Why debt financing could be heating up, cyber startup hits unicorn status 7 weeks after launch, and more - March 24, 2022

March 24, 2022 [Debt financing could heat up as venture capital slows]( Debt financing—which can lessen the amount of more expensive venture capital a startup needs and also lower dilution for founders and earlier investors—seems to be becoming a more popular option, especially as venture funding appears to be slowing down. [Why edtech funding is still going strong]( The pandemic may be winding down, and with that, the focus on online-only education, but VC-backed companies in the education space still raised more than $20 billion last year, up significantly from 2020, and saw a number of high-profile companies exit into the public markets. Now, investors say the space is primed for renewed investment across the board. [Cyber startup hits unicorn status just 7 weeks after launching]( A Dallas-based startup that offers an enterprise browser that it claims enhances both security and productivity of workers has raised a $115 million Series B at a $1.3 billion valuation—less than two months after emerging from stealth. [Former a16z GP raises $1.5B for crypto investments]( Haun Ventures, the debut fund of former Andreessen Horowitz general partner Katie Haun, has raised $1.5 billion for its first fund, which will focus on crypto investments. It’s a significant raise for a few reasons: It may be the largest fund ever raised by a solo general partner, and by a woman. [WorkRamp pulls in $40M for employee onboarding and training]( Amid a period of historically low U.S. unemployment and high competition for skilled workers, businesses are investing in more tools to support and train employees. That’s resulted in a strong and steady flow of funding to startups serving the niche. This week, WorkRamp, developer of a learning platform for businesses and their employees, became the latest company in the space to announce a sizable funding round. [Meet the top-funded female entrepreneurs in 2022 (thus far)]( In honor of Women’s History Month, we’re highlighting female entrepreneurs who are leading, inspiring and shaping the future. We leveraged Crunchbase’s Diversity Spotlight data to curate this list of 10 top-funded companies founded and led by female entrepreneurs so far in 2022. [The biggest TikTok stars pivoting to VC]( Influencers don’t just make money from brand deals these days. A growing number are investing in startups, both individually and by starting their own venture capital firms. We take a look at the investment resumes for these stars from Josh Richards to the D’Amelio family and others. [Enhance Your Sales Team’s Prospecting]( [Crunchbase Enterprise is an all-in-one prospecting solution. Download this product overview sheet to learn how to close more deals without the headache.]( [Download Now]( Crunchbase Pro: Searches and Lists Name Type Entries [Edtech companies with funding in the last year]( Funding Rounds 803 [Female Founders of U.S. based companies]( People 10865 [Investors who have recently invested in cryptocurrency companies]( Investors 612 [More Featured Searches and Lists]( [Check out our Crunchbase solutions here]( – prospecting tools made for everyone Recent Investments [Jeeves]( [$180M]( / [Series C]( Jeeves is a fintech company that focuses on expense management and payments. Categories: Banking • Credit Cards • Financial Services • FinTech • Payments Founders: [Dileep Thazhmon]( [Sherwin Gandhi]( Investors: [Tencent]( (Lead), [Andreessen Horowitz]( [Carlo Enrico]( [+ 10 more]( [Hex Technologies]( [$52M]( / [Series B]( Hex Technologies is a collaborative data software platform for data teams. Categories: Analytics • Big Data • Business Intelligence • Software Founders: [Barry McCardel]( [Caitlin Colgrove]( [Glen Takahashi]( Investors: [Andreessen Horowitz]( (Lead), [Amplify Partners]( [Databricks Ventures]( [+ 2 more]( [D-ID]( [$25M]( / [Series B]( D-ID is an information technology company that creates AI-based image generating software. Categories: Artificial Intelligence • Computer Vision • Facial Recognition • Media and Entertainment • Privacy Founders: [Eliran Kuta]( [Gil Perry]( [Sella Blondheim]( Investors: [Macquarie Capital]( (Lead), [AXA Venture Partners]( [Marubeni]( [+ 4 more]( More Fundings Company Amount / Round Lead Investor [Span.IO]( $90M / [Series B]( [Fifth Wall]( [Firefly Aerospace]( $75M / [Series B]( [AE Industrial Partners]( [Stanza Living]( 4.2B INR / [Debt Financing]( [Kotak Mahindra Bank]( [Inpixon]( $50M / [Post-IPO Equity]( - [Antidote Health]( $22M / [Series A]( [Flint Capital]( [Rupifi]( 610M INR / [Debt Financing]( [Alteria Capital]( [All Recent Funding Activity]( Recent Acquisitions [oddity]( Pending acquisition by [Infosys]( for 50M EUR More Acquisitions Company Acquired By Amount [Thrive Cannabis]( [Aurora Cannabis]( $38M [All Recent Acquisition Activity]( #{Rails.configuration.daily.cb_url} Discover innovative companies and the people behind them. 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