TechCrunch Startup News
TechCrunch
Listen to select TechCrunch articles on startups coverage—who's raising, who's exiting, who's changing the world.
Episodes
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Dec 17, 2019 • 4min
Sleek raises $5M to help companies incorporate and operate in Singapore and Hong Kong
Sleek, a startup that is making it easier for other startups and companies to incorporate and operate in Singapore and Hong Kong, said today it has extended its seed financing round to raise $5 million. The extended seed round for the two-year-old startup was led by private investors Pierre Lorinet and Fabio Blom, and MI8, an Asia-focused European backed private investment company. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Dec 16, 2019 • 5min
Startups Weekly: This year in startups
Welcome back to Startups Weekly, a weekend newsletter that dives into the week’s noteworthy startups and venture capital news. Before I jump into today’s topic, let’s catch up a bit. Last week, I wrote about U.S. VC activity in Europe. Before that, I noted Chinese investor activity in Africa. Remember, you can send me tips, suggestions and feedback to kate.clark@techcrunch.com or on Twitter@KateClarkTweets. If you’re new, you can subscribe to Startups Weekly here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Dec 16, 2019 • 4min
Chicago’s Sprout Social prices IPO mid-range at $17 per share, raising $150M
On the heels of Bill.com’s debut, Chicago-based social media software company Sprout Social priced its IPO last night at $17 per share, in the middle of its proposed $16 to $18 per-share range. Selling 8.8 million shares, Sprout raised just under $150 million in its debut. Underwriters have the option to purchase an additional 1.3 million shares if they so choose. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Dec 13, 2019 • 3min
And the winner of Startup Battlefield at Disrupt Berlin 2019 is… Scaled Robotics
At the very beginning, there were 14 startups. After two days of incredibly fierce competition, we now have a winner. Startups participating in the Startup Battlefield have all been hand-picked to participate in our highly competitive startup competition. They all presented in front of multiple groups of VCs and tech leaders serving as judges for a chance to win $50,000 and the coveted Disrupt Cup. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Dec 13, 2019 • 4min
Glovo’s Sacha Michaud: “I think there will be consolidation”
Many companies realized that there was a huge opportunity when it comes to on-demand delivery of food and groceries. And apparently, too many companies as Glovo co-founder Sacha Michaud expects some consolidation in the space in the near future. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Dec 12, 2019 • 6min
Gtmhub raises $9M from CRV after posting 400% ARR growth in the last year
This week Gtmhub announced a $9 million Series A led by CRV. The investment was not a large round, even for an A. But the capital found its way into one of the fastest-growing SaaS companies that we’ve spoken with recently, which made it interesting all the same. And, the firm was willing to talk about its financial performance in some detail. The combination made its Series A impossible to ignore. TechCrunch caught up with Gtmhub’s CMO Seth Elliott this morning to learn more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Dec 12, 2019 • 9min
Airbnb invests as Zeus corporate housing raises $55M at $205M
As Airbnb absorbs more and more of the demand for housing, it’s exploring how to monetize opportunities beyond vacation rentals. A marketplace for longer term corporate housing could be a huge business, but rather than build that itself, Airbnb is making a strategic investment in one of the market leaders called Zeus Living and will list its homes on the Airbnb site. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Dec 11, 2019 • 5min
Nodle crowdsources IoT connectivity
Nodle, which is competing in the TechCrunch Disrupt Berlin Startup Battlefield this week, is based on a simple premise: What if you could crowdsource the connectivity of smart sensors by offloading it to smartphones? For most sensors, built-in cell connectivity is simply not a realistic option, given how much power it would take. A few years of battery life is quite realistic for a sensor that uses Bluetooth Low Energy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Dec 11, 2019 • 4min
xs:code launches subscription platform to monetize open source projects
Open source is a great source of free tools for developers, but as these projects proliferate, and some gain in popularity, the creators sometimes look for ways to monetize successful ones. The problem is that it’s hard to run a subscription-based, dual-license approach and most developers don’t even know where to start. Enter Israeli startup xs:code, which has created a platform to help developers solve this problem. “xs:code is a monetization platform for open source projects. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Dec 10, 2019 • 3min
Soci raises $12M to help big brands manage local marketing
According to CEO Afif Khoury, we’re in the middle of “the third wave of social” — a shift back to local interactions. And Khoury’s startup Soci (pronounced soh-shee) has raised $12 million in Series C funding to help companies navigate that shift. Soci works with customers like Ace Hardware and Sport Clips to help them manage the online presence of hundreds or thousands of stores. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
