The Briefing: SoftBank Vision Fund Execs Depart, Conductor Raises $150M, 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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SoftBank Vision Fund sees spate of exec departures

A spate of high-level leaders have departed SoftBank‘s $100 billion Vision Fund in recent weeks, including Chief Operating Officer Ruwan Weerasekera, Bloomberg reported Monday. Neil Hadley, who’s also chief of staff to Vision Fund CEO Rajeev Misra, is stepping into the COO role in addition to his other duties, Bloomberg reported.

Weerasekera’s departure is a retirement, the company said. His exit follows several other executive departures at the Vision Fund in recent months, Bloomberg reported. Other departures include Penny Bodle, a partner who headed investor relations; Avi Golan, an operating partner who left to become CEO of artificial intelligence software maker AnyVision; and U.K. Chief Risk Officer Maria Khan. Investing partners Ted Fike and Justin Wilson also recently resigned from SoftBank to join billionaire investor Alec Gores’ The Gores Group.

Viking Global leads Conductor’s $150M raise

Conductor, a Brazil-based card issuing and banking-as-a-service software platform, raised $150 million in a round led by Viking Global Investors, with additional participation from investors including Sunley House Capital.

This is Viking Global’s first private investment in Latin America, the company said.

Conductor intends to use the new funds on product development and international growth. It currently manages more than 85 million accounts and processes more than $20 billion in payment volume across Latin America.

Communications platform Zego raises $50M in Tencent-led round

Shenzen-based Zego,  a provider of a real-time audio and video communications platform, reportedly raised $50 million in a funding round led by Tencent.

Qiming Venture Partners and IDG Capital also participated in the financing for the company, which did not disclose a valuation. The company was founded by Lin Youyao, the former general manager of Tencent QQ, and four former senior directors of Tencent.

The company offers a Zoom-like videoconferencing tool called TalkLine.  Its technology is used in game streaming platforms, online classes and for enterprises shifting to remote work amid the pandemic.

Funding rounds

• Flock Safety secures $47M for crime reduction: Flock Safety, an Atlanta-based company focused on eliminating crime, announced its $47 million Series C round of funding led by Meritech Capital. Also participating in the round are new investors participating include Eventbrite co-founders Julia Hartz, Kevin Hartz, and Zac Bookman, as well as existing investors Initialized Capital, Axon, Bedrock Capital, Matrix Partners, Founders Fund and Y Combinator.
• Marshmallow lands $30M for insurance: Marshmallow, a U.K.-based provider of a tech-enabled platform assessing insurance risk, raised $30 million in a Series A funding round that sets a valuation of around $310 million.
• Stensul raises $16M for marketing platform: Stensul, a New York-based agile email creation platform, raised $16 million in Series B funding, led by USVP, with participation from Capital One Ventures, Peak State Ventures,  and existing investors Javelin Venture Partners, Uncork Capital, First Round Capital and Lowercase Capital, as well as a group of individual investors. The funding will go toward product innovation and go-to-market functions.
• Agora Systems closes $7 million to streamline construction supply chain: San Francisco-base Agora has raised a $7 million Series A led by 8VC to help make the materials supply chain for commercial trade contractors more efficient. The company’s platform connects purchasing teams, vendors and field foremen so they can work together on projects, according to a statement from the company. The new round brings Agora’s total funding to $11 million.
• Teampay banks $5M for growth: Teampay, a New York-based distributed spend management platform, raised $5 million in an oversubscribed Series A extension round led by new investor Fin Venture Capital, and supported by existing investors Tribe, Crosscut and Precursor. The round brings Teampay’s total funding to $21 million and will be used for go-to-market and customer acquisition.
• ShearShare clips $2.3M for salon rentals: ShearShare, a Dallas-based provider of on-demand salon and barbershop space rentals, announced $2.3 million in seed funding. The investment group included Precursor Ventures, Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Seed Fund, Structure Capital, Backstage Capital and 500 Startups.

Other news

• US Agency to “vigorously defend” TikTok ban: The U.S Commerce Department said it would “vigorously defend” an executive order that seeks to bar transactions with short video-sharing app TikTok after a federal judge halted the action. The federal judge on Friday blocked the Commerce Department order, which was set to take effect on Nov. 12.

Illustration: Dom Guzman