Abacus.ai wants to build an AI platform that simplifies machine learning model creation, while still leaving room for power users. Today the company announced a $50 million Series C. At the same time, it announced that the platform was expanding to include computer vision use cases. Tiger Global led the round with participation from Coatue, […]
Tiger Global leads $3M round in Zambia’s Union54 for its card-issuing API
Union54, the first Zambian startup backed by Y Combinator, has gotten another major venture capital firm on its term sheet: Tiger Global. The company confirmed to TechCrunch that the VC juggernaut led its just-completed $3 million seed round, coming only two months after graduating from Y Combinator’s summer batch. San Francisco-based venture capital firm Runa […]
Health tech startup mPharma acquires Vine Pharmacy, enters Uganda
mPharma, a Ghanaian health startup, has taken a controlling stake in Uganda’s Vine Pharmacy for an undisclosed amount, marking the firm’s entry into its latest market in Africa. mPharma disclosed to TechCrunch that it has acquired a 55 percent stake previously held by the Abraaj Group, a private equity firm that collapsed after investors, including […]
Open banking startup Finverse wants to build the Asia-Pacific region’s Plaid
Based in Hong Kong, Finverse’s ambitious goal is to enable open banking throughout the Asia-Pacific region. The startup recently came out of stealth mode with $1.8 million in seed funding, and is now live in four markets (Hong Kong, the Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam) with connections to 30 banks. Founder and chief executive officer Stephane […]
Zolve raises $40 million to help global citizens access financial services
Zolve, a neobanking startup that aims to help immigrants in the U.S. gain access to financial services, said on Wednesday it has raised $40 million in a new financing round as it begins to roll out its offerings. Partners of DST Global led the Bangalore-headquartered startup’s Series A financing round. The round, which values the […]
TechCrunch+ roundup: Midwest VC boom, advice for CISOs, Facebook’s next chapter
Healthcare spending accounts for almost 18% of U.S. GDP, so it’s no surprise that digital health is attracting record levels of investment. This year, VCs invested $14.7 billion in healthtech startups
Speechmatics pushes forward recognition of accented English
Speech recognition has gone from convenient to crucial over the last few years as smart speakers and driving assist modes have taken off — but not everyone’s voice is recognized equally well. Speechmatics claims to have the most inclusive and accurate model out there, beating Amazon, Google and others when it comes to speech outside […]
UserGems raises $20M to take on ZoomInfo to help with prospecting and sales intelligence
Finding a way to connect with people who might buy from you, while spending less time pursuing those who will never be interested, is something akin to a holy grail of the world of sales and marketing. Now, a startup called UserGems, which has built a platform that combines AI with data mapping to help […]
Heavily VC-backed salad chain Sweetgreen heads toward public markets
Sweetgreen is an incredibly well-backed unicorn that just happens to make salads instead of, say, enterprise software.
TLcom and 4DX drive $13.1M seed round to scale Autochek’s platform across Africa
African automotive company Autochek has secured a $13.1 million seed round almost a year after raising $3.4 million pre-seed in November 2020. The company, led by CEO Etop Ikpe, has seen astonishing growth in demand since launching in August last year, not just from a consumer perspective but also from its business and banking partners. […]