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Crunch Network
How a simple tech upgrade at the IRS could transform the economy
When you apply for credit, you essentially ask a lender to evaluate your financial picture to make an informed decision about your approval, rate and terms. The information that lenders use primarily comes from two sources: you and private credit bureaus. This system is imperfect. It’s held back by outdated technology at the IRS. New legislation would change this. Read More
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Crunch Network
Financial technology startups emerged as serious challengers to financial services in 2017
While cryptocurrencies stole the spotlight in 2017, a clutch of companies were quietly working behind the scenes to slowly bring the financial services establishment to its knees. It may turn out that these startup entrants of the last several years will prove to be the more relevant disruptors. Read More
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Equity podcast: Stitch Fix tumbles, stocks go crypto and VCs still love unicorns
Hello and welcome back to Equity, TechCrunch’s venture capital-focused podcast where we unpack the numbers behind the headlines. This week the crew — Katie Roof, Matthew Lynley, Alex Wilhelm — were joined Jeff Richards, a managing partner at GGV. (GGV has raised nearly $4 billion to invest, according to Crunchbase.) This week we turned our eyes to Stitch Fix’s… Read More
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Sequoia is looking to raise a $5 billion investment fund
Sequoia Capital is looking to raise a $5 billion investment fund. The legendary Silicon Valley venture firm, known for its stellar investment returns, is in the early stages of raising its next global growth fund. The fundraising is expected to get underway in the first quarter of 2018. Read More
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Tech’s massive tax cut Christmas present from Trump just cleared Congress
The Republican tax bill is ready for the president’s signature. After forcing its second vote in two days, the bill passed the House with a vote of 224 to 201. The bill previously cleared the Senate with a narrow 51-48 vote along party lines, though Republican Senator John McCain was unable to cast a vote as he undergoes cancer treatment in his home state. Now the only thing standing… Read More
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dYdX is a decentralized protocol for cryptocurrency derivatives
While some financial derivatives like futures trading are slowly coming to Bitcoin, we’re still a long time away from these financial products being widely available for the entire cryptocurrency asset class. So dydX is building a decentralized protocol for derivatives, built on the Ethereum blockchain and the 0x protocol. The protocol lets you take out peer-to-peer short sells, long… Read More
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Bima raises $97M from Allianz for microinsurance aimed at emerging markets
On the heels of Lemonade raising $120 million from Softbank for its new “peer-to-peer” spin on insurance services, another company aimed at disrupting the insurance market is announcing a major round of its own. Bima, a European startup that builds and sells “microinsurance” services for low-income consumers in Africa, Asia and Latin America, has raised $96.6 million in… Read More
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Broadband business Casa Systems up 11% following downsized IPO
Casa Systems had a tough time pulling off its IPO this week. The broadband solutions company wanted to debut Thursday, but pushed its launch back to Friday, likely because of weak initial demand. Casa had planned to sell 8.4 million shares, but reduced it to 6 million following the investor roadshow. The IPO priced at $13 per share, but bounced up almost 11 percent, closing the day at $14.40. Read More
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Equity podcast: Apple’s $400M deals, Target buys a startup and uh-oh net neutrality
Hello and welcome back to Equity, TechCrunch’s venture capital-focused podcast where we unpack the numbers behind the headlines. This week Katie Roof, Matthew Lynley and myself — Alex Wilhelm — were joined by Eric Liaw from IVP to dig through the pre-Christmas news. Normally, happenings are slow this time of the year. But, living up to its reputation as a year-apart, 2017… Read More
Latest Crunch Report
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INSIKT raises $50 million to lend to low-income communities
Loans can be the hardest to get for the people who need them the most. An estimated 45 million Americans don’t have a credit score and others have trouble bringing up their scores, even if they are in a better financial position than in years past. While most lenders would consider low-income families with bad credit scores to be too risky, a startup called INSIKT believes that it… Read More
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Commerce platform iZettle raises $47M at a $950M valuation
iZettle — the commerce platform based out of Stockholm that competes against companies like Square, Paypal and SumUp to provide card transactions using smartphones and tablets as well as related accounting services — has raised another €40 million ($47 million) as it approaches a $1 billion valuation. CEO and co-founder Jacob de Geer told TechCrunch the money will go towards… Read More
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Betting consumers are tired of bad bank behavior, Aspiration raises $47 million for its alternative
A who’s-who of celebrities, investors and celebrity investors have come together to invest $47 million into Aspiration, the company launched by a former speechwriter for President Bill Clinton to challenge the traditional banking industry. Read More
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Brazilian startup Creditas is revolutionizing credit in the world’s third largest lending market
After 12 years working for banks and consulting firms on the digital transformation of financial services, Creditas founder Sergio Furio finally found a problem he felt he could build a business around. Over dinner with his Brazilian wife one night in 2011, she casually mentioned that consumers in her country were paying more than 200 percent interest rates on consumer loans. Read More
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Nextdoor raised about $75 million to connect neighbors
Nextdoor, the neighborhood social networking site, raised about $75 million in a funding round, The Information reported, estimating that the valuation is $1.5 billion. The round was confirmed by TechCrunch. This adds to the over $200 million that the San Francisco-based company has raised, dating back to 2010. Its last reported round was in early 2015 at a $1.1 valuation. The report says… Read More
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Max Levchin’s Affirm raises $200 million at a nearly $2 billion valuation
Affirm, the platform that helps consumers find financing, is getting some financing of its own. The San Francisco-based company confirmed that it’s raising $200 million, led by GIC, a Singaporean sovereign wealth fund. Existing investors Khosla Ventures and Spark Capital are also participating. Affirm’s valuation is estimated to be between $1.5 billion and $2 billion. Read More
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N26 partners with Younited Credit to launch credit offering in France
German startup N26 is now live in 17 European countries, but many features first launched in Germany and never made their way to other markets. The startup is slowly expanding core features to other key markets. That’s why the company is partnering with Younited Credit to launch consumer credit in France. It works pretty much like the existing credit feature in Germany. In the app, you… Read More
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Ex-Uber data chief Kevin Novak joins LA-based startup Tala in big win for LA ecosystem
Kevin Novak, the architect of Uber’s dynamic pricing technology and the head of its data team, has joined the Los Angeles-based financial services startup Tala as its new head of data. Read More
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Crunch Network
6 red flags of an ICO scam
With exponential growth in public interest, esoteric terminology and a lax regulatory framework, it is no surprise that some ICOs have been used to fund scams and cheat investors of their money. While nothing can compete with quality due diligence, knowing which red flags to look for in order to steer clear of scams or bad ICOs can be helpful. Read More
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Facebook co-founder’s B Capital leads $10M investment in Indian payment startup Mswipe
B Capital, the investment firm from Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin backed by BCG, has stepped into India after it backed smart point-of-sale company Mswipe in its first deal in the country. The U.S.-Asia fund is investing $10 million into Mumbai-based Mswipe alongside DSG Consumer Partners in what is an extension to a Series D round announced this summer. Originally pegged at $31… Read More
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Okta reports earnings, moves headquarters and launches free service for startups
It was a big day for online identity management provider, Okta. After reporting better-than-expected third-quarter earnings, the company also made a slew of announcements. Read More
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