techcrunch News of 02/28/20

How To Make A Deal With A VC At A Tech Conference

Mahendra Ramsinghani Contributor Share on Twitter Mahendra Ramsinghani is the founder of Secure Octane Investments , which includes Demisto, CyberGRX and 16 other infrastructure and cybersecurity ...

Sokowatch Raises $14m To Digitize Africa’S Informal b2b Supply-Chain

Kenya based B2B e-commerce startup Sokowatch has raised $14 million in Series A funding toward its mission of revamping supply-chain markets for Africa’s informal retailers. From Nairobi, the company has created a platform that connects ...

Gaming-Focused Investment Firm Bitkraft Closes In On At Least $140 Million For Its Second Fund

Esports, video games and the innovations that enable them now occupy a central space in the cultural and commercial fabric of the tech world. For the investment firm Bitkraft Esports Ventures , the surge in interest means a vast opportunity to ...

The Rise Of The Winged Pink Unicorn

Claire Diaz-Ortiz Contributor Share on Twitter Claire Diaz-Ortiz is an angel investor and bestselling author of nine books that have been published in more than a dozen countries. An early employee ...

Expanding Its Women’S Health Benefits Offerings For Employers, Maven Raises $45 Million

Over the past twelve months, Maven , the benefits provider focused on women’s health and family planning, has expanded its customer base to include over 100 companies and grown its telehealth services to include 1,700 providers across 20 ...

Online Learning Marketplace Udemy Raises $50m At A $2b Valuation From Japanese Publisher Benesse

The internet has, for better or worse, become the default platform for people seeking information, and today one of the companies leveraging that to deliver educational content has raised some funding to fuel its next stage of growth. Udemy , which ...

African Crowdsolving Startup Zindi Scales 10,000 Data Scientists

Cape Town based startup Zindi has registered 10,000 data-scientists on its platform that uses AI and machine learning to crowdsolve complex problems in Africa. Founded in 2018, the early-stage venture allows companies, NGOs or government ...

Maniv Mobility General Partner Olaf Sakkers Is Coming To TC Sessions: Mobility

In case you haven’t heard, TC Sessions: Mobility is back for second year. This one-day event, which will be held May 14 in San Jose, promises to feature some of best and brightest engineers, policymakers, investors, entrepreneurs and ...

After VCs Spend Millions Nigeria Restricts Ride-Hail Motorbike Taxis

Nigeria’s commercial hub of Lagos has shaken up its transportation order. At the center are the West African country’s motorcycle taxis — referred to locally as okadas — which face newly enforced regulatory restrictions on their ...

The Engineers Behind Google’S Bookbot Have Launched A Delivery Robot Startup

The engineers behind Google’s short-lived Bookbot — a robot created within the company’s Area 120 incubator for experimental products — have launched their own startup to bring the sidewalk delivery bot back to life. The secretive ...

Deep Data Running Wearable NURVV Closes $9m Series A Led By Hiro Capital

Launched at CES 2020, NURVV , a biomechanics startup, has closed a $9m Series A round, led by Hiro Capital, the sports/Esports VC fund, along with co-investment from Ian Livingstone CBE (Games Workshop co-founder) and Cherry Freeman (co-founder of ...

Latin America Takes The Global Lead In VC Directed To Female Co-Founders

Claire Diaz-Ortiz Contributor Share on Twitter Claire Diaz-Ortiz is an angel investor and bestselling author of nine books that have been published in more than a dozen countries. An early employee ...

Women Are The Secret Ingredient In Latin America’S Outsized Returns

Claire Diaz-Ortiz Contributor Share on Twitter Claire Diaz-Ortiz is an angel investor and bestselling author of nine books that have been published in more than a dozen countries. An early employee ...

15 Tickets Left To TechCrunch Winter Party Tomorrow

On February 7, aka this Friday, the Bay Area startup community will descend on Galvanize to celebrate everything great and small about tech startups at the 3rd Annual TechCrunch Winter Party . Lucky for you, we have just 15 tickets left! ...

TLcom Capital Closes $71m Africa Fund With Plans To Back 12 Startups

VC firm TLcom Capital has closed its Tide Africa Fund at $71 million with plans to make up to 12 startup investments over the next 18 months. The group —  with offices in London, Lagos, and Nairobi — is looking for tech enabled, revenue driven ...

Real Estate Startup Homie Plans To Expand To More Cities With $23 Million In Series B Funding

Homie has made an impression among younger, first-time home buyers in the Utah and Arizona markets for cutting out the traditional closing costs, 6% real estate commissions and arduous paperwork associated with traditional home sales. It now plans ...

Africa Roundup: Trump’S Nigeria Ban, Paga’S Acquisition And Raises — Fluterwave $35m, Sendy $20m

The first month of the new-year saw Africa enter the fray of U.S. politics. The Trump administration announced last week it would halt immigration from Nigeria — Africa’s most populous nation with the continent’s largest economy and leading tech ...

Last Chance: Only A Few Tickets Left To The Winter Party At Galvanize This Friday

This is it, startup fans. It’s your very last chance to scoop up the few remaining tickets to our  3rd Annual Winter Party at Galvanize — the best Silicon Valley startup soiree bar none. If you want to join this fun gathering of 1,000+ ...

Utah Tech Magnates Create New Silicon Slopes Venture Fund To Boost Startups In The State

Those looking outside of Silicon Valley as a potential hub for their startup might want to take a gander at Utah, at least that’s the kind of trend the new Silicon Slopes Venture Fund hopes to create. The newly formed fund, put together by ...

Trump To Halt Immigration From Africa’S Top Tech Hub, Nigeria

The Trump administration announced Friday it would halt immigration from Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation with the continent’s largest economy and leading tech hub. The restrictions would stop short of placing a full travel ban on ...