venture

CaaStle founder charged with fraud, turns herself in

Venture /

Christine Hunsicker, founder of the fashion startup CaaStle, turned herself in to authorities Friday to face fraud charges, authorities confirmed to Bloomberg.  The US Attorney for the Southern District of New York unsealed an indictment against her, charging her with wire fraud, securities fraud, money laundering, aggravated identity theft, and lying to financial institutions. She […]

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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

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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

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UK launches £500M package to support diverse, underrepresented investors and founders

Government & Policy /

The British Business Bank, owned by the UK government, is creating a £500 million (around $674 million) economic package to help support diverse and underrepresented fund managers and founders in the country.  Fifty million pounds will be set aside for female-led venture funds, which means the BBB has now committed at least £100 million (around

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AI leadership development platform Praxis Labs sells to Torch

Startups /

Praxis Labs, a learning development platform, announced its acquisition on Thursday for an undisclosed amount by the leadership and coaching enterprise Torch.  “As a small company with fewer than 20 people serving companies as large as Amazon, we knew we needed to build powerful partnerships, across product and go-to-market, to reach more companies,” co-founder and

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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

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Jesse Draper’s Halogen Ventures closes $30M Fund III to focus on ‘future of family’

Venture /

Halogen Ventures closed a $30 million Fund III to invest in early-stage startups building in the “future of family,” as reported first by Fortune.  The firm was founded in 2015 by Jesse Draper, the daughter of famed venture capitalist Tim Draper. She explained to Fortune that the fund will focus on the physical and financial

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Alta raises $11M to bring ‘Clueless’ fashion tech to life with all-star investors

Startups /

Throughout her years working in technology, Jenny Wang, 28, always found herself stumbling back to one idea — a personal styling agent to help users decide what to wear and buy based on their budget, lifestyle, weather and calendar.  She has tried to build such a product numerous times in the past, “but the AI

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Jewel Burks Solomon’s Collab Capital has closed a new $75M fund

Venture /

Collab Capital announced today the close of a $75 million Fund II.  Jewel Burks Solomon, who rose to prominence in Silicon Valley during her years running Google for Startups US, has just closed her second fund for her VC firm Collab Capital. Fund II is $75 million and includes heavyweight limited partners like Apple, Goldman

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An investor makes a case for funding sex, drugs and other socially taboo products

Venture /

Impact investor and advisor Christian Tooley posed a simple question to the audience at SXSW London last week: What if investors put aside societal prudence for profit?  Tooley was mainly referring to vice clauses, the restrictions that limited partners place on venture firms to guardrail their investments.  Some of these no-no sectors often include products

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