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 for the week ending 10/6 including the NYC startup fundings, NYC startup exits, and NYC Tech events including news for Slice Labs, Maven Clinic, The Infatuation, Pymetrics, Domio, Compass, and much more…
Customer engagement platform Braze has raised an additional $80M in Series E led by Meritech Capital Partners. Founded by Bill Magnuson, Jon Hyman, and Mark Ghermezian in 2011, Braze (formerly Appboy) has now raised a total of $175.1M in funding over eight rounds as it nears unicorn status. The post-money valuation for this round was $850M.
HEED, the platform that uses IoT to enhance the experience at live events, has raised $35M in funding led by SoftBank. HEED is a joint venture between Mati Kochavis’ AGT International and Ari Emanuels’ WME | IMG.
Plus size brand Eloquii has been acquired by Walmart for $100M as Walmart continues its acquisition spree to increase its e-commerce presence, which only accounts for 4% of its total sales. Eloquii was initially launched by fashion retailer The Limited in 2011, was then acquired by former employees, and then relaunched in 2014 as a direct-to-consumer brand. Founded by Jodi Arnold, John Auerbach, Julie Carnevale, and Steve Zawada, Eloquii had raised a total of $21M in funding over three rounds. Investors in the company include Greycroft, Fabrice Grinda, FJ Labs, Acton Capital Partners, Grace Beauty Capital, Female Founders Fund, Max Ventures, Blue Sky Private Equity, HDS Capital, and Karlani Capital.
A look at the 10 Largest NYC Startup Fundings from September 2018 where total funding approached $1.5B.
Location-based platform Foursquare has raised an additional $33M in Series F funding from investors that include Union Square Ventures, Naver Corporation, and Simon Ventures. Founded by Dennis Crowley and Naveen Selvadurai in 2009, Foursquare has now raised a total of $240.4M in funding over eight rounds.
A look at all the NYC venture capital firm news from the second half of September
Automotive merchanding platform SpinCar, which provides an immersive virtual walkthrough experience for automobile dealers, has raised an additional $22M in funding led by Wavecrest Growth Partners. Spincar was founded by Devin Daly, Michael Quigley in 2011 and has now raised a total of $26M in funding.
Full coverage – SpinCar Raises $22M to Enable Personalized 360° Car Showroom Tours From the Comfort of Your Couch
An interview with Rosecliff Ventures Managing Partner Michael Caso
Executive training platform ExecOnline has raised an additional $18M in Series C funding from investors that include NewSpring Capital, ABS Capital Partners, Osage Venture Partners, Kaplan, and nav.vc. Founded by Stephen Bailey in 2012, Execonline has now raised a total of $42.7M in funding over seven funding rounds.
$1.45B pumped into startup economy in NYC during the month of September. Find out where it went in The AlleyWatch September 2018 New York Venture Capital Funding Report
Cherre, the real estate data management platform, has raised $8.5M in funding from investors that include Red Swan Ventures, Carthona Capital, Navitas Capital, iLOOKABOUT, and Dreamit Ventures. Cherre was founded by Ben Hizak, L.D. Salmanson, and Riju Pahwa in 2016.
Robust startup activity across the US for September with over $7B in fundings. Here are the top rounds – These are the 20 Largest US Startup Funding Rounds of September 2018
Ziel designs custom activewear for boutique health clubs and manages everything from production to online and off-line sales. This fitness, clothing manufacturer raised $1.5M in a Venture round. Ziel has now raised a total of $1.6M over four rounds since its creation in 2015 by Marleen Vogelaar.
Q3 ended and it was a strong one for NYC startups. Here are the top funding rounds – These 18 NYC Startups Raised the Most Amount of Capital During Q3 of 2018
