MasterClass Raised $225M, Ethos Got $200M, and More Bay Area Tech News

May 17, 2021
masterclass
photo: masterclass

Bay Area tech businesses were busy as usual last week, and now several companies are hiring after their hefty venture raises. Read more for the latest news. This is the Built In SF weekly refresh.

MasterClass secured $225MIts online streaming platform offers subscription-based access to expert-led classes across a variety of subjects. Now, the edtech company is freshly outfitted with Series F capital with plans to add more courses, expand overseas, launch a new B2B line and grow its headcount from 380 to 500 this year. [Built In SF]

Ethos raised $200MWith its machine learning-based platform, insurtech company Ethos approves life insurance coverage for those who may be denied it otherwise. The Series D funding came from investors including General Catalyst, Sequoia Capital and Jay-Z’s Roc Nation. Ethos is looking to extend $20 billion in coverage this year and is hiring new talent to its team. [Built In SF]

SF Tech Quote of the Week

“I think COVID is just accelerating an existing trend. You see now that remote work has become feasible in a way that I think people never thought possible. I also think companies are realizing that because they can work remotely, contracting has become that much more appealing.” —Hooman Radfar, Collective co-founder and CEO

Collective raised $20MThis fintech company helps self-employed people run their business, offering users services for accounting, invoicing and taxes. Planning to grow its product and expand its team, Collective secured its Series A round from investors including General Catalyst, Ashton Kutcher’s Sound Ventures and Guy Oseary. [Built In SF]

CircleCI secured $100MAlongside its Series F funding, the CI/CD unicorn announced its acquisition of Vamp, a release orchestration company. CircleCI helps developers quickly release code by automating the processes of building, testing and deploying it. It’s investing in furthering company growth, including onboarding new talent across all its departments. [Built In SF]

Handshake pulled in $80MNow cemented as a unicorn with a $1.5 billion valuation, recruitment platform Handshake is furthering its growth momentum. Its platform helps job applicants learn about positions via student reviews and career fairs. Spark, Lightspeed, Coatue and Valiant contributed to the round. Handshake is looking to build out its team across all departments. [Built In SF]

Legion got $50MStripes led the workforce management company’s Series C round that will enable Legion to invest in its product, R&D and hiring efforts. The Redwood City-based company’s platform offers employers features like labor optimization tools and automated scheduling. Legion is currently recruiting for roles in marketing, engineering and customer success. [Built In SF]

Voltus pulled in $31MWith its cloud-based platform, the company is working to unlock the potential of distributed energy resources and help customers maximize their earnings. With fresh funding from a Series C round led by Activate Capital, Voltus plans to establish new partnerships and monetize more energy across wholesale markets. [Yahoo Finance]

Treasury Prime got $20MOffering a banking-as-a-service software, Treasury Prime is investing in its go-to-market programs and expanding its team following a Series B raise. The startup caters to fintech companies, fully integrating an API that allows them to offer additional banking services. It’s planning to build out its sales, marketing and engineering departments. [PR Newswire]

In more VC funding news: Palo Alto-based edtech platform Engageli closed on a $33 million Series A round led by Maveron and Corner Ventures with plans to scale its product development and fuel more growth. [Globe Newswire]

BluBracket raised $12 million for its code security software. The Palo Alto-based company is looking to expand its go-to-market activities following its Series A led by Evolution Equity Partners. [BluBracket]

Making moves in the healthtech space is Memora Health with $10.5 million in fresh funding led by A16z. Its machine learning-powered platform helps clinicians deliver continuous care to patients. [PR Newswire]

With $7.7 million in combined pre-seed and seed funding, Chef Robotics is investing in its AI-enabled platform that works to automate some of the processes involved with restaurant food prep. [Tech Crunch]

DeepScribe pulled in $5.3 million from a Bee Partners-led seed round to fund R&D for its AI- and NLP-powered platform that transcribes patient medical notes. It’s also using the capital to grow its team. [VentureBeat]

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