Pockit, a mobile banking app that provides current account functionality and is targeting the U.K.’s “underbanked,” has picked up £2.9 million in further funding and will soon begin rolling out a remittance service to make it easier for its users to send money abroad. Read More
Dave wants to save you from expensive overdraft fees
Meet Dave: an AI dressed up in a bearsuit that’s just launched to save you from the evils of expensive overdraft fees. Hand Dave access to your checking account and the app’s machine learning algorithms will get busy crunching your spending data so the bear can warn you about pending transactions which might push you into the red and incur an expensive bank penalty. Read More
SeedPlus closes $18M early-stage fund backed by Cisco, Eight Roads and others
SeedPlus, the early-stage investment firm backed by Singapore’s Jungle Ventures, has closed its debut fund at a total of SG$25 million, or approximately $18 million. The firm also announced that Cisco and Eight Roads Ventures, the investment arm of Fidelty, have joined IFC and Indian business magnate Ratan Tata among the fund’s LPs. It added that the fund was over-subscribed.… Read More
HR and employee benefits platform Hibob raises $17.5M led by U.S.-based Battery Ventures
Hibob, a HR and employee benefits platform for small to medium-sized businesses, has raised $17.5 million in Series A funding. Leading the round is U.S. VC firm Battery Ventures, with participation from Arbor Ventures, and Fidelity’s Eight Roads Ventures. Existing backer Bessemer Venture Partners also joined the round, which brings total funding for the U.K. and Israel-based startup to… Read More
Babylon Health raises further $60M to continue building out AI doctor app
Babylon Health, the U.K. startup that offers a digital healthcare app using a mixture of artificial intelligence (AI) and video and text consultations with doctors and specialists, has raised $60 million in new funding. Read More
Data management startup Rubrik is raising up to $200M on a $1B valuation
Make way for another juggernaut amongst enterprise startups: Rubrik, a data backup company that only emerged from stealth in 2015, is in the process of raising between $150 million and $200 million on a valuation of $1 billion as the company enters a period of strong demand for its storage and data management products, according to sources. TechCrunch first learned of the new fundraise via… Read More
LoveCrafts, a social network and marketplace for makers, raises $33M
Facebook may have the generalist social network on lockdown, but when it comes to communities based around special interests, the playing field remains full of promise. Today, a U.K. startup called LoveCrafts, aimed at knitters and other home craft makers with a platform that is part social network and part e-commerce marketplace, is announcing a significant growth round to seize that opportunity. Read More