Hello and welcome back to Max Q! There was a TON of space news this week so I won’t ramble too much, other than to remind you that many of the people mentioned below will be at TC Sessions: Space on the 14th and 15th! That includes Peter Beck, CEO of Rocket Lab, Nanoracks’ Jeffrey Manber, and […]
Uber spinout Serve Robotics gets $13M seed round to expand sidewalk robot deliveries
Serve Robotics, the autonomous sidewalk delivery company that spun out from Uber-owned Postmates in March, has closed an expanded seed round at $13 million. The company will use the funds to accelerate its expansion plans into new customer segments and geographic areas, which will require them to build more sidewalk robots to fuel that growth. […]
TradeDepot raises $110M from IFC, Novastar to extend BNPL service to merchants across Africa
Startups digitizing B2B e-commerce and retail in Africa continue to grab the headlines after the pandemic paved the way for widespread offline retail and commerce disruption. TradeDepot, a Nigeria- and U.S.-based company that connects consumer goods brands to thousands of retailers and help out with distribution, has raised $110 million in new equity and debt […]
Kenya’s Pariti raises $2.85M led by Harlem Capital to develop startup ecosystems in emerging markets
Pariti, the Kenya-based community-led marketplace building the digital infrastructure for startup ecosystems in emerging markets, has raised $2.85 million seed, the company confirmed to TechCrunch today. The round was led by U.S.-based Harlem Capital. In Africa, it’s the first deal of the diversity-focused fund that secured $134 million for its second fund earlier this year. […]
MarketForce partners with Cellulant to expand in five new markets across Africa as it races to cover continent
MarketForce, a Kenyan B2B retail and financial services distribution startup, has expanded into five additional markets across Africa to grow RejaReja — its retailer ‘super app’ that makes it possible for informal merchants to order and pay for inventory digitally, accept payments for utility bills, and access financing for their businesses. The startup has today […]
Stacked raises $35M to bring passive investing tools to retail crypto traders
Stacked, a web-based platform that provides passive investment tools for retail investors interested in crypto, just announced it raised a $35 million Series A co-led by Alameda Research, a crypto trading firm owned by FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried. Bybit and BitDAO partner Mirana Ventures co-led the round alongside Alameda. Fidelity International Strategic Ventures, DRW Venture […]
South African crowd-solving startup Zindi building a community of data scientists and using AI to solve real world problems
Zindi is all about using AI to solve real world problems for companies and individuals. And the South Africa-based crowd-solving startup has done that over the last three years they have been in existence. Just last year a team of data scientists under Zindi used machine learning to improve air quality monitoring in Kampala as […]
Judging by the future, not the past, Stride takes steps to turn student finance upside down
If you’re trying to get a mortgage or an auto loan, banks will put on their judging glasses and look into your past. Makes sense; it’s a reasonably reliable indicator as to whether you’ll be able to repay your loans or not. Student financing is a little different. Sure, your past plays a role, but […]
Glorify, an ambitious app for Christians, just landed $40 million in Series A funding led by a16z
Religion-based apps, tools and communities aren’t brand new, including to investors. Pray.com, for example, an LA-based app for daily prayer and bedtime Bible stories that was founded in 2016, has raised at least $34 million from investors, including Kleiner Perkins. Ministry Brands, a nine-year-old, Knoxville, Tennessee-based outfit that now includes dozens of software and payments […]
Instant grocery delivery startup JOKR bags another huge round to enter unicorn status
The company touts itself as “one of the fastest companies to reach unicorn status in history.”