AppNexus files for IPO
Rumblings of an IPO for ad tech powerhouse AppNexus have been happening for a while, but this week, the company took the plunge. The company confidentially filed paperwork for an initial public offering that is likely to come in second quarter of 2017. [Wall Street Journal]
Lemonade raises $34M to overhaul traditional insurance models
Peer-to-peer insurance startup Lemonade raised a $34 million Series B this week with the goal to shake up insurance. The round was led by General Catalyst, with participating investments from GV, Thrive Capital and Tusk Ventures. Existing investors Aleph Inc., Sequoia Capital and XL Innovate also participated in the financing. The news follows the company’s official launch out of stealth three months ago when it became a fully licensed insurance provider in New York. [Built In NYC]
MoneyLion secures $22.5M to bring fresh talent to AI finance management
This week, mobile finance platform MoneyLion secured a $22.5 million Series A. The financing was led by Edison Partners and will enable MoneyLion to expand its artificial intelligence-powered platform with new tech and talent. [Built In NYC]
A Brooklyn/Manhattan duo made a bot that will talk you through your shopping
Christmas shopping just got way easier. This year, you can sign up for Gidi, a bot that will ask you questions in Facebook Messenger about the person you’re buying for. Once you answer the questions, the bot sorts through its database of gives and provides recommendations [Technically Brooklyn]
Uber buys AI startup out of NYU Tandon
Uber announced it’s acquiring Geometric Intelligence, a startup based out of NYU Tandon’s Data Future Lab. The startup will form the basis of Uber’s newly launched AI Labs, which will conduct ongoing research into artificial intelligence and machine learning. [Technically Brooklyn]
KeyMe scores $25 million
This week, cloud-based locksmith, KeyMe raised $25 million from Benefit Street Partners, QuestMark Partners, Comcast Ventures, Battery Ventures, White Star Capital, 7-Ventures, Ravin Gandhi and the Polsky Family Office. The new funding will be used to add about 50 kiosks to the company’s retail partners per week. [New York Business Journal]
Rent the Runway launches new ‘superstore’ in Flatiron
Fashion rental startup Rent the Runway opened the doors to its first functional brick-and-mortar store this week. The new store is housed in a 5,000 square foot space in the Flatiron District, and resembles a big ‘walk-in closet.” [New York Business Journal]
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