The Briefing: Biden Taps A VC For Chief Of Staff, Railsbank Raises $37M, 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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Biden picks Ron Klain, a VC at Revolution, as chief of staff

President-elect Joe Biden named Ron Klain, an attorney and former chief of staff during his vice presidency, as White House chief of staff Wednesday. While Klain is best known for his political experience, he also brings a credential of particular interest to the startup space: He’s executive vice president and general counsel at venture and growth investor Revolution.

Co-founded by AOL 1 founder Steve Case, Revolution is best known for its focus on promising startups outside the primary coastal tech hubs. The firm operates a group of funds, including The Rise of the Rest Seed Funds, Revolution Ventures, and Revolution Growth, that taken together focus on startups across all stages.

The firm invests across a range of sectors, including supply chain and logistic challenges, healthy food, retail and consumer, digital entertainment, software and health care.

Funding news

Railsbank raises $37M: London-based Railsbank, a banking-as-a-service platform for fintech companies, raised $37 million in a growth funding round led by MiddleGame Ventures and Ventura Capital.
Venminder lands $33M: Elizabethtown, Kentucky-based Venminder, a provider of third-party risk management assessment tools, announced that it raised $33 million in a Series C funding round led by new investor Silversmith Capital Partners.
Roots Automation secures $3.2M: Roots Automation, a New York-based digital coworkers-as-a-service company, raised a $3.2 million seed round led by Vestigo Ventures.