The Briefing: UpGrad Lands $185M, Leafly Going Public Via SPAC, 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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India’s UpGrad Lands $185M At Unicorn Valuation

Mumbai-based UpGrad, a provider of online higher education and career-focused courses, said that it has raised $185 million in a funding round led by Singapore’s Temasek.

The financing reportedly set a valuation of $1.2 billion for the six-year-old company, which has made a string of acquisitions of other edtech startups in the past few years. The first tranche of the round, around $120 million, reportedly wrapped up in April at a valuation of more than $600 million.

—  Joanna Glasner

Leafly going public via SPAC

Seattle-based Leafly, an online cannabis marketplace and content provider, announced that it is going public through a planned merger with a blank-check acquirer, Merida Merger Corp. I.

Upon completion of the deal, Merida will adopt the Leafly name and its common stock is expected to list on NASDAQ under the ticker symbol LFLY. The transaction values the combined company at an implied, fully diluted enterprise value of approximately $385 million and equity value of approximately $532 million.

—  Joanna Glasner

Shipping and logistics

Shypple raises $30M, buys Milestone: Dutch digital freight forwarding startup Shypple reportedly raised a total of €25.5 million (US$30 million) in Series A and A2 funding this year, most of which came from a new $22 million Series A2 tranche. The company also purchased  ocean freight forwarder Milestone.

—  Joanna Glasner

Illustration: Dom Guzman