Weekly Round Up: 2/12/2021

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:

📣Immigrant entrepreneurs make invaluable contributions to the US economy. To that end, a coalition of 16 organizations representing the U.S. innovation, entrepreneurship and startup ecosystems sent a letter recently to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro N. Majorkas asking him to implement the International Entrepreneur Rule (IER). IER would work similar to a Startup Visa by allowing world-class foreign entrepreneurs to launch high-growth companies in the United States by utilizing the parole authority of DHS. Learn more via the NVCA here.

Good Eggs, a San Francisco-based startup that delivers groceries in the Bay Area, has raised $100 million in recent financing with participation from Greenspring managers Benchmark and Obvious Ventures. The startup will leverage the latest infusion of capital to expand its reach to Southern California, substantially growing its market. Read more via Bloomberg here.

Mumbai-based microblogging app and platform Koo has raised $4.1 million in recent financing with participation from Greenspring manager Accel. Koo enables users to connect, comment and engage in 13 local languages. Read more here.

In the fall of 2020, Greenspring manager Primary Venture Partners’ MBA Associates explored five different areas and produced 5 market maps and teardowns: Creator Economy, Data Integrators, Small Business Lending, Cloud Infrastructure and Education. Check out their findings and presentations here.

“Critical investments will be made in technology solutions that automate and test companies’ communication tools and ensure an elevated customer experience.” Alok Kulkarni of Greenspring portfolio company Cyara joins other Forbes Technology Council members to share their insights on the IT investments businesses will be making in 2021. Read more via Forbes here.

Mexican grocery delivery startup Jüsto has raised $65 million in recent financing with participation from Greenspring manager Foundation Capital. The startup experienced increased demand for online deliveries of goods ranging from fresh foods to cleaning supplies during the coronavirus pandemic. Read more about the round and the Company’s expansion plans here.

Fabric, which offers a “headless” e-commerce platform allowing brands to migrate from expensive, complex legacy platforms that hold back performance and growth, raised $43 million in Series A financing with participation from Greenspring manager Redpoint Ventures. Read more via TechCrunch here.

Monte Carlo, a startup focused on helping other companies improve the way they monitor their data inflows, has raised $25 million in Series B financing with participation from Greenspring managers Redpoint Ventures and Accel. Alex from TechCrunch caught up with co-founder and CEO Barr Moses to explain both her company’s space and how the business has attracted so much capital here.

Greenspring manager Obvious Ventures invests in companies with impact baked into their business models and whose products and services propel their purpose. Check out the Firm’s first World Positive Report, which takes both a quantitative and qualitative look at the imprint Obvious portfolio companies are leaving on the world.

We are excited to highlight the release of “Make an Impact,” a robust Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG) report completed by Greenspring portfolio company RTS! You can read the full report here.

Join us in congratulating Tomer Diari, the newest Partner at Greenspring manager Aleph! Learn more about Tomer’s path to VC and Aleph here.

Quilt, an audio social network focused on wellness and fostering community, raised $3.5 million in recent seed financing led by Greenspring manager Mayfield. The innovative app has “rooms” broken into 3 categories: spiritual and personal development, career and purpose and relationships and family. Learn more via TechCrunch here.

We are thrilled to congratulate Whitney Wolfe Herd, Accel, Greycroft and the entire Bumble team on an exciting public market debut yesterday! Shares of the female empowerment-focused dating app jumped 64% upon opening and closed at $70.31, valuing it at roughly $13 billion. Read more about the Company’s growth story and big day here.

Have you been following along as Greenspring manager Redpoint Ventures unpacks the opportunity in B2B payments? Part IV of the blog series is available now here.

Join us in welcoming Jenny Fleiss, Co-founder of fashion delivery service Rent the Runway, as Greenspring manager Volition Capital’s first female Partner! We are excited to work with you, Jenny! Read more on her journey from entrepreneur to VC and why Volition is the perfect fit here.

We are thrilled to share our recent investment in Jackpocket, the first and only licensed third-party app in the U.S. to provide a secure way to order official state lottery tickets. Check out CEO Peter Sullivan on Bloomberg TV discussing the $50 million funding round and their tenth state launch in New York, following Arkansas, Colorado, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Ohio, Oregon, Texas, and Washington DC, with more to come in 2021 here.

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.