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Utah-based seed fund Kickstart closes fifth fund worth $110M Apr 30, 2020

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Continuing our week’s coverage of new venture funds, this morning let’s dig into Kickstart’s latest capital pool. Kickstart Seed Fund, based in Utah’s Salt Lake City, has raised a $110 million Fund V it announced this morning, its largest to date. The firm’sÂ rise to investing prominence has largely coincided with Utah’s own emergence as a […]

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Smart contact lens startup Mojo Vision raises $51M Apr 29, 2020

Show notes

Mojo Vision’s technology still felt early-stage when we met with them back at CES. But the demos we did see were enough to convince us that there really could be something to the California startup’s smart content lens technology. Clearly we weren’t alone in that. The company just announced that it has raised more than […]

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Investors, startup founders in India pool $13M to fund projects that fight coronavirus Apr 29, 2020

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More than 150 investors and entrepreneurs in India are funding dozens of projects in a bid to help millions better combat the COVID-19 epidemic and help the nation’s booming startup ecosystem withstand the economic devastation it has caused. The investors said they have contributed 1 billion Indian rupees — or $13 million — of their […]

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OMERS Ventures announces a new $750M fund for investing in North America, Europe Apr 28, 2020

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OMERS Ventures, the venture capital arm of the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS), has put together a new, $750 million fund to invest in both Europe and North America. The capital vehicle is larger than the group’s preceding European and North American funds combined. In 2019 OMERS Ventures announced a €300 million fund Europe-focused […]

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Smart ring maker Motiv acquired by ‘digital identity’ company Apr 28, 2020

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We weren’t alone in being impressed by Motiv. The startup helped flip the script on wearables by essentially cramming a fitness tracker’s worth of technology into a ring. This week, San Francisco ‘digital identity’ startup Proxy that it’s acquiring the company. The company’s site is littered in buzzwords, but Proxy specializes in digital key cards […]

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Manufacturing startup Divergent 3D reduces staff by one-third Apr 27, 2020

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Divergent, the Los Angeles-based startup aiming to revolutionize vehicle manufacturing, has cut about one-third of its staff amid the COVID-19 pandemic that has upended startups and major corporations alike. The company, which employed about 160 people, laid off 57 workers, according to documents filed with the California Employment Development Department. Founder and CEO Kevin Czinger […]

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If we let the US Postal Service die, we’ll be killing small businesses with it Apr 27, 2020

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If we continue to view the USPS as simply a balance sheet and optimize for profitability in a vacuum, we ultimately stand to lose far more than we gain.

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Opera Event closes $5M Series A for its esports-focused influencer platform Apr 24, 2020

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Today Opera Event, an influencer software service, announced that it closed a $5 million Series A. The Oakland-based startup raised the capital from new lead investor Antera, with prior investors Atlas Ventures, Everblue, and Konvoy Ventures coming along. According to Crunchbase data, Opera Event had raised at least $1.2 million before this new round. Opera […]

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Atlanta’s SingleOps raises $6M for its outdoor-care focused software business Apr 24, 2020

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Today SingleOps, an Atlanta-based software startup, announced that it has raised $6 million in new capital. The startup’s service is built to support companies that deal with outdoor work like landscaping, tree care and lawn maintenance. It’s an example of the vertical SaaS trend that has come to the fore in recent years, with startups […]

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Lambda School cuts staff and exec pay amid market uncertainty Apr 23, 2020

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Online coding bootcamp Lambda School is the latest startup to announce layoffs, writing in a blog post that it’s made the “difficult decision” to cut 19 staff from roles across the company. The eight members of its executive team, including CEO and founder Austen Allred, are also taking a 15% pay cut, it said. Today […]

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