A well-known appointment scheduling company secures substantial funding, Twitter expands into newsletters through acquisition, and Beyond Meat establishes a collaboration with PepsiCo. This is your Daily Crunch for January 26, 2021.

Key development: Calendly achieves a $3 billion valuation

Calendly, a platform designed to simplify the process of arranging and confirming appointments, has received $350 million in investment from OpenView Venture Partners and Iconiq.

Prior to this, the Atlanta-based company had only raised $550,000, but reports having 10 million users each month and generating $70 million in annual subscription revenue.

According to OpenView’s Blake Bartlett, “Calendly aims to become a fundamental component of the entire meeting process.”

Major technology companies

Twitter completes acquisition of Revue, a newsletter platform — Twitter is now involved in the newsletter market.

TikTok is reportedly being utilized by vape vendors to target young people — These vendors are offering flavored disposable vaping products, packaging designed to be inconspicuous from parents, and are not verifying customer ages.

PepsiCo and Beyond Meat initiate a joint venture, albeit with a less-than-ideal name, to develop new plant-based food and beverage options — The venture is called The PLANeT Partnership.

Startups, investment, and venture capital

Fast secures $102 million in funding as competition intensifies in the online checkout space, attracting significant investment — Stripe led the latest funding round.

SetSail obtains $26 million in Series A funding to innovate sales compensation structures — SetSail proposes that sales representatives receive payment throughout the entire sales process.

Mealco raises $7 million to launch a new concept of restaurants focused on delivery services — Chefs partnering with Mealco avoid traditional lease agreements and upfront costs.

Insights and analysis from Extra Crunch

Ten venture capitalists predict that interactivity, regulatory changes, and independent content creators will redefine digital media in 2021 — We surveyed experts regarding the potential for further industry mergers, the likelihood of more digital media companies pursuing SPACs, and their investment priorities.

The founder of Finmark details five significant errors made during his initial startup experience — Rami Essaid, Finmark’s CEO, reflects on lessons learned.

An assessment of whether Databricks’ $27 billion or $29 billion valuation is justified — This analysis examines Databricks’ growth trajectory, financial performance, and overall scale.

(Extra Crunch is our subscription service designed to support founders and startup teams. You can find more information and sign up here.)

Other news

President Joe Biden pledges to transition the entire federal vehicle fleet to electric vehicles — This commitment is part of a larger initiative to create 1 million jobs within the American automotive industry and its supply chains.

TC Early Stage 2021 offers opportunities to connect with early-stage founders — The first part of Early Stage, focusing on operations and fundraising, will be held on April 1-2, while the second part, covering marketing, PR, and fundraising, will take place on July 8-9.

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