Megan Hernbroth, provided by Published 6:47 pm EDT, Thursday, April 25, 2019 Coursera Coursera, an online platform that offers university and technical classes, announced Thursday it raised $103 million in Series E funding that valued the company "well north" of $1 billion, according to a Coursera spokesperson. SEEK Group led the round, and existing investors Future Fund and NEA also participated. Coursera has 40 million registered learners, up from 26 million in June 2017. The platform 3,200+ courses, 300+ Specializations, and 14 degrees from 150 universities across the world. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Online learning startup Coursera is the newest member of Silicon Valley's unicorn club after securing $103 million in Series E funding Thursday. Australian-based SEEK Group led the round that valued Coursera "well north" of $1 billion, according to a company spokesperson. Existing investors Future Fund and NEA also participated in the round. … [Read more...] about Online learning startup Coursera is now worth more than $1 billion
Funding online business startup
Glossier online makeup startup is NYC’s newest unicorn, with $1.2 billion valuation
Olivia Carville, Bloomberg Makeup company Glossier just became New York’s latest tech unicorn. The beauty startup that sells directly to consumers online is now valued at more than $1.2 billion after its latest funding round, according to two people familiar with the company who didn’t want to be named because the matter is private. Glossier raised $100 million from investors led by Sequoia Capital, the company said in a statement Tuesday. Glossier started as a beauty blog in 2010 and has since morphed into one of the rare makeup companies that does almost all of its business online. Glossier doesn’t sell products at department stores or specialty shops such as Sephora. Instead the company promotes its house-brand serums, balms and milky cleansers to 1.9 million followers on Instagram. Glossier products are sent to consumers in baby pink boxes along with a baby pink bubble pouch for carrying the items and sticker sheets to “bling up” makeup bags. … [Read more...] about Glossier online makeup startup is NYC’s newest unicorn, with $1.2 billion valuation
JumpStart, FlashStarts announce millions of dollars in funding for blockchain startups
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Technology funds in Ohio will make hundreds of millions of dollars available to blockchain startups, JumpStart CEO Ray Leach announced Sunday.JumpStart, along with six other funds from across Ohio, plan to invest $100 million in early-stage startups that focus on using blockchain technology for business or government, like using the online ledger system to store government documents. FlashStarts, a local venture fund and business accelerator, also announced a $6 million pre-seed fund for blockchain startups.Though nothing official has been announced, Leach also said additional investment teams plan to make $200 million over the next three years available for blockchain companies that take advantage of Ohio’s “Opportunity Zones.” The zones provide tax incentives for investors advocates hope could spur economic development in poor neighborhoods.The announcement was part of the official opening events for the Blockland Solutions conference. The … [Read more...] about JumpStart, FlashStarts announce millions of dollars in funding for blockchain startups
Online businesses turn to old-school offline marketing
News of Amazon.com’s plans to publish a holiday toy catalog came as no surprise to entrepreneur Michael McCarthy. When Amazon’s toy catalog popped up in a conversation recently, he smiled, reached into a bag and produced an Amazon Restaurants direct-mail pitch sent to a friend in Minneapolis. He was confident that just seeing “Amazon” in the return address of a direct-mail piece would seem like news. He was right. As it turns out, though, maybe it shouldn’t have been surprising that the world’s leading e-commerce company plans to distribute paper catalogs and is going after new customers with direct mail. What e-commerce companies are demonstrating is that the marketing tactics of e-commerce need not be electronic. They just need to be effective. “Amazon gets it, that these offline channels work,” said McCarthy, CEO of Minneapolis-based marketing technology firm Inkit. “A lot of these big companies still are trying to go … [Read more...] about Online businesses turn to old-school offline marketing
Amazon to buy Somerville online pharmacy startup PillPack
Visit The Boston Globe Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Comment on this Scroll to top of page Andy Rosen Globe Staff June 28, 2018 Amazon announced Thursday that it has agreed to buy the Somerville online pharmacy startup PillPack, a move that expands the tech giant’s reach in the Boston tech sphere and the promising world of home delivery for prescriptions. PillPack, which delivers medications in pre-sorted dose packages and employs more than 700, also has offices in Manchester, N.H. The company had previously been rumored to have been in talks with Walmart. “PillPack is meaningfully improving its customers’ lives, and we want to help them continue making it easy for people to save time, simplify their lives, and feel healthier,” Jeff Wilke, CEO of Amazon Consumer Business, said in a statement. “We’re excited to see what we can do together on behalf of customers over time.” Advertisement Terms of the … [Read more...] about Amazon to buy Somerville online pharmacy startup PillPack