These Bay Area tech startups pulled in huge venture sums last month, blowing right past January’s monthly total of $1.84 billion. From shipping logistics to self-driving vehicles, here are the companies making big moves and bold leaps in the tech world.
#5. $300 million, February 10
Mobile linking platform Branch secured $300 million in a funding round led by NEA. The fresh capital sent the unicorn’s valuation skyrocketing to a whopping $4 billion. With its cross-platform linking and attribution tools, Branch aims to unify the user experience across mobile devices and channels. Over 100,000 mobile apps use the platform, including tech giants like Adobe, Yelp and BuzzFeed. The 500-person company will use the capital to accelerate research and product development.
#4. $400 million, February 16
Conversational automation tool Uniphore grabbed $400 million in Series E funding. The round was led by NEA and raised the unicorn’s valuation to a whopping $2.5 billion. Uniphore brings together conversational AI, workflow automation and robotic process automation tools on a single platform. The company plans to use the funds acquired from its latest raise to expand internationally. Uniphore specifically has its sights set on North America, Europe and the Asia Pacific.
#3. $425 million, February 28
Fremont-based e-grocer Weee! grabbed $425 million in a Series E round that valued the company at $4.1 billion. The raise, led by VC giant SoftBank Vision Fund 2, comes almost a year following the close of the company’s Series D. Weee primarily focuses on delivering food from Asian and Latinx grocery stores. Users can find traditional Asian ingredients on the platform, like yellow dragon fruit and purple yam, in addition to traditional Latinx ingredients like fresh chorizo and queso fresco. The company will use the additional capital to advance its warehouse automation and expand the range of products it offers on its platform.
#2. $935 million, February 7
Flexport raised a massive $935 million round to continue scaling in the face of record growth. The SF-based unicorn is now on the heels of becoming a decacorn after the fresh injection of capital sent its valuation soaring to more than $8 billion. The Series E was led by VC giants Andreessen Horowitz and MSD Partners with a strategic investment from Shopify. Following the latest raise, Flexport plans to accelerate development of its technology and expand to new markets. The unicorn also plans to mount a major hiring effort.
#1. $1.35 billion, February 1
Cruise scored a $1.35 billion investment from SoftBank Vision. The latest raise is an extension of the $900 million SoftBank initially gave Cruise back in 2018. At the time, the VC giant promised it would invest more when the startup was ready for commercial deployment. Now, the startup says it has hit that milestone, and it plans to use the capital from its latest raise to grow its team and scale its technology across the city and into more communities. A public waitlist has been set up on Cruise’s website, and rides are free for now. The driverless service is available from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m., and will be limited to certain areas around town.
