The Briefing: IAC Eyes Vimeo Spinout, Pony.ai Raises $267M, And More

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Vimeo raises $150M as IAC considers spinoff

IAC announced that it is considering a spinoff of  Vimeo, a provider of tools for businesses to make professional-quality videos. As part of the plan, Vimeo raised $150 million in equity from Thrive Capital and GIC, in a financing that set a valuation of $2.75 billion for the video company.

The spinoff discussion comes as Vimeo is seeing a boost in demand amid the COVID-19 pandemic. For the third quarter of 2020, Vimeo revenue increased 44 percent to $75.1 million and subscribers grew 21 percent to 1.46 million. Operating loss was $3.3 million.

New York-based IAC, which operates a stable of online brands, has a history of spinning out top performers. Perhaps its most prominent spinout is Match Group (which operates a number of dating services, including Tinder). The company completed its separation from IAC over the summer, with IAC’s ownership distributed to IAC shareholders.

Funding rounds

• Pony.ai secures $267 million: Pony.ai, a developer of autonomous driving technology that counts Toyota as a key backer, said on Friday it has raised $267 million in the initial phase of its fundraising round. The round reportedly values the startup at $5.3 billion, as it seeks to expand its presence in the United States and China.
• Neobank Starling raising big round: U.K.-based online bank Starling is reportedly seeking to raise a new £200 million ($262 million) round. Previously, the 6-year-old company has raised around $477 million.

Illustration: Dom Guzman