Citizen App Launches Live Safety Agents for $20/Month

Daily Crunch: August 3, 2021

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Today's Highlights

Greetings, and welcome to the Daily Crunch for August 3rd, 2021. This edition presents a varied selection of news, encompassing updates to Twitter’s features, challenges faced by venture capitalists, substantial investment deals, and funding rounds at the earliest stages.

Key News Items

Twitter is implementing several product modifications. These changes aim to enhance user experience and platform functionality.
Certain venture capital firms are encountering difficulties. These challenges are impacting their operational capabilities and investment strategies.
Multiple megadeals have recently been finalized. These large-scale transactions signify continued activity in the investment landscape.
Several companies are securing super-early-stage funding. This indicates ongoing support for innovative startups and emerging technologies.

The current tech environment is dynamic and multifaceted. It presents both opportunities and obstacles for companies and investors alike.

— Alex

The TechCrunch Top 3

Recent events highlight the pervasive threat of cyberattacks, even impacting major players in the venture capital world.

Even VCs get hit by ransomware

While individuals and organizations with limited resources are frequently targeted by malware and ransomware, the compromise of Advanced Technology Ventures, a firm managing approximately $1.8 billion in assets, underscores the seriousness of the issue.

This incident raises a critical question: is anyone truly safe from the escalating threat of aggressive cybercrime?

Unfavored Fleets Flee

Twitter has officially discontinued its Fleets feature, removing it from iOS applications.

The product experienced a remarkably short lifespan, launching and being retired in quick succession.

However, this move is not necessarily detrimental to Twitter, which is actively developing other initiatives, including a subscription service, live audio capabilities, and a newsletter platform.

Substack buys Letter

Substack’s acquisition of Letter, a platform designed for written debates, has prompted industry analysis.

The newsletter-centric company clearly values the power of written communication and the engagement it fosters.

Furthermore, many prominent authors on Substack are known for their controversial viewpoints, making a dedicated debate platform a logical extension of the service.

The integration of these two platforms is expected to be seamless and mutually beneficial.

Startups/VC

Today’s news concerning startups and venture capital will be presented in three distinct segments. Initially, we will focus on developments within the venture capital landscape itself. Subsequently, we will examine several substantial funding rounds. Finally, we will cover smaller venture deals that merit attention.

Moderne Ventures Secures $200M: A key ambition for any emerging venture capital fund is to successfully launch a subsequent fund, ideally of greater size. Moderne appears to be progressing well in this regard, with its second fund significantly exceeding the scale of its first and being fully subscribed. The firm concentrates its investments on startups operating within the “real estate, finance, insurance, and home services industries,” as previously reported.
Public Offerings of Venture Capital Firms: The trend of venture capital funds becoming publicly listed is gaining momentum. Several European funds have recently undergone this process, including Draper Esprit’s transition from the AIM market to the main London board. Operating as a public VC can alleviate certain temporal constraints typically faced by traditional venture capital firms, and it broadens investment accessibility to the general public.

Let's turn our attention to some significant funding rounds:

BharatPe in India Raises $370M: Confirming earlier reports from TechCrunch, fintech unicorn BharatPe now boasts a valuation of $2.85 billion following a funding round led by Tiger Global. The company, according to TechCrunch, “provides a service enabling offline merchants to accept digital payments and access working capital.” Considering the substantial number of small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in India, BharatPe’s total addressable market is immense, and it now possesses considerable resources to fuel its expansion.
Rapyd Secures $300M for Fintech APIs: The fintech sector witnessed two major funding events today. Rapyd’s $300 million investment, spearheaded by Target Global, establishes a valuation of approximately $8.75 billion, as reported by TechCrunch. Rapyd specializes in offering APIs that facilitate wallets, money transfers, and card issuance, empowering other companies to integrate fintech capabilities globally.
Another Large Tiger Round in India: Further demonstrating Tiger Global’s strategy of investing in a diversified portfolio of growth-oriented private companies worldwide, and highlighting the thriving Indian startup ecosystem, Infra.Market announced its third funding round within nine months. This $125 million Series D round values the Mumbai-based company at $2.5 billion post-money. Infra.Market develops software solutions to assist construction companies in procuring raw materials and managing project logistics.

