There have been some great strides in telemedicine lately. This virtual way to see the doctor cuts down on commutes, wait time and potential costs associated with in-person visits. But most of what’s currently out there requires some sort of video conferencing system and a set appointment with the doctor. Spruce is a new app that aims to let you converse with the doctor at your own convenience. The app, the brainchild of former Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers partner Ray Bradford, launched in the App Store this morning.
Inspirato, a luxury destination club that gives members access to its hundreds of elite accommodations, has just landed $20 million to grow its already large portfolio of locations.
With the rise of Airbnb, travelers increasingly want to stay in homes rather than hotels. But wealthy travelers may also want some of the amenities that hotels provide. That’s where Inspirato comes in. The company, which is partnered with American Express, offers members a portfolio of luxe homes to choose from. It also gives them access to local high-end resorts.
There must be a market for it, because the company says its membership has doubled from 4,000 to 8,000 in the last 14 months.
Luxury vacation homes are proving to be a very promising business for Inspirato, a Denver travel startup that has caught the eye of some of Silicon Valley and New York’s biggest investors.
Massdrop has raised $6.5 million to empower enthusiast communities. It can, for instance, enable dedicated fans of BMW cars to get a group discount on their purchases.
Mayfield led the round, and existing investors also participated, including Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, First Round Capital and Cowboy Ventures.
Realty Mogul, a startup that allows accredited investors to back real estate projects, is announcing a new agreement with Direct Lending Investments — the investment firm has committed to invest $73 million in Realty Mogul projects.
This is the startup’s first partnership of this kind with an institutional investor, but founder and CEO Jilliene Helman said she’s interested in pursuing similar deals with other investors. The goal, she said, is not to “cut off our high net worth accredited investors,” but rather to increase the amount of capital on the platform and to further validate Realty Mogul in the eyes of its real estate industry partners.
Osmo, the gaming device from former Googlers that combines real world play and the iPad, is now shipping after receiving $2 million in pre-orders, including those from over 2,000 schools. The company is also announcing this morning a new platform that will allow anyone to design games for Osmo. At launch, this lets parents, teachers, and others customize Osmo’s word game with their own content.
Gousto, the UK recipe kit subscription and grocery delivery service that competes with Rocket Internet’s HelloFresh, has announced the closing of £5 million ($8.3m) Series A round, led by Unilever Ventures, with existing investor MMC Ventures also participating. The investment adds to around £2 million previously raised by Gousto and shows how far its come since first being rather publicly turned down for funding on the the BBC show Dragons’ Den two years ago.
StartX, the Stanford-funded and affiliated incubator, just held the first demo day at its new Palo Alto-based office space. In an hour, 12 startups pitched their wares to investors and the press, showing products and services that range from a dating service for Chinese ex-pats to zoom lenses for next-gen smartphones.
In no particular order, these are the four startups that made our ears perk up during their presentations:
Funny what can happen with a small project you hack together just to win a laptop.
For Portugal-born startup Talkdesk, it turned into a full-fledged business, and today it’s announcing that it has raised $3.15 million in a new round of funding.
Believe it or not, supply purchasing for small businesses such as restaurants and bakeries is has not really evolved over the years. These businesses still find suppliers through the Yellow Pages or by chance, and stick with them because researching alternatives is just too much of a pain.
Enter Kinnek, a two-year old company that helps small businesses search for, find, and connect with the vendors they need to keep their businesses stocked up, and it’s announcing today that it has raised $10 million in new funding.
