October 28, 2019

Revolution, the investment firm cofounded 14 years ago by entrepreneur-investor Steve Case, has closed its second Rise of the Rest seed fund with $150 million in capital commitments, just like the debut fund it announced two years ago. Rise of the Rest — which fund startups outside of the biggest U.S. tech hubs in an effort to foster innovation and momentum elsewhere — has rounded up some of the funding from institutional investors, presumably, but also from numerous very wealthy individuals. According to Forbes, which is currently hosting a summit where Case announced the new fund, some of the new fund’s backers include Jeff Bezos of Amazon, Sara Blakely of Spanx, hedge fund manager Ray Dalio, Under Armour cofounder Kevin Plank, former Tennessee governor Bill Haslam, and Apollo Global Management cofounder Joshua Harris. Some of these investors backed the first fund, too, including Bezos and Dalio. Very notably, Hillbilly Elegy author J.D. Vance, who ran the first fund with Case, has stepped back, and longtime Revolution investor David Hall will manage the second fund instead. Certainly, that first fund kept its investors busy, with stakes in 125 companies. Barely a week passes without a startup announcing some funding from the Rise of the Rest team. ACV Auctions, a five-year-old, Buffalo, N.Y.-based online platform for franchise and used-car dealerships to buy and sell wholesale inventory through 20-minute auctions, is reportedly looking to raise $150 million in Series E funding at a post-money valuation north of $1 billion. Reuters has more here. Weave, a seven-year-old, Lehi, Ut.-based developer of patient communications software focused on the dental and optometry market, has raised $70 million in Series D funding at a post-money valuation of $970 million. Tiger Global Management led the round, with participation from earlier backers Catalyst Investors, Bessemer Venture Partners, Crosslink Capital, Pelion Venture Partners and LeadEdge Capital. TechCrunch has more here. 1906, a two-year-old, Denver-based cannabis brand that makes a wide variety of edibles, has raised $18 million in funding led by Navy Capital. More here. Aviatrix, a five-year-old, Palo Alto, Ca.-developer of software that allows companies to build hybrid clouds, raised $40 million in Series C funding. Earlier backer CRV led the round, joined by fellow insiders Formation 8, Ignition Partners, and Liberty Global Ventures. VentureBeat has more here. Choco, an 18-month-old, mobile ordering platform for restaurants and their suppliers, has raised $33.5 million in Series A funding by Bessemer Venture Partners. The company has now raised $41 million to date. Other investors include Atlantic Labs, Target Global, Visionaries Club and Greyhound. TechCrunch has more here. Duffel, a two-year-old, London-based startup that connects travel agencies with airline reservation systems, has raised $30 million in Series B funding led by Index Ventures, with participation from earlier backers Benchmark and Blossom Capital. TechCrunch has more here. Sensely, a five-year-old, San Francisco-based chatbot that helps users navigate insurance benefits, has raised $15 million led by Aflac Corporate Ventures, with participation from NMC, Nippon Life Insurance Company, Susquehanna International Group, Sojitz Corporation, Zuelling Pharma and Silicon Valley Bank. MobiHealth News has more here. ShiraTronics, a 10-month-old, Brooklyn Park, Mn.-based medical device company working on a migraine treatment, raised $33 million in Series A funding. USVP, Amzak Health and Strategic HealthCare Investment Partners led the round, joined by Aperture Ventures and LivaNova. American Inno has more here. Twiga Foods, a six-year-old, Nairobi, Kenya-based B2B food distribution company, has raised $23.75 million in Series B funding led by Goldman Sachs, with participation from IFC, TLcom Capital, and Creadev. Goldman also arranged $6.25 million in debt funding. TechCrunch has more here. Welcome to the Jungle, a five-year-old, Paris-based recruitment startup, has raised $22.3 million in fresh funding led by Gaia Capital Partners, with participation from Bpifance, XAnge, and Jean-Paul Guisset. TechCrunch has more here. EnsureDR, a five-year-old, San Jose, Ca.-based company that makes disaster recovery readiness software, has raised $2.5 million in Series A funding led by Awz Ventures. More here. Own Up, a 3.5-year-old, Boston-based startup that invites promises users a high-touch service if they connect with its team of online mortgage brokers, has raised $8.5 million in Series A funding. Link Ventures led the round. More here. Young Alfred, a three-year-old, Philadelphia-based home insurance marketplace, has raised $10 million in Series A funding led by Gradient Ventures, with participation from Pear Ventures, ERA, and Newfund Capital. Insurance Business has more here. Zamna, a three-year-old, London-based company that has built a GDPR-compliant identity platform for the aviation industry (it helps airlines verify passengers’ identities before they arrive at an airport), has raised $5 million in seed funding co-led by LocalGlobe and Oxford Capital. TechCrunch has more here. ByteDance, the seven-year-old, $75 billion Chinese start-up that owns the short-form video app TikTok, is eyeing an IPO in Hong Kong as soon as the first quarter of next year, according to the Financial Times. As it notes, ByteDance’s valuation hit $75 billion a year ago, when it closed a $3 billion round led by SoftBank that doubled its valuation from a year earlier. An IPO would help the Japanese conglomerate at a time when many of its other investments are cratering in value. More here. A haunted house with a 40-page waiver. Tom Hanks on vacation, and other Halloween costume ideas. Thinking to dress like Elizabeth Holmes instead? You’re too late.