Quiqup, a London-based on-demand delivery startup, raises £20M Series B

 Quiqup, a London-based delivery startup that operates a ‘shop on your behalf’ app similar to Jinn in Europe or Postmates in the U.S., in addition to a growing B2B business, has raised £20 million in Series B funding.
Leading the round is Jobi Capital, a New York-based fund, with participation from Transmed, a leading distributor of fast-moving consumer goods, and existing investors. Read More

WTF is an ICO?

 A newly famous transaction type we need to understand is called the “Initial Coin Offering.” An ICO is akin to an IPO, but in temporal reverse (sort of). Although confusing, it has recently acquired prominence as a favored way to launch a new cryptocurrency. Read More

Merlon Intelligence raises $7.65 million in seed financing to combat money laundering

 OpenDoor, Oscar Health, Palantir and now Merlon Intelligence. Bradford Cross, founder of the venture capital firm Data Collective is joining the ranks of VCs who have caught the entrepreneurship bug, abandoning a cushy lifestyle for one with considerably more volatility. His latest startup, Merlon Intelligence, services banks, helping them cut down on risk and put a stop to money laundering. Read More

Blockchain consortium R3 raises $107 million

 After years of development and flickering just outside of mainstream consciousness and acceptance, record high prices for the most popular blockchain-based cryptocurrencies Bitcoin and newcomer Ethereum and an embrace of the technology’s core principles by some of the world’s largest institutions may mean that blockchain technology is ready for its close up. Read More

Blispay raises $12 million to help retail customers avoid payments for 6 months

 If you’re looking to buy something, but don’t want to pay for it yet, Blispay thinks it has the solution for you. The startup works with small and mid-sized businesses to help retail customers defer payments for six months. Baltimore-based Blispay has been gaining traction and raised an additional $12 million in funding after raising about the same amount last year. FirstMark… Read More

FanDuel investor Pentech raises new £88M fund for more early-stage startups

 You know it’s spring when VC funds start to announce their new fund raises. But it’s buoying to see a new mid-sized fund appear, which over the years has been highly geared toward early-stage startups just starting out on their journey. Pentech has closed its third fund, saying it was oversubscribed at £88 million, surpassing the original target fund size of £70 million. Read More

Trove raises $8 million to store your clothing and furniture

 There are inefficiencies in the giant self-storage market, and startups like MakeSpace and Clutter have already been gaining traction by offering a more consumer-friendly approach. Now there’s another startup entering the picture, with Trove formally launching in the San Francisco Bay Area after a few months of testing the concept in beta. They are also securing $8 million in a… Read More

Long Game raises $6.6 million for a savings account that doubles as a lottery ticket

 Long Game is a bank account, with a twist. Every dollar saved can go towards winning a lottery. The personal finance app allows users to play games and win cash prizes, up to $1 million. It may sound like a gimmick, but these are FDIC-insured accounts backed by Blue Ridge Bank in Virginia.  And now venture capitalists from Thrive Capital and Collaborative Fund are betting $6.6 million that… Read More

PandaDoc scores $15 million investment to drive expansion

Two men finalising a deal online PandaDoc, a 6 year old startup, has always had a simple goal of eliminating the pdf from the sales collateral pipeline, while helping busy salespeople automate the proposal and contract process. Today it landed $15 million in Series B funding. The round was led by Rembrandt Venture Partners, but also included participation by Microsoft Ventures, HubSpot, EBRD and Altos Ventures. PandaDoc… Read More