💰 Robbing the Hood
Plus: Privatizing space flight, Big Tech clashes, regulations in Australia & limitations of social media
Wrapped Up Newsletter #14
Today’s Menu
Quick Bits: Robinhood faces hurdles + $$ in Chinese Edtech
Done Deals: Robinhood Rivals + SpaceTech
What Else We're Following: 6 articles, from the Apple of marketing to understanding early-stage valuations
Jobs - Internships/Full-Time: 15 full-time jobs and internship postings
Events & Workshops: Sign up for Venture Deals!
🤜🤛 Help us to deliver better content to you by filling out the survey here.
Quick Bits 🌎
Recap in the West: Robinhood + GameStop Saga Continues
Robinhood goes to Congress. Jeff Bezos reclaims his spot as world's richest person. Mars rover Perseverance lands safely. Spotify lets employees work from anywhere. Shopify doubles its sales for third consecutive quarter. Palantir disappoints. Parler crawls back online. TikTok's US ad business soars as it gets hit with complaints in Europe. Google, Microsoft and Qualcomm object to Nvidia's Arm acquisition. DOJ takes a closer look at Salesforce’s Slack deal. Uber loses in the UK but shoots its shot at EU lawmakers. Facebook cuts off news-sharing in Australia, while Google takes a different route. Cook and Zuck spar over privacy. Epic Games loses in the US and takes its fight to the EU. Trafi expands its mobility-as-a-service platform to LatAm. LinkedIn's Marketplaces links freelancers.
Recap in the East: Extreme Chinese School Makeover
4 of top 5 VC-funded companies were from China in 2020 (thank Edtech). Clubhouse senses censorship in Thailand & Indonesia. Temasek evolves under new CEO. Grab supports drivers in Myanmar and expands into F&B and payments in Indonesia. Tata's next acquisition to becoming a superapp. Tesla and Amazon open production in India. Tesla's compact cars will be "Made In China". Singapore amps up budget for deeptech and venture debt. China’s largest micro-blogging service Weibo seeks second listing. The mainland gets defensive over rare earth materials. India's largest e-learning startup Byju continues its expensive acquisition spree. Twitter finds new Indian rival. Fraud accusations keep Chinese flying taxi startup EHang hanging. AirAsia Food spreads its wings to Singapore.
Done Deals ✍🏼
Funding Rounds
Chinese grocery app Xingsheng Youxuan raises $2bn in new funding, valuing the company at $6bn
Elon Musk's SpaceX raises $850m sending the company’s valuation to about $74bn, a jump of about 60% from its previous round in August
US stock trading app and Robinhood rival Public.com secures $220m (Series D) at a $1.2bn valuation
China-based Webull, one of the fastest-growing U.S. retail trading platforms, raises $150m at a $1bn+ valuation, giving the startup more ammunition to compete with Robinhood
US Axiom Space picks up $130m (Series B) to become the leading linkage between private human spaceflight and the existing infrastructure and industry
London-based crypto wallet and exchange company Blockchain.com raises $120m from Lightspeed Venture Partners, GV, Lakestar and others
German travel startup GetYourGuide secures $97m revolving credit facility in preparation for a comeback in tourism
Indian digital lending startup KreditBee secures $75m (Series C)
LA-based Pex, a startup that gives rightsholders autonomy over how their content is (re-)used online, gets $57m (Series A) from investors including Tencent
LA-based Metropolis announces $41m fundraise (Series A) and launch to upgrade parking infrastructure with AI and computer vision
Israeli food tech Redefine Meat bags $29m (Series A) to develop 3D printed alt proteins
Amsterdam-based e-scooter sharing startup Felyx raises $29m (Series A) to expand across Europe
NY-based wholesale marketplace Abound bags $22.9m (Series A) to help independent retailers stock their shelves with products from emerging brands
NY-based Titan, a retail investment management platform aimed at millennials, raises $12.5m (Series A) led by General Catalyst
New Funds
Earlybird Digital East Fund, a fund associated with Germany’s Earlybird VC but operating separately, has launched a $242m successor fund
Revent, a new European early-stage VC, launches with an impact focus and a $60m first close
