Acko is an ambitious digital play to disrupt India’s $10B insurance industry

 Acko is an under-the-radar startup that wants to disrupt India’s insurance industry through a digital-only model. This week the company stuck its head above the parapet and announced that it has raised $30 million to get started on its bold plan. Founded by Varun Dua, the man behind insurance comparison site Coverfox, Acko is designed as a wholly digital take on insurance in India.… Read More

Appian prices application software IPO at $12

 Virginia-based Appian is finally braving the public markets, after a long journey as a private company formed in the dot-com boom of 1999. Appian announced Wednesday that they priced their IPO at $12 per share, raising $75 million for the company. This is in-line with the previously proposed price range of $11 to $13. Appian provides app development software for its business and… Read More

Peloton is now a unicorn because of the spinning class craze

 Have you ever taken a class at SoulCycle? Or better yet, Flywheel? Spinning has turned out to be a big business and there’s one brand that’s been gaining traction in the at-home fitness space. Peloton’s $2000 bikes have developed a cult following, mainly because of its live-streamed classes, which are offered as an added subscription and can be displayed on the bike screen.… Read More

Circle with Disney raises $10 million for its parental control device for families

 Circle Media, the company behind Circle with Disney – a device that helps parents enforce their home’s internet rules and restrictions – has raised $10 million in Series A funding, the company announced this morning. The round was led by early stage venture fund Relay Ventures. There was other private equity investment in the round, but the parties didn’t want to… Read More

This coffee butter-chugging startup just pulled in $19 million more in funding

 Dave Asprey, the man famous for encouraging Silicon Valley execs to put butter in his special blend of coffee, has raised another $19 million to keep on doing just that. His company and lifestyle brand Bulletproof 360 claims to make coffee free of something called mycotoxins, which is, basically, mold and can make you very ill if ingested. Asprey says about 75 percent of other brands are full… Read More

Naspers pours $5M into Coins, a fintech startup for Southeast Asia’s unbanked population

 Prolific investment firm Naspers is making a push into bitcoin and financial services after it backed Philippines-based startup Coins.ph to the tune of $5 million. Coins is focused on offering financial services for the unbanked in the Philippines and Thailand. It uses the blockchain as its underlying technology to facilitate transfers and remittances. It announced the new funding —… Read More

Our favorite startups from Alchemist Accelerator batch 15

 Founded as an enterprise alternative to accelerator stalwarts like Y Combinator, Alchemist Accelerator has managed to assemble a solid track record in its five years of operation.  Going into batch 15, 159 companies have graduated from Alchemist, of which 89 have closed institutional rounds and 15 have been acquired.
The latest batch of 19 companies surely hopes to push those numbers even higher. Read More