The Briefing: Walmart Invests In Cruise At $30B Valuation, Signifyd Gets $1.3B Valuation, And More

Here’s what you need to know today in startup and venture news, updated by the Crunchbase News staff throughout the day to keep you in the know.

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Cruise raises $2.75B

Self-driving car startup Cruise said Thursday that the total funding for its previously announced round reached $2.75 billion, with institutional investors and retail giant Walmart backing the company. The funding brings Cruise’s valuation to more than $30 billion. Cruise, which is majority-owned by General Motors, previously partnered with Walmart for a self-driving delivery pilot in the Phoenix area. The company has raised more than $7 billion in funding, per Crunchbase.

–Sophia Kunthara

Signifyd earns $1.3B valuation following $205M Series E

Signifyd, a San Jose-based provider of fraud protection for e-commerce businesses, raised $205 million in Series E funding at a $1.34 billion valuation. Owl Rock Capital led the round and was joined by FIS, CPP Investments and Neuberger Berman.

This brings Signifyd’s total amount raised to $390 million since the company was founded in 2011, according to Crunchbase data. The company said it doubled its year-over-year revenue and is closing in on a $200 million revenue run rate.

The company has locations in Denver, New York, Mexico City, Belfast and London, and the new funding will help expand that global footprint, particularly in Europe and Latin America.

— Christine Hall

Edtech

Lingoda lands $68M for language learning: Lingoda, a Berlin-based provider of online language instruction, announced that it raised $68 million in a growth funding round led by Summit Partners. Founded in 2013 , the company operates an online language school offering live small-group and private classes in four languages: English, German, French and Spanish.

— Joanna Glasner

Logistics

Seven Senders gets $40M for parcel platform: Berlin-based Seven Senders, a delivery platform for parcel shipping, announced that it raised  $40 million in a Series C round led by Digital+ Partners. The company said it posted sharp growth in the past year, with revenues doubling since March 2020.

— Joanna Glasner

Foodtech

Atlast takes bite out of $40M: New York-based Atlast Food announced a $40 million Series A round, led by Viking Global, to further develop and scale its technology and team. The mycelium food company grows “whole-cut,” plant-based meats under the MyEats brand — with its first product being a plant-based bacon — and the Atlast brand. The funding will also support construction of an aerial mycelium farm.

— Christine Hall

Health care

Tomorrow Health inks $25M: Home health care platform Tomorrow Health raised $25 million in Series A funding, led by Andreessen Horowitz, to target the $75 billion durable medical equipment market, the company said. The new funds will go toward bringing on new staff and technology development. Tomorrow Health enables patients to quickly and accurately get equipment and supplies for at-home use.

— Christine Hall

Fintech and e-commerce

Olist, Carasti raise rounds: Brazil-based e-commerce platform Olist, announced an additional $23 million in Series D funding led by Goldman Sachs. This brings Olist’s total Series D funding to $80 million, according to the company. The company will invest the new funds in technology and product development, growth strategies and pursuing new mergers and acquisitions.

Meanwhile, car subscription app Carasti, headquartered in Dubai, raised $3 million in a pre-Series A investment round to drive the company’s planned Middle East expansion. Net Ventures led the round, which will enable the company to launch in Saudi Arabia later in 2021. Carasti, founded in 2019, provides a 1-24-month car subscription service that enables consumers to choose, swap, upgrade or downgrade their vehicle through an app, as well as have it delivered.

Routable banks $30M: San Francisco-based Routable announced $30 million in Series B funding to expand modern business payments to the enterprise. The round was led by Sam Altman and Jack Altman.

— Christine Hall

Clean tech

Persefoni lands $9.7M: Software and data company Persefoni brought in $9.7 million in a round of Series A funding, led by Rice Investment Group, for its intelligent carbon accounting and management platform. This brings the company’s total funding to $13.2 million after receiving a $3.5 million seed last August. Based in Tempe, Arizona, the company uses artificial intelligence to give companies a detailed picture of their organizational carbon footprint and automates sustainability reporting.

— Christine Hall

New fund

Upper90 to invest $55M into e-commerce: Upper90, a New York-based hybrid investment firm that injects credit and equity into e-commerce, enterprise and fintech companies, raised a $55 million equity fund focused on e-commerce businesses, in particular, e-commerce aggregators. The fund will provide equity capital for approximately 15 companies.

— Christine Hall

Cybersecurity

Cado Security locks down $10M Series A: London-based Cado Security closed a $10 million Series A led by Blossom Capital with participation from existing investors including Ten Eleven Ventures. The raise comes six months after the company raised its seed funding. Cado, which provides a cloud-native forensics platform that allows security teams to investigate and respond to cyber incidents, now has raised a total of $11.5 million.

— Chris Metinko

Illustration: Dom Guzman