Knotel acquires Parisian company, eyes entire Flatiron building
Yes, I realize that is an extremely loaded headline. But, for the folks at office-space development firm Knotel, it’s been a loaded week. On January 1, the New York-based company announced they had acquired Paris-based Deskeo for an undisclosed amount. Deskeo operates 20 co-working spaces in the Paris area, marking Knotel’s second foray into the mainland European market after their acquisition of Berlin-based Ahoy!Berlin in 2018.
While Knotel’s operations are scaling on the other side of the world, things in their hometown of NYC are heating up, as well. Earlier this week, several sources revealed that Knotel is preparing to sign a long-term lease for the entire Flatiron Building. The current tenant, MacMillan Publishing, is set to relocate later this year — just in time for Knotel to reveal the space as one of its flexible coworking zones. While companies like Knotel and WeWork may compete for square footage statistics, there’s no denying that the Flatiron is one of NYC’s most iconic landmarks, not to mention it holds a status as the heart of Silicon Alley. [The Real Deal]
Verbit.ai raises $23M Series A round so you never have to transcribe again
Anyone who has ever been tasked with transcribing or captioning can tell you that there are few tasks more tedious — and more critical. Earlier this week, NYC-based Verbit.ai closed a $23 million Series A round to help alleviate this major pain point. Viola Ventures led the round, with additional participation from Vertex Ventures, HV Ventures, Oryzn Capital, Vintage Venture Partners, and Clal-Tech.
Founded in 2017, Verbit.ai uses artificial intelligence to transcribe and caption in real time, without sacrificing accuracy. Presently, the company boasts more than 100 clients, many of them in the legal and higher education worlds, and plans to use the funding to scale those operations and drive new business. [Venture Beat]
Successful pilot program sees Latch and UPS launch in 10 new cities
Last year, UPS partnered with NYC-based developer of keyless security tech, Latch, for a pilot program. Using Latch, UPS’s delivery team was able to access the common spaces of apartment buildings, such as foyers and mailrooms, to leave packages in the recipient’s absence (rather than getting stuck with the dreaded “delivery attempted” notice).
It turns out the pilot was a hit, and Latch and UPS will be taking their show on the road. Starting this year, the service will be available in 10 new cities: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Philadelphia, Seattle and Washington, D.C. [Techcrunch]
Odds and ends
- Women’s grooming company Billie raised $25M Series A round [Xconomy]
- Harry’s signs on for 28,000-square-foot expansion at One Hudson Square [Commercial Observer]
- Waze brings GPS beacons to NYC to end in-tunnel signal blackouts [TechCrunch]
