The new startup perks, this advertising company got the week’s top round, and more - May 2, 2022

May 2, 2022 [How startups are competing for talent in a tight labor market]( Tech’s reputation for cushy benefits and higher pay have helped the industry stand out among other sectors. But tech companies still need to step up their game to compete for talent in 2022’s tight labor market. [This week’s top funding rounds are somewhat surprising]( Investors again spread their money all over the place this week. Although that isn’t rare most weeks, it is unusual that no crypto, blockchain or Web3 company made the list. In fact, the biggest rounds of the week went to AI and advertising. [These are strange times as inflation and a looming downturn collide]( Inflation is part of why asset values have gone up so much. Now, assets are dropping, but inflation persists. We’re walking into a double whammy, writes guest author and Tuesday Capital partner Prashant Fonseka. [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. [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. [5 sales enablement tips to close more business in 2022]( As we approach the second half of 2022, many companies are focused on helping their sales and marketing teams work together to create an environment where sales flourish. [Kelsey Raymond]( CEO and co-founder of [Influence & Co.]( shares five tips you can put in place to equip your sales and marketing teams to work together to close more deals in 2022. Crunchbase Pro: Searches and Lists Name Type Entries [Acquisitions with a purchase price of $1B+ in the last year]( Acquisitions 432 [Female-founded Texas-based companies founded in the last 5 years]( Companies 279 [Dating companies]( Companies 654 [More Featured Searches and Lists]( [Check out our Crunchbase solutions here]( – prospecting tools made for everyone Recent Investments [Trusting Social]( [$65M]( / [Series C]( Trusting Social is a technology company that provides personalized fintech solutions for the lending industry. Categories: Big Data • Financial Services • FinTech • Fraud Detection • Identity Management Founders: [Nguyen Nguyen]( [Tuyen Huynh]( Investors: [Sherpa]( (Lead) [Lemon Perfect]( [$31M]( / [Series A]( Lemon Perfect is a beverage company that provides cold-pressed lemon water with essential electrolytes and a blast of antioxidant vitamin C. Categories: Consumer Goods • Food and Beverage • Retail Founders: [Yanni Hufnagel]( Investors: [Beechwood Capital]( [Beyoncé Knowles]( [Goat Rodeo Capital]( [+ 3 more]( [GAN]( [$30M]( / [Post-IPO Debt]( GAN is a B2B supplier of internet gambling software-as-a-service solutions for casinos. Categories: Gambling • Gaming • Online Games • Software Founders: [David McDowell]( Investors: [Beach Point Capital Management]( (Lead) More Fundings Company Amount / Round Lead Investor [Smallstep]( $19M / [Series A]( [StepStone Group]( [CommandBar]( $19M / [Series A]( [Insight Partners]( [Skillmatics]( 1.2B INR / [Series B]( [Sofina]( [Arbolus]( 12M GBP / [Series A]( [Element Ventures]( [Smallstep]( $7.0M / [Seed Round]( [Boldstart Ventures]( [TravClan]( 360M INR / [Seed Round]( [Hashed]( [Finbots.AI]( $3.0M / [Series A]( [Accel]( [Yield Guild Games Southeast Asia]( $500K / [Seed Round]( [Solana Ventures]( [Arbolus]( Unknown / [Debt Financing]( [Silicon Valley Bank]( [All Recent Funding Activity]( Recent Acquisitions [Sprng Energy]( Pending acquisition by [Shell Oil Company]( for $1.6B More Acquisitions Company Acquired By Amount [Grit Consulting]( [Cyient]( $37M [All Recent Acquisition Activity]( Upcoming Tech Events Accelerator Deadlines Date Accelerator Location May 31, 2022 [Founder Friendly Labs]( Palo Alto Jun 15, 2022 [GLOCAL]( Rosario [More Upcoming Deadlines]( Don’t see your event? 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