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Lightspeed files for anticipated IPO (BETAKIT)
Lightspeed intends to raise $200 million in stocks and hopes to achieve a market valuation of more than $1 billion.
DMS Recommends: Still sharing passwords? Yikes! Time to train your employees on security basics (DMS)
The most dangerous scams are those that look genuine. Be wary of senders, even someone you know or a company you trust.
Chinese e-commerce challenger Pinduoduo is raising over $1 billion more (TECHCRUNCH)
Pinduoduo adds a social twist to e-commerce by offering discounts for shoppers who gang up with friends or family to make group orders.
Amazon reportedly rethinking HQ2 in New York City (MASHABLE)
Sources “familiar with the company’s thinking” say the the reassessment comes following local opposition from politicians and activist groups.
Canadian startup, ClickDishes, partners with Chinese payment platform Alipay (BETAKIT)
Vancouver-based ClickDishes is working with Alipay, a major digital payment platform in China, to allow users to order food directly through Alipay’s app.
Retail technology platform Relex raises $200M from TCV (TECHCRUNCH)
Relex focuses on retail planning solutions by helping both brick-and-mortar as well as e-commerce companies make better forecasts of how products will sell using AI and machine learning, and in turn giving those retailers guidance on how and what should be stocked for purchasing.
Rebag raises $25M in Series C funding (FINSMES)
Rebag, a platform for buying an selling luxury bags, raised the funding from Novator, with participation from General Catalyst and FJ Labs.
Blue Apron hopes lower-cost meal kits, now on Jet in NYC, will help save its business (TECHCRUNCH)
Blue Apron is introducing a lower-cost version of its meal kits, initially only for Jet.com shoppers in the greater New York City metro area. The new recipe kits, called “Knick Knacks,” still require refrigeration, but require customers to supply their own protein and produce to complete the meal.
Aislelabs announces new Payment Wi-Fi feature for retail enterprises (BETAKIT)
Asilelabs’ Payment WiFi will allow businesses to charge customers for Wi-Fi access based on duration, data usage, and bandwidth allocation.
Cuyana raises $30 Million in one of the largest rounds for a female-founded fashion startup (FORBES)
The funding was led by H.I.G. growth partners.
How to use Warby Parker’s new AR feature to try on glasses (CNET)
Unlike the Home Try-On option, where Warby Parker mails you five frames among a limited selection to test out, the Virtual Try-On feature is available for any pair of frames you find in the app.
By Humankind picks up $4M to rid your morning routine of single-use plastic (TECHCRUNCH)
The funding was led by Lerer Hippeau, with participation from Red Sea Ventures, BoxGroup, SV Angel, Great Oaks, SoulCycle co-founder Elizabeth Cutler, and CPO of Adobe, Scott Belsky, among others.