Friday May 17, 2024

LogMeIn acquires chatbot and AI startup Nanorep for up to $50M

 LogMeIn, the company that provides authentication and other connectivity solutions for those who connect remotely to networks and services, has made another acquisition to expand the products it offers to customers, specifically in its new Bold360 CRM platform, launched in June. The company has picked up Nanorep, a startup out of Israel that develops chatbots […]

Marketing data startup Segment raises $64M

 Segment has raised $64 million in Series C funding, with the Y Combinator Continuity Fund and GV leading the round. The continuity fund is the $700 million fund led by former Twitter COO Ali Rowghani. It selectively writes checks for YC startups as they raise bigger rounds. As part of the deal, Rowghani will be […]

Postmates acqhires Secret CEO David Byttow’s startup Bold

 The founder of one of Silicon Valley’s most famous flameouts, anonymous social app Secret, is the new product lead for Postmates’ app. After Secret shut down and gave investors back their money, David Byttow went on to raise a $1 million seed round from Index to launch a blog publishing tool for enterprises called Bold. […]

Cisco scoops up yet another cloud company, acquiring SD-WAN startup Viptela for $610M

 Cisco has been rather acquisitive in recent years, buying 19 companies since 2015; today it announced it was acquiring cloud-based SD-WAN vendor Viptela for $610 million in cash. Viptela was founded in 2012 and had raised more than $108 million, including its most recent $75 million round just last May. The $610 million price tag […]

Data management startup Rubrik confirms $180M round at a $1.3B valuation

 Rubrik, a startup that provides data backup and recovery services for enterprises across both cloud and on-premises environments, has closed a $180 million round of funding that values the company at $1.3 billion. The news confirms a report we ran earlier this week noting that the company was raising between $150 million and $200 million. […]

Security startup Synack scores $21M investment from Microsoft, HPE and Singtel

 Synack, a startup that combines software security tools with a network of white-hat hackers to help keep its customers secure, announced a $21.25 million Series C funding round today. The round was led by Microsoft Ventures with participation from Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Singtel Innov8. Previous investors GGV Capital, GV (formerly Google Ventures) and Kleiner […]

Industrious buys PivotDesk, raises $25M to be WeWork without startup bros

 In the recruiting wars, a cool office is critical. Not just for scrappy startups, but big businesses with regional HQs, as well. So while WeWork signs questionable 20-year leases to provide desks for twenty-something engineers, Industrious is taking a more classy and conservative approach to coworking space. Read More Tweet This Post

Google partners with VCs to host its own machine learning startup competition

 On the heels of acquiring data science community Kaggle, Google is launching a machine learning competition of its own for startups. Google is targeting early-stage companies taking an innovative approach to machine learning. The competition is being run in partnership with seven venture capital firms. Read More Tweet This Post

Networking services startup Cradlepoint lands $89M investment from TCV

 In a world where having internet connectivity is the lifeblood of just about every business, Cradlepoint helps customers deliver consistent networking services, even when there is a lousy cell signal. Today the company announced it had secured an $89 million Series C investment from TCV. TCV is the only investor this round, and as part […]

Communication platform Layer raises $15M and acquires interactive messaging startup Cola

 Layer, the messaging platform that won TechCrunch’s Startup Battlefield back in 2013, is making two big announcements today: It’s raised $15 million in Series B funding, and it’s acquiring another startup, Cola. Layer makes it easy for businesses to add messaging capabilities to their iOS, Android and web products — customers include Trunk Club, Staples […]