Byju’s had launched its first rights issue in late January, but a court order directed the company to not tap the funds it had raised through that rights issue after many of its investors opposed the fundraise.
Thursday’s court order is the latest episode in the spectacular collapse of Byju’s, once the world’s most valuable edtech startup.
TechCrunch couldn’t determine exactly how much Byju’s ended up raising in the first rights issue.
In the letter, he urged his estranged investors to give him another chance and participate in the rights issue.
“But my benchmark of success is the participation of all shareholders in the rights issue.
Stock-trading platform Robinhood is diving deeper into the cryptocurrency realm with the acquisition of crypto exchange Bitstamp.
With Bitstamp under its wing, Robinhood says that it will be better positioned to target retail and institutional crypto investors across Europe, Asia, and the U.S., with Bitstamp currently holding more than 50 licenses and registrations to operate in these markets.
“The acquisition of Bitstamp is a major step in growing our crypto business,” Robinhood’s crypto general manager Johann Kerbrat said in a statement.
“The Bitstamp team has established one of the strongest reputations across retail and institutional crypto investors.
Through this strategic combination, we are better positioned to expand our footprint outside of the U.S. and welcome institutional customers to Robinhood.”
Climate investor Bay Bridge Ventures is raising a new $200 million fund, TechCrunch has exclusively learned.
Bay Bridge filed paperwork Monday for the new climate fund with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
And Congruent Ventures raised a $275 million fund in 2023, turning down $325 million in additional LP interest.
Bay Bridge Ventures is new, having been founded in 2022 with a focus on ESG more broadly and sustainability in particular.
Still, that doesn’t mean Bay Bridge lacks experience.
Giant Ventures in January closed two new funds totaling $250 million that it will invest in startups on both sides of the Atlantic, and today, TechCrunch has learned exclusively that Frontline Ventures has also raised $200 million across two funds, named Frontline Growth and Frontline Seed.
Frontline has historically invested in both Europe and North America, and its new funds will continue to follow that strategy, betting on B2B software companies.
The new seed fund will favor European ventures, while the growth fund will focus on U.S. startups.
Expansion roadmapO’Donnell told TechCrunch that when it helps portfolio companies navigate expansion to another market, Frontline focuses on four aspects: timing, go-to-market strategy, talent, and organizational design and location.
That’s by order of importance, and a company’s location should be a derivative of the previous three aspects, O’Donnell said.
AI2 Incubator, spun out of the Allen Institute for AI in 2022, has secured a windfall $200 million in compute that startups going through its program can take advantage of to accelerate early development.
“Our community of hundreds of AI practitioners are desperate for compute,” said managing director Jacob Colker.
A million dollars of dedicated compute goes a long way for pre-seed startups, which is where AI2 focuses (we’ve covered WellSaid Labs, Xnor.ai, and others from their program).
Colker suggested it would cover most compute needs even for companies developing new foundation models.
They’ve helped build more than 30 startups and last year raised a $30 million fund to continue the work.
As an extension round, the valuation is also remaining flat, at $2.6 billion.
(Prior to that, the company raised a $100 million round in 2021 at a $1.2 billion valuation.)
“I didn’t feel the need to increase the valuation from the last round,” CEO and founder Dean Sysman, answered when asked about the decision.
Axonius is one of a group of specialist firms building platforms to help manage this.
“We’ve been a longstanding partner of Axonius, and we like to double down into our best performing companies.
Bilt Rewards, whose platform aims to allow consumers to earn rewards on rent and daily neighborhood spend, has raised $200 million at a $3.1 valuation, the company announced today.
General Catalyst led the financing, which more than doubles the New York-based company’s valuation compared to its $150 million October 2022 raise.
Ken Chenault, chairman and managing director of General Catalyst, is joining Bilt’s board of directors as part of the new funding.
It launched its rewards program in April of 2022.
Bilt also offers a co-branded Mastercard, issued by Wells Fargo, that can be used to pay rent and earn Bilt Points with no transaction fees.
