broadbrained Space, news, venture, robots, technology
Revolution seeks $500M for growth fund
Revolution, the Washington, D.C.-based venture capital firm founded by AOL 1co-founder Steve Case, is seeking to raise $500 million for a fourth growth fund, according to a securities filing.
Founded in 2005, the firm is a prolific investor, with 266 investments to date, per Crunchbase data. The firm is also known for its focus on startups located outside of larger coastal tech hubs.
Recent deals include a Series A for ShearShare, a salon space marketplace; Good Buy Gear, a seller of secondhand kids items; and MilkRun, a grocery service.
Revolution has three fund categories, one focused on growth, another on early stage, and its Rise of the Rest funds, which focus on seed-stage deals.
A16z closes on $4.5B in two funds
Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) is starting the weekend off with a bang. The Menlo Park-based venture capital firm closed on a pair of funds totaling $4.5 billion that brings its total assets under management to nearly $16.5 billion, according to a Friday blog post.
The firm, founded in 2009 by Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, raised $1.3 billion in a Fund VII to invest in early-stage consumer, enterprise and financial services technologies startups. The $3.2 billion Growth II fund will focus on later-stage investments across consumer, enterprise, financial technology, bio and crypto, the firm said.
These follow two other funds the firm closed on this year: a $2.2 billion fund focused on entrepreneurs who have talent and ideas, but lack resources and access, and a $750 million fund earmarked for biotechnology and health care investing.
Robinhood co-CEO steps down ahead of expected IPO
Stock trading app Robinhood said Friday that it’s ditching the dual CEO model it’s employed since its launch in 2013, with co-founder Baiju Bhatt stepping down from the position. Vlad Tenev will be Robinhood’s sole CEO.
Sources told Forbes that the change came about as Robinhood grows and the co-CEO arrangement has become increasingly unwieldy. Robinhood is widely expected to make a run at the public markets before the end of this year or in early 2021.
The change was not the result of strife in the C-suite, the sources said, and the new arrangement will let Bhatt devote more time to projects he most enjoys.” A company spokesperson told Forbes that Bhatt will continue “supporting key business initiatives and serving on Robinhood’s board of directors.”
Robinhood has raised $2.2 billion in venture backing, according to Crunchbase data, and was valued at $11.7 billion as of September after its Series G funding.
Funding rounds
- Chainalysis gears up to raise $100M at unicorn valuation: Chainalysis, a bitcoin investigation startup, told Forbes that it’s in the process of raising $100 million in new funding at a $1 billion valuation. The Series C funding, expected next week, will be led by Tiger Global Management alumnus Lee Fixel’s newly founded firm, Addition. Previous investors Accel, Benchmark and Ribbit Capital are also reportedly expected to join.
- Alto Solutions banks $2.8M for IRA product: Alto Solutions, a Nashville-based fintech that enables individuals to use their IRA to invest in alternative investments like startups, private real estate, cryptocurrency and securitized art, raised a $2.8 million venture round. The investment was backed by institutional and individual investors, including Acrew Capital, Alpha Edison and Carta Ventures.
- Stackline snags $50M: Stackline, a Seattle-based provider of enterprise tools to help retailers and brands manage e-commerce, closed a $50 million Series A investment from Goldman Sachs Growth Equity. The company will use the new proceeds for product innovation and to expand its network of brand and retail partners.
- Canvas raises $19M: Construction robotics startup Canvas publicly launched Thursday and announced $19 million in funding led by Brick & Mortar Ventures. The company, which was founded in 2017 and is based in San Francisco, uses technology to make drywall finishing more efficient.
- Factory_OS lands $55M: Proptech company Factory_OS has raised a $55 million Series B led by Lafayette Square and including participation from Autodesk, Citi, Facebook, Morgan Stanley and Google. Factory_OS, which is aiming to create more multifamily housing, plans use the money to speed up growth.
- Connect Homes closes $5M: Connect Homes has raised $5 million in round led by Brick & Mortar Ventures. The company, which makes modular homes, also announced Greg Leung as its new CEO.
M&A
- FireEye acquires Respond Software for $186M: Cybersecurity provider FireEye has announced that it is acquiring Respond Software, a provider of tools for investigating and understanding security incidents, for $186 million. Silicon Valley-based Respond previously raised $32 million in known venture funding, per Crunchbase data.
New funds
- Astanor Ventures raises $325M food tech fund: Brussels-based Astanor Ventures has raised $325 million for a new fund that will invest in European and North American startups in the food, agriculture and ocean tech spaces that are focused on solving systemic challenges across the food system.
