The private equity realm has been pretty active so far in 2024, serving as a powerful “alternative” source of liquidity for technology startups and scale-ups in search of an exit. Just this month, TechCrunch reported that EQT had picked up a majority stake in cybersecurity firm Acronis at a valuation of around $4 billion, following […]
The 12 biggest take-private PE acquisitions so far this year in tech Read More »
This past week was a wild one in the world of fintech as Bolt surprised the industry with a leaked term sheet that revealed it is trying to raise $200 million in equity and an unusual, additional $250 million in “marketing credits.” As part of this deal, Bolt wanted a $14 billion valuation bolstered by
The fallout after Bolt’s aggressive fundraising attempt has been wild Read More »
VCs are increasingly buying shares of late-stage startups on the secondary market as they try to get pieces of the hottest ones — especially AI companies. But they are also increasingly doing so through financial instruments called special purpose vehicles (SVPs). Some of those SPVs are becoming such hot commodities that they are commanding premium
VCs are so eager for AI startups, they’re buying into each others’ SPVs at high prices Read More »
Live-shopping has grown into a massive sector in Asia, but the phenomenon is yet to see similar uptake in Western markets. But two tech founders are hoping the growth-hacking skills they learned at Revolt will power up their startup in the U.K. live shopping arena, and now they have the confidence of major investors. That
Tilt raises $18M Series A to build on its live-shopping app’s success Read More »
Small businesses and startups often lack a dedicated travel desk, forcing executives and founders to rely on human assistants or consuming and cumbersome travel apps. Expedia’s former SVP of consumer product, Michael Gulmann, is betting on AI to bridge the gap. His company, Otto, emerges from stealth Thursday, with plans to launch an alpha version
Former Expedia exec’s startup uses AI to help smaller companies book travel Read More »
Businesses across Africa face challenges managing payroll, especially in a landscape with different regulations, remote employees, and hybrid workplaces. About 80% of small and medium-sized businesses still use Excel and Google Sheets as they can’t afford or maintain complex payroll systems. Here’s why: On-site third-party solutions offer limited features, while software designed for large companies
Kenyan HR and payroll startup Workpay lands Visa as investor in $5M round Read More »
Bolt’s aggressive ultimatum to its existing shareholders – in which it told them to buy many more shares at higher prices or it would take back their shares for payment of 1 cent a share – will be an expensive uphill battle, an expert familiar with Bolt’s corporate charter tells TechCrunch. To recap: On Tuesday, when
Bolt’s wild ultimatum to its VCs will only succeed if they agree, expert says Read More »
Construction companies deal with a lot of documents — so many that it can be difficult to process and manage them all. According to one recent survey, a third of construction professionals found accessing documents to be a challenge in completing a project, while a fourth said that inaccurate project paperwork has contributed to a
AI models have proven capable of many things, but what tasks do we actually want them doing? Preferably drudgery — and there’s plenty of that in research and academia. Reliant hopes to specialize in the kind of time-consuming data extraction work that’s currently a specialty of tired grad students and interns. “The best thing you
Reliant’s paper-scouring AI takes on science’s data drudgery Read More »
HighPost Capital, a private equity firm run by Mark Bezos, Jeff Bezos’ younger brother, and PE veteran David Moross, has launched a new venture capital arm called HIPstr. And with it, fresh capital to invest in startups. The new entity just announced its first VC fund of $100 million. HighPost Capital focuses on consumer companies and
Jeff Bezos’ brother’s firm has launched a debut $100M VC fund called HIPstr Read More »
