With so much going on in the city’s thriving ecosystem, it is easy to miss some of the happenings in the space. We keep you abreast of a few of things that you may have missed in NYC Tech this week including the fundings, exits, and events.
Happy Holidays!
CLICK HERE TO SEE WHAT HAPPENED IN SILICON ALLEY THIS WEEK
WeWork is now a $5B company! The co-working space, headquartered in NYC and with 19 shared office locations in six cities, has raised $355 million at a stunning $5 billion valuation co-led by T. Rowe Price Associates, clients of Wellington Management, and Goldman Sachs Group, along with earlier backers Benchmark, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., and Harvard Management Co.
This week we took a look at some tech influencers who have shaped the development of the ecoystem in New York City in 2014 – 100 NYC Tech Influencers You Need to Know
Alternative small business lender went public on Wednesday. The company had a market cap of $1.32 billion at its debut – the highest of any venture capital-backed New York tech company since 1999, and the stock jumped more than 30% in its first day of trading.
If ever there was a season for angels, it’s this time of year. The New York Angels holiday party coincided with the first night of Hanukkah, so the group observed the traditional lighting of the candles. And certainly dispensed their share of Hanukkah gelt on New York companies this past year, which is always something to celebrate.
Dots, a mobile-gaming company about connecting the you-know-whats, has raised $10 million in Series A funding from Tencent Holdings, Greycroft Partners, Crunchfund, and Northzone.
Rent the Runway, which is revolutionizing fashion by allowing millions of women to rent designer apparel and accessories, raised $60 Million in Series D funding, led by Technology Crossover Ventures. with participation from Bain Capital Ventures, Highland Capital Partners, and Advance Publications, Inc., the parent company of Condé Nast.
Amazon debuted one-hour delivery in Manhattan for its Prime customers. “Prime Now” includes tens of thousands of household goods, including shampoo, paper towels, toys and books, that Amazon will ship right to your door in no time. Well, in an hour, actually.
Image credit: CC by holycalamity
RealConnex, an online marketplace for real estate services and investing, matching professionals to capital, transactions, services and each other in real time, has emerged from beta with a $3.5 million Series A round led by Star Capital and Stratus Investments.
As part of the funding, one of the lead investors, Star Capital, is also creating a $100 million fund, the RealConnex Opportunity 1 Fund, to finance projects on the platform.
Having trouble finding something for the hipsters, tech early adopter, do-gooders, foodies, gamers and lovebirds in your life? Check out the ff Venture Capital Holiday Gift Guide that’s here to make your life that much easier.
Ok, so it happens to feature the VC firm’s portfolio companies but let’s face it: they did put their money where their mouth is, and all of these companies are certainly on the top of their list – and maybe should be on yours as well!
Talkspace, which runs a marketplace through which therapists can connect with new clients, book appointments, and deliver therapy remotedly – affordably and anonymously – has added $1 million in seed funding from Softbank and Spark Capital.
The company raised $2.5 million earlier this year from Metamorphic, Softbank Capital, and Spark Capital.
Every year, First Round Capital sends out its holiday ‘card,’ which is always a video parody starring the First Rounders and their portfolio companies. Hope you enjoy this 2014 Holiday Parody Video – All About Burn Rate
The Skimm, a daily email newsletter that simplifies headlines for busy, educated professionals, has raised $6.25 million in new funding from investors, including from previous investor RRE Ventures and new backers Greycroft Partners, comedian Chelsea Handler and former Ticketmaster CEO Irving Azoff.
New York State has established a $50 million New York State Innovation Venture Capital Fund that will invest in tech startups and commercialized research. The fund will allot up to $100,000 to commercialization projects, and between $100,000 and $5 million to seed and early-stage businesses.
The fund will be overseen by the Empire State Development Corporation and managed by Brian Keil, a former managing director of a $250 million venture-capital fund sponsored by NBC Universal and General Electric Capital Corp. Keil is also Lead Mentor at ER Accelerator.
Howard Morgan, a partner with First Round Capital, will lead a voluntary advisory committee.
Image credit: CC by ZeroOne
NowThis Media, a video news startup founded by Brian Bedol, Eric Hippeau and Ken Lerer, has raised $6 million in Series C funding led by Oak Investment Partners, with participation from new investor Axel Springer, as well as earlier investors NBC Universal News Group, SoftBank Capital and Lerer Hippeau Ventures.
Boxbee, a storage startup that delivers boxes to its customers, who then fill them with whatever they want to store, and Boxbee securely stores them, has raised a $5M Series A round from Metamorphic Ventures.
Bustle, a news, entertainment, lifestyle, and fashion site that caters to women, has raised $15.5 million in Series C funding led by General Catalyst Partners, with participation by Time Warner Investments, Rothenberg Ventures, 500 Startups and The Social+Capital Fund.
