500 startups
There’s no doubt that the coronavirus has had a monumental impact on the way we view technology’s relationship with education. For now, students are learning from home. But what happens…
Hello and welcome back to our regular morning look at private companies, public markets and the gray space in between. So far, 2020 has proven to be a year of…
TechCrunch’s favorite companies from 500 Startups’ latest demo day
Today 500 Startups hosted a virtual demo day for its 26th batch of startups, a group of companies that TechCrunch covered back in February. 500 is not the only accelerator…
500 Startups moves to rolling admissions instead of cohorts
500 Startups is scrapping its cohort model for accelerating companies and moving to a rolling admissions process, the accelerator said during its latest demo day. One of the progenitors of…
Following TechCrunch’s coverage of 500 Startups’ 25th batch (and numbers 24, 23, 22, and 21, in case you wanted to go back in time), today we’re saying hello to the…
Lately, the venture community’s relationship with advertising tech has been a rocky one. Advertising is no longer the venture oasis it was in the past, with the flow of VC…
Catalyst Fund gets $15M from JP Morgan, UK Aid to back 30 EM fintech startups
The Catalyst Fund has gained $15 million in new support from JP Morgan and UK Aid and will back 30 fintech startups in Africa, Asia, and Latin America over the…
Work collaboration startup Notion cozies up to Silicon Valley’s top accelerators
Startups building work software for other startups have been a huge focus of investment in Silicon Valley as eager VCs hope to grab a piece of the next Slack. Notion…
Modus raises $12.5 million Series A co-led by NFX’s Pete Flint and Niki Pezeshki of Felicis Ventures.
Google veteran Tony Wang joins 500 Startups as managing partner
Wang was most recently the COO at Color Genomics.
Hear about investing in African tech at Disrupt SF with Marième Diop, Wale Ayeni and Sheel Mohnot
If you’re a VC or founder in London, Bangalore or San Francisco, you’ll likely interact with some part of Africa’s tech landscape for the first time — or more —…
Demo Day season is upon us.
Jumia may be the first startup you’ve heard of from Africa. But the e-commerce venture that recently listed on the NYSE is definitely not the first or last word in…
Two years after a first close, 500 Startups wraps its Middle East fund with $33 million
When 500 Startups partner Hasan Haider announced the $15 million first close for the accelerator and investment firm’s Middle Eastern focused fund, 500 Falcons, Dave McClure was still at the…
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The Silicon Valley exodus continues
Y Combinator, a longtime resident of Silicon Valley, is planning to move its HQ to San Francisco.
American Express acquires Japan-based restaurant booking service Pocket Concierge
American Express made an acquisition in Japan by picking up restaurant booking service Pocket Concierge in an undisclosed deal. The acquisition was announced in Japanese and in English by James Riney, the head…
Neuron Mobility raises $3.7M to bring e-scooters to Southeast Asia’s cities
Despite the rise in electric scooters in the U.S., you’d be forgiven for thinking that Asia — the region where bike-sharing foreshadowed the rise of e-scooters — has been left off…
500 Startups Vietnam grabs $14M to invest in local companies
Vietnam is one of the most rapidly expanding tech ecosystems in Southeast Asia.
A look at all the companies participating in 500 Startups’ 24th accelerator program
50 percent of the companies have a back, mixed-race or Latinx founder.
Matt Lerner reduces role at 500 Startups to launch ‘growth coaching’ company Heretix
Matt Lerner, who has for the last few years effectively been 500 Startups’ main person in London, is reducing his role at the Silicon Valley-based VC fund and accelerator to…
Hustle Fund, founded by two ex-500 Startups partners, closes $11.5 million fund
Hustle Fund, the pre-seed firm founded by former 500 Startups partners Elizabeth Yin and Eric Bahn, has closed their first fund, coming in at the tune of $11.5 million. Hustle…
Fifty-nine startups took the stage at Y Combinator’s Demo Day 2, and among the highlights were a company that helps developers manage in-app subscriptions; a service that lets you create…
Kredivo raises $30M to build a digital credit card for Southeast Asia
FinAccel, a Southeast Asia-based startup that offers a digital credit card service in Indonesia, has closed a $30 million Series B round as it begins to consider overseas expansion. The…
Naspers, the South Africa-based firm that famously backed Chinese giant Tencent in its infancy, is in talks to invest in Singapore-based startup Carousell, according to two sources with knowledge of…
500 Startups may soon be coming up on the one-year mark for the end of a tumultuous saga involving its founder, but its accelerator classes still continue to plug along…
500 Startups takes strategic investment from Abu Dhabi Financial Group
500 Startups, the U.S.-headquartered VC firm hit by scandal last year after co-founder Dave McClure resigned following allegations of sexual misconduct, has announced an unconventional deal that sees Abu Dhabi…
Global tech firms and investors are reshaping Latin America’s startup environment
Latin America is emerging as the new battleground for the global tech giants, and some of Silicon Valley and Asia’s biggest investors—from Sequoia Capital to SoftBank—are taking notice. International investment…
500 Startups-backed Tamatem raises $2.5M to localise games for Arabic-speaking market
Tamatem, a startup backed by 500 Startups that creates localised versions of popular games so that they resonate better with users in Arabic speaking countries, has picked up $2.5 million…
SmartHR, a startup helping Japanese employers run HR and staffing smarter — because that’s of course its name — has raised a JPY 1.5 billion ($13.3 million) Series B round…
Why Freada Kapor Klein thinks there’s a moral crisis in Silicon Valley
Every week, it seems, brings new ethical questions about Silicon Valley. A seemingly endless rash of sexual scandals in the venture community. Twitter supposedly used by anonymous Russian trolls to rig the American election.…
