Cryptocurrencies burst onto the scene about a decade ago and have gotten lots of attention since then. Cryptocurrencies (like Bitcoin) that were developed on a blockchain without a financial referent had trouble settling a market value, making them incredibly unreliable for financial transactions. Many investors are interested in the ideas behind cryptocurrency but are hesitant…
Women-founded companies in the U.S. raised more money from venture capitalists in 2021 than ever. Reports indicate they secured 83% more funding than the previous year, primarily attributed to the record-setting $329 billion U.S. startups raked last year. But according to data from PitchBook, less than 2% of VC funding went to all-women-founded teams in…
The Station is a weekly newsletter dedicated to all things transportation. Sign up here — just click The Station — to receive it every weekend in your inbox. Hello readers: Welcome to The Station, your central hub for all past, present and future means of moving people and packages from Point A to Point B. It…
Ireland’s evasive response to a major security complaint filed against Google’s adtech the year the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into application is the target of a new lawsuit — which accuses the Data Protection Commission (DPC) of years of inaction over what the complainants assert is “the largest data breach ever”….
Vira Health, a UK-based startup offering personalized digital therapy for women going through menopause has closed second-round funding. It received $12 million from Octopus Ventures as lead investor, and also participated in Optum Ventures’ US-based VC fund. The latest round of financing was also open to existing investors who were part of the April 2020-founded…
This Week in Apps is back! This weekly ProWellTech series recaps the most recent in mobile OS news, mobile apps, and the overall app economy. According to the most recent year-end reports, the app industry is continuing to grow with record numbers of apps downloaded and consumers spending on both the iOS (and Google Play)…
The UK government has again announced an extension to the scope of the draft Online Safety Bill — this time bringing scam ads into scope following pressure from campaigners. In parallel, it has also launched a consultation on strengthening existing regulation of the online ad industry, laying out a range of options to beef up…
Welcome to my new weekly fintech focused column. I’ll be publishing this every Sunday, so in between posts, be sure to listen to the Equity podcast and hear Alex Wilhelm, Natasha Mascarenhas and me riff on all things startups! And if you want to have this hit your inbox directly once it officially turns into…
One of just five general partners at the storied early-stage venture firm Benchmark, Sarah Tavel may be leaning the most into crypto, but that hardly means she’s actively writing-related checks. On the contrary, Tavel has led one of the only crypto-related bets that Benchmark has made in recent years, making an early investment in the…