Welcome to theÌýCrunchbase News Weekend Update. An email form of this post went out Saturday morning. Happy reading!
After my notebook is tucked away and the recorder app stops, it seems that my conversations these days are taking the same not-so-subtle turn. Everyone I speak to, in some way, is lonely. Entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and everyone hoping for outsized success are no exception.
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The realization inspired me to investigate the intersection of loneliness and tech and write a series focusing on those tensions. The first installment,Ìýunpacking how founders deal with loneliness, went live this past week.
But I am not the only one talking about mental health in tech. Y Combinator, which coaches and invests in hundreds of startups each year, is focusing on founder mental health, too, and it was a central theme at Y Combinator’s Demo Day.
On the YC Demo Day beat,ÌýÌýreported on theÌýgrowing size of Y Combinator startup batchesÌý²¹²Ô»åÌýÌýhelped host aÌýlive Equity Podcast interviewing the president of Y Combinator, Michael Seibel. We alsoÌýdove deeper into TandemÌý²¹²Ô»åÌýall the other startups that share its name, andÌýI had a lot of thoughtsÌýon the startups presentingÌýand wrote aboutÌýYC’s investment cadence in India.
Speaking of India, Tala, a digital lending startup,Ìýraised $110 million to expand its services in the region. International coverage continued when Yijipui, an online liquor retailer and Chinese unicorn,Ìýraised $80 million for its ongoing Series D. Plus, JUUL LabsÌýraised $325 million to fuel the global expansion of its e-cigarettes.
Other rounds this week: Root InsuranceÌýraised $350 million, Better.comÌýraised $160 million, and ThredUpÌýraised $175 million to dress you up in what your friends got rid of. SpotHero alsoÌýraised $50 million to make it easier to park your car.
On a final note,Ìýwe welcomed Sophia Kunthara to the Crunchbase News familyÌýby way of the San Francisco Chronicle and Reuters. She’ll be covering the late-stage scene for us from the San Francisco desk, soÌýÌýto stay up to date. Of course, in honor of her first week here,ÌýDatadog filed to go public.
We’re one fantastic person stronger here, and we’re really proud of it.
Thanks for reading,
P.S.ÌýFollow me () andÌýCrunchbaseÌýNewsÌýonÌýÌý
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