A plethora of companies pulled in nine-digit funding rounds last week, fueling the Bay Area’s ever-bustling tech scene. From pet care to grocery delivery, find out what’s new. This is the Built In SF weekly refresh.
Instacart pulled in $265M. Having witnessed steady popularity for its grocery delivery platform amid the ongoing pandemic, Instacart has closed on another large growth funding round. With the new capital, the company is growing its team with an abundance of tech jobs listed for its San Francisco headquarters. The company is currently valued at $39 billion. [Built In SF]
Deliverr got $170M. The company ships businesses’ products out to customers from various warehouse locations without charging them for faster shipping options. Deliverr secured its Series D funding in a round led by Coatue that will enable it to expand its warehouse capacity and increase the size of its team. [Forbes]
SF Tech Quote of the Week
Serve Robotics spun out of Postmates. The Uber-owned robotics division for the food delivery company is now its own entity. Having secured seed funding, Serve will continue its work creating and deploying autonomous robots to help deliver goods like food in metro areas. The new startup is looking to expand its market reach through new partnerships. [Built In SF]
Square is purchasing a majority share in Tidal. The financial service provider led by Twitter’s CEO is buying a majority share in rapper Jay-Z’s video and audio streaming service for $297 million. The unconventional partnership was established in order to give artists more tools to support their work in a digital world. [The Verge]
Skydio raised $170M. In furnishing businesses in transportation, construction and energy with self-flying drones, this Redwood City-based manufacturer just closed on its Series D round. Skydio plans to invest the funding in accelerating product development, expanding global sales and hiring new talent. Andreessen Horowitz led the round. [Built In SF]
Clari secured $150M. Its platform employs AI and automation tech to provide revenue teams with overall insights to their company’s sales and marketing engagement across the revenue process. Clari plans to invest its Silver Lake-led Series E in accelerating product development and fueling global expansion. To date, its valuation reached $1.6 billion. [Built In SF]
Pet-centric startups are purring with new funding. Two Bay Area startups secured fresh capital last week to help keep four-legged friends happy and healthy. Veterinary care company Fuzzy raised $18 million to help keep vet costs low by expanding its digital care service offerings. Companion’s product trains dogs in basic obedience skills using computer vision and machine learning. This company pulled in $8 million to start shipping out its device beyond the Bay Area. [Built In SF]
Hippo to go public via SPAC. The Palo Alto-based insurtech company is joining with Reinvent Technology Partners Z. Hippo combines real-time data, smart home tech and a suite of services designed to prevent losses and make homes safer. The deal is expected to close sometime in the middle of 2021, and the combined company is projected to have about $1.2 billion in cash upon closing. [Business Wire]
Lime invests $50M in a new e-bike. It’s looking to take its bike share service to 25 new locales across the globe, aiming to be fully operational in 50 cities by the end of this year. Lime’s latest product, 6.0, is set to launch in summer with new features like an interchangeable scooter battery and improved motor. Lime is also expanding to include mopeds in its offerings come spring this year. [TechCrunch]
Medallia is acquiring Decibel. With its focus on customer experience and engagement, Medallia plans to acquire digital experience company Decibel in order to provide unsolicited digital experience signals across several channels. The transaction of $160 million is projected to close this month. [Business Wire]
In more VC funding news: Sunnyvale-based Yugabyte pulled in $48 million to support its expansion plans and double its headcount. The company offers a distributed SQL database for building internet-scale applications worldwide.
With its platform that enables retailers to communicate critical information, Retail Zipline raised $30 million in Series B funding to help businesses meet new complexities brought about by the pandemic. [TechCrunch]
Therma closed on a $10.2 million funding round to expand operations and reach for its IoT-powered equipment monitoring and analytics platform. The startup serves businesses across several industries from restaurants to manufacturing. [FinSMEs]
