Etsy acquires A.I. startup Blackbird Technologies
Etsy, the online marketplace for handmade goods, is making a bet on artificial intelligence. This week, the company announced it acquired Blackbird Technologies, a machine learning startup whose proprietary technology provides search and recommendations functionalities. The acquisition comes as part of Etsy’s current push to further optimize its search experience, as well as its long-term vision to deploy A.I. technology in areas beyond search. [Built In NYC]
Vroom raises $50M Series E
Vroom, the New York-based online pre-owned car retailer, announced it raised a $50 million Series E funding round. Altimeter Capital and Foxhaven Asset Management joined existing investors L. Catterton, General Catalyst Partners, Allen & Company, and funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. [Built In NYC]
White Ops scores $20M to help digital publishers fight online ad fraud
This week, online fraud detector White Ops announced it raised a $20 million Series B round. Since emerging from stealth mode in 2013, this brings the company’s total funding to $33 million. White Ops provides sophisticated invalid traffic (SIVT) detection and prevention services for digital advertisers. In other words, the company’s technology combats criminal activity by working with clients to cut off sources of fraudulent traffic. [Built In NYC]
Nucleus buys Kickstarter-funded competitor, raises $5M Series A
New York-based Nucleus, a connected home intercom company, announced they raised a $5.6 million Series A funding round. The round was led by the Alexa Fund, with participation from BoxGroup, Greylock Partners, FF Angel (Founders Fund), Foxconn, Liquid 2 Ventures and SV Angel. [Built In NYC]
KeyMe locks down $15M to unlock the future of key duplication
KeyMe, that startup that is eliminating old-fashioned key copying, just landed a $15 million Series C round to fund aggressive expansion. The Series C was led by QuestMark Partners. [TechCrunch]
New York's Wi-Fi hubs shut down after complaints of misuse
Starting soon, you won’t be able to browse the web on the tablets in New York’s LinkNYC hubs. The LinkNYC team said that "unexpected challenges" had made it necessary to temporarily shut down the web function in the hubs' onboard tablets. [The Verge]
Know of a company that deserves coverage? Let us know or tweet us @builtinnewyork.
