private equity

Silicon Valley’s pro-Trump VCs and founders once donated millions to Trump. They’ve gone quiet after last week’s insurrection on Capitol Hill.

Sequoia’s Doug Leone donated over $100,000 to Trump’s 2020 election efforts and also donated to Josh Hawley’s 2018 Senate campaign, public records show. As other pro-Trump business people and tech CEOs condemn last week’s Capitol Hill insurrection, Leone has remained quiet, alongside other, deep-pocketed Trump supporters in Silicon Valley. The Capitol Hill riots have renewed … Read more

Udaan gets $280 million funding boost, now valued at over $3 billion

Udaan, the business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce platform, has kick-started the new year with a fund-raise of $280 million, largely from its existing investors including China’s internet giant Tencent. Venture funds Lightspeed Venture Partners, DST Global, GGV Capital and Altimeter Capital are existing investors who have also contributed to this round. There are two new investors — … Read more

Seed funding seemed to fall off a cliff in 2020. It will explode in 2021 with a new class of investors and ‘mango’ rounds.

The cratering economy at the start of the pandemic led to a dropoff in funding rounds for seed-stage companies, according to deals databases PitchBook, Crunchbase, and CBInsights. But anecdotally, early-stage investors say they can barely keep up with their deal flow. One reason for the discrepancy is that startups are calling their seed rounds by … Read more

Zomato raises $195 million in funding from 6 investors, valuation touches $3.6 billion

Info Edge on Friday said its investee company Zomato has raised $195 million (about Rs 1,455.4 crore) in funding from six investors including Luxor, Kora and Steadview, valuing the online food ordering platform at $3.6 billion. “Zomato Pvt Ltd has closed a primary fundraise of $195 million from six different investors…The transactions valued Zomato at … Read more

Nielsen Announces Sale of Global Connect Business to Advent International for $2.7 Billion

Advent, in partnership with former TransUnion CEO Jim Peck, will accelerate Nielsen Global Connect’s transformation and support its continued innovation in consumer and market measurement Nielsen to hold a conference call to discuss today’s announcements as well as its third quarter 2020 financial results at 8:00 a.m. U.S. Eastern Time (ET) on Monday, November 2nd, … Read more

We asked 13 founders who raised nearly $200 million during COVID-19 for their tips on wooing investors in a crisis

Remote fundraising has become common for startups as the coronavirus pandemic continues to restrict the ability to travel and take meetings in person. Usually, founders and executives pitch prospective investors for funding at swanky city offices before an investment committee makes a decision. Subsequently, there is a lengthy due diligence process, technical and market questions, … Read more

Byju’s onboards new investors, valuation now at $11.1 bn

Online education startup Byju’s on Tuesday said BlackRock, Sands Capital and Alkeon Capital have joined as new investors, as part of the ongoing $500-million fundraising round. Earlier this month, Byju’s raised funds from a group of investors, including private equity firm Silver Lake Partners along with existing investors General Atlantic, Owl Ventures and Tiger Global … Read more

Lightspeed Venture Partners forays into Southeast Asian markets

Choosing Singapore as its regional headquarter for the market, this news comes just months after the venture capital firm announced raising over $4 billion across four different global funds to support early and growth stage startups. Lightspeed said that it is deploying capital in the Southeast Asian market, from these global funds. In India, Lightspeed … Read more

Alibaba puts fresh investment plans in India on hold

China’s tech giant Alibaba Group is unlikely to sign fresh deals in Indian companies in the coming months amid higher scrutiny on Chinese investments amid tension between the two nations, said a person familiar with the development. Alibaba is among other Chinese investors who have pulled the brakes on new investments in Indian startups after … Read more