Funding
Scribd, a subscription service similar to Netflix but for books, has secured $22 million in financing led by Khosla Ventures. Previous backers Redpoint Ventures, Charles River Ventures and Silicon Valley Bank also participated. Scribd, which has more than 80 million monthly readers, has raised $48 million to date. “This new funding round will enable us to work towards achieving our goal of creating the most comprehensive library of the future for our millions of users around the world,” said Trip Adler, co-founder and CEO of Scribd.
Intel has stepped further into the wearable space by making a $24.8 million investment into Vuzix, a supplier of video eyewear for smart glasses. Intel has already put its processors into Google Glasses and previously announced a partnership with Luxottica to create smart glasses. Vuzix will use the funds for working capital and to accelerate the introduction of its wearable display products into the market.
Snapchat ended last year with an SEC filing that revealed $485.6 million. The ephemeral messaging is reportedly valued at around $10 billion following the investment. Snapchat turned down a $3 billion acquisition offer from Facebook in 2013 and has grown in value since. The company did not disclose the names of investors or confirm the latest valuation, although reports suggest that Yahoo and Kleiner Perkins Caulfied & Byers were involved.
Series C
Valyoo Technologies, which runs e-commerce website Lenskart, has raised a $21.9 million Series C funding round. TPG Capital, TR Capital and IDG Ventures led the round, according to a report from Techcircle.in. Lenskart sells all types of glasses, sunglasses and other eyewear.
Series D
Chinese taxi hailing app Kuaidi Dache closed a Series D financing round worth close to $800 million last week, according to China Travel News. The report states that existing backer Alibaba and Tiger Fund were participants in the round. This latest round of funding values the company at $4 billion, according to reports. Kuaidi Dache has raised more than $1 billion to date.