Roundup of news and ideas from the world of startups – Week ending 10th Feb 2019
News you can use
What is the Single Biggest Problem Faced by Startups Today? When startups fail, we all know that a major reason is that they run out of a funding runway, it’s not that their products are bad…. his is what is needed for startups – ‘A different use of the same product’. It could be a thin line between success and failure and improve the success ratio of startups.
Microsoft Invests in ‘Boring AI’ Startup Databricks Valued at $2.75B – Databricks Inc., which says it makes software to help companies satisfy their “boring AI” needs, raised a new round of funding that values the business at $2.75 billion. Microsoft Corp. was among the investors in the $250 million financing, the company said on Tuesday. Venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz led the deal, with contributions from Coatue Management and New Enterprise Associates. The investment brings Databricks’ total fundraising haul to almost $500 million since the company was founded in 2013.
Corporate M&A
Facebook acquires visual shopping startup GrokStyle – GrokStyle, a retail computer vision outfit announced that it is being acquired by Facebook. A blog posted on its homepage explained “We built state-of-the-art AI and visual search technology to help consumers readily find, explore, and decide on purchases. Our team and technology will live on, and we will continue using our AI to build great visual search experiences for retail. As part of this next chapter, we are winding down our business.
Coinbase Acquires Andreessen Horowitz–Backed Startup Blockspring – Blockspring, a startup that makes tools for collecting and managing data from APIs, has been acquired by Coinbase. “Joining Coinbase was a no-brainer for a number of reasons including its commitment to establishing an open financial system and the strength of its engineering team,” Blockspring announced on its blog this week. CoinDesk confirmed the acquisition with a Coinbase spokesperson, though the company declined to comment further.
Tesla Falls as Amazon Invests in Autonomous Driving Startup Valued at $2 Billion – Amazon Inc. (AMZN ) has invested in hot autonomous driving start-up Aurora in a move that could help the e-commerce giant with its logistics and delivery efforts in the future. Shares of Tesla (TSLA ) , which is working on its own autonomous driving technology, appeared to fall on the news, which was reported on Thursday morning. Aurora was valued at about $2 billion in its latest funding round that raised more than $530 million, less than two years after the company was founded in 2017 by veterans of the self-driving vehicle industry.
Failed Startups
Google Fiber shuts down Louisville service, impacting businesses and telecommuters – In a blow to faster internet speeds for businesses and telecommuters, Google Fiber will shutter its operations in Louisville, Kentucky, after the city experienced the fastest launch from construction announcement to signing up customers in the network’s history, Google announced in a Thursday blog post.
Dutch computer retailer MyCom files bankruptcy, shuts down all stores – It seems that the dark clouds of financial catastrophe have already engulfed the Dutch computer retailer MyCom. Kijk Up, the company behind the electronics chain has filed for its bankruptcy and its application can be found on the official website of MyCom. All the stores are closed
All the MyCom stores have been found closed after the latest press release. At the beginning of the year 2019, MyCom had shut down seven stores in the Netherlands including Amstelveen, Arnhem, Den Bosch, Den Helder, Helmond, Leiden and Zeist.