Jane Lanhee Lee
Stories by Jane Lanhee Lee
SoftBank Vision Fund 2 leads $150m funding in investment app M1 Finance
M1 counts technology-focused investment firm Coatue and Left Lane Capital among its investors.
Singapore-based insurtech startup bolttech raises $180m at over $1b valuation
The funding round was led by the private investment firm Activant Capital Group.
SoftBank leads $170m funding in group messaging app IRL at $1.17b valuation
Launched in June 2019, IRL said it has over 12 million monthly active users.
S Korean AI tutor Riiid raises $175m from SoftBank to take its tech to public schools
Riiid's AI tutor started making money in Japan and S Korea with its test prep services for TOEIC.
SoftBank’s Vision Fund 2 leads $260m funding in US product warranty startup Extend
Extend, launched in 2019, sold over 300,000 protection plans last year.
Toyota-backed self-driving car Pony.ai ties up with Luminar
Late last year, Pony.ai raised $267 million at a valuation of $5.3 billion.
Y Combinator increases global reach, diversity of entrepreneurs
Airbnb and DoorDash are the first and second-highest valued companies among the graduates.
Venture capital hits record high in US in 2020 amid pandemic
While the investment total is up 14% from 2019, the number of deals is down 9% to 6,022.
Airbnb hosts make windfall gains as shares allotted to them double on first trading day
Around $238m worth of shares reserved for hosts were up 112.8% on Day 1 of trading.
SoftBank leads $113.5m investment in US logistics tech firm Flock Freight
The deal marks Vision Fund 2's third logistics tech investment since its launch last year.
