Highlights of the Week (Jan 22, 2021)

January 22, 2021

The Daily Stack is a daily private market insights newsletter by PrivCo, a private company intelligence platform. Read our previous insights.
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This week in January is certainly a symbol of change. On Wednesday, we not only welcomed Joseph R. Biden as the 46th President of the US, but former Senator Kamala Harris made history as the first woman, African American, and South Asian American as Vice President of the US. We’ve already seen Biden get right to work, crafting new policies as well as reversing some of the policies of his predecessor, Donald J. Trump. Throughout the week, we also witnessed the following events:

Twitter reset the official handles @POTUS, @VP, @FLOTUS, @PressSec, and @WhiteHouse to coincide with the shift to a new administration, despite disapproval from Biden’s team. Will the new administration push harder against the unchecked control of Big Tech? Read more.
We honored Martin Luther King Jr. day by spotlighting a few Black Founders breaking boundaries and solving issues with their business ideas despite the substantially less funding they traditionally get compared to their White counterparts. See the list.
The Biden administration is issuing numerous executive orders in order to contain COVID. However, 2020 has already been detrimental to many industries, particularly retail. What big brands have filed for bankruptcy, and which have managed to come out of bankruptcy? See the list of big winners amidst bankruptcy filings.
Despite retail not doing well, the rise of artificial intelligence and machine learning has rapidly changed the fashion industry. Personalized tailors and bespoke fashion are becoming mainstream as virtual sizing gets more accurate. Read more.

New SEC ruling invites IPO activity

Private companies have been seeking new ways to enter the public markets, and new SEC rulings are making it easier to IPO with a direct listing.
[FactSet]

Instacart plans to slash jobs

Online grocery delivery platform Instacart said it will slash almost 2,000 jobs.
[Business Insider]

Since last week, PrivCo has added:
863 Companies | 308 Funding Activities | 208 M&A Deals

Funding & Deal Highlights:

LendingPoint raises $125MM
Consumer Finance • Equity • Kennesaw, GA

LEX Markets Corp raises $6MM
Consumer Finance • Seed • New York, NY

Capsule Video raises $2MM led by Array Ventures
Streaming Software & Internet Services • Seed • New York, NY

Flockjay raises $11MM led by eVentures
Education Services • Equity • San Francisco, CA

Human AI Labs raises $3.2MM
NLP Software & Internet Services • Seed • San Diego, CA

Recvue raises $13MM led by Cota Capital
Analytics Software & Internet Services • Round A • Palo Alto, CA

Harness raises $85MM
B2B Software & Internet Services • Equity • San Francisco, CA

Own Up raises $12MM led by Brand Foundry Ventures
Consumer Finance • Round B • Boston, MA

Decisionlink raises $18.5MM
SaaS Software & Internet Services • Equity • Atlanta, GA

Sixth Street Partners acquires Talcott Resolution
Insurance Underwriting • Acquisition • Hartford, CT

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Highlights of the Week (Jan 22, 2021)

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