Year: 2018

Peloton today announced its Series F funding of $550 million. That brings the total amount raised, according to CrunchBase, to $994.7 million. According to the announcement, this round puts Peloton’s valuation at $4 billion — it was just last May the company hit unicorn status.
TCV led the round with other participation in the round from Tiger Global, True Ventures, Wellington Management, Fidelity, NBCUniversal, and Kleiner Perkin, along with new investors – BlackRock, Franklin and Winslow Capital.

“We are truly honored to partner with TCV and with Jay Hoag personally,” said John Foley, founder and CEO of Peloton, in a released statement. “TCV’s reputation, experience, and involvement in businesses like Netflix, Spotify and Facebook will be invaluable as we build Peloton into one of the most unique and influential global consumer product and media companies of our day.”

The company previously closed a $325 million Series E, which was reportedly used to fuel expansion into the retail market. The company expects to use the latest round of funding to continue growing that sector and grow international.

Earlier this year, Peloton announced its second product, a connected treadmill, which the company still says will launch to consumers this call. The company also introduced a new membership product and opened several retail locations.

Peloton today announced its Series F funding of $550 million. That brings the total amount raised, according to CrunchBase, to $994.7 million. According to the announcement, this round puts Peloton’s valuation at $4 billion — it was just last May the company hit unicorn status.
TCV led the round with other participation in the round from Tiger Global, True Ventures, Wellington Management, Fidelity, NBCUniversal, and Kleiner Perkin, along with new investors – BlackRock, Franklin and Winslow Capital.

“We are truly honored to partner with TCV and with Jay Hoag personally,” said John Foley, founder and CEO of Peloton, in a released statement. “TCV’s reputation, experience, and involvement in businesses like Netflix, Spotify and Facebook will be invaluable as we build Peloton into one of the most unique and influential global consumer product and media companies of our day.”

The company previously closed a $325 million Series E, which was reportedly used to fuel expansion into the retail market. The company expects to use the latest round of funding to continue growing that sector and grow international.

Earlier this year, Peloton announced its second product, a connected treadmill, which the company still says will launch to consumers this call. The company also introduced a new membership product and opened several retail locations.

How should you feel to know your employer is far, far richer than Croesus?

As Apple CEO Tim Cook tells it — in a memo to staff, obtained by BuzzFeed News, re: yesterday’s news that the computer company Steve Jobs founded back in 1976 is now worth more than $1,000,000,000,000 — you should feel A) pretty stoked that your labor has helped achieve a significant financial milestone but also B) know it’s not a success metric to get hung up about because it’s the passion for innovation and creation (not the towering mounds of gold) that really counts and so C) please, after taking a moment, remember to get back to work.

Here’s what Cook actually wrote to Apple’s global “team” of circa 123,000 employees:

Team,

Today Apple passed a significant milestone. At our closing share price of $207.39, the stock market now values Apple at more than $1 trillion. While we have much to be proud of in this achievement, it’s not the most important measure of our success. Financial returns are simply the result of Apple’s innovation, putting our products and customers first, and always staying true to our values.

It’s you, our team, that makes Apple great and our success is due to your hard work, dedication and passion. I am deeply humbled by what you do, and it’s the privilege of a lifetime to work alongside you. I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the late hours and extra trips, all the times you refuse to settle for anything less than excellence in our work together.

Let’s take this moment to thank our customers, our suppliers and business partners, the Apple developer community, our coworkers and all those who came before us at this remarkable company.

Steve founded Apple on the belief that the power of human creativity can solve even the biggest challenges — and that the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do. In today’s world, our mission is more important than ever. Our products not only create moments of surprise and delight, they empower people all around the globe to enrich their lives and the lives of others.

Just as Steve always did in moments like this, we should all look forward to Apple’s bright future and the great work we’ll do together.

Tim

How should you feel to know your employer is far, far richer than Croesus?

