Weekly Round Up: 6/5/20

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

• This week, we were thrilled to watch as SpaceX, backed by Greenspring primary managers Founders Fund and Craft Ventures, as well as NASA, partnered to usher in a new era in commercial space travel for the United States with the successful launch of the Crew Dragon carried by a Falcon 9 rocket. Read more on the historic launch here.

• Belvo, which aims to unlock the power of open banking for customers in Latin America by providing an API platform for fintech companies to more easily connect users' bank accounts to their app, has raised $10 million in recent financing co-led by Greenspring primary manager Founders Fund.

• Huge congrats to API automation platform and Greenspring direct investment Tray.io on being named one of Forbes’ Next Billion-Dollar Startups! Check out the full list here.

• “Rapidly solving COVID-19 is just the start of what will solidify this as the century of biotech.” Benchling, an end-to-end, purpose-built software platform for life sciences R&D, has raised $50 million in Series D financing with participation from Greenspring primary manager Benchmark.

• 11 VCs from top firms, including Maya Noeth and Amit Kumar of Greenspring primary manager Accel, share how their healthcare investment strategies have been transformed by the coronavirus pandemic. Read more here.

• “As SaaS founders consider their financing options, the picture might be a bit less glum than they might imagine.” Roger Hurwitz, Founding Partner at Greenspring primary manager Volition Capital, shares his thoughts and advice for SaaS founders considering raising capital.

• Fintech platform Lili, which offers an all-in-one solution of a bank account and suite of financial tracking tools specific to freelance workers, has raised $10 million in seed financing with participation from Greenspring primary managers Foundation Capital and Primary Venture Partners.

• After receiving Emergency Use Authorization from the FDA, at-home testing platform Everlywell, backed by Greenspring primary manager Goodwater Capital, has made their COVID-19 testing kits available for purchase! Read more on who is eligible to purchase and how the test works here.

• Join API automation platform and Greenspring direct investment Tray.io for a Weekly Demo Series: Retention is the New Growth. Each week you can learn about different areas where GTM teams help support retention as a whole. Register here.

• Bryter, a no-code platform for enterprises that enables teams in departments like marketing, accounting and legal to create automation apps without the need for technical or developer skills, has raised $16 million in Series A financing co-led by Greenspring primary manager Accel.

• Greenspring primary manager Defy Partners doubles down on Searchable.ai, an AI-driven enterprise search engine that helps users more easily find the information they need spread across all content and files, with an additional $4 million in seed financing.

Greenspring News

We've been honored over the last several weeks to support the hard work of Catholic Charities of Baltimore and their hot meal program, the largest in Maryland, which serves more than a quarter of a million meals to those experiencing hunger in Baltimore City each year. Their kitchens have been working overtime to support the community through the COVID-19 pandemic. You can read more about the program 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.