Startups

Data observability — necessary to keep tabs on infrastructure performing as it should; to see if apps are returning errors; and to ensure that critical business data is getting to where it needs to go — is becoming an evermore complicated task as organizations’ cloud-native data d

Avatar startups have come and gone over the past few years, but the future that many of the entrepreneurs behind them originally imagined has proven more or less accurate. Apple is increasingly interested in avatar representations through Memoji, Mark Zuckerberg wants Facebook to be a metaverse com

Otto, a fintech startup which aims to allow people to tap into their vehicle's equity for access to credit, has raised $4.5 million in a seed round of funding. The Dallas-based company is building a mobile platform that will essentially let people borrow against their vehicles at the same inter

On-demand grocery delivery platform Instacart announced this morning that it's acquiring FoodStorm, a SaaS order management system (OMS) that powers end-to-end order-ahead and catering for grocery retailers. The companies have not disclosed the financial details of the deal, but as part of the

BrightHire, a startup that wants to transform the way people are hired inside organizations, announced a $20.5 million Series B investment today led by 01 Advisors, with participation from Index Ventures and Zoom Apps Fund. The fact that Zoom Apps Fund is involved is not a coincidence, as the compa

Medley, the group coaching platform that focuses on both personal and professional development, announced the close of a $3.7 million seed round led by a16z today. Connie Chan and Anne Lee Skates of Andreessen Horowitz led the round, with participation from Aglaé Ventures, Foundation Capital, Ciar

Cord, a startup that offers a single API to add Slack-like collaboration features to any app, has bagged $17.5 mlion in Series A funding. The round — which is pegged to fund product development, including by hiring engineers, designers and product managers — was led by European VC Index

Luxury wholesale marketplace The Main Tab is redesigning its platform following a $1 million pre-seed raise earlier this year from serial entrepreneur Jason Bright, who is now the company's CTO. The New York-based company is poised to launch the new website and app this fall with about 200 bran

Freelance marketplace Fiverr announced this morning that it's acquiring Seattle-based online learning company CreativeLive for an undisclosed amount. CreativeLive is an entrepreneurial learning platform where users can attend courses on video, photography, design, business, marketing and more.

Women have made great inroads into the tech world in recent years, but there remains a long way to go before we reach a truly equitable state of affairs in workforce numbers, remuneration and product development. An edtech startup called Entity Academy — which provides women with training in

Making sure mental wellness is part of your routine can be difficult, especially if you are already busy and stressed. MindLabs wants to make it easier with a combination of on-demand or live video classes and community features. The company announced today it has raised a $3.5 million seed round,

Analysts say the value of e-commerce in Africa is expected to reach $29 billion next year, yet Africans still find it difficult to make international payments for products online. Cards, M-Pesa, bank transfer and mobile money, are the most common methods Africans use to make payments. But while var

Getsafe has extended its Series B round that it previously announced in December 2020. In addition to its original Series B round of $30 million, the company is adding another $63 million in fresh capital. Overall, Getsafe has raised a $93 million Series B round. Investors in today's funding ro

The adoption of telehealth services has boomed in the pandemic — with usage up 38-fold since January 2020, according to a report by McKinsey. While a lot of the attention has been on companies that are building the communications layer between consumers and clinicians, there are also a wave o