The Briefing: TCV Closes $4B Fund, GameStop Stock Surges, And Booksy Banks $70M

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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TCV raises $4B for late-stage investment

Venture and growth-stage investor TCV announced that it has closed on $4 billion for its latest fund, TCV XI, its largest to date.

Founded in 1995, the Silicon Valley-headquartered firm has invested more than $14 billion in over 350 growth-stage technology companies to date. Some of its most prominent portfolio company exits include Airbnb, Facebook, Netflix, Peloton and Zillow.

Going forward, the firm identified key sectors of interest as SaaS, edtech, remote collaboration, fitness, media and entertainment, touchless commerce, and digital banking.

Why Everyone Is Talking About GameStop

Video game retailer GameStop’s stock increased more than 140 percent after retail traders organized on the subreddit, or forum on the website Reddit, r/WallStreetBets to drive up the stock price. This means hedge funds that shorted the stock, notably Melvin Capital, were forced to cover their positions. Short selling entails investors betting that a company’s stock will go down by a certain date.

Short sellers pay a fee to borrow shares of a company and then sell them to other buyers. Retail traders essentially drove up the price of GameStop’s stock, making the hedge funds that shorted the stock cover their positions, which drove up the price even more.

GameStop was so hot that TD Ameritrade on Wednesday said it put restrictions on some transactions involving GameStop and AMC Entertainment, according to CNBC, as retail traders focus on some of Wall Street’s most-shorted stocks.

Funding rounds

Booksy raises $70M: Booksy, an online platform for finding and booking beauty and wellness appointments, has raised $70 million in a Series C round led by Cat Rock Capital.
ShipMonk inks $65M for fulfillment: ShipMonk, a Fort Lauderdale-based provider of e-commerce fulfillment and technology tools, announced $65 million in growth equity from Periphas Capital.
TimelyMD brings $60M: TimelyMD, a Fort Worth-based telehealth provider on colleges and university campuses, received a $60 million investment from JMI Equity.
Aspiration secures $50M for socially-conscious banking: Fintech platform Aspiration raised $50 million from a group of investors led by Robert Downey Jr.’s Footprint Coalition Ventures. The Marina Del Rey, California-based company offers retail banking and investing services that enable customers to spend and save their money in ways that protect the planet.
Nuvalent taps into $50M for cancer treatments: Nuvalent, a Cambridge, Massachusetts-based biotechnology company raised a $50 million Series A financing from Deerfield Management. The company is developing targeted therapies for clinically proven kinase targets in cancer.
Sitetracker raises $42M: Sitetracker, a Palo Alto-based SaaS platform for deploying, operating and servicing critical infrastructure and technology, announced $42 million Series C funding led by new investor H.I.G. Growth Partners.
Check launches with $35M: Check, a New York-based payroll infrastructure startup making the process of paying people simple, announced its public launch today with $35 million in Series B funding from Stripe and Thrive Capital.
Starship Technologies lands $17M: Starship Technologies, a provider of autonomous delivery services, has raised $17 million in a new round with backers including TDK Ventures and Goodyear Ventures.
Token banks $15M for digital payments: Open banking payments platform Token, with offices in London, San Francisco and Berlin, raised $15 million in Series B funding led by SBI Investment and Sony Innovation Fund by IGV.
Vessel lands $8M to track wellness: Vessel, an at-home wellness tracker headquartered in San Diego, announced an $8 million funding round led by Monogram Capital Partners. The tracker provides a way to access, understand and optimize personal health and wellness.