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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Revolution seeks $500M for growth fund
Revolution, the Washington, D.C.-based venture capital firm founded by AOL 1co-founder Steve Case, is seeking to raise $500 million for a fourth growth fund, according to a securities filing.
Founded in 2005, the firm is a prolific investor, with 266 investments to date, per Crunchbase data. The firm is also known for its focus on startups located outside of larger coastal tech hubs.
Recent deals include a Series A for ShearShare, a salon space marketplace; Good Buy Gear, a seller of secondhand kids items; and MilkRun, a grocery service.
Revolution has three fund categories, one focused on growth, another on early stage, and its Rise of the Rest funds, which focus on seed-stage deals.
A16z closes on $4.5B in two funds
Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) is starting the weekend off with a bang. The Menlo Park-based venture capital firm closed on a pair of funds totaling $4.5 billion that brings its total assets under management to nearly $16.5 billion, according to a Friday blog post.
The firm, founded in 2009 by Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, raised $1.3 billion in a Fund VII to invest in early-stage consumer, enterprise and financial services technologies startups. The $3.2 billion Growth II fund will focus on later-stage investments across consumer, enterprise, financial technology, bio and crypto, the firm said.
These follow two other funds the firm closed on this year: a $2.2 billion fund focused on entrepreneurs who have talent and ideas, but lack resources and access, and a $750 million fund earmarked for biotechnology and health care investing.
Robinhood co-CEO steps down ahead of expected IPO
Stock trading app Robinhood said Friday that it’s ditching the dual CEO model it’s employed since its launch in 2013, with co-founder Baiju Bhatt stepping down from the position. Vlad Tenev will be Robinhood’s sole CEO.
Sources told Forbes that the change came about as Robinhood grows and the co-CEO arrangement has become increasingly unwieldy. Robinhood is widely expected to make a run at the public markets before the end of this year or in early 2021.
The change was not the result of strife in the C-suite, the sources said, and the new arrangement will let Bhatt devote more time to projects he most enjoys.” A company spokesperson told Forbes that Bhatt will continue “supporting key business initiatives and serving on Robinhood’s board of directors.”
Robinhood has raised $2.2 billion in venture backing, according to Crunchbase data, and was valued at $11.7 billion as of September after its Series G funding.
Funding rounds
- Chainalysis gears up to raise $100M at unicorn valuation: Chainalysis, a bitcoin investigation startup, told Forbes that it’s in the process of raising $100 million in new funding at a $1 billion valuation. The Series C funding, expected next week, will be led by Tiger Global Management alumnus Lee Fixel’s newly founded firm, Addition. Previous investors Accel, Benchmark and Ribbit Capital are also reportedly expected to join.
- Alto Solutions banks $2.8M for IRA product: Alto Solutions, a Nashville-based fintech that enables individuals to use their IRA to invest in alternative investments like startups, private real estate, cryptocurrency and securitized art, raised a $2.8 million venture round. The investment was backed by institutional and individual investors, including Acrew Capital, Alpha Edison and Carta Ventures.
- Stackline snags $50M: Stackline, a Seattle-based provider of enterprise tools to help retailers and brands manage e-commerce, closed a $50 million Series A investment from Goldman Sachs Growth Equity. The company will use the new proceeds for product innovation and to expand its network of brand and retail partners.
- Canvas raises $19M: Construction robotics startup Canvas publicly launched Thursday and announced $19 million in funding led by Brick & Mortar Ventures. The company, which was founded in 2017 and is based in San Francisco, uses technology to make drywall finishing more efficient.
- Factory_OS lands $55M: Proptech company Factory_OS has raised a $55 million Series B led by Lafayette Square and including participation from Autodesk, Citi, Facebook, Morgan Stanley and Google. Factory_OS, which is aiming to create more multifamily housing, plans use the money to speed up growth.
- Connect Homes closes $5M: Connect Homes has raised $5 million in round led by Brick & Mortar Ventures. The company, which makes modular homes, also announced Greg Leung as its new CEO.
M&A
- FireEye acquires Respond Software for $186M: Cybersecurity provider FireEye has announced that it is acquiring Respond Software, a provider of tools for investigating and understanding security incidents, for $186 million. Silicon Valley-based Respond previously raised $32 million in known venture funding, per Crunchbase data.
New funds
- Astanor Ventures raises $325M food tech fund: Brussels-based Astanor Ventures has raised $325 million for a new fund that will invest in European and North American startups in the food, agriculture and ocean tech spaces that are focused on solving systemic challenges across the food system.
Illustration: Dom Guzman
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