoTo Group raises over $1.3B in first pre-IPO close
Indonesia-based startup GoTo Group announced today it has secured more than $1.3 billion in the first close of its pre-IPO funding. The latest round was led by Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), with participation from Avanda Investment Management, Fidelity International, Google, Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB), Primavera Capital, SeaTown Master Fund, Temasek, Tencent and Ward Ferry. […]
E-commerce logistics startup Hive buzzes following $34M investment
Hive levels the logistics playing field by streamlining fulfillment so that DTC companies get the same inventory management, cost structure and customer notifications that big brands use.
Mixing the personal with the professional in startup fundraising
For CapitalG’s Laela Sturdy and Webflow’s Vlad Magdalin, the investor/startup relationship has become a kind of genuine friendship.
When I Work, an messaging app that lets shift-based teams schedule work and more, raises $200M
Hourly workers make up abut 55% of the working world, yet when it comes to tech built for the world of work, their so-called knowledge worker counterparts dominate the space. Today, an app built specifically to address the needs of the former is announcing a big round of funding — underscoring both the evolving landscape […]
Kenya’s Twiga raises $50M to scale food solutions across Africa
Years ago, Americans spent most of their disposable income on food but consistent investment in retail infrastructure has changed that. Now, they only spend 6% of their household income on food and beverages. Africa still battles with this and it is not hard to see why. The continent’s retail markets are highly fragmented and mostly made up […]
Zepto, a 10-minute grocery delivery app in India, raises $60 million
Two 19-year-old entrepreneurs, who previously collaborated on a number of projects including a ride-hailing commute app for school kids and left Stanford last year to pursue a new startup, said on Sunday they have raised $60 million to disrupt India’s overcrowded and highly-competitive grocery delivery market. Glade Brook Capital led Zepto’s first institutional financing round, […]
ShipBlu bags $2.4M for its e-commerce and fulfilment service in Egypt
African e-commerce fulfilment startups backed by Y Combinator seem to be piquing investors’ interest this year for their niche e-commerce play. Summer batch graduate ShipBlu is the latest on that list and confirmed to TechCrunch that it has raised $2.4 million in seed funding. The company, founded by Ali Nasser, Ahmed ElKawass, Abdelrahman Hosny in […]
Flox, an app to help friend groups meet each other, is wooing college students in NYC
There’s nothing like the growing pains of new adulthood, but for college-aged Gen Zers who have spent these formative years in lockdown, it can be even more difficult to form meaningful friendships. While attending Columbia University remotely during the pandemic, first-generation college student Jamie Lee realized how this isolation was affecting her peers, especially those […]
Zeit secures $2M in seed funding for its stroke-detecting wearable
Zeit Medical, which makes an early warning system for strokes during sleep, has raised $2 million in a seed round just after leaving Y Combinator’s Summer 2021 cohort. The company’s work suggests the brain-monitoring headband could save lives by alerting people to possible strokes hours before they might otherwise be noticed, and the new funding […]