Venture

After raising over $3M, popular VC-backed beauty brand Ami Colé is shuttering

Venture /

Diarrha N’Diaye-Mbaye, one of the first among the small number of Black women to raise more than $1 million in venture capital, announced on Thursday the closure of her award-winning beauty startup Ami Colé.  Ami Colé creates makeup for those with darker skin colors, as those consumers often struggle to find makeup that matches their […]

After raising over $3M, popular VC-backed beauty brand Ami Colé is shuttering Read More »

Venture gets a rare Native American-led fund in Betsy Fore’s Velveteen Ventures

Venture /

When Betsy Fore was five, her grandmother got her a gift she has never forgotten: A Velveteen Rabbit from Goodwill that Fore believed, with enough love, could spring alive. Decades later, that rabbit has lent its name to Fore’s venture firm, Velveteen Ventures, which came to life on Tuesday.  “I realized after building companies for

Venture gets a rare Native American-led fund in Betsy Fore’s Velveteen Ventures Read More »

Rwazi raises $12M Series A to help companies with consumer insights and intelligence

Venture /

Joseph Rutakanga spent eight years looking for tools to help companies gather consumer insight data. Eventually, he decided to just build them.  Now his startup, called Rwazi, has raised a $12 million Series A led by Bonfire Ventures to help companies with market intelligence and consumer insights. He founded the company in 2021 with co-founder

Rwazi raises $12M Series A to help companies with consumer insights and intelligence Read More »

Brian Singerman’s new fund has a twist, and Peter Thiel as a big backer

Venture /

Former Founders Fund GP Brian Singerman and co-founder and managing partner of Quiet Capital, Lee Linden, are seeking over $500 million for a new fund called GPx, three people familiar with their strategy told TechCrunch. A significant portion of GPx’s fund, potentially as much as 50%, will come from Founders Fund co-founder Peter Thiel, these

Brian Singerman’s new fund has a twist, and Peter Thiel as a big backer Read More »

Former Sequoia partner Matt Miller raises $355M for new fund — with Sequoia’s backing

Venture /

Former Sequoia partner Matt Miller has already locked in $355 million for his new VC firm, Evantic, which is also backed by Sequoia, TechCrunch learned. Last December, Miller announced his departure from Sequoia after twelve years to “start [his] own fund focused on the great founders of Europe.”  Despite the European focus, TechCrunch’s understanding is

Former Sequoia partner Matt Miller raises $355M for new fund — with Sequoia’s backing Read More »

Sarah Smith launches $16M fund, says AI can ‘unlock’ so much for solo GPs like herself

Venture /

Sarah Smith, founder and managing partner of the eponymous Sarah Smith Fund, announced Thursday the final closing of a $16 million Fund I.  Smith launched her eponymous fund in 2022 and is a solo GP. She said she’s “stunned” by what AI can unlock for firms like hers, solo and next-generation. “I can’t imagine doing

Sarah Smith launches $16M fund, says AI can ‘unlock’ so much for solo GPs like herself Read More »

Medium’s CEO explains what it took to stop losing $2.6M monthly

Venture /

Medium CEO Tony Stubblebine announced on Friday that the publishing platform has remained profitable since August of last year, when it first achieved this milestone. In the post, Stubblebine detailed what it took to achieve this goal, which involved a combination of product changes, an investor restructuring, renegotiated loans, unloading office space, layoffs, and other

Medium’s CEO explains what it took to stop losing $2.6M monthly Read More »