With so much going on in the city’s thriving ecosystem, it is easy to miss some of the happenings in the space. We keep you abreast of a few of things that you may have missed in NYC Tech News this week including the fundings, exits, and events.
CLICK HERE TO SEE WHAT HAPPENED IN NYC TECH LAST WEEK
Have notable company news that you would like included in The NYC Tech Week in Review? Send all pertinent details to WIR@alleywatch.com.
UiPath, the robotic process automation platform founded by Daniel Dines and Marius Tirca in 2012 has raised a $153M in additional funding.
Mighty, the SaaS platform and funding company for litigation financiers, has raised a $9M Series B funding from investors that include Tribeca Venture Partners and IA Ventures. In conjunction with this round, the company also announced a $105M fund for Mighty Capital. Founded by Dylan Beynon and Joshua Schwadron in 2014, Mighty has now raised a total of $14.3M in reported equity funding. Read the full story on the funding and new fund This NYC Startup Just Raised $9M to Level the Playing Field When Suing the Big Guys and It Just Announced a $105M Fund
The Softbank-fueled acquisition spree continues…
This time around, Conductor, a digital marketing platform focused on search engine optimization, has been scooped up by coworking giant WeWork. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. “Conductor joining WeWork is a validation of everything we’ve all been working towards — showing businesses how to use their power to help customers solve problems, make decisions, and find solutions,” remarked Scott Besmernik, cofounder and CEO of Conductor. Conductor will continue to operate as an independent brand with Bermernik remaining at the helm.
Founded by Jeremy Duboys and Seth Besmertnik in 2005, Conductor had raised a total of $59.6M in equity funding over five funding rounds and its backers include Matrix Partners, FirstMark, Investor Growth Capital Limited, Catalyst Investors, Blue Cloud Ventures, and Amish Jani.
This transaction marks the third NYC acquisition in the last six months by WeWork. The company previously acquired coding academy Flatiron School in October and community events platform Meetup last November.
Justworks, the payroll and benefits platform founded by Iris Ramos and Isaac Oates in 2012, has raised $40M in Series D funding from investors that include Index Ventures, Redpoint, FirstMark, Thrive Capital, and Bain Capital. This brings the total funding raised to $93M over five funding rounds.
Long time restaurant review destination Zagat has been acquired The Infatuation, another restaurant review business. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Google had previously purchased Zagat in 2011 for a reported $151M. “We’re thrilled by this opportunity to acquire such a pioneering and trusted restaurant guide as Zagat,” said Chris Stang, The Infatuation’s Cofounder and Chief Executive Officer. “Iconic brands don’t become available very often, and Zagat is about as iconic as it gets. It is the perfect complement to what we have been building at The Infatuation.”
Zagat, founded in 2009 by Tim and Nina Zagat, was once the go to destination for reviews but the advent of the internet and digital competitors like The Infatuation eroded into the company’s top positioning. Zagat put itself up for sale in 2008 for $200M and found no suitors until Google came in 2011 at a price tag of $151M. Google’s attempt to bring Zagat in the digital era never fully materialized.
Founded by Andrew Steinthal and Chris Stang in 2009, The Infatuation has raised a total of $3.5M in funding. As a result, The Infatuation likely picked up Zagat’s brand and cachet at a price that’s a fraction of what Google paid seven years earlier and Google is likely pleased to have Zagat off the books.
Fintech platform Capitolis for the capital markets has announced the close of a $20M Series A round led by Index Ventures. Founded by Gil Mandelzis, Igor Teleshevsky, and Tom Glocer in 2017, Capitolis has now raised a total of $30.8M in funding.
According to a recent SEC filing, Nowsta, the staff management tool for events founded by Armand Patella in 2014, has raised an additional $1M in funding. The filing lists Lou Forster of Green Visor Capital as a director.
