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This week, I explored what happened to a Norwegian hardware startup whose cap table was disappointing enough that three different investors concluded it was essentially uninvestable. Luckily, they had some tips on how to change that.
I also looked at another startup—a Turkish company that raised a $4 million round—that couldn’t really exist if the country didn’t have some pretty stiff import taxes, exploring the strange world of financial incentives for manufacturing behind a wall of invoices.
Meanwhile, you wait months for a good acquisition story and then a ton of them come at once! In the photography space alone, I covered two: Nikon bought the film camera company RED, and in the photo, video and lens rental space, Lensrentals bought archrival BorrowLenses.
But wait! There are more!
The most interesting startup stories this week
Image Credits: udemy
Welcome to the latest episode of our occasional mini-series “Micromobility Melodrama!” Paris-based Cityscoot, the pioneer of shared electric scooters, has officially passed the baton to Cooltra in a court-approved takeover. Once hailed as the future of urban transport, Cityscoot found itself in a pickle, or rather, a court order, as its once-benevolent 0% interest rates turned sour, leaving the company and its iconic black-and-white mopeds. Seizing the day (and the Cityscoot’s user base), Cooltra came in with a modest €400,000, promising a smooth transition where the only noticeable change for users might be the new stickers on their rides.
Meanwhile, in the latest “Survivor: E-commerce Aggregator Edition,” Razor Group and Perch decided to form an alliance, seemingly unfazed by the recent demise of their fellow competitor, Thrasio. With a $100 million war chest and debt that’s more “long-term relationship” than “flying,” they’re ready to take on the Amazon jungle. Razor, now running at a cap hit of $1.7 billion, and Perch, the damsel in distress no longer, are betting that their combined technology and Shein envy will make them last.
Take another handful:
Successful Merger in Customer Success: in B2B land, Totango and Catalyst have decided to join forces, not with a cash crunch, but with a stock merger.
We were surprised to learn: Accenture created Udacity, the learning platform that’s been around since 2011, hoping to give some digital literacy to the workforce with a side of artificial intelligence.
Information up to the decade: Anthropic’s new chatbot was somewhat disappointing, insisting it couldn’t answer because its knowledge only extends to 2021.
The most interesting fundraisers this week
Image Credits: Getty Images
Among the HR tech gladiators, where the Deels and Riplings tower like Goliaths with their venture capital cannons fully loaded, comes Remofirst, the charismatic David, not with a slingshot but with a $25 million Series A war chest. This HR technology outsider offers to hire employees and contractors in 180 countries without the hassle of setting up local entities. Personally, I struggle to see how it differs from Deel and Ripling — other than the cheaper price. Congrats on the $25 million! Incidentally, in the same industry, Deel acquired PaySpace this week.
London fintech favorite Monzo has been on a bit of a rollercoaster ride in recent years. The company just took in $430 million, hitting a lofty $5 billion valuation and making the financial world do a double take. Despite a past that has seen more ups and downs than a soap opera, including a US adventure that ended faster than a minute in New York (the company withdrew its application for US banks) and a valuation swing that would make even seasoned investors nervous, Monzo’s managed to phoenix. With 9 million Brits now scanning their Monzo cards and a range of products aiming to be the Swiss Army Knife of finance, Monzo’s message is clear: Reports of its demise have been greatly exaggerated.
A handful more:
Keeping records, withdrawing cash: Axonius, the digital equivalent of a nosy neighbor that monitors every digital asset in the business neighborhood, just pocketed another $200 million to keep things locked down even more effectively. “I haven’t felt the need to raise the valuation since the last round,” CEO and founder Dean Sysman said when asked about the valuation.
One step closer to the digital worker: Ema comes out of stealth mode with a $25 million fund, demonstrating its ambition to become the universal AI employee that will take the drudgery out of your job.
Pack your bags, we’re leaving: In the post-COVID-19 tourism revival, Mews, the technology gatekeeper for the hotel world, is riding the wave with a fresh $110 million in its coffers. With a value of $1.2 billion, Mews is at the top of the ball, despite not yet turning a profit.
This week’s big trend: Lawsuits and Musk
In the latest episode of “As the Musk Turns,” the tech world’s favorite drama king, Elon Musk, is once again in the legal spotlight, this time courtesy of Twitter’s former gold-digging kings severance of $128 million. After Musk’s hostile takeover of the bird app (now with an “X” on its chest), he immediately showed CEO Parag Agrawal and his merry team of executives the door, sparking what could only be described as a Silicon performance Valley of “The Hunger Games.” Musk, ever the gentleman, has reportedly vowed to pursue these C-suite fugitives to the ends of the earth, or at least until their bank accounts run dry. mix between a scorned lover and a Bond villain, accusing him of financial ghosting on a corporate scale.
Meanwhile, Musk is making sure the river of legal red tape flows both ways, suing OpenAI, the prodigal child of artificial intelligence he helped birth, for turning into a profit-hungry beast under the influence of Microsoft’s billions. Musk paints a picture of an AI utopia where algorithms roam freely for the good of humanity, claiming that OpenAI’s founders lured him in with tales of non-profit aristocracy, only to shift to a for-profit model faster than you can say “AGI”. In the lawsuit, Musk is portrayed as the exasperated benefactor who is watching his altruistic dreams of artificial intelligence rub shoulders with Microsoft’s commercial ambitions. A little rich, if you’re asking yours truly, considering everything else we know about Musk, but go for it.
Pop the popcorn, I guess.
Other Unmissable TechCrunch Stories…
Every week, there are always a few stories that I want to share with you, but that somehow don’t fit into the above categories. It would be a shame if you missed them, so here’s a random goodie bag for you:
No Seinfeld marathon for you!: Roku users across the country turned on their TVs this week to find an unpleasant surprise: The company asked them to agree to new dispute resolution terms in order to access their device. The devices cannot be used until the user agrees.
Oops, the whole interneeeeet got it: In a cyber-thriller-like twist, YX International, the SMS hub that routes millions of texts around the world, recently played the role of unwitting villain by leaving a digital door wide open. Ouch.
But how will you share with the world that you voted?: Sort of, some might say, as Meta’s social media trifecta – Facebook, Instagram and the new kid on the block, Threads – decided to take an unscheduled hiatus, leaving users staring at error messages and yearning for digital embrace of their news. as the US went to vote in the Super Tuesday primaries.
Enter the Fortnite smart report here: The Apple-Epic Games saga took a new turn today, as game developer Fortnite announced that Apple has terminated its developer account.
Maybe stay somewhere else: Airbnb is preparing new brands. The lowest – the bottom 10% – get their own badge of shame, a digital cap that signals travelers to swipe left.
