Global venture funding falls in Q1, is Shein’s $100B for real? and more - April 5, 2022

April 5, 2022 [Global venture funding falls in Q1. How significant is that?]( Global venture funding topped $160 billion in the first quarter of 2022, Crunchbase data shows, marking the first time in a year of funding records that funding fell quarter over quarter. [Sequoia Capital names PayPal alum Roelof Botha new head]( Venture capital goliath Sequoia Capital has named former PayPal CFO and longtime partner Roelof Botha its new senior steward. Botha will assume the role from Doug Leone on July 5, the company announced on Twitter. Leone will remain a general partner in its existing funds and sit on its board. [Is fast-fashion retailer Shein’s reported $100B valuation for real?]( Chinese fast-fashion giant Shein is considering raising money at a $100 billion valuation, Bloomberg reported this week. It’s a lofty goal–one that would rank it among the most highly valued private companies in the world. [B2B startup success: Run go-to-market sprints, not marathons]( When startups race with a single marketing tactic for weeks on end, time is monopolized and often wasted. A far better approach for early-stage companies is to run go-to-market sprints, not marathons. [Elon Musk becomes largest outside shareholder in Twitter]( Tesla CEO Elon Musk is now the largest outside shareholder in Twitter after buying a large stake in the social media company, CNBC reported Monday. Musk’s purchase of more than 73,000 shares represents a 9.2 percent passive stake in the company, which had a market cap of over $37 billion Monday morning. Shares of Twitter were up more than 20 percent Monday following the Securities and Exchange Commission disclosure. [AMD to acquire Pensando for $1.9B amid surging semiconductor deals]( Chipmaker AMD announced Monday it agreed to acquire Pensando, a developer of programmable processors used in cloud computing, in a transaction valued at around $1.9 billion. Milpitas, California-based Pensando previously raised at least $313 million in known venture funding, per Crunchbase data. The company was co-founded by former Cisco CEO John Chambers. [Is the unicorn stampede slowing?]( Fewer companies joined [The Crunchbase Unicorn Board]( in March compared to previous months, and none made public debuts amid a stalled IPO market and signs of a venture funding slowdown and lower late-stage valuations. But new companies on the board still raised more than $14 billion, and last month saw the creation of two new decacorns—startups valued at more than $10 billion. [Investors share downturn lessons learned and current worries]( It was not that long ago when the VC market hit its last major drop, and many VCs in the market remember that time. While this current market downturn does not provide exact parallels, there are lessons to be learned from previous cycles. In Part 2 of this series, we speak with investors about what they saw in recent downturns and how that influences their investing approach today. [The 25 sales tools your team should be using right now]( Investing in the right tools can streamline your sales process and help you sell more efficiently. But, with so many sales tools on the market, it can be hard to narrow down which ones are right for your team. Here are 25 sales tools that can help your team stay organized, boost productivity and close more deals. [New Crunchbase Chrome extension]( [Access company and contact data right where you need it with Crunchbase’s free Chrome extension.]( [Download Now]( Crunchbase Pro: Searches and Lists Name Type Entries [Video streaming companies funded in the last year]( Funding Rounds 198 [Podcasting Funding Rounds and Startups]( Funding Rounds 116 [Companies acquired by Salesforce]( Acquisitions 66 [More Featured Searches and Lists]( [Check out our Crunchbase solutions here]( – prospecting tools made for everyone Recent Investments [Exela Technologies]( [$115M]( / [Post-IPO Debt]( Exela Technologies provides enterprise software for transaction processing and workflow management. Categories: Enterprise Software • Information Technology • Management Information Systems Investors: [B. Riley Financial]( (Lead) [Moneybox]( [35M GBP]( / [Series D]( Moneybox is a mobile savings and investment app that offers a range of savings and investment products including Lifetime ISAs and Pensions. Categories: Banking • Finance • Financial Services • FinTech Founders: [Ben Stanway]( [Charlie Mortimer]( Investors: [Fidelity International Strategic Ventures]( (Lead), [Polar Capital Holdings]( [Fractal]( [$35M]( / [Seed Round]( Fractal is an in-game asset and virtual world marketplace where users may find, purchase, and sell gaming NFTs. Categories: Cryptocurrency • Marketplace • Virtual Reality Founders: [Justin Kan]( [Mike Angell]( [Robin Chan]( Investors: [Multicoin Capital]( (Lead), [Paradigm]( (Lead), [Andreessen Horowitz]( [+ 10 more]( More Fundings Company Amount / Round Lead Investor [TULU]( $20M / [Series A]( [New Era Capital Partners]( [EnKash]( $20M / [Series B]( [Ascent Capital]( [Vaarst]( 15M GBP / [Series B]( [Legal & General Capital]( [Hangry]( $14M / [Series B]( [Alpha JWC Ventures]( [Kikitrade]( $6.0M / [Venture Round]( [AppWorks]( [All Recent Funding Activity]( Recent Acquisitions [Pensando]( Pending acquisition by [AMD]( for $1.9B More Acquisitions Company Acquired By Amount [Bank Bisnis Internasional]( [FinAccel]( $200M [All Recent Acquisition Activity]( #{Rails.configuration.daily.cb_url} Discover innovative companies and the people behind them. 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