NewsGuard, the detection service for fake news that uses journalists to create ratings for news sites that was founded Gordon Crovitz and Steven Brill in 2018, has raised $6M in funding from investors that include Blue Haven Initiative, Publicis Groupe, Fitz Gate Ventures, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Gordon Crovitz, Thomas Glocer, Jules Kroll, John McCarter, Charlotte Hill, Cox Investment Holdings, Nicholas Penniman IV, Eugene Garrett Bewkes III, Steven Brill, Eijk van Otterloo, Leslie Hill, John Levy, Michael Hill, and Whitney Hatch.
Exo, the makers of protein bars from cricket flour, has been acquired by Austin-based Aspire Food Group, which manufactures a number of cricket-based food products. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
Founded by Gabi Lewis and Greg Sewitz in 2014, Exo had raised a total of $5.2M in funding over three rounds. Its backers include Marc Bell Ventures, Collaborative Fund, Hedgewood, Wakestream Ventures, Timothy Ferriss, Nasir “Nas” Jones, Dentsu Ventures, AccelFoods, Innovative Fund, and Tim Ferriss. Exo will operate as the consumer brand of Aspire and the Exo founding team will not remain with Aspire after the transition.
This transaction solidifies NYC’s ecosystem’s strength in the edible insect market.
Genius, the media platform that now dubs itself as the encyclopedia for music, has raised an additional $15M in funding from Everblu Capital. This brings the total funding raised to $71.9M for the startup founded by Ilan Zechory, Mahbod Moghadam, and Tom Lehman in 2009.
Blockdaemon, the tool to deploy nodes to the blockchain founded by Arunram Kalaiselvan and Konstantin Richter in 2017, has raised $3.3M in Seed funding from investors that include Boldstart Ventures, Liquid2 Ventures, Comcast, PLUG & PLAY, and MState Growth Lab.
Messari, the open source data library to provide transparency around cryptocurrencies founded by Dan McArdle and Ryan Selkis in 2018, has raised $1M in seed funding from investors that include Anthemis Group, Blockchain Capital, SparkLabs Global Ventures, Rising Tide, Underscore VC, Danhua Capital, CoinFund, Kindred Ventures, Semantic Ventures, and Digital Asset Investment Company.
Eight, the technology-enabled smart sleep products startup, has rasied $14M in Series B funding from investors that include Y Combinator, Khosla Ventures, and Yunqi Partners. Founded by Alexandra Zatarain, Andrea Ballarini, Massimo Andreasi Bassi, and Matteo Franceschetti as Luna in 2014, Eight has now raised a total of $30.1M in funding over the course of four funding rounds.
According to recent SEC filing, cybersecurity platform Red Balloon Security has raised an additional $15.7M in funding. The company was founded by Ang Cui and Salvatore Stolfo out of Columbia in 2011.
According to a recent SEC filing, Rubicon Markets, a newly launched developer of trading platforms for crytocurrency, has raised $10.7M in funding. The filing lists Andrew Lawrence as an Executive Director and his LinkedIn indicates his title as CEO with Steve Dow and Charles Walden listed as directors.
Boxed, the internet retailer of bulk household items, has reportedly turned down an acquisition offer from supermarket chain Kroger. Founded in 2013 by Chieh Huang, Christopher Cheung, Jared Yaman, and William Fong, Boxed has raised a total of $132.6M over four funding rounds with its last round in early 2016. Long rumored as in acquisitions talks from organizations like Amazon, Target, and Costco, Boxed has had a number of high profile departures from its team over the last year.
According to a recent SEC filing, Remesh the business intelligence platform that uses AI to make sense of crowd data founded by Aaron Slodov, Andrew Konya, and Gary Ellis in 2013, has raised an additional $9.2M in funding. Investors in previous rounds include Techstars, North Coast Angel Fund, LionBird, Flashstarts, WorldQuant Ventures LLC, Charles Stack, Reimagine Holdings Group, Kent State University, Kent, Generate Ventures, Steve Potash, and Mark Corrado.