Components in the News February 28, 2023: NFT Rental Properties, SpaceX Delays, & More

      What our Analysts Have Been Reading….     Overview Roofstock Sells Rental Property Via NFT Whoop Lowers Subscription Prices Via in Talks to Acquire Citymapper SpaceX Mission to ISS Called Off at Last Minute Altria Plans to Sell its 35% Stake in Juul ______________________________________________________________________ Roofstock sold an Alabama rental property as an NFT […]

Leadership Changes at LaunchDarkly: Dan Rogers Named as New CEO

Edith Harbaugh, Co-Founder of Catamorphic (DBA: LaunchDarkly), will be stepping down from her role as CEO and will be succeeded by Rubrik President Dan Rogers, according to Bloomberg. The move will see Harbaugh shift to the position of executive chair of the company. Oakland, CA-based Catamophic offers LaunchDarkly, a dashboard product that allows managers to […]

Components in the News February 14, 2023: More Layoffs…

  What our Analysts Have Been Reading….     Overview Talkdesk Initiates Layoffs Tanium Appoints New CEO Gusto Cuts 5% of Staff Impossible Foods to Lay Off 20% of Workers Clari, Workato Implement Layoffs ______________________________________________________________________ Talkdesk has begun a round of layoffs. While no total figure has been confirmed, some employees are claiming it could affect up […]

TripActions Rebrands to Navan

Prime Unicorn Index component TripActions is now known as Navan, Inc. According to the press release, this rebrand marks the next stage in the company’s evolution as it defines a new category of software: Business Software Designed for People.  Besides changing its name, Navan will combine TripActions’s travel, corporate card, and expense solutions into a […]

Components in the News January 31, 2023: Juul in Deal Talks, Starlink in Africa, & More

What our Analysts Have Been Reading….     Overview Juul in Deal Talks with Tobacco Giants Discord Acquires Social Media App Gas BigPanda Names New CFO SpaceX’s Starlink Launches in Africa for the First Time Ripple Partners with Montenegro to Create a CBDC ______________________________________________________________________ Juul is exploring a potential partnership, having had conversations with Philip Morris, […]

Q1 2023 Reconstitution Summary

Following our reconstitution for Q1 2023, we are introducing three new components into the Prime Unicorn Index- Astera Labs, Neuralink, and BigPanda. There were no deletions from the Index this quarter. As a reminder, the Index is reviewed and reconstituted quarterly on the third Wednesday of each January, April, July, and October.  Astera Labs is […]

Houzz Common Shares Down 11%

Houzz is the leading online home remodeling and design platform, providing people with everything they need to improve their homes. It is also a component in the Prime Unicorn Index benchmark, the standard bearer for private markets benchmarking. Its last preferred round of Series E was $400mm on May 25, 2017, led by Sequoia, Wellington, […]

Components in the News January 17, 2023: Layoffs at Carta & Whoop, Plus More

What our Analysts Have Been Reading….     Overview Carta Lays off 10% of Staff Whoop Cuts 4% of its Workforce Instacart to Pay $5.25M Settlement Impossible Foods Hires its First Chief Demand Officer Newsela Appoints New CEO ______________________________________________________________________ Carta Lays off 10% of Staff: The layoff was attributed to the pain seen across the entire […]

Bolt Struggles to Maintain its Valuation

Bolt Financial, a one-click payment platform and Prime Unicorn Index component, appears to be struggling to maintain its valuation as certain VCs have marked down their investments in the company.  According to data from the Prime Unicorn Index, Bolt has raised nearly $815M over nine rounds, with the most recent round in January 2022 bringing […]

Wyre, a Crypto Payments Platform, Is NOT Shutting Down (UPDATED)

Wyre, a crypto payments and infrastructure company, is shutting down after a failed acquisition by Bolt Financial in September. The deal would have valued Wyre at $1.5B.  Wyre was founded in 2013 by Ioannis Giannaros and Michael Dunworth. According to data from the Prime Unicorn Index, Wyre raised $21.45M across six rounds, with investors including […]