As Apple CEO Tim Cook tells it — in a memo to staff, obtained by BuzzFeed News, re: yesterday’s news that the computer company Steve Jobs founded back in 1976 is now worth more than $1,000,000,000,000 — you should feel A) pretty stoked that your labor has helped achieve a significant financial milestone but also B) know it’s not a success metric to get hung up about because it’s the passion for innovation and creation (not the towering mounds of gold) that really counts and so C) please, after taking a moment, remember to get back to work.

Here’s what Cook actually wrote to Apple’s global “team” of circa 123,000 employees:

Team,

Today Apple passed a significant milestone. At our closing share price of $207.39, the stock market now values Apple at more than $1 trillion. While we have much to be proud of in this achievement, it’s not the most important measure of our success. Financial returns are simply the result of Apple’s innovation, putting our products and customers first, and always staying true to our values.

It’s you, our team, that makes Apple great and our success is due to your hard work, dedication and passion. I am deeply humbled by what you do, and it’s the privilege of a lifetime to work alongside you. I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the late hours and extra trips, all the times you refuse to settle for anything less than excellence in our work together.

Let’s take this moment to thank our customers, our suppliers and business partners, the Apple developer community, our coworkers and all those who came before us at this remarkable company.

Steve founded Apple on the belief that the power of human creativity can solve even the biggest challenges — and that the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do. In today’s world, our mission is more important than ever. Our products not only create moments of surprise and delight, they empower people all around the globe to enrich their lives and the lives of others.

Just as Steve always did in moments like this, we should all look forward to Apple’s bright future and the great work we’ll do together.

Tim

The official launch promo video for Samsung’s next flagship smartphone in the long-running Galaxy Note line — the Note 9 — appears to have leaked, with links to the video now cropping up on YouTube.

And via Twitter…

The forthcoming phablet has been pretty comprehensively leaked already. And clearly hasn’t had a radical (cosmetic nor form factor) makeover. (This is not the fabled folding phone Samsung is slated to be working on for next year.)

The Note 9 will also be officially unveiled on August 9. So Samsung fans don’t have long left to wait for any last minute details they were keen to nail down.

But, in the few days remaining, the Samsung-branded video offers a more polished look at what’s going to be up for pre-order next week…

Samsung kicks off touting the power of the Note 9 — telling us it’s not just powerful but “super powerful” (leaked benchmarks have previously suggested a big performance boost); and with a bottoms-up ports & rear view pan that shows a 3.5mm headphone jack sitting in the frame — confirming my TC colleague Brian Heater’s eagle eye.

Also of note: A repositioned fingerprint sensor (now in a less stupid location below the dual lens camera housing).

Next, the video flips focus to a snazzy yellow (or is that gold?) S Pen stylus, which Samsung describes as “all new powerful”, before showing its physical button being pressed by an invisible force (human, we hope) which then does a spot of aimless doodling.

After this, Samsung moves to brag about the Note 9’s “all day battery” (which it’s confidently teased before — so the company looks to have put the Note 7 battery fiasco well and truly behind it), although the usual small print disclaimers warn about variable battery performance.

On the storage front, there’s a big bold claim of the device being “1 terabyte ready” — although this is on account of a 512GB SD card shown being pulled out of the expandable memory slot.

And in the small print displayed on the video at that point the company caveats that the 1TB claim is for 512GB models equipped with another 512GB in expandable memory (at the owner’s separate expense).

“The power to store more” [photos] “Delete less” [photos] is what the company’s marketing team has come up with to try to excite people over the utility of owning a smartphone that can have 1TB in storage capacity. i.e. if you stump up extra for the extra storage.

The video shows a camera roll chock-full of stock photos of pets, snacks and people. Hopefully Note 9 owners will find more creative things to do with 1TB storage.

The official launch promo video for Samsung’s next flagship smartphone in the long-running Galaxy Note line — the Note 9 — appears to have leaked, with links to the video now cropping up on YouTube.

And via Twitter…

The forthcoming phablet has been pretty comprehensively leaked already. And clearly hasn’t had a radical (cosmetic nor form factor) makeover. (This is not the fabled folding phone Samsung is slated to be working on for next year.)

The Note 9 will also be officially unveiled on August 9. So Samsung fans don’t have long left to wait for any last minute details they were keen to nail down.

