INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Where to begin… Netflix darling Marie Kondo is hitting up Sand Hill Road in search of $40 million to fund an ecommerce platform, Y
Combinator is giving $150,000 to a startup building a $380,000 flying motorcycle (because why not) and Jibo, the social robot, is calling it
quits, speaking to owners directly of its imminent shutdown.It was a hectic week in unicorn land so, I’m just going to get right to the
good stuff.Changes at Y CombinatorWhere to begin! Not only did the prolific accelerator announce long-time president Sam Altman would be
making an exit, but TechCrunch scooped the firm’s decision to move its headquarters to San Francisco
Y Combinator is going through a number of changes, outlined here
Interestingly, sources tell TechCrunch that YC has no succession plans
We’re guessing that’s because Altman had already mostly transitioned away from the firm, with CEO Michael Seibel assuming his
The question is, is Altman planning to launch a startup Hmmmmm.Airbnb’s a hotelierAs it gears up for an IPO, Airbnb is showing its mature
In a bid to accelerate growth, the home-sharing unicorn is buying HotelTonight in a deal said to be valued at around $465 million
Accel, the storied venture capital firm, was the business’s first-ever investors and is now its largest stakeholder
We’re still wondering whether it’s a cash deal, a cash and stock deal or an all-stock deal
Let me know if you’ve got the deets.Mobility cutsLyft is preparing for its imminent IPO by getting lean
The ride-hailing company is trimming 50 staff members in its scooters and bikes unit, reports TechCrunch’s Ingrid Lunden
The cuts are mostly impacting those who joined the company when it acquired the electric bike-sharing startup Motivate, a deal that closed
I’ll point out that Lyft employs 5,000 people; these layoffs are about one percent of their total workforce
And while we’re on the topic of mobility layoffs, Mobike, the former Chinese bike-share unicorn, is closing down all international
operations and putting its sole focus on China.Munchery goes bankruptSeveral weeks after a sudden shutdown left customers and vendors in
the lurch, meal-kit service Munchery has filed for bankruptcy
In the Chapter 11 filing, Munchery chief executive officer James Beriker cites increased competition, over-funding, aggressive expansion
efforts and Blue Apron’s failed IPO as reasons for its demise
Here’s the story, complete with Munchery’s bankruptcy filing.Funders fundraiseThis week Precursor Ventures closed its sophomore pre-seed
fund on $32 million, NEA filed to raise its largest venture fund yet ($3.6 billion), SoftBank raised $2 billion on a $5 billion target for a
Latin America Fund, aMoon raised $660 million for Israeli healthcare deals and Coral Capital brought in $45 million to make early-stage
investments in Japan.Startup cashSea is raising up to $1.5BGrab confirms $1.46B investment from SoftBank’s Vision FundMusic services
company Kobalt is raising roughly $100MEargo raises $52M for virtually invisible, rechargeable hearing aidsMatterport raises $48M to ramp up
its 3D imaging platformNetflix star and tidying expert Marie Kondo is looking to raise $40MBlueground raises $20M for flexible apartment
rentalsNetflix star and tidying expert Marie KondoA16z gets even biggerAndreessen Horowitz tapped David George as its newest general
partner and its first top dealmaker focused on late-stage deals
George joins from General Atlantic, where he’d backed consumer internet, enterprise software and fintech startups as a principal since
The firm’s swelling team is amongst the largest of any VC firm
Most partnerships consist of one to three top dealmakers and a few partners or principals
A16z breaks the mold with its ever-expanding team of GPs
We talked to George and a16z managing director Scott Kupor.Worth readingThe Khashoggi murder isn’t stopping SoftBank’sVision Fund, by
TechCrunch’s Jon Russell and Jonathan Shieber.SXSWStopping by SXSW Meet TechCrunch’s writers at our annual Crunch By Crunch Fest party
in Austin, Texas. RSVP here to join us on Sunday, March 10th from 1pm to 4pm at the Swan Dive at 615 Red River St
7th St., just 3 blocks from the convention center
Hang out with TechCrunchers and fellow readers, enjoy free drinks and check out a live performance by electro-RnB musician Elderbrook. And
check out the full line-up of TechCrunch panels here
I will be discussing the double standard in sex tech with Lora Haddock, the CEO of Lora DiCarlo, on Thursday, March 14th at 2pm at the
Fairmont Congressional A, 101 Red River.Listen to me talkThis week on Equity, TechCrunch’s venture capital-focused podcast, where we
unpack the numbers behind the headlines, Crunchbase New’s editor-in-chief Alex Wilhelm and I discuss Y Combinator’s new HQ, Chime’s
big funding round and SoftBank’s new Latin America fund
Listen here.Want more TechCrunch newsletters Sign up here.
