These Bay Area startups reeled in some massive funding rounds last week, totaling more than $2.2 billion. From edtech to e-commerce, these rising stars are innovating in some of the buzziest industries today and have big plans with their new millions. Keep reading to learn more. This is the Built In SF weekly refresh.
Bolt raised $393M. This fintech giant is the latest of many startups reaping the rewards of the ongoing e-commerce boom. Bolt integrates with existing retailers to streamline the ordering process for consumers, providing a one-click checkout experience for hundreds of sites, including Forever 21 and Milk Makeup. This fresh financing brings the unicorn’s valuation to a whopping $6 billion and will be used to expand its product suite and grow its team. [Built In]
Plume got $300M. As we approach the two-year mark of this pandemic, many of us are still spending the majority of our days at home, putting a strain on our broadband networks. Plume aims to improve these services by partnering with carriers and providing smart mesh Wi-Fi. This fresh funding was led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and values the startup at $2.6 billion. While other investors in this latest round were not disclosed, Plume has been previously backed by several key players in the space, including Comcast Cable, Foxconn and Samsung. [TechCrunch]
Divvy Homes brought in $735M. This fresh round of debt facility comes just two months after the proptech startup raised a $200 million Series D. Divvy Homes is on a mission to make homeownership more accessible to Americans, providing an alternative to renting or buying to help customers save for a down payment while living in the home they want. The service is available in 16 major U.S. cities so far. The fresh financing will be used to refinance two existing debt facilities and buy more homes, with the goal of helping more than 100,000 families buy homes over the next 10 years. [PR Newswire]
SF Tech Quote of the Week
TripActions announced a $275M raise. TripActions’ corporate travel and expense management platform is designed to be an end-to-end solution for finance teams and travel managers. Despite the tumultuous year this industry has had, the startup is experiencing “massive growth” and even exceeding pre-Covid levels of success. This Series F was led by Greenoaks and brings TripActions’ total valuation to $7.25 billion — a big jump from what it was in January. The money will be used to expand the company’s presence in Europe and hire more than 150 new employees around the world during this fiscal year. [Built In]
Dexterity got its horn. The warehouse robotics software startup recently hit a $1.4 billion valuation after raising a fresh $140 million funding round, making it one of the Bay Area’s newest unicorns. Dexterity says its technology equips robots with vision, touch and contextual intelligence to handle everything from deformable polybags to floppy tortillas with speed and human-like dexterity (*wink*). The company will use this Series B to deploy its first thousand robots into production. [Business Wire]
Outschool scored $110M. The after-school enrichment marketplace has experienced massive growth over the last year, triggered mainly by the need for kid-friendly virtual programming amid the pandemic. Outschool offers a variety of interactive, small group online classes for kids K-12, ranging from art, science and history classes to immersive Minecraft escape rooms and Fortnite appreciation clubs. This fresh funding values the startup at $3 billion, positioning it as a leader in the burgeoning virtual learning space. [TechCrunch]
In more VC funding news: Mobile healthtech startup Sprinter Health plans to scale up its at-home lab and testing services with a $33 million Series A led by Andreessen Horowitz, with participation from General Catalyst, Accel, GV and several other prominent investors. [Fierce Healthcare]
Hubilo pulled in a $125 million Series B led by Alkeon Capital — a big financial step for the young startup as it continues to double down on providing engaging virtual and live events. [TechCrunch]
Machine learning operations (MLOps) platform Weights & Biases hit unicorn valuation after raising a Series C round that totals more than $100 million. The company will use this fresh funding to scale its product and global team. [PR Newswire]