But, in the few days remaining, the Samsung-branded video offers a more polished look at what’s going to be up for pre-order next week…

Samsung kicks off touting the power of the Note 9 — telling us it’s not just powerful but “super powerful” (leaked benchmarks have previously suggested a big performance boost); and with a bottoms-up ports & rear view pan that shows a 3.5mm headphone jack sitting in the frame — confirming my TC colleague Brian Heater’s eagle eye.

Also of note: A repositioned fingerprint sensor (now in a less stupid location below the dual lens camera housing).

Next, the video flips focus to a snazzy yellow (or is that gold?) S Pen stylus, which Samsung describes as “all new powerful”, before showing its physical button being pressed by an invisible force (human, we hope) which then does a spot of aimless doodling.

After this, Samsung moves to brag about the Note 9’s “all day battery” (which it’s confidently teased before — so the company looks to have put the Note 7 battery fiasco well and truly behind it), although the usual small print disclaimers warn about variable battery performance.

On the storage front, there’s a big bold claim of the device being “1 terabyte ready” — although this is on account of a 512GB SD card shown being pulled out of the expandable memory slot.

And in the small print displayed on the video at that point the company caveats that the 1TB claim is for 512GB models equipped with another 512GB in expandable memory (at the owner’s separate expense).

“The power to store more” [photos] “Delete less” [photos] is what the company’s marketing team has come up with to try to excite people over the utility of owning a smartphone that can have 1TB in storage capacity. i.e. if you stump up extra for the extra storage.

The video shows a camera roll chock-full of stock photos of pets, snacks and people. Hopefully Note 9 owners will find more creative things to do with 1TB storage.

We’re stoked about hosting our first Startup Battlefield in Beirut, where we’ll showcase 15 amazing early-stage startups across the Middle East and North Africa. There’s nothing we love more than learning about, reporting on and supporting creative entrepreneurs in a growing tech startup ecosystem.

TechCrunch Startup Battlefield MENA 2018 takes place on October 3, and we want to make sure every awesome startup in the region gets a shot at being named “the Middle East and North Africa’s Most Promising Startup.” But you only have until August 6th at 9 p.m. PST to submit your application. Don’t wait and risk missing the opportunity to launch your company to the world. Apply here today.

And what an opportunity it is. Since 2007, almost 750 early-stage startups have participated in Startup Battlefield and gone on to collectively raised more than $8 billion in funding and produce more than 100 exits. Battlefield alumni companies you might recognize include Mint, Dropbox, Yammer, TripIt, Getaround and Cloudflare.

Here’s how Startup Battlefield MENA works. TechCrunch editors will closely review and vet all eligible applications (we’ll talk more about eligibility in a moment) and select 15 startups to compete. Founders of each team receive free pitch coaching from pitch-savvy TechCrunch editors and, come game day, they’ll be ready to present with confidence to a panel of expert judges.

The competition starts with three preliminary rounds — five startups per round will each have six minutes to pitch and present their demo. After each pitch, the judges have six minutes to ask any questions they like. All of this takes place in front of a live, enthusiastic audience filled with startup fans, tech-heads, media outlets and investors.

The judges will choose a total of five startups to move on to the final round, where the teams will pitch a second time to a fresh panel of judges. One of those five teams will win the competition, be champions of the first-ever Startup Battlefield MENA and earn the designation of “the Middle East and North Africa’s Most Promising Startup.”

In addition to a boatload of media and investor attention, the winning team gets US$25,000 in no-equity cash, plus a trip for two to compete in the Startup Battlefield at TechCrunch Disrupt in 2019 (assuming the company still qualifies to compete at the time).

