VCs pour $1.3B into rental-focused startups, Palmer Luckey seeks $7B valuation for defense tech startup, and more - April 29, 2022

April 29, 2022 [NEW! Find your next deal with Crunchbase’s similar companies]( With Crunchbase’s similar companies you can discover must-know accounts right on Crunchbase profiles to help you fill your pipeline. Now Crunchbase’s machine-learning model automatically surfaces similar accounts and possible competitors on company profiles, along with relevant insights like company size, location and revenue range so you can quickly qualify. [As rents rise, so does funding to rental-focused startups]( Venture-backed startups haven’t solved the cost and supply issues confronting renters, but they are scaling up some offerings that could ease the process of getting a place. Using Crunchbase data, we curated a list of 17 rental-related U.S. companies that have raised venture funding in recent quarters. Collectively, they’ve pulled in over $1.3 billion in the past nine months. [Major changes for Metafy CEO Josh Fabian]( In this follow-on piece to our Something Ventured profile of Metafy CEO Josh Fabian, the founder gets real about professional and personal challenges he’s faced as the startup has grown. [Palmer Luckey’s defense tech startup seeks $7B valuation]( Anduril Industries, an advanced defense technology startup started by Oculus VR founder Palmer Luckey, reportedly aims to raise at least $500 million—and as much as $1 billion—at a more than $7 billion pre-investment valuation. The potential funding comes as President Biden asks for another $20 billion for military assistance to Ukraine. [Investment in EV charging is electric]( Venture investors and startups are scaling up efforts to improve electric vehicle infrastructure. Over the past few quarters, scores of companies in the EV space have raised funding, much of it seed and early stage. We take a look at this niche part of the sector. [Environmental concerns over crypto come into focus]( It’s sometimes easy to think everything in the world of crypto is cheery, especially when new unicorns are minted almost weekly. But a couple of recent events highlight a concern—energy consumption—that while unlikely to derail the crypto industry, certainly has the potential to disrupt the digital currency sectors. [The Emerging Unicorn Board: Meet the next billion-dollar startups]( We’ve launched [The Crunchbase Emerging Unicorn Board]( a curated list, powered by Crunchbase’s data, of fast-growth private companies that are on the path to achieve unicorn valuations. We have more than 300 companies on the list so far that are on the cusp of billion-dollar valuations. See who they are and help us identify other emerging unicorns for our new list. [6 skills SDRs need to master in 2022]( Creating a successful sales foundation starts with identifying, coaching and hiring skilled SDRs. Here are six essential skills SDRs should develop that can help create a solid sales foundation for years to come. Crunchbase Pro: Searches and Lists Name Type Entries [US companies that went public in the last year]( Companies 436 [Corporate Venture Capital]( Investors 1120 [US-based investors with 100+ deals led]( Investors 90 [More Featured Searches and Lists]( [Check out our Crunchbase solutions here]( – prospecting tools made for everyone Recent Investments [iSpot.tv]( [$325M]( / [Private Equity Round]( iSpot.tv provides real-time TV ad data and analytics by connecting TV impressions to business outcomes for major TV advertisers. Categories: Advertising • Analytics • Brand Marketing • Digital Marketing • Information Technology • Market Research • Marketing • Real Time • Software • Test and Measurement Founders: [Sean Muller]( Investors: [Goldman Sachs]( (Lead) [Taxfix]( [$220M]( / [Series D]( Taxfix is an app that simplifies complex tax filing systems by offering a chat-like interface that only asks relevant questions to the user. Categories: Accounting • Apps • Software Founders: [Lino Teuteberg]( [Mathis Buchi]( Investors: [Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan]( (Lead), [Creandum]( [Index Ventures]( [+ 2 more]( [Mavrck]( [$135M]( / [Private Equity Round]( Mavrck is an influencer marketing platform that helps to identify and activate micro-influencers for enterprise consumer brands. Categories: Affiliate Marketing • Brand Marketing • Content Creators • Digital Media • Social Media Marketing Founders: [Chris Wolfel]( [Lyle Stevens]( [Sean Naegeli]( Investors: [Summit Partners]( (Lead) More Fundings Company Amount / Round Lead Investor [Movable Ink]( $55M / [Series D]( [Silver Lake Waterman]( [Argent]( $40M / [Series B]( [Fabric Ventures]( [Madison Reed]( $33M / [Venture Round]( [Sandbridge Capital]( [Blockmetrix]( $25M / [Debt Financing]( - [Eduvanz]( 500M INR / [Debt Financing]( - [BeatO]( 270M INR / [Debt Financing]( [W Health Ventures]( [Convin]( 160M INR / [Seed Round]( [Kalaari Capital]( [All Recent Funding Activity]( Recent Acquisitions [Albioma]( Pending acquisition by [Kohlberg Kravis Roberts]( for 1.6B EUR More Acquisitions Company Acquired By Amount [WhiteHat Security]( [Synopsys]( $330M [All Recent Acquisition Activity]( Upcoming Tech Events Accelerator Deadlines Date Accelerator Location May 1, 2022 [The Ganesha Lab]( Santiago May 1, 2022 [W2 Labs]( London [More Upcoming Deadlines]( Don’t see your event? 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