Jonathan Shieber
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The Latest from Jonathan Shieber
BadVR is using government grants to build a business that’s independent of venture capital
When the Los Angeles-based extended reality data visualization company BadVR first heard that one of its earliest benefactors, Magic Leap, was about to shed 1,000 jobs and was fighting for its life, t
After burning through $2 billion, Katerra gets a $200 million SoftBank lifeline to escape bankruptcy
SoftBank Group is reportedly investing $200 million to bail out Katerra, a startup that had hoped to remake the construction industry with a vertically integrated approach, according to a report in Th
Fluence, the energy storage systems developer, is now worth over $1 billion after QIA investment
The Qatar Investment Authority is investing $125 million into energy storage systems integrator and power management tech developer, Fluence, in a deal that will value the company at over $1 billion.
For Tony Fadell, the future of startups is connected and sustainable
Tony Fadell can’t stop thinking about what’s next in tech. The man credited with creating the iPod, building the iPhone and founding the smart-home company, Nest, had tried to retire befor
What’s behind this year’s boom in climate tech SPACs?
There’s no denying that 2020 has been the year of the special purpose acquisition company. Since the beginning of the year, 219 SPACs have raised $73 billion, according to widely reported market
Global investors flee from Chinese tech stocks after the government crackdown on Ant and Alibaba
Global investors are running from Chinese tech stocks in the wake of the government’s crackdown on Ant Group and Alibaba, two high-flying businesses founded by Ma Yun (Jack Ma) that were once ha
National Grid sees machine learning as the brains behind the utility business of the future
If the portfolio of a corporate venture capital firm can be taken as a signal for the strategic priorities of their parent companies, then National Grid has high hopes for automation as the future of
The built environment will be one of tech’s next big platforms
From the beginning, the plan for Sidewalk Labs (a subsidiary of Alphabet and — by extension — a relative of Google) to develop a $1.3 billion tech-enabled real estate project on the Toront
Boardable’s board management software for nonprofits raises $8 million
Indianapolis-based Boardable, a provider of board management software tools for nonprofits, has raised $8 million in a new round of financing, the company said. The investment came from Base10 Partne
Austin-based ReturnSafe raises $3.25 million for its employee health management tools
ReturnSafe, a symptom checking and contact tracing employee health management toolkit for businesses, has raised $3.25 million in financing from investors including Fifty Years and Active Capital. W
Snoop Dogg’s Casa Verde Capital closes on $100 million as the cannabis industry bounces back
Casa Verde Capital, the investment fund co-founded by cannabis connoisseur Snoop Dogg (also known as Calvin Broadus), has closed on $100 million for its second investment fund, according to documents
New stimulus bill includes $35.2 billion for new energy initiatives
The new economic stimulus proposal that has been approved by Congress includes roughly $35.2 billion for energy initiatives, according to summary documents seen by TechCrunch. “This is probably
The US wants startups to get a piece of the $16 billion spent on space tech
The U.S. government is one of the biggest spenders in the nascent space industry, and the man who handles the money for the Air Force’s $16 billion checkbook wants startups to know that his door
Entrepreneurs say regulatory constraints are hampering commercial applications of space tech
When Payam Banazadeh and his team started Capella Space in 2016, they had visions of providing private industry with a wealth of new data that they could use in all sorts of ways to create business op
Brazilian lending company Creditas raises $255 million as Latin America’s fintech explosion continues
Creditas, the Brazilian lending business, has raised $255 million in new financing as financial services startups across Latin America continue to attract massive amounts of cash. The company’s
With Bambee, Allan Jones wants to give small businesses HR services their employees can trust
Allan Jones’s first startup was Fourth and Grand, a Trunk Club-like service backed by the venture studio and accelerator, Science, out of Santa Monica. While the business didn’t work out,
Health insurer Oscar adds another $140 million in what’s likely a pre-IPO round
Oscar, the New York-based health insurance upstart at the vanguard of a wave of venture capital healthcare investment made in the wake of the Affordable Care Act, has raised another $140 million in fi
H1’s LinkedIn for the healthcare industry raises $58 million
The idea sounds almost too simple. Create a version of LinkedIn that’s specifically for the healthcare industry, where professionals can find out not just who has what credentials, but also lear
Austin’s edtech startup Aceable adds another $50 million for accelerated expansion
Aceable, the Austin-based mobile edtech service for state-accredited classes, is getting an “A” from investors again as private equity firm HGGC pours $50 million into the company. In the
PepsiCo signs on to sponsor new founder-in-residence program from M13
The budding venture studio being built inside M13 has signed PepsiCo as its first new corporate partner. Through the deal, PepsiCo has agreed to bankroll the first founder-in-residence program from th