Startup News: 04th Oct 2021 - 10 Oct 2021 

Good Morning!! As we enter a new week, let’s take a look at the latest trending startup news insights.

04 October 2021 

Esper raises $60M to manage devices used in retail, healthcare, schools

Seattle-area startup Esper just raised a second round of investment in less than six months to support the growth of its software that helps companies manage fleets of tablets and smartphones. Read More. 

Stories as a service: Storyteller lets anyone add Stories to their own apps or website

The company’s service allows anyone to add Stories to their app, or even their website, with little coding and setup required. Instead, Storyteller’s clients can integrate SDKs to add Stories to their app. Read More 

05 October 2021 

Udemy files to go public on the back of growing B2B incomes

Udemy filed to go public this week in the wake of Duolingo’s successful flotation earlier this year. The ed-tech company is an interesting two-part business, with one piece of its operations aimed at consumers and the second at businesses.  Read More. 

Mark Cuban-backed live entertainment app Fireside launches to creators

Amid a deluge of new creator platforms, a startup called Fireside is making a compelling proposition for professional creators in need of a more robust set of tools for content creation, distribution, measurement, and monetization. Read More. 

Habitual is using digital support plus food replacement to help reverse type 2 diabetes

London-based Habitual, a health tech startup that offers a weight loss program aimed at people with type 2 diabetes (or prediabetes) that combines “evidence-based” food replacement with digital support to help people manage and even reverse the condition. Read More. 

06 October 2021

Seattle startup wants to help B2B sellers fix ‘spray and pray’ strategy with more relevant messaging

Relevvo helps sellers reach prospects with personalized messaging that is relevant to a given buyer’s needs. It describes its software as a “relevance engine” and builds on the success of B2B sales data companies such as Outreach and ZoomInfo. Read More. 

Matter aims to build a better reading app

A startup called Matter, which aims to build a better reading app for today’s internet, is launching out of private beta testing and announcing the close of its $7 million Series A, led by GV (formerly Google Ventures.) Read More. 

Mindee’s API automagically parses documents without manual data entry

If you’re working on a product that involves saving paper receipts, scanning driver licenses or entering invoices in a system, chances are you’ve been looking at ways to automate that process as much as possible. Mindee’s API automagically parses documents without manual data entry. Read More. 

07 October 2021 

Microsoft acquires Ally to bolster employee experience platform Viva

Microsoft has acquired Ally, a 3-year-old Seattle-based startup that helps companies track and hit their goals. Microsoft will use the deal to beef up Microsoft Viva, its new employee experience platform that launched earlier this year.  Read More. 

Australian electric motorcycle brand ‘Savic’ gets green light

Australian new automotive start-up brand Savic Motorcycles is set to become the country’s first high-performance and zero-emissions electric motorcycle manufacturer. Savic Motorcycles claims it will introduce three versions of its 'C-Series' electric motorcycle by late 2022, with the entry-level variant expected to start from $12,990. Read More. 

After a proxy fight victory, it’s time for Box to make some bold moves

Once a Silicon Valley startup darling, Box fell hard after filing its S-1 to go public in 2015 as people questioned its cash burn rate. That led to its IPO being delayed for months, perhaps a sign of the struggles it would have finding traction in the market in later years. Read More. 

Welcome debuts a smarter city guide app on iOS

A startup called Welcome thinks that today’s set of tools could be smarter and more personalized to the individuals who use them. Its new app instead uses “real-time” technologies to make recommendations that take into account a user’s preferences as well as other details about their current context. Read More. 

08 October 2021 

Husband and wife co-founders raise $2.6M for social platform Game Jolt

Eight years after they left Zulily to concentrate full time on their social platform for gamers, husband and wife co-founders Yaprak and David DeCarmine announced a seed round of $2.6 million last week led by Acequia Capital, with Madrona Venture Group, Graph Ventures, and Inventures Collective also investing. Read More. 

Pluton Biosciences looks to nature for cutting-edge biotech solutions

Pluton Biosciences have claimed to have pioneered a way to find microscopic creatures that bioengineers and chemists are struggling to explore. Read More. 

Upmesh wants to build a community-driven discovery app for Southeast Asian live commerce

Upmesh announced that it closed a seed round of $3 million, led by Leo Capital, with participation from Beenext, iSeed, Goto Financial head of merchant financial services Jonathan Barki, BukuWarung founders Abhinay Peddisetty and Chinmay Chauhan, and Zopim founders Royston Tay and Kwok Yang Bin. Read More. 

09 October 2021

IsoPlexis, a company uncovering a ‘new layer’ of cell data, aims for $125M in its market debut

Shares of IsoPlexis, a company creating tools to zoom in on the flurry of protein activity surrounding a single cell, began trading on Friday. The company aims to raise about $125 million with the IPO. Read More. 

How three tech startups turn billion tons of waste into clean energy like synthetic gas without burning waste

While in the past, gasification companies have struggled to scale up and meet their energy production targets, now tech startup companies like Sierra Energy, Enerkem, and Plasco say they’re ready to commercialize and expand. Read More. 

10 October 2021

Startups Bring Owning A Second Home To The Masses

It can be the stuff of dreams–being able to own a second home. Whether on the beach, in the countryside, or in the mountains, the idea of having a bolthole that doubles as an investment opportunity, long. Read More. 

If you missed out on the previous week or entire month's updates of startup world news, follow the link to read it now and stay updated with every passing update with us.

Startup News: 27 Sept 2021 - 03rd Oct 2021

Startup News: 20th Sept 2021 - 26th Sept 2021

Startup News: 13th Sept 2021 - 19th Sept 2021

Startup News: 6th Sept 2021 - 12th Sept 2021

Startup News: 30th Aug 2021 - 5th Sept 2021

Startup News: 23rd Aug 2021 - 29th Aug 2021

Startup News: 16th Aug 2021 - 22nd Aug 2021

Startup News: 9th Aug 2021 - 15th Aug 2021

Startup News: 2nd Aug 2021 - 8th Aug 2021

Startup News: 26th July 2021 - 1st Aug 2021

We, at OpenGrowth, are constantly looking for the latest news in the startup ecosystem. If you want to share any important news from last week, then do let us know in the comment section below.