Summer starts strong with more than $100M in fundings
Though the muggy months may be upon us, the world of VC seems impervious to sluggish summer days. The past week alone was marked by several major (and I mean major fundings) in the New York City tech sector. To name a few: Ride-hailing app Gett raked in a staggering $80 million, with car-maker Volkswagen leading the charge; and cybersecurity software developer Claroty took home an impressive $60 million Series B round.
After extensive battle, net neutrality rollbacks set to take effect
Despite opponents fighting tooth and nail to halt the FCC’s slated rollbacks on net neutrality regulations, bureaucracy won out, allowing the rollbacks to take effect as of Monday, June 11. In a statement to Built In NYC, Etsy’s Head of Advocacy and Impact, Althea Erickson, summed up the disappointment of so many: “Today is deeply disappointing for those of us who have fought so hard to uphold the protections that enable millions of microbusinesses to start and grow online. The repeal of the rules that protect the open internet can push millions of microbusinesses to the internet slow lane, stifling their ability to compete with big business”
Squarespace expands its toolkit with email marketing
Squarespace, the one-stop-shop for classy-as-can-be D.I.Y. websites is making it easier than ever to share your artwork, small business or electro-noise music project with the world: as of today, the site has rolled out an integrated email marketing tool that allows users to create and track custom campaigns for their product or idea. The tool retains Squarespace’s signature focus on clean and innovative design, and even allows users to import content directly from their pre-existing website. Better yet, data and analytics will be tracked in the same space as a user’s website, streamlining the path to SEO mastery. In an interview with TechCrunch, Squarespace’s Head of Product Natalie Gibralter explained the email tool is part of a larger plan to evolve Squarespace into an “all-in-one” platform for businesses. [Read More]
Craigslist founder donates $20M to journalism school
City University of New York’s journalism school will now be known as the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism — and all it took was a $20 million donation. Newmark, best known as the founder of Craigslist, made the large donation out of a belief that journalism is more critical than ever. Regardless of his motives, CUNY could not be more satisfied, and has already revealed plans to hire new faculty and increase the scope of its programs. For what it’s worth, Newmark’s net worth is reported to be over $1.3 billion. [Read More]
TheSkimm: coming soon to an Android near you
Android users are used to getting the short end of the stick (I personally am regularly attacked for my green texts). Now, they win a small victory in the form of TheSkimm’s app being available to Android users ‘round the world. The app has been available to those with Apple devices for some time (years, in fact…), and features the site’s regular newsletter, a calendar of important events, and “Text TheSkimm” feature that allows users to ask for advice about career, finance and more. [Read More]
