Customer support startup Ujet raises $55M

Toyota AI Ventures: Discovering what's next | Customer support startup Ujet raises $55M | Field workers support startup Librestream raises $24M

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June 25, 2020

News for the startup ecosystem

The Lead

Toyota AI Ventures: Discovering what's next

The mission of Toyota AI Ventures is to be explorers, says founding managing director Jim Adler. "Our mission is to discover what's next for Toyota by helping early-stage startups bring disruptive technologies and business models to market quickly," he says.

Full Story: NVCA Blog (6/24)

Capital Call

Customer support startup Ujet raises $55M

Ujet, a startup cloud-based customer support platform, raised $55 million in a Series C funding round that included an investment from Alphabet's GV. With the new capital the company will roll out new products and features, and expand its foreign and domestic sales and marketing teams.

Full Story: VentureBeat (6/24)

Field workers support startup Librestream raises $24M

Librestream, a startup platform that helps field workers transfer data and images to experts in distant offices, raised $24 million in its most recent funding round. With the new capital the company plans to expand its footprint and use artificial intelligence to add new capabilities.

Full Story: VentureBeat (6/24)

View from Abroad

GPU-accelerated database startup SQream raises $39.4M

SQream Technologies, a Tel Aviv-based GPU-accelerated database startup trying to lower the cost of big-data optimization, raised $39.4 million in its most recent funding round. Most of the new capital will go into hiring more talent, product-focused research and development, and improving its customer delivery platforms.

Full Story: VentureBeat (6/24)

Tencent acquires Malaysian streaming startup Iflix

China's Tencent has bought the "content, technology, and resources" of the Malaysian video streaming startup Iflix. Sources say the deal was valued at "several tens of millions of dollars."

Full Story: Reuters (6/25), Variety (6/2020)

French startup video platform api.video raises $5.5M

Api.video, a French startup that makes it easier for apps and websites to incorporate video, raised $5.5 million in its seed round. The capital will be used to expand the company's team and enter new markets.

Full Story: TechCrunch (tiered subscription model) (6/25)

Corporate Venture Capital

Apple buys mobile device management startup Fleetsmith

Fleetsmith, a startup that developed technology that helps companies keep track of the Mac computers and iPads used by their employees, said it has been acquired by Apple. The deal is part of Apple's initiative to get into the mobile device management business.

Full Story: Reuters (6/24)

Databricks buys data visualization startup Redash

Redash, a Tel Aviv-based data visualization startup, has been acquired by data and analytics company Databricks. "Not only are our organizations aligned in our open source heritage, but we also share in the mission to democratize and simplify data and AI so that data teams and more broadly, business intelligence users, can innovate faster," said Databricks co-founder and chief executive Ali Ghodsi

Full Story: TechCrunch (tiered subscription model) (6/24)

Sector Spotlight: Life Sciences

Cancer-focused biotech startup Relay readies $200M IPO

Relay Therapeutics, a biotech startup with two potential cancer treatments ready for mid-stage clinical trials, has filed for an initial public offering aiming to raise $200 million. With the new capital it will move the two drug candidates further through their trials and continue its other drug-discovery research.

Full Story: Xconomy (6/25)

Venture Capital Culture

Venture capitalists back payment startups

Venture capitalists are investing heavily in payment startups that free retailers from fixed point-of-sale technology and enable migration to multichannel sales. A funding round has raised $150 million for payment startup Checkout.com, providing a $5.5 billion valuation, while a funding round for Stripe has raised $600 million.

Full Story: PaymentsSource (subscription required) (6/24)

NVCA News

Startups combating COVID-19

NVCA is working to highlight startups that are combating COVID-19 to ensure policymakers understand the critical work being done by VC-backed companies. To that end, we have created a tracker on our website of startups helping address COVID-19. Learn more.

Access the latest venture capital investment data

Each quarter, NVCA and PitchBook publish the PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor, the authoritative report on venture capital activity in the entrepreneurial ecosystem. The Venture Monitor provides a complete look at venture capital activity, reporting on fundraising, investments, exits and other relevant industry analysis. Read the latest report.