London-based Flashpoint launches new fund with $200m target
NY-based Avid Ventures, headed by an Ex-General Catalyst and General Atlantic VC, announces the launch of its $68m debut venture capital fund
San Francisco-based 01 Advisors, run by two renowned early Twitter execs, has closed its 2nd fund with $325m
India-based, SEA-focused Avataar Ventures raises $100m focusing on B2B and SaaS growth-stage startups
China-based 5Y Capital, the venture firm that delivered a $30bn return on its investment in Kuaishou, seeks to raise $1bn
Exits: Acquisitions, IPOs & SPACs
PE firm Marlin Equity Partners acquires French e-commerce SaaS platform Lengow
Cybersecurity firm Crowdstrike acquires Danish-British log management software company Humio for a total of ~$400m
Swedish podcast advertising company Acast acquires US-based RadioPublic
US electric aircraft company Joby Aviation is in talks to go public in a SPAC deal that would value it at ~$5.7bn
JD.com files an IPO prospectus for potential Hong Kong listing of its shipping arm JD Logistics, valuing the logistics company at ~$40bn
SEA's biggest e-travel startup Traveloka, valued at $3bn, plans to list in the US this year via SPAC
Hong Kong tycoon Richard Li considers 3rd Bridgetown SPAC, after raising $900m with tech mogul Peter Thiel via 2 US-listed SPACs
SoftBank-backed e-commerce giant Coupang files for IPO, valued at $9bn in its last funding round
Tech investor Klaus Hommels launches Europe's first tech SPAC
What Else We're Following 👀
"If you think of it as being like Twitter, Stories or TikTok, you are missing the point." Why Clubhouse could herald the future of social platforms
Interview: Hustle Fund's Elizabeth Yin speaks her mind on early-stage valuations in turbulent times and the future of pre-seed companies
Interview: OVO's Rajiv Chandna on the e-wallet app's strength in 'many-to-many' connections
"Try to create the dominant global platform for digital money." How China is eyeing the throne of digital currencies
AirSpace Marketing = Brooklynification of the world. A look into today's world of consumer capitalism, minimalism and sterile aesthetics from Silicon Valley
Paul Graham on his experience with coding, art and business
Jobs - Internships/Full-Time 👩🏽💼
We have created a Notion page dedicated to aggregating job opportunities (internships & full-time). You can find this week’s job postings here.
Events & Workshops 🔧
Building a cap table that attracts investors on February 24 -RSVP here
To help you navigate the complex world of equity and common cap table struggles, Tech in Asia has invited Michael Lints, partner at Golden Gate Ventures, to give a master class on cap table building. Learn what information must be included in a cap table and the most common cap table mistakes, their effects, and how to avoid them.
22nd Century Today Summit: Game Changers on February 25, 9am SGT -RSVP here
22nd Century Today is set to be Asia’s first 100% future-focused summit. It combines thought leadership, C-Suite networking and topical discussions. Their goal is to bring together the world’s most brilliant and creative minds and untapped opportunities. The conference’s lineup includes Golden Gate Ventures, Gobi Partners, INSEAD, Antler & more!
Venture Deals Spring 2021 starts March 7 - RSVP here
Class is almost in session! Techstars co-founder Brad Feld and Techstars mentor Jason Mendelson are offering their popular free 7-week course Venture Deals. This online class will be team-oriented and practice-based. Videos and readings reveal the players behind venture transactions; how VC funds work; how both VC's and entrepreneurs can and should structure the deal, as well as what needs to be done post-investment. Much of your learning will take place as you work with your virtual teams to secure the best terms for a venture capital funding for your startup.
Feedback Time!! 🙏
Please answer our 2-min survey here. Your feedback is invaluable! For any additional comments, feel free to email us at jeffrey.dong@insead.edu. We look forward to seeing you in the next issue!
👋 Hey there! We are Jeff, Dom and Vas, coming to you live from INSEAD in Singapore. Thanks for reading Wrapped Up.
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