The largest buzz came from Electric Capital with its $1 billion raise for two new funds focused on crypto ventures and tokens

The post Funding Roundup: $1.34B Invested in Crypto Companies and Funds This Week appeared first on Blockworks.

Knowing your customer is the golden rule of sales. Online transactions provide an unprecedented opportunity to truly understand customer behavior and purchase intent at scale. E-commerce retailers that are not utilizing data-driven insights in their operations operate at a significant disadvantage to their data-savvy competitors. Swiftline is a one-stop platform that seamlessly brings data science to e-commerce sellers. Data science and the insights it yields can be applied holistically to optimize the entire customer journey, handling things like inventory, pricing, warranty, market basket analysis, recommendation, upselling, sentiment through reviews, churn, lifetime value, and more. Optimizing these levers can mean the difference for establishing a flourishing and significantly profitable business for merchants. The company also provides non-dilutive financing solutions for expansion through Yardline. AlleyWatch caught up withSwiftline CEO Ari Horowitz to learn more about the inspiration for the business, the company's strategic plans, and latest round of funding from investors that include Raptor Group, Cloverhill Ventures, Atalaya Capital Management LP, The Benvolio Group, Corner Capital Management, Thrasio, Evolution VC Partners, Gaingels, and Ulysses Ventures.

The uncertainty of the pandemic led to exploding demand for estate planning and much of this demand was serviced through technology for the first time. This digital transformation allowed individuals to execute and revise wills and estate plans quickly. The newfound attention for this planning also served as a boon for charitable giving. FreeWill is a comprehensive online estate planning platform that gives people the ability to update or write their will in 20 minutes directly from their computers and all for free. The platform provides living wills with beneficiary designation as well as power of attorney, and in California, living trusts are offered as well. How is this free? The company partners with 600+ non-profits and during the process of establishing wills, users are given the option to provide small gifts (bequests, charitable distributions, and stock gifts) to these non-profits. Since launching in 2016, the company has executed over 420K wills and provided commitments exceeding $4.7B to non-profits. AlleyWatch caught up with FreeWill Co-CEO and Founder Jenny Xia Spradling to learn more about the public benefit corporation that sits at the intersection of philanthropy and utility, the company's strategic plans, and latest round of funding from investors that include Bain Capital Double Impact, ICONIQ Growth, QED Investors, Ulu, Highland, Pear, and HearstLab.

Our weekly fintech round-up for you to get the latest funding news.

During a recent interview, Maximilian Tayenthal, co-CEO of German banking startup N26, announced that the company is planning to accelerate its IPO efforts.

The entire pet food market is growing rapidly and is expected to exceed $136B by 2028 from current ~$100B levels. While much attention has been paid to providing dogs with human-grade food recently with a number of new entrants seeking to disrupt the market, the feline food market has been largely overlooked. The cat food market is more consolidated with a few key players with large market shares and little incentive for innovation or change. Made by Nacho, cofounded by celebrity chef Bobby Flay, is a chef-approved cat food brand launched last spring. The company features a wide assortment of both dry food and wet food; all recipes contain ethically sourced and sustainable proteins. Made by Nacho is available through partnerships with pet retailers as well as online through the company’s website and Amazon. A 2-lb bag of dry food retails at $13.99 with a 10-pack of wet cups running $17.89. AlleyWatch caught up with Made by Nacho CEO Tessa Gould to learn more about the inspiration for the business, the company's strategic plans, and latest round of funding from investors that include CAVU Venture Partners, New Fare Partners, and Mars’ Companion Fund.

Over $1.3 billion in investments poured into the crypto sector this week

The post Funding Roundup: Major Raises of $1B and $200M Join Startup Spree appeared first on Blockworks.

Our weekly fintech round-up for you to get the latest funding news.

Our weekly fintech round-up for you to get the latest funding news.

From Alchemy to XYO, recapping the latest investments into the sector

The post Funding Roundup: $1.19 Billion Invested in Crypto Companies This Week appeared first on Blockworks.

Our weekly round-up for you to get the latest fintech funding news.

Some of the larger rounds include FTX’s $400 million and Phantom’s $109 million capital raises

The post Fundraising Wrap: Over $800M in Investments Poured into Crypto This Week appeared first on Blockworks.