Now, let’s examine startup news from the earlier stages of investment:

bina Raises $1.4M for Edtech Focused on Children: bina – intentionally branded with a lowercase 'b' – aims to establish an online school featuring small class sizes for students aged 4 to 12. The global education landscape has undergone significant changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic, presenting both challenges and opportunities.
Khula Secures $1.3M for African Agtech: Khula seeks to address persistent challenges within the African agricultural market by providing farmers, both large and small, with software and a marketplace.
Aira’s Wireless Charging Technology Gains $12M: Despite Apple’s discontinuation of AirPower, Aira continues to innovate in the field of wireless charging. This development offers encouragement, as battery depletion remains a common issue for smartphones, headphones, keyboards, and numerous other devices.
Citizen Launches $20/Month Protect Service: Citizen, the consumer security startup known for its controversial practices, has introduced its Protect service, available for a monthly fee of $20. Subscribers gain access to a direct communication line and assistance from the company’s staff during emergencies. However, as TechCrunch notes, “the app previously garnered attention for launching a private ‘personal rapid response service’ fleet and offering a reward for an individual wrongly accused of starting a Los Angeles wildfire.”

Embodied AI, Superintelligence, and the Master Algorithm

A leading technologist predicts that the growing implementation of embodied artificial intelligence will pave the way for superintelligence within the next year and a half. This refers to software possessing capabilities far exceeding those of the human intellect.

Chris Nicholson, founder and CEO of Pathmind, explains that examples of embodied AI are readily visible. He points to the impressive demonstrations from Boston Dynamics, showcasing robots performing complex movements like jumping, dancing, balancing, and running.

Pathmind utilizes deep reinforcement learning to enhance efficiency in industrial processes and supply chain management. Nicholson believes the rapid advancements in this field present significant opportunities.

He suggests that participation in this technological revolution is not only possible but encouraged, stating, “The field is moving fast and, in this revolution, you can dance.”

(Extra Crunch is a membership program designed to support founders and startup teams in their growth. Registration is available here.)

Big Tech Inc.

YouTube is actively promoting its short-form video platform with a significant investment. Alphabet’s Google division, the parent company of YouTube, has allocated $100 million to incentivize the creation of short-form video content for its user base.

This initiative is a direct response to the impact TikTok has had on the video landscape, and the financial commitment is now in effect.

Google Maps Enhancements for iOS

Users of Google Maps on iOS devices will benefit from several new features. These include streamlined location sharing within iMessage, a dark mode option, and readily accessible traffic information directly on the home screen.

These updates are designed to improve the user experience for approximately half of the readers utilizing the iOS platform.

Nikola Faces Delivery Challenges

Nikola, the electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer, has issued a warning regarding potential delays in vehicle deliveries. The ongoing global chip shortage is cited as the primary factor impacting production capabilities.

This news comes after a period of scrutiny for the company, including allegations of fraud against its former CEO, and serves as a cautionary example regarding the use of Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs).

Marvell Acquires Innovium

Marvell has completed the acquisition of Innovium for $1.1 billion. Innovium specializes in the development of networking ethernet switches specifically designed for cloud infrastructure.

While the acquisition represents a substantial exit for Innovium, the valuation is somewhat lower than its most recent private funding round. Nevertheless, it remains a significant transaction within the technology sector.

The deal is noteworthy as a billion-dollar-plus event, warranting attention within the industry.

TechCrunch Insights: Identifying Leading Growth Marketing Professionals

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TechCrunch is dedicated to assisting startups in locating specialists suited to their specific requirements. Currently, a curated list of premier growth marketers is being developed to facilitate this process.

Since the launch of our survey, numerous valuable recommendations regarding skilled growth marketers within the startup ecosystem have been submitted.

Ongoing Survey and Feedback

We anticipate receiving further responses and are eager to analyze the incoming data. Participation in the survey can be completed at this link.

Resources on Growth Marketing

TechCrunch’s editorial content relating to growth marketing encompasses articles authored by our team, contributions from guest writers, and featured posts.

For example, Stewart Hillhouse’s article, “Demand Curve: Questions you need to answer in your paid search ads,” is available on Extra Crunch.