UBS investment makes Byju’s the most valuable startup in India

Edtech giant Byju’s has become the most valuable startup in India after raising about $350 million in a new tranche of investment from UBS Group and Zoom founder Eric Yuan, Blackstone and others that valued the Bangalore-based firm at $16.5 billion (post-money). In a new filing, Byju’s

Extra Crunch roundup: EU insurtech, 30 years of ‘Crossing the Chasm,’ embedded finance’s endgame

This morning, Anna Heim and Alex Wilhelm dug into the EU insurtech market, interviewing European VCs and collating the biggest recent rounds to take the temperature of the waters across the pond: Alex Timm, CEO, Root Dan Preston, CEO, MetroMile Luca Bocchio, partner, Accel Florian Graillot, invest

5 questions startups should consider before making their first marketing hire

“Who should my first marketing hire be?” This is (by far) the most common question I've received since starting as Fuel’s CMO, and for good reason. Your first marketer will have an outsized impact on team dynamics as well as the overall strategic direction of the brand, produc

Despite flat growth, ride-hailing colossus Didi’s US IPO could reach $70B

Didi filed to go public in the United States last night, providing a look into the Chinese ride-hailing company’s business. This morning, we’re extending our earlier reporting on the company to dive into its numerical performance, economic health and possible valuation. Didi is approach

Last day to save $100 on passes to TC Early Stage 2021: Marketing & Fundraising

Now that we have your attention, know this: Prices go up tonight on passes to TC Early Stage 2021: Marketing & Fundraising. If you're an early-stage founder (pre-seed through Series A), don't miss this chance to save $100 on our two-day virtual event dedicated to helping you build a str

Freelancer marketplace Toptal sues Andela and ex-employees, alleging theft of trade secrets

The war for talent in the tech world can be brutal — and so, it turns out, can the war between platforms that help companies source it. In the latest developement, Toptal — a marketplace for filling engineering and other tech roles with freelance, remote workers — has filed a laws

Temasek and General Atlantic in talks to back Indian neobank Open

Bangalore-based neobank Open is in advanced stages of talks to raise about $100 million, according to two sources familiar with the matter. Temasek, the Singaporean government’s sovereign wealth fund, and General Atlantic are positioning to co-lead the Series C financing round, which values t

Fresha raises $100M for its beauty and wellness booking platform and marketplace

Beauty and wellness businesses have come roaring back to life with the decline of COVID-19 restrictions, and a startup that’s built a platform that caters to the many needs of small enterprises in the industry today is announcing a big round of funding to grow with them. Fresha — a mult

Tiger Global leads $65 million investment in Indian edtech Classplus

Updated at 2 pm IST on June 24: Classplus said on Thursday it has raised $65 million in a Series C round led by Tiger Global. GSV Ventures, along with existing investors Alpha Wave Incubation (AWI), which is backed by DisruptAD and managed by Falcon Edge, Blume Ventures and RTP Global also particip

SoftBank, Uber, Tencent set to reap rewards from Didi IPO

After years of speculation, Didi Chuxing, China’s ridesharing behemoth, finally unveiled its IPO filing in the U.S., giving a glimpse into its money-losing history. Didi didn’t disclose the size of its raise. Reuters reported the company could raise around $10 billion at a valuation of

Nvidia acquires hi-def mapping startup DeepMap to bolster AV technology

"speakable-summary" dir="ltr">Chipmaker Nvidia is acquiring DeepMap, the high-definition mapping startup announced. The company said its mapping IP will help Nvidia’s autonomous vehicle technology sector, Nvidia Drive. “The acquisition is an endorsement of DeepMap's unique vision, techno

After 30 years, ‘Crossing the Chasm’ is due for a refresh

When I was at Open Market in the 1990s, our CEO gave out the recently published book “Crossing the Chasm” to the executive team and told us to read it to gain insight into why we had hit a speed bump in our scaling. We had gone from zero to $60 million in revenue in four years, went pub

Pitch us, Pittsburgh

"">We're getting closer to putting our spotlight on Pittsburgh, and there's quite a bit going on behind the scenes. We've been spending a ton of time chatting with folks who are on the ground in the city, and we've had a great time learning and listening, which we think will make th

Ledger raises $380 million for its crypto hardware wallet

French startup Ledger has raised a $380 million Series C funding round led by 10T Holdings. Following today's funding round, the company has reached a valuation of $1.5 billion. Other investors in the funding round include existing investors Cathay Innovation, Draper Associates, Draper Dragon,