A bunch of money changed hands in Silicon Valley this week. Here’s what went down:
Capital Gains: Jay-Z Buys a Music Streaming Service, Giphy Raises $17 Million and More
The online used clothing store Tradesy also nabbed $30 million.
Vjeran Pavic
- The startup accelerator Techstars raised $150 million for a new fund intended for early-stage startup investments. This is the company’s third fund since it started investing in 2009.
- Rap star Jay-Z is sort-of-maybe going to buy the Scandinavian music streaming service Aspiro in a $56 million deal. The caveat here is that the deal isn’t done and while would-be acquirer “Project Panther Bidco” says it is controlled by “S. Carter Enterprises,” we don’t know how much money Jay-Z is actually putting into it. Or, more importantly, what he wants to do with the thing.
- UserTesting, a startup that analyzes the usability of apps and website, raised $45.5 million in a round led by Accel Partners. The company is now “likely” valued at north of $100 million (Forbes).
- Online consignment store Tradesy raised $30 million in a round led by Kleiner Perkins Caufield Byers, giving the company a roughly $100 million valuation. Tradesy previously raised $13 million in an investment round led by Kleiner eight months ago.
- D-Wave Systems, a quantum computing firm, raised $29 million in a new funding round. The company raised $30 million last July. Re/code sat down with its CEO this past September. (GigaOm)
- Mobile app advertising tech company Tune raised $27 million in new funding. The round was led by Icon Ventures, with participation from Accel Partners and first-time investor Performance Equity Management. In 2013, when it was known as HasOffers, Tune raised $9.4 million.
- Giphy, an online repository for GIF format images, raised $17 million in a Series B funding round that valued the company at $80 million. The round was led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, with participation from a mix of new and existing investors.
This article originally appeared on Recode.net.
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