SoftBank Turn Up – TechCrunch
Hello and welcome back to Startups Weekly, a weekend newsletter covering the week's startups and venture capital news. Before I jump into today's theme, let's address a bit. Last week I wrote about All Raise's expansion, the Uber TV show and the unicorn from below.
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SoftBank saga
According to a new report from The Wall Street Journal, SoftBank plans to take a more conservative approach as it begins distributing capital from Vision Fund II. Why? The Japanese mega fund's track record is less than amazing. Not only has it lost billions on WeWork, but several of its other portfolio companies are suffering through layoffs, mismanagement and more.
Fair.com a startup that builds flexible car ownership valued at $ 1[ads1].2 billion – backed by about $ 500 million in equity from SoftBank and others, plus $ 1 billion in debt financing – said this week it will lay off 40% of the staff. On top of that, it removes CFO Tyler Painter, the brother of CEO and co-founder (and auto business veteran) Scott Painter. He is being replaced in the meantime by Kirk Shryoc. Read more from TechCrunch's Ingrid Lunden.
WeWork, the collaboration giant we are all too familiar with at this time, has earned $ 18.5 billion from SoftBank, according to Marcelo Claure, a SoftBank leader who spoke to WeWork- staff, were leaked to Recode this week. "We have guaranteed WeWork's future, but more importantly, we are putting the future back in our hands. There are no more days needed to raise money … The amount of commitment SoftBank has made to this company in the past and now is $ 18.5 billion. To put things in context, it's bigger than GDP in my country where I came from. It's a country where there are 11 million people. "Now, almost every single WeWork investor, especially SoftBank , completely underwater.
That's more where it came from. Brandless, another … star in SoftBank's portfolio, has struggled heavily with layoffs and a CEO shaking, according to The Information. dollars from SoftBank, have also withstood layoffs and management changes and failed to protect the safety of their pets, according to this splendid report from CNN. And Compass, a unicorn in real estate, has lost CFO, CMO and CTO in what has been labeled “Another SoftBank-Fueled Real Estate Exodus.”
BERLIN, GERMANY – December 05: Clue Co-Founder and CEO Ida Tin talks to TechCrunch Disrupt Berlin 2017 at Arena Berlin December 4, 2017 in (Photo by Noam Galai / Getty Images for TechCrunch,)
Meet me in Berlin
The TechCrunch team is heading to Berlin again this year for our annual event, TechCrunch Disrupt Berlin, which brings together entrepreneurs and investors from around the world. We announced the agenda this week, with leading founders including Away & # 39; s Jen Rubio and UiPath's Daniel Dines in print for big talks. Take a look at the full agenda.
I want to be there to interview a bunch of venture capitalists, who will give tips on how to get your first euros. Buy tickets for the event here.
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Equity
This week Alex was distant, and I was in the studio talking about a new angel fund, the WeWork saga and Lime's loss. Listen to the latest episode here.
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Startup Spotlight
Bespoke Financial wants to provide cannabis businesses the same type of financial services that other businesses receive, but which dispensaries and growers do not yet have access to.
The regulations surrounding cannabis business are so strict at the local level – and so spectacular at the federal level – that national banks will not provide cannabis industry businesses with the same basic services (as short-term loans).
That's why a former Goldman Sachs banker has partnered with entrepreneurs from the traditional agricultural industry to create Bespoke Financial. And that's why the company has raised $ 7 million in funding led by Casa Verde Capital – the investment firm launched by legendary cannabis aficionado Calvin Broadus (AKA Snoop Dogg). Read more about TechCrunch's Jon Shieber here.
