Natasha Mascarenhas
TechCrunch
San Francisco, CA, United States
Contact Natasha
Discover and connect with journalists and influencers around the world, save time on email research, monitor the news, and more.
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Recent articles by Natasha:
Duolingo’s bellwether IPO –
Hello and welcome back to Equity, TechCrunch’s venture capital-focused podcast, where we unpack the numbers behind the headlines. We were smaller team this week, with Natasha and Alex together with Chris to sort through yet another summer frenzy of a week. This time around we actually recorded live on Twitter Spaces, which was a first for the podcast. […] → Read More
Index Ventures’ trio of new funds leads to $3 billion, and more TikTok –
Index Ventures has closed a trio of new funds: a $900 million early-stage fund, a $2 billion growth-stage fund and a previously announced $200 million seed-stage fund. The close gives Index $3 billion in new capital, its largest tranche yet, to deploy into emerging startups and existing portfolio companies, which include the likes of Plaid, […] → Read More
How WeWork’s Adam Neumann made a pigeon look like a swan –
Hello and welcome back to Equity, TechCrunch’s venture capital-focused podcast, where we unpack the numbers behind the headlines. For this week’s deep dive, Alex and Natasha took a trip down memory lane to the great WeWork saga. We had WSJ reporter and author Eliot Brown on the show to chat about his new book, The Cult of We, written […] → Read More
NewCampus wants to train the first-time managers within Southeast Asia’s tech giants –
The tech boom in Southeast Asia isn’t just seeding a wave of new entrepreneurs building the next generation of unicorns, it’s also ushering young talent into the roles of first-time managers. And NewCampus, a Singapore-based startup co-founded by Will Fan and Fei Yao, announced today that it has raised millions of dollars to help coming […] → Read More
Numerade lands $100M valuation for short-form STEM videos –
Edtech entrepreneurs are using their moment in the sun to rethink the structures and impact of nearly every aspect of modern-day learning, from the art of testing to the reality of information retention. Yet, the most popular product up for grabs may just be a seemingly simple one: the almighty tutoring session. and Numerade, an […] → Read More
Duolingo’s IPO could cast golden halo on edtech startups –
We are now seeing what growth will look like at Duolingo after its COVID-bump was digested. → Read More
All eyes are on India’s brightest Zomato –
Relevance is often tied to rarity. As a result, the first anything — whether a birthday, scientific feat or female vice president — comes with its own weight. Whether that pressure is warranted is a discussion in and of itself, but today, we’ll focus on the ripple effects of India’s first unicorn IPO: Zomato. Food […] → Read More
The price differential for engineers is declining –
Hello and welcome back to Equity, TechCrunch’s venture-capital-focused podcast, where we unpack the numbers behind the headlines. The whole crew was here this week, with Danny and Natasha and Alex together with Grace and Chris to sort through a very, very busy week. Yep, somehow it is Friday again which means it’s time for our weekly news roundup. […] → Read More
Norwest’s Lisa Wu explains how to think like a VC when fundraising –
The overlapping in job roles is uncanny: The best investors and founders have to find focus through the noise, understand the weight of due diligence and pitch others with conviction. → Read More
Nooks set to seed its own in the world of virtual HQs –
After operating in beta for a year, Nooks, a virtual workspace space targeting distributed teams, has attracted thousands of users and millions of dollars in venture capital. The Stanford student-led upstart has raised a $5 million seed round led by Tola Capital, with participation from Floodgate and investors such as Julia and Kevin Hartz (CEO […] → Read More
Your funding round isn’t special, but you might be –
Hello and welcome back to Equity, TechCrunch’s venture capital-focused podcast, where we unpack the numbers behind the headlines. For this week’s deep dive, Alex and Natasha and Danny decided it was time to chat about funding rounds. Yep, everyone’s favorite topic, just in time for the return of our wonderful producer Chris. To help us navigate these particular waters, we had […] → Read More
WayUp merges with Yello to diversify recruitment –
Despite studies, statistics and oh-so-many pledges, a vast number of companies continue to struggle with recruiting diverse talent. Some say that it’s not the pipeline problem, it’s an issue with how recruitment rounds and technical interviews are conducted. Others point to success with hiring entry-level diverse talent, but then companies fail to retain and reinvest […] → Read More
Papa co-founder lands seed funding for a second swing in eldercare: UpsideHōM –
Jake Rothstein spent nearly six years scaling Papa, a Miami-based company that offers care and companionship to seniors. The business, which pairs elderly Americans with uncertified-yet-vetted pals, helps offer casual services, such as technology support, grocery delivery or even a fun conversation. It has raised upwards of $91 million in venture capital to date. The […] → Read More
The 36 questions that lead to love (but with your co-founder) –
After months of beta testing, Y Combinator has launched a co-founder matching platform. The platform invites entrepreneurs to create profiles, which include information about themselves and preferences for a co-founder, such as location and skill sets. It digests that information and offers a number of potential candidates that fit those needs — kind of like […] → Read More
Peter Boyce II has left General Catalyst to start his own $40M fund –
Peter Boyce II has left General Catalyst to start his own firm, a little over a year after the venture capital firm promoted him to partner. His new firm is called Stellation Capital, and filings indicate that he is looking to raise up to $40 million for the debut investment vehicle. Sources say that most, […] → Read More
Instacart hires Facebook executive as new CEO ahead of expected IPO –
Instacart has appointed Facebook executive Fidji Simo as its new CEO, just seven months after she joined the grocery delivery company’s board of directors. Simo, formerly the vice president and head of the Facebook app, will replace Instacart founder and current CEO Apoorva Mehta on August 2. Mehta will transition to executive chairman of the […] → Read More
Clearco gets the SoftBank stamp of approval in new $215M round –
Toronto-based Clearco, a fintech capital provider for online companies, has raised $215 million in a round led by SoftBank Vision Fund II. The financing event closed just weeks after Clearco completed its most recent financing, a $100 million round that quintupled its valuation to $2 billion. Clearbanc rebrands its way into a unicorn While the […] → Read More
Welcome to hot due diligence summer –
Wow, that headline worked? A recent board fight at a digital health unicorn is a reminder to entrepreneurs that it’s important to set boundaries, even amid the dizzying volume and velocity of this summer’s deal frenzy. This week I published a scoop about how Bessemer Venture Partners replaced a board member at Hinge Health, after […] → Read More
Paper gets $100M worth of venture-backed paper for B2B edtech –
For edtech startups, it’s always been easier to go direct-to-consumer than it is to sell into school districts. The latter has stodgy and strict sales cycles, while the former has a bit more flexibility when it comes to opening up that wallet. The pandemic added validation to this dynamic by supercharging consumer companies like Quizlet and […] → Read More
SWORD Health closes on $85 million Series C for virtual MSK care –
SWORD Health, a virtual musculoskeletal care platform founded in 2015, announced today that it has raised an $85 million Series C funding round led by General Catalyst. Other participating investors included BOND, Highmark Ventures, BPEA, Khosla Ventures, Founders Fund, Transformation Capital and Green Innovations. The funding comes months after the company raised a $25 million […] → Read More