The world of tech was astir with eye-catching activity this week. DesktopMetal, a startup that has no product or even a website yet, raised $14.4 million this week purely based on their awesome team composition. Alibaba announced expectation-shattering performance in its second quarter, causing their stock to surge. Karhoo, a company that plans to level the playing field for licensed taxi companies against Uber, raised a significant funding round ahead of their upcoming launch.
It’s been a bustling week, so before you leave the office for the weekend, let us quickly recap the week’s events. We picked out the need-to-knows from the stories that made the top of Index’s algorithms for you.
This Week in Numbers:
Index recorded 161 funding events and 45 acquisitions this week. The median amount raised by tech companies was $3.7 million, a 19 percent upturn compared to last week. The largest investment round was raked in by New York-based taxi ordering company Karhoo, who reeled in $250 million in private equity ahead of its launch in January.
Four breakout funding rounds
Paddle8, an online art auction house, raised a $34 million series C round. Their total funding to date now stands at $51 million.
Predictive analytics company Uptake raised an impressive $45 million series A round from New Enterprise Associates, Lightbank, and Greatpoint Ventures.
Knip, a mobile-first insurance broker, took in a $15.7 million series B round. The company is based in Zurich, Switzerland, and has previously raised two other rounds.
An online pharmacy, NetMeds, started by a 100 year-old Indian pharmaceutical company, reeled in a $50 million venture capital round.
Headline highlights
Slack’s new user groups will help manage channel overload [The Next Web]
Nintendo’s first smartphone release is a free-to-play game called Miitomo [The Verge]
After receiving threats, SXSW cancels panel about online harassment [Ars Technica]
Etsy ASAP brings same-day delivery of hand-made treasures to NYC [The Next Web]
Google installing 20,000 internet-enabled balloons in Indonesia [The Guardian]
Microsoft’s new flagship NYC store is 5 blocks away from Apple’s [The Next Web]
Hungry for more?
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