The Briefing: Visa Buys Tink For $2.15B, A16Z Closes $2.2B Crypto Fund, GOAT Grabs $195M For Sneaker Marketplace, 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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Visa acquires Swedish fintech Tink for $2.15B

Visa has announced that it is acquiring Tink, a Stockholm-based open banking platform, for $1.8 billion Euros (US$2.15 billion).

Founded in 2012, Tink previously raised over $300 million in known funding, per Crunchbase data. Through its API, the company allows  customers to access aggregated financial data and tap into services such as risk insights and account verification.

Under terms of the deal, Tink will retain its brand and current management team, and its headquarters will remain in Sweden.

— Joanna Glasner

Andreessen Horowitz closes $2.2B crypto fund

Venture firm Andreessen Horowitz (A16Z) said it has raised $2.2 billion for its Crypto Fund II, which will invest in crypto networks and the founders and teams building in the space. Previously, A16Z has been a heavy and active investor in the crypto space, capping its best exit year ever with this year’s market debut by Coinbase.

— Joanna Glasner

Ecommerce

GOAT Group grabs $195M for sneaker marketplace: GOAT Group, operator of a luxury sneaker and fashion marketplace, said Thursday that it closed a $195 million Series F funding round that values the Los Angeles-based company at $3.7 billion, or more than double its previous valuation of $1.8 billion. The new funding was led by Park West Asset Management, funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price, Franklin Templeton, Adage Capital Management and Ulysses Management. Like many online retailers, GOAT saw growth take off during the pandemic: The company said it hit gross merchandise value of $2 billion in the past 12 months, with sneaker volume up more than 100 percent and apparel up 500 percent.

— Marlize van Romburgh

Cybersecurity

Illumio lands $225M: Sunnyvale, California-based Illumio, a provider of a SaaS platform offering automated enforcement against cyberattacks, said it raised $225 million in a Series F funding round led by Thoma Bravo at a $2.75 billion valuation.

— Joanna Glasner

Deduce raises $10M to combat fraud: New York-based cybersecurity company Deduce closed a $10 million Series A round led by Foundry Group with participation from True Ventures. The company helps provide real-time analytics profiling and scoring based on more than a billion daily user interactions to spot bad actors and prevent fraud and account takeover. Deduce has raised a total of $17.3 million to date, according to Crunchbase.

— Chris Metinko

Fintech

Sorbet scoops up $21M for PTO-to-cash platform: Tel Aviv-based Sorbet said it has now closed a $21 million funding round that marks the largest seed investment for a fintech startup in Israel. The latest funding is a $15 million extension of the $6 million round it first announced in April. The funding was led by Dovi Frances’ Group 11, along with current investors, including Viola Ventures, Meron Capital and Global Founders Capital. Sorbet’s platform syncs with other HR and payroll systems and allows employees to convert unused paid vacation time into cash. Accrued but unused paid time-off also represents a cash-flow liability for many employers.

Enterprise software

Rasgo closes $20M Series A: New York-based Rasgo raised a $20 million Series A led by Insight Partners with participation from Unusual Ventures. The company, which allows data scientists and other users to clean data and create features that help with AI predictions, has raised $25 million to date.

— Chris Metinko

Illustration: Dom Guzman