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Los Angeles-based Rain raised a $75M Series B in another good sign for fintech

Fintech /

Rain, a startup offering employer-integrated earned wage access (EWA) app coupled with financial-wellness features like overdraft alerts and spending trends, has raised $75 million in an all-equity Series B round. The round was led by Prosus at a post-money valuation of $340 million. Rain plans to use the new funds to help it add credit […]

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Nikola founder Trevor Milton wants to buy the bankrupt startup’s assets

Transportation /

Nikola founder Trevor Milton, who was recently pardoned after being convicted of securities fraud, is trying to buy the assets of his former company out of bankruptcy, according to new court filings and a person familiar with the matter. Nikola filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in February and has said it hopes to sell

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Ted Schlein’s Ballistic Ventures is raising $100M for a new fund

Venture /

Ballistic Ventures, the VC firm co-founded by Ted Schlein (known for his years at Kleiner Perkins), is raising $100 million for a new fund, TechCrunch has learned through a regulatory filing. This week, the San Francisco-based VC firm filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to raise the new fund, just over a year after

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Thatch raises $40M to give employees more control of their health care choices

Startups /

Thatch, a startup that aims to transform the health insurance experience for employers and employees alike, has raised $40 million in a Series B round of funding, it tells TechCrunch exclusively. Index Ventures led the financing, which included participation from existing backers Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), General Catalyst, SemperVirens, PeopleTech Partners, The General Partnership, and new

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Redwood Materials preps for expansion spree with new R&D center in San Francisco

Transportation /

Redwood Materials has been on an expansion tear in recent years — growth that has extended the lithium-ion battery recycling and materials startup’s footprint well beyond its Carson City, Nevada headquarters as it locked up deals with Toyota, Panasonic, and, GM, started construction on a South Carolina factory, and made an acquisition in Europe. And

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Khosla’s Keith Rabois leads $11.5M Series A for startup Roam, calls it ‘the future of the housing market’

Startups /

During the COVID-19 pandemic, mortgage interest rates dropped to historic lows — as low as 2.5%. Fast-forward a few years and rates soared — to highs nearing 8% in 2023, with the national average 30-year fixed mortgage APR as of April 1 still at 6.84%.  The whiplash has left many people seeking to buy homes

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Actively AI raises $22.5M to offer sales ‘superintelligence,’ says AI SDRs failed

Startups /

AI sales rep startups are a very crowded market these days. If you’re driving into San Francisco from the airport, you’ll probably spot billboards promising that you can “Stop Hiring Humans” (Artisan) or urging you to “Hire Piper, the AI SDR” (Qualified). While some of these startups are certainly growing fast, the field has its

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Fourier is making hydrogen electrolyzers inspired by data centers

Fundraising /

Despite being the most abundant element in the universe, making cheap, clean hydrogen here on Earth has been a surprisingly tough nut to crack. “Hydrogen has always been plagued with a couple problems, One is, how do you make it efficiently? Another one is, how do you distribute it efficiently?” Siva Yellamraju, co-founder and CEO

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Who are climate conscious consumers? Not who you’d expect, says Northwind Climate

Climate /

Sometimes, surprises are lurking in everyday data. Take a category of consumers that Doug Rubin’s startup, Northwind Climate, calls “climate doers.” They’re concerned about climate change and tend to prioritize climate friendly purchases, the sort of identifiers that might be stereotypically associated with things like buying organic foods or prioritizing local businesses.  “Turns out that

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