Another eventful week on the Bay Area tech scene yielded huge developments for a few companies and lots of fresh funding for plenty more. Read up on the latest. This is the Built In SF weekly refresh.
Coinbase valued at $85.7B following its huge IPO. The cryptocurrency exchange company made a big splash in the public sector. Trading on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol COIN, Coinbase’s share prices increased from $381 apiece to $429.54. Now as it’s looking toward the future, the company is hiring across all departments with more than 100 positions currently available. [Built In SF]
SambaNova raised $676M. With the capital from its recent mega-round, the Palo Alto-based AI specialist is investing in R&D to bring its enterprise-level Dataflow-as-a-Service offering to more industries. The money will also help it invest in its team, as it’s now hiring for various roles with most of its availability in its product department. SoftBank Vision Fund 2 led the Series D that now values SambaNova at $5 billion. [Built In SF]
SF Tech Quote of the Week
Benchling secured $200M. The company offers a suite of applications to help scientists and researchers manage experimental data sets. The capital from its Sequoia-led Series E raise brings Benchling’s valuation to $4 billion, and it will be used to invest in product development to help fuel the company’s plans for global expansion. [Built In SF]
Cruise secured new investor Walmart. The retail giant is looking toward autonomous vehicles to help expand its delivery network. With people spending more time than ever at home, delivery businesses have seen a huge spike in growth. Now valued at $30 billion following its latest $2.75 billion funding round, SF-based Cruise is contributing its EV fleet to Walmart’s mission of reaching zero emissions by 2040. [CNN]
Scale got $325M. As it’s aiming to help accelerate AI development, Scale pulled in its Series E round of funding co-led by investors Dragoneer, Greenoaks Capital and Tiger Global. It’s investing the money in growing its headcount as it works to keep up with growing demand for its product. It currently lists about 20 open positions for its San Francisco office across engineering, sales, design and more. [Scale]
Uber embraces a hybrid work model. Ride-hailing company Uber is offering its employees the option to work remotely two days out of the week starting in September. This move is part of a trend of Silicon Valley tech companies welcoming their employees back to the office, including Google and Facebook. Uber’s new Mission Bay campus opened last month offering employees the option of voluntary return at 20 percent capacity. [CNN Business]
Tempo pulled in $220M. Home fitness tech developer Tempo announced the close of its Series C round led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2 last week. Its product combines 3D sensors and AI-powered analytics with workout coaching capabilities. With the fresh cash, Tempo is planning on advancing its tech and including new content offerings. It’s also hiring for dozens of SF-based positions. [Built In SF]
In more VC funding news: Mountain View-based Groq just closed on a $300 million Series C led by Tiger Global and D1 Capital to fund product development and industry expansion for its compute acceleration tech. [PR Newswire]
With plans to scale the manufacturing of its MicroGEO satellites, space startup Astranis closed on a $250 million BlackRock-led Series C that brings its valuation to $1.4 billion. [TechCrunch]
Following its $153 million Series D round, Pleasanton-based Degreed is now a unicorn, and it’s looking to accelerate product development and fuel global expansion of its upskilling platform. [GlobeNewswire]
Palo Alto-based Medable raised a $78 million funding round led by Sapphire Ventures to advance the delivery of digital and decentralized clinical trials, helping patients get effective therapies faster. [Business Wire]
Aviation automation startup Xwing pulled in $40 million in a Blackhorn-led funding round. It plans to invest in scaling up its tech and growing its team. [FinSMEs]
