Zavvy wants to modernize employee enablement

Employee enablement may not immediately strike you as the most exciting of topics, but giving your new employees tools for onboarding, training and setting up tools for performance reviews and other HR-related functions isn’t something that any business can overlook. Employees expect a modern

10 fintech investors discuss what they’re looking for and how to pitch them in Q1 2022

Last year, more than 20% of venture dollars went into fintech startups globally, according to CB Insights. Equally notable: one-third of all unicorns created in 2021 were fintech companies. The 2021 Matrix Fintech Index reported that public fintech companies outperformed the market by 3x, driven in

Employment Hero raises $181M AUD at $1.25B AUD valuation, acquires KeyPay

Human resources platform Employment Hero announced today it has raised $181 million AUD (or about $129 million USD), putting it at unicorn valuation in Australian dollars of $1.25 billion (or about $890 million USD). The round was led by returning investors Seek Investments, with participation from

Hong Kong’s offline and virtual events platform EventX closes $18M Series B

As countries ease up on COVID restrictions, activities are going back in person. But the virtual event space continues to attract investors, at least in Asia. Hong Kong-based events management platform EventX said today it has raised another $8 million for its Series B, lifting the total amount sec

Genesis raises $200M in Tiger-led round to grow its finance-focused low-code application platform

Genesis, which has built a low-code/no-code application platform specifically for the financial markets, announced today it has landed a $200 million investment led by Tiger Global Management. The financing comes 11 months after the company announced it had raised $45 million, as our own Ingrid Lun

CrowdForce raises $3.6M to increase access to cash for underserved communities in Nigeria

Nigeria has an average of 4.8 bank branches and 19 ATMs per 100,000 adults, compared to the world average of 13 bank branches and 40 ATMs. Reports also say that less than one-third of Nigerian adults have access to a bank branch or ATM within one kilometer of where they live. This challenge in acce

African fintech Flutterwave triples valuation to over $3B after $250M Series D

African fintech Flutterwave has raised $250 million in a Series D round that tripled the company's valuation to over $3 billion in just twelve months. In March 2021, the San Francisco-headquartered and Lagos-based startup raised $170 million in a Series C round from Tiger Global and Avenir at a

Appboxo raises $7M to turn any app into a super app

Mini-apps are lightweight programs that run within a larger app and serve as additional sources of user engagement and revenue. They became popularized by “super apps” like WeChat, Alibaba and Grab. But not all developers have these tech giants' resources. Based in Singapore, Appboxo wants

SME lender Funding Societies raises $144M led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2, plus $150M in debt lines

Small businesses are the backbone of Southeast Asia's economy, but many struggle to secure working capital loans because they don't have traditional credit records or collateral, say the founders of Funding Societies. The fintech, which claims to be the region's largest SME digital fina

Why startups may want to rent hardware instead of buying it

The ability to rent all sorts of things is a logical step in the evolution of a subscription economy, but renting hardware wasn’t necessarily top-of-mind for startups until COVID-19 hit. Pre-pandemic, a common step in the onboarding process at many VC-funded startups in the Bay Area called fo

Akamai acquires Linode for $900M

Akamai, the company you probably mostly think of as a content delivery network but that also offers security and edge computing services, today announced that it has acquired Linode. The price of the acquisition is $900 million, with Akamai expecting Linode to add about $100 million in revenue for

Transform your startup investors into growth marketers without them noticing

If you’re successful at raising capital, investors have jumped into the passenger seat with you, ready to be taken on a journey. It’s likely a long trip, with the average time to a liquidity event being about five to seven years. Due to later IPOs, this road is getting

Cannabis beverage startup Cann raises $27M as it expands to Canada

Cann, a THC beverage company marketing itself as a fun alternative to alcohol, is bulking up on funding as it brings the product into Canada — its first international market expansion. The startup announced Tuesday that it has raised $27 million in Series A funding from some new and unnamed i

Existing investors double down on Ro at boosted $7 billion valuation

Tech healthcare unicorn Ro announced today that it has raised $150 million exclusively from existing investors, led by ShawSpring Partners, with participation from FirstMark Capital, General Catalyst, Seven Seven Six, BoxGroup, Altimeter Capital, Baupost Group, Initialized, TQ Ventures and TCG. Sou