Now, here are the basics that all founders must meet regarding eligibility:

• Have an early-stage company in “launch” stage
• Be headquartered in one of these eligible countries: Algeria, Armenia, Bahrain, Egypt, Georgia, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestinian Territories, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Turkey, UAE, Yemen
• Have a fully working product/beta reasonably close to, or in, production
• Have received limited press or publicity to date
• Have no known intellectual property conflicts
• Apply by August 6, 2018, at 9 p.m. PST

If that describes your startup situation, we want to see you in Beirut. TechCrunch Startup Battlefield MENA 2018 takes place on October 3, at the Beirut Digital District Nassif Yazigi, Lebanon. That application deadline will be here before you know it, so stop whatever you’re doing and apply right now.

We’re stoked about hosting our first Startup Battlefield in Beirut, where we’ll showcase 15 amazing early-stage startups across the Middle East and North Africa. There’s nothing we love more than learning about, reporting on and supporting creative entrepreneurs in a growing tech startup ecosystem.

TechCrunch Startup Battlefield MENA 2018 takes place on October 3, and we want to make sure every awesome startup in the region gets a shot at being named “the Middle East and North Africa’s Most Promising Startup.” But you only have until August 6th at 9 p.m. PST to submit your application. Don’t wait and risk missing the opportunity to launch your company to the world. Apply here today.

And what an opportunity it is. Since 2007, almost 750 early-stage startups have participated in Startup Battlefield and gone on to collectively raised more than $8 billion in funding and produce more than 100 exits. Battlefield alumni companies you might recognize include Mint, Dropbox, Yammer, TripIt, Getaround and Cloudflare.

Here’s how Startup Battlefield MENA works. TechCrunch editors will closely review and vet all eligible applications (we’ll talk more about eligibility in a moment) and select 15 startups to compete. Founders of each team receive free pitch coaching from pitch-savvy TechCrunch editors and, come game day, they’ll be ready to present with confidence to a panel of expert judges.

The competition starts with three preliminary rounds — five startups per round will each have six minutes to pitch and present their demo. After each pitch, the judges have six minutes to ask any questions they like. All of this takes place in front of a live, enthusiastic audience filled with startup fans, tech-heads, media outlets and investors.

The judges will choose a total of five startups to move on to the final round, where the teams will pitch a second time to a fresh panel of judges. One of those five teams will win the competition, be champions of the first-ever Startup Battlefield MENA and earn the designation of “the Middle East and North Africa’s Most Promising Startup.”

In addition to a boatload of media and investor attention, the winning team gets US$25,000 in no-equity cash, plus a trip for two to compete in the Startup Battlefield at TechCrunch Disrupt in 2019 (assuming the company still qualifies to compete at the time).

Now, here are the basics that all founders must meet regarding eligibility:

• Have an early-stage company in “launch” stage
• Be headquartered in one of these eligible countries: Algeria, Armenia, Bahrain, Egypt, Georgia, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestinian Territories, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Turkey, UAE, Yemen
• Have a fully working product/beta reasonably close to, or in, production
• Have received limited press or publicity to date
• Have no known intellectual property conflicts
• Apply by August 6, 2018, at 9 p.m. PST

If that describes your startup situation, we want to see you in Beirut. TechCrunch Startup Battlefield MENA 2018 takes place on October 3, at the Beirut Digital District Nassif Yazigi, Lebanon. That application deadline will be here before you know it, so stop whatever you’re doing and apply right now.

Who’s ready to compete head-to-head with the best early-stage startups across Europe and beyond? If you think your startup has what it takes to win the day, we want to see you compete in Startup Battlefield at Disrupt Berlin 2018, which takes place on November 29-30. This is your shot to launch your company to the international startup community and the world at large. Don’t miss out, apply today.

Startup Battlefield is the global pitch competition that’s launched hundreds of early-stage startups. Since 2007, more than 750 companies — our Battlefield alumni community — have competed and gone on to collectively raise $8 billion in funding and generate 102 exits. This is your opportunity to join that august community, which includes the likes of Vurb, Dropbox, Mint, Yammer and a whole lot more.

What’s at stake? For starters, the winning founders get to hoist the Disrupt Cup (we’re talking serious bragging rights). In addition, they’ll be on the receiving end of massive — and invaluable — media and investor attention. Oh, and then there’s the $50,000 non-equity cash prize. That’s pretty cool, too.

