Weekly Round Up: 12/13/19

At Greenspring we believe in venture capital's ability to propel innovation, job creation and positive societal change. We celebrate those who think differently, take measured risk and challenge perceptions. Here's what's trending in VC this week: 

Portfolio News:

• How do you automate the entire banking process? An AI-enabled software robot with the ability to verify signatures on checks that have been deposited in ATMs. Greenspring secondary investment and Accel portfolio company UiPath is working to solve for this and more. Read what the innovative company is up to here.
• “We’ll see more action in public market and unicorn land: Airbnb's IPO is hotly anticipated and won’t disappoint. But more interestingly I predict we’ll see another couple ‘surprises’ from business software focused companies like we did in 2019 with Zoom and Datadog.” Alex Niehenke of Greenspring primary manager Scale Venture Partners joins other VCs in predicting what’s to come in 2020. Check out their thoughts here.
• We are excited to share that Greenspring direct investment and leading digital adoption platform WalkMe successfully raised $90 million in recent financing. Read more about their expansion plans here.
• It has been an exciting few weeks for Greenspring direct investment Roblox! The Company, which boasts 100 million monthly active users in 200 countries, shared its top games of all time, with each of them having been played more than a billion times. Find out their ten biggest games here.
• Did you catch Greenspring direct investment Rocket Lab’s successful launch news? The Company launched its 10^th Electron spacecraft, delivering payloads for clients and making strides towards a partially reusable launch system in the process. Find more on the launch here.
• AgilOne, a leading customer data platform backed by Greenspring primary manager Mayfield, was acquired this week by Acquia. Read more about the deal here.
• Finally, Bill.com, a cloud-based software that simplifies, digitizes and automates complex back-office financial operations to which Greenspring Associates has exposure through primary manager Scale Venture Partners and a secondary fund interest in Emergence Capital, priced its IPO at an above-range $22 per share. Read more about the pending IPO here.

Greenspring News:

• Cyber Monday might be over, but the holidays are still right around the corner. We’ve curated a selection of our favorite holiday gift ideas from the portfolios of our underlying managers for you to peruse and we have something for everyone on your list. Still have shopping to complete? Take a look at our gift guide here. Some of our favorites include luxury consignment items from direct investment The RealReal, sustainably-minded shoes from AllBirds, backed by Greenspring primary manager Elephant, and more.
  
  

Industry & Policy News:

• If you’re like us, you’ve been paying attention to direct listings. We recently published a blog on the topic of going public without an IPO and have been following along as the NYSE filed proposed rule changes with the SEC that would allow companies to go public through a direct listing while also raising money from public market investors, a current hindrance to the direct listing process. Last week the SEC rejected the original proposal, but the NYSE has filed an amended proposal and will continue to discuss the matter with the SEC.

The content here is for informational purposes only and should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice. It does NOT constitute an offer or solicitation to purchase any investment or a recommendation to buy or sell a security. In fact, the content is not directed to any investor or potential investor and may not be used to evaluate or make any investment.