Fundraising

Back in February, when technewss spoke to Raphael Akinsipe, he described his company SocialCrowd as a “Fitbit but for work.” As CEO and co-founder, he explained that the product allows companies to set goals for employees and then reward them when those expectations are met.  “For exam

DeepRoute.ai, a Shenzhen-based autonomous driving technology startup, raised $100 million from Great Wall Motor. The startup aims to get its automated driving systems into as many vehicles in China before Tesla takes off next year, according to a Reuters report. DeepRoute did not publicly disclose

People are generally skeptical of customer service chatbots, and many outright despise them. In a recent Gartner survey, 64% of consumers said that they’d prefer companies didn’t use AI of any kind — including chatbots — in their customer service. Fifty-three percent went so far as

Cement startup Furno will receive a $20 million grant from the Department of Energy, funds that will help the company build up to eight micro-kilns at a concrete plant in Chicago.  Chicago might not seem like the sort of place where cement is hard to come by. But with the nearest kiln 100 miles a

As petrochemical plants and other emitters look to reduce emissions, they're finding that sopping up and storing all the carbon dioxide they produce doesn't come cheap. First they have to capture it, an energy-intensive process that requires specialized equipment. Then they have to transpor

Connectivity and connected networks are part and parcel of the way many devices and services operate today, thanks to innovations and expansions in mobile networks, on-device processing, and the cloud. But behind the scenes, there remains a lot of fragmentation: Different regions, technologies, tar

Fearless Fund has made a big move since it settled a lawsuit with the American Alliance for Equal Rights (AAER).  The firm announced on Thursday a seven-figure investment into the e-commerce platform Zimi, co-founded by Audrey Djiya and Peter Nsaka. Zimi offers inventory management, handling and

HubSpot has acquired Cacheflow, a startup building tools for the software sales closing process, for an undisclosed amount. HubSpot CEO Yamini Rangan says that Cacheflow — which will become a wholly owned subsidiary of HubSpot once the deal closes — will expand HubSpot’s Commerce Hub sui

As the demand for AI surges, AI vendors are devoting greater bandwidth to data security issues. Not only are they being compelled to comply with emerging data privacy regulations (e.g., the EU Data Act), but they’re also finding themselves under the microscope of clients skeptical about how t

Mo Alkhadra spent years of his life figuring out how to remove troublesome materials like toxic lead and radioactive waste from water. But as he progressed along his doctorate studies at MIT, he realized that if he wanted to bring his technology to market, he'd need to do something other than b

General Catalyst, one of Silicon Valley’s largest capital firms, is gearing up to launch what's known as a “continuation fund” worth between $800 million and $1 billion, according to a person familiar with the plans. A continuation fund consists of a portion of stakes that the VC fir

Actress Emma Watson has made a previously undisclosed investment into the women's health company Hertility, bringing its total funding to more than $14 million, the company told technewss in an interview on Monday. Watson is known for her interest in the environment and supporting women-led i

Fusion startups have been on a fundraising tear lately, and a young startup, Acceleron Fusion, is joining the pack, having raised $15 million of a targeted $23.7 million round, according to an SEC filing. The fusion sector recently has been showered with interest from investors, who no doubt have

A company that claims its tech can “revolutionize” emergency calls has raised $27 million in a Series B round led by Andreessen Horowitz. The company, Prepared, enables 911 dispatchers to get a caller’s real-time GPS location if their phone supports it. Via Prepared, dispatchers