Here’s what you need to know about applying and competing. Our vetting process is highly selective. Our TechCrunch editors evaluate every application — the acceptance rate is roughly 3 percent — and they’ll select approximately 15 startups to compete.

The founders of every participating startup will receive intensive pitch coaching from TechCrunch Battlefield-seasoned editors. Founders will be well-prepared to step on the Disrupt Main Stage and present their case.

Teams have just six minutes to pitch their company and demo their product to a panel of judges, which consists of well-known investors and entrepreneurs. Following each pitch, the judges have six minutes to conduct a rigorous Q&A.

That process thins the herd to five startups, which go on to one final round of pitching to a new set of judges. Then it’s “drum-roll, please” time as the judges pick one company to be the Disrupt Berlin 2018 Startup Battlefield champion.

Keep in mind that all this high-powered, nerve-wracking action takes place in front of a live audience with thousands of startup fans, media outlets and potential investors and customers cheering you on. Plus, we live-stream the entire competition — start to finish — around the world (and make it available later on demand) on TechCrunch.com, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter.

As you can see, all Startup Battlefield teams — not just the winner — receive a ton of exposure to the influential folks who can change their lives. Here’s another important fact. TechCrunch does not charge any application or participation fees, and we don’t take any equity from startups.

While we have your attention, why not check out the Disrupt Berlin Startup Battlefield winner from last year — Lia Diagnostics.

Feel inspired? Great! Startup Battlefield takes place at Disrupt Berlin 2018 on November 29-30 at Arena Berlin. You don’t have anything to lose. Sign up to compete!

Who’s ready to compete head-to-head with the best early-stage startups across Europe and beyond? If you think your startup has what it takes to win the day, we want to see you compete in Startup Battlefield at Disrupt Berlin 2018, which takes place on November 29-30. This is your shot to launch your company to the international startup community and the world at large. Don’t miss out, apply today.

Startup Battlefield is the global pitch competition that’s launched hundreds of early-stage startups. Since 2007, more than 750 companies — our Battlefield alumni community — have competed and gone on to collectively raise $8 billion in funding and generate 102 exits. This is your opportunity to join that august community, which includes the likes of Vurb, Dropbox, Mint, Yammer and a whole lot more.

What’s at stake? For starters, the winning founders get to hoist the Disrupt Cup (we’re talking serious bragging rights). In addition, they’ll be on the receiving end of massive — and invaluable — media and investor attention. Oh, and then there’s the $50,000 non-equity cash prize. That’s pretty cool, too.

Here’s what you need to know about applying and competing. Our vetting process is highly selective. Our TechCrunch editors evaluate every application — the acceptance rate is roughly 3 percent — and they’ll select approximately 15 startups to compete.

The founders of every participating startup will receive intensive pitch coaching from TechCrunch Battlefield-seasoned editors. Founders will be well-prepared to step on the Disrupt Main Stage and present their case.

Teams have just six minutes to pitch their company and demo their product to a panel of judges, which consists of well-known investors and entrepreneurs. Following each pitch, the judges have six minutes to conduct a rigorous Q&A.

That process thins the herd to five startups, which go on to one final round of pitching to a new set of judges. Then it’s “drum-roll, please” time as the judges pick one company to be the Disrupt Berlin 2018 Startup Battlefield champion.

Keep in mind that all this high-powered, nerve-wracking action takes place in front of a live audience with thousands of startup fans, media outlets and potential investors and customers cheering you on. Plus, we live-stream the entire competition — start to finish — around the world (and make it available later on demand) on TechCrunch.com, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter.

As you can see, all Startup Battlefield teams — not just the winner — receive a ton of exposure to the influential folks who can change their lives. Here’s another important fact. TechCrunch does not charge any application or participation fees, and we don’t take any equity from startups.

While we have your attention, why not check out the Disrupt Berlin Startup Battlefield winner from last year — Lia Diagnostics.

Feel inspired? Great! Startup Battlefield takes place at Disrupt Berlin 2018 on November 29-30 at Arena Berlin. You don’t have anything to lose. Sign up to compete!