Tag: initialized capital

Venture firms rush to find ways to support Black founders and investors

As protests against police brutality and economic manifestations of systemic racism in the U.S. continue, venture capital firms are joining the chorus of technology industry advocates lending their support to the cause. For the past three days, technology company executives and the investors who backed them have issued statements of…

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Fiat Chrysler and AV startup Voyage partner on self-driving minivans

Self-driving vehicle startup Voyage said Monday that it has inked a deal with Fiat Chrysler to supply purpose-built vehicles, a partnership that will help accelerate its plan to launch a fully driverless ride-hailing service. Voyage, a three-year-old startup that tests and operates a self-driving vehicle service (with human safety operators)…

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Garry Tan and Alexis Ohanian on how to survive these crazy days (and what to learn from them)

Garry Tan and Alexis Ohanian founded Initialized Capital roughly nine years ago and they’ve closed four funds since, including most recently in late 2018. That $225 million vehicle is roughly twice the size of their previous fund, but because of the coronavirus, the firm, and its portfolio companies — some…

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Where top VCs are investing in D2C

Don’t over-index the Casper mess; investors say there’s strength yet in the sector If you’re looking for toothbrushes, skin-care face masks, mattresses, glasses or even socks, there’s a digitally-native, direct-to-consumer (D2C) company or two that can help you out. And thanks to smart digital marketing, the cult followings that ensue…

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Horizon raises another $5M to put virtual items on the blockchain and launch its first game

If a player picks up an item in an online video game, who owns that item? The player, or the company that made the game? In most cases, the answer is probably closer to the latter. The item may be in the player’s digital inventory, but the company can take…

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Shogun raises $10M to help e-commerce brands build faster websites

Amazon may have a market cap of more than $1 trillion, but Finbarr Taylor, CEO of Y Combinator-backed startup Shogun, said the e-commerce giant is “kind of dropping the ball.” Specifically, he argued that the experience of shopping on Amazon — not what happens after you buy the product, but browsing…

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