Women-founded unicorns are on the rise. According to a recent Crunchbase report, the industry is on track to mint a record number of women-founded unicorns in 2019. According to the report, 10 women-founded companies have become unicorns in 2019 alone compared to 2018, which holds the previous record at 12. In NYC, Glossier, Rent the Runway, and Away are three big names to watch out for. [Built in NYC]
Is Peloton going public? Get your spin shoes on. The fitness tech company announced on Wednesday a filing for an initial public offering. Peloton is gaining even more momentum, alongside plans to open a new HQ in Hudson Commons in 2020 with flashy new fitness and broadcast studios. [Built in NYC]
This fitness startup is seeing results. Mirror, a fitness company selling a 40-inch screen which streams at-home workout routines coached by a virtual trainer, is expected to close a $36 million funding round at a $300 million valuation, according to TechCrunch. Peloton’s business model works, and Mirror and other fitness companies are running with it. [Built In NYC]
Bumble to open a permanent coffee house in Soho. Calling all the single ladies! The coffee shop, called Bumble Brew, will serve coffee during the day, and small plates at night. Also on pace to open a new HQ in Austin in 2020, Bumble plans to expand Bumble Brew to new locations in the future. [Built In NYC]
Burrow is opening a brick-and-mortar location in Chicago. The direct-to-consumer couch company offers a couch that ships in boxes and is easy to build. After seeing great success in its NYC retail store, the company is opening up a second retail space in Chicago. Burrow’s sofa assembles in 10 minutes with no tools — tell me more. [Press Release]
Major fundings:
Biz2Credit raised a $52 million in Series B round. This NYC based company, which helps financial institutes manage the lending process for small and medium sized businesses, raised funding to expand its platform, grow the company and go global. The round was led by WestBridge Capital. [Built In NYC]
AdHawk raised $13 million in a Series B round. AdHawk, a company dedicated to helping medium-sized businesses expand their digital marketing, is using this recent funding to expand the marketing presence of its recent acquisition, FloorForce. The digital marketing platform plans on hiring 75 more employees and investing in flooring and home service products. [Built In NYC]
Realeyes raises $12.4 million. Realeyes has developed an AI trained to read emotions and help brands understand how people respond to their ads. Pretty cool right? The funding will be used to fund AI research and expand to Japan. [Built in NYC]
Troops raises $12 million in Series B round. Troops, a sales assistant tool that works within Slack, is using the $12 million Series B to reach more customers and build out its sales and marketing team. On Wednesday, the company also announced its Deal Room tool, which gives members access to information from Salesforce, team notes, and all other relevant information on that customer. Easy Peasy. [Built In NYC]
Onna raises $11 million in Series A round. Too many apps and not enough time? That’s where Onna comes in. Onna helps companies by consolidating companies’ data across all of their productivity applications. With investments from Dropbox and the Slack Fund, Onna is using its newly raised money to double its team of 50 employees and grow its product. [Built in NYC]
