Mary Ann Azevedo
TechCrunch
Austin, TX, United States
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Recent articles by Mary:
Ocrolus lands $80M at a $500M+ valuation to automate document processing for fintechs and banks –
If you’ve ever had to take out a loan, you know just how many documents are involved in the approval process. It’s a lot. The process is tedious and time-consuming, and in many more cases than you’d expect — still manual. Ocrolus is a startup that is hoping to change that with an automation platform […] → Read More
Global Founders Capital leads $9.3M investment into Awning, a real estate brokerage for individual investors –
Earning passive income as an investor in single-family rental homes is a dream for many, but also something that can be intimidating to break into. Awning is a startup that aims to make the process less intimidating through a platform designed to allow individuals to invest in single-family rental homes not just in the cities […] → Read More
Meru Health raises $30M for ‘holistic’ online mental health platform –
The COVID-19 pandemic has undoubtedly been devastating on many levels. But if there’s any silver lining in the global crisis, it could be that it’s less taboo to talk about feeling anxious, depressed or burnt out. Because chances are, the person you’re talking to is feeling one of those things too. So it’s no surprise […] → Read More
SoftBank and Demi Lovato back June Homes, a proptech startup emerging from stealth with $50M in funding –
June Homes, a proptech startup that aims to make renting less painful and more flexible for both tenants and landlords, is emerging from stealth today with $50 million in total funding. SoftBank Ventures Asia led the startup’s latest round — a $27 million Series B. Other backers in the company include FJ Labs, Kairos, TQ […] → Read More
Mexico’s Kavak drives away with $700M in new funding, doubling its valuation to $8.7B –
Kavak, a Mexico City-based startup that operates a pre-owned car marketplace in Latin America, announced today that it has raised a massive $700 million in a Series E round that more than doubles the company’s valuation to $8.7 billion. This news is notable for a few reasons. For one, it’s a staggering sum for any […] → Read More
Nigerian fintech Hervest wants to bring financial inclusion to more African women –
After years of working in marketing for a number of financial services companies, Solape Akinpelu came to a conclusion: There was an “alarmingly low adoption” by women for financial services in her home country of Nigeria and all of Africa as a whole. “I could see women living the reality around me,” Akinpelu recalls. “These […] → Read More
Just raises $8M in its effort to beat Root at the car insurance game –
Just Insure, a pay-per-mile insurance technology company, has raised $8 million in a funding round. CrossCut Ventures, ManchesterStory and Western Technology Investments co-led the investment, which brings its total raised to $15.3 million since its January 2019 inception. Los Angeles-based Just says it uses telematics “to reward safe drivers and reduce insurer bias” by looking […] → Read More
Alternative financing startup Pipe snaps up Stripe and HubSpot execs, expands to UK –
Pipe, a two-year-old startup that aims to be the “Nasdaq for revenue,” announced today it has snagged former Stripe EIC Sid Orlando and HubSpot’s ex-Chief Strategy Officer Brad Coffey to serve on its executive team. The Miami-based fintech also revealed today its first expansion outside of the United States with its entry into the U.K. […] → Read More
Former Instacart CFO Sagar Sanghvi joins Accel as its newest partner –
Instacart‘s chief financial officer Sagar Sanghvi has departed from the on-demand grocery delivery company after nearly six years and is returning to his investing roots. Specifically, Sanghvi has joined Accel as a partner focused on global growth-stage consumer and enterprise investments. Prior to becoming CFO of Instacart, Sanghvi served as the company’s vice president of […] → Read More
Mynd raises $57.3M at an $807M valuation to give people a way to invest in rental properties remotely –
Mynd, a company that aims to make it easier for people to buy and manage single-family rental properties, announced today it has raised $57.3 million in funding from QED Investors. The financing values the Oakland, California-based company at $807 million, and brings the company’s total raised to $174.9 million since its 2016 inception. Invesco Real […] → Read More
Self Financial raises $50M to help the subprime consumer build credit and savings at the same time –
Self Financial, a fintech company that aims to help consumers build credit and savings at the same time, announced today it has raised $50 million in Series E funding. Altos Ventures led the financing, which also included participation from Meritech Capital and Conductive Ventures and brings the Austin-based startup’s total raised to $127 million since […] → Read More
Concreit closes on $6M to allow more people to invest in the global private real estate market –
Concreit, a company that wants to open real estate investing to a broader group of people, announced today that it has closed $6 million in a seed funding round led by Matrix Partners. Hyphen Capital also participated in the round, in addition to individual investors such as Betterment founder and CEO Jon Stein; Andy Liu, […] → Read More
SoftBank deepens commitment to LatAm with two new partners focused on early-stage investing –
In March 2019, SoftBank Group International made headlines when it announced the SoftBank Innovation Fund, which started out with a $2 billion commitment to invest in tech startups in Latin America. A lot has changed since then. SoftBank changed the name of the fund to the SoftBank Latin America Fund, or LatAm Fund for short. […] → Read More
Kapor Capital, Square co-founder Sam Wen back TomoCredit in its $10M Series A funding round –
Building credit history can be difficult if you are a consumer that is having trouble getting access to credit in the first place. Enter TomoCredit, which has developed a credit card focused on building credit history for first-time borrowers. The San Francisco-based startup is announcing today that it has raised $10 million in a Series […] → Read More
Logistics startup Stord raises $90M in Kleiner Perkins-led round, becomes a unicorn and acquires a company –
When Kleiner Perkins led Stord’s $12.4 million Series A in 2019, its founders were in their early 20s and so passionate about their startup that they each dropped out of their respective schools to focus on growing the business. Fast-forward two years and Stord — an Atlanta-based company that has developed a cloud supply chain — […] → Read More
QED Investors closes on $1.05B across two funds to invest in fintech companies globally –
QED Investors announced the closing of two new funds totaling $1.1 billion, capital that it will be using to back early-stage startups, as well as growth rounds for later-stage companies. Specifically, today QED is announcing a $550 million early-stage fund and a $550 million growth-stage fund, both of which are aimed at backing fintech companies […] → Read More
SoftBank’s latest proptech bet is leading Pacaso’s $125M Series C –
Less than six months after raising $75 million, Pacaso — a real estate platform which aims to help people buy and co-own a second home — announced today that it has raised $125 million at a $1.5 billion valuation. SoftBank Vision Fund 2 led the Series C funding round for Pacaso, which essentially went from […] → Read More
Truepic, which just raised $26M in a Microsoft-led round, aims to verify the authenticity of photos and videos –
Truepic, a digital image verification software provider, has raised $26 million in a Series B funding round led by M12, Microsoft’s venture fund. Adobe, Sony Innovation Fund by IGV, Hearst Ventures and individuals from Stone Point Capital also participated in the financing, which brings San Diego-based Truepic’s total raised since its 2015 inception to $36 […] → Read More
SoftBank commits $3B more to investing in Latin American tech companies –
SoftBank Group Corp. is doubling down on its commitment to Latin America. Today, the Japanese investment conglomerate is announcing the launch of the SoftBank Latin America Fund II, its second dedicated private investment fund focused on tech companies located in LatAm. SoftBank is launching the new fund with an initial $3 billion commitment. “Fund II […] → Read More
SpotOn raises $300M at a $3.15B valuation and acquires Appetize –
Last year at this time, SpotOn was on the brink of announcing a $60 million Series C funding round at a $625 million valuation. Fast forward to almost exactly one year later, and a lot has changed for the payments and software startup. Today, SpotOn said it has closed on $300 million in Series E […] → Read More