Between Elon Musk placing a $40 billion bid on Twitter and tech unicorn Newfront hitting a $2.2 billion valuation, a lot has happened in San Francisco. Get your fill on more local tech news. This is the Built In SF weekly refresh.
Newfront hit a $2.2B valuation. Backed by funding from Goldman Sachs and B Capital, digital insurance brokerage platform Newfront, hit a $2.2 billion valuation after raising a $200 million round. With its fresh funding, Newfront is hiring for 97 roles across multiple departments. The company will invest in specialized client resources and experts as well as expand its business across the country. [Built In SF]
Observe.AI pulled in $125M. Artificial intelligence-backed workforce management startup Observe.AI pulled in $125 million from SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and others. The raise brings the company’s total funding to date to $213 million. Observe.AI’s fresh funding will go toward fueling product innovation, scaling the company’s go-to-market strategy and preparing a timeframe for its IPO readiness. [Observe.AI]
Jobox raised $42M. The tech-backed home services startup launched out of stealth this week following its Series B round from General Catalyst. Through Jobox, home service professionals can be paid for their services from their phone. Its Series B raise will go toward expanding into more cities beyond the 39 states it currently operates in. The company will also add more professionals such as locksmiths, carpet cleaners and plumbers to its platform. [TechCrunch]
SF TECH QUOTE OF THE WEEK
Seso gained $25M. Seso, a vertical software company for the agricultural industry, gained $25 million in a seed round led by Index Ventures. The funding will be used to address agricultural labor shortages. Seso aims to use its technology to “create a stronger, more equitable and efficient food production system in the U.S.” by simplifying the H-2A visa application. [Built In SF]
Elon Musk placed a $40B bid on Twitter. The CEO of Tesla and SpaceX intends to buy the social media platform’s outstanding shares for $54.20 each. Musk is already Twitter’s largest shareholder and currently owns 9.1 percent of the company. Twitter said this bid is an “unsolicited, non-binding proposal” and that the board of directors will review the proposal. [Built In SF]
Iterative Scopes added to its leadership team. Brice Wu joins Iterative Scopes as the new chief product officer and Haig Soghigian joins as the new VP of customer success. Based in Cambridge, Massachusetts with a presence in San Francisco, Iterative Scopes uses AI to improve precision medicine for gastroenterology. The tech company is currently hiring for 20 open roles in San Francisco with several remote positions available. [Business Wire]
In more VC funding news: Kubit, a cloud analytics startup, raised $18 million in a Series A round to strengthen its technology offerings. [PR Newswire]
Grain, a video meeting software that can transcribe video clips and offers closed captions, gained $16 million in a Series A round led by Tiger Global. Grain, which also allows users to share clips across social networks, will use the funding to further expand its platform. [TechCrunch]
