Startups Venture

Funding Round(up): VIPKID Raises $500M, Swiggy Grabs $210M, And Cylance Raises $130M

Morning Report: With a host of startups announcing funding rounds, Crunchbase News brings you the lowdown on the notably large funding rounds of the day.

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Sometimes, there are so many funding rounds we don’t know what to do with them. It’s a good problem to have if you’re in the business of writing about such things. But for the sake of you, the reader, here are some of the biggest deals we’ve come across this morning.

VIPKID

Based out of Beijing, VIPKID is an online language school that is attracting massive sums of money. According to TechCrunch, the firm has raised $500 million at a valuation of $3 billion. In total known funds, the tutoring startup has raised an eye-watering $825M.

However, while the round is significant, it’s not a complete surprise. Last year, Mary Ann Azevedo noted the edtech space is heating up globally. But VIPKID is really taking the cake. It’s next serious competitor, Shanghai-based DaDaABC, has raised nearly $609 million in total known funds. Both companies top the chart for venture capital-backed deals in Crunchbase’s education categories as well.

That’s over $1.4 billion being put into two China-based edtech startups focused on teaching English. That strikes the team here at Crunchbase News as impressive.

Swiggy

The market for India is being taken seriously by big tech and startups alike. And the region has birthed a new unicorn in the form of Swiggy, which has raised $210 million at a valuation of $1.2 billion, as reported by the Economic Times.

According to Crunchbase, the food delivery unicorn has raised a total of  $465 million from investors like Naspers, Accel, and Bessemer Venture Partners. It plans to use its latest round of funding to do what startups do: expand operations and go global.

Cylance

Back in the states is cybersecurity and AI startup Cylance. The startup recently announced a $120 million Series E, putting its total known funding amount to $297 million.

On the heels of this raise, Cylance saw fit to share some revenue numbers. According to darkREADING, the company has pulled in revenues of over $130 million for fiscal 2018. The Information is also reporting that the company is contemplating going public and is already talking to bankers. Its nearest public comp, Carbon Black, opened on the public markets at $19 a share. It is now trading at $27 per share at the time of writing. If Cylance does decide to go public, rest assured Alex Wilhelm will dissect the eventual S-1.

Notably, SoftBank has not openly taken part in any of these rounds, and it has quite a bit of cash to put to work. So expect more of these major funding deals than less of them in the latter half of 2018.

From The Crunchbase Daily:

Swiggy scoops up $210M

  • Food delivery continues to gobble up huge quantities of investor capital. The latest large funding recipient is Swiggy, an Indian food delivery provider that just raised $210 million in a new round led by return backer Naspers. The financing reportedly values Swiggy at around $1.3 billion.

Microsoft buys AI startup Bonsai

  • Microsoft is acquiring Bonsai, a developer of machine learning technology for industrial and enterprise applications. Berkeley, Calif.-based Bonsai, founded in 2014, previously raised about $14 million in venture funding.

Hired secures $30M Series D

  • Hired, the recruitment platform that lets companies reach out to talent, has raised a $30 million Series D led by Investment Management Corporation of Ontario.

Amazon Prime Wardrobe not a good look for startups

  • Amazon is upping the stakes in the direct to consumer space with its launch of a new “try before you buy” offering. The service could pose a threat to emerging players, including at least eight startups with similar platforms, as well as a number of larger companies.

Illustration Credit: Li Anne Dias

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