Loft, a Sao Paulo, Brazil- digital platform simplifying the buying and selling of residential real estate, closed a $175M Series C funding round.

The round was co-led by Vulcan Capital and Andreessen Horowitz with participation from QED Investors, Fifth Wall Ventures, Thrive Capital, Valor Capital, Monashees and others.

The company plans to use the latest round of funding to expand across both Brazil and Latin America, starting with Rio de Janeiro in the first quarter of 2020, Mexico City in the second quarter and several other cities soon after.

Loft is also expanding into new product categories and plans to scale its financial product lines, including mortgages and insurance, significantly in 2020.

In December, Loft hired former Director of Regional Operations at UberEats in Latin America, Juan Pablo Ramos, as General Manager of the company’s Mexico operations. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1578262722.3506873/Loft-Secures-$175M-in-Series-C-Funding?ref=audio_experience

NextMind is developing a brain-computer interface that translates signals from the visual cortex into digital commands.

NextMind is part of a growing number of startups building noninvasive neural interfaces that rely on machine learning algorithms.

“And in between those two extremes, the reception of information and imagination, there’s visual attention,” he continued.

The real breakthrough here is the material used for the electrodes themselves to capture more data for the machine learning algorithms.

One day, owners of a NextMind device might be able to do this themselves and then simply imagine the picture they took. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1578259808.954811/NextMind-is-building-a-real-time-brain-computer-interface,-unveils-Dev-Kit-for-$399?ref=audio_experience

Rev1 Ventures, a Columbus, Ohio-based venture capital firm and startup studio, launched a $15m fund.

Backed by The Ohio State University and Nationwide Children’s Hospital, the $15MM Rev1 Catalyst Fund II aims to back life sciences companies (spinouts and healthcare innovators) advancing research-based healthcare innovation.

The fund was founded on the results of the Rev1 Life Sciences Fund I, which supports a portfolio of companies driving the creation of innovative therapies and solutions, and has generated more than $250MM in exits, including the recent acquisitions of Celenex and Myonexus.

Led by Tom Walker, president and CEO, Rev1 Ventures Rev1 Ventures is an investor startup studio that combines capital and strategic services to allow startups to scale and corporates to innovate.

The firm has $100MM in capital under management. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1578259119.4448414/Rev1-Ventures-Launches-$15M-Fund?ref=audio_experience

A few days before Christmas, TechCrunch caught up with CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz to chat about his company’s public offering, direct listings and his expectations for the 2020 IPO market.

Of the 2019 IPO cohort, CrowdStrike’s IPO stands out as one of the year’s most successful debuts.

After all, his SaaS security company enjoyed a strong pricing cycle, a better-than-expected IPO fundraising haul and strong value appreciation after its debut.

If there’s a takeaway here for folks that are thinking about [going public], run it and act like a public company before you’re public, including simulated earnings calls.

Why CrowdStrike opted for a traditional IPO instead of a direct listing | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1578256311.5003545/CrowdStrike’s-CEO-on-how-to-IPO,-direct-listings-and-what’s-ahead-for-SaaS-startups-–-TechCrunch?ref=audio_experience

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Log into your accountyour username | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1578254410.4283996/Product-Development?ref=audio_experience

Young women are outperforming their male equivalents at school and in higher education – however they are poorly represented within start-ups.

This topic among others will be discussed at Horasis Global Meeting, a conference to be held on March 28th-31st in the seaside town of Cascais, Portugal.

How should we protect the people of undeveloped regions so they may become entrepreneurs unfearful of massive, potentially deadly, losses?

Breaking up the TechGiantsFacebook, Amazon, Netflix and Google (FANGs) have achieved western dominance and created many difficulties for agreeing equitable taxation.

The meeting is co-hosted by the Portuguese Government and the City of Cascais. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1578252612.1631439/Female-entrepreneurship-and-disruptive-startups-to-be-center-stage-in-Cascais?ref=audio_experience

At least one EV charging spot will be set up within a four Kilometres radiusIn a bid to push electric vehicle (EV) adoption in the country, the Indian government has approved the setting up of 2,636 EV charging stations around the country.

“The availability of EV charging stations will encourage EV manufacturers to launch new EV models which they were hesitant because of the lack of charging infrastructure,” Javadekar was quoted as saying by ET.

Under this programme, the government will set up 317 EV charging stations in Maharashtra, which is the most in any state.

In these total 2,636 charging stations, a total of 14K chargers will be installed.

However, after the evaluation of these proposals, the government decided to move ahead with only 2,636 charging stations. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1578251815.6989906/Govt-To-Set-Up-2,636-EV-Charging-Stations-Under-FAME-II-Scheme?ref=audio_experience

Check out her piece on how families come together to start innovative startups, from carpooling hacks to a direct-to-consumer plant shop.

Wholesomeness in mind, we wanted to kick off 2020 with a look at some lessons learned from the past.

Sophia Kunthara walked us through the largest funding rounds from each year of the decade, noting how big rounds really have gotten over time.

Plus, broil over this question posed by Joanna Glasner: what happened to all the consumer device startups?

For the story behind the investment deals, check out our Seed Series (our latest edition includes an interview with Sapphire Partners). | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1578249008.906026/A-Decade-Of-Deals,-RIP-Consumer-Device-Startups,-And-Spiffy,-Spying-Robots?ref=audio_experience

While brick and mortar stores still exist, it is important that businesses incorporate digital marketing into their advertising plan in order to capture all the opportunities the digital world has to offer.

Did you know that you can increase your brand exposure and target your market better by implementing digital marketing strategies for your business?

Using Social Media to Build your BrandYou can harness the power of social media to help your business grow.

Popular social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, YouTube, and Instagram all offer unique digital marketing opportunities.

Building Email ListsAnother important aspect of using digital marketing to help your business grow is the utilization of your email lists. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1578247314.5485017/Everything-You-Need-to-Know-About-Digital-Marketing?ref=audio_experience

Tusk Ventures, a NYC- and Chicago, IL-based venture capital firm, closed its second fund, at $70m.

Founded by Bradley Tusk, Tusk Ventures focuses on investing solely in high growth startups facing political and regulatory challenges.

It is one-part venture capital firm, one-part political strategy firm that deploys both capital and political expertise to allow startups to break through regulatory barriers and operate at full speed.

To this end, Tusk Ventures provides startups with access to political, investment and operational expertise via a diverse team of regulatory and political experts who take on entrenched interests and politicians trying to stifle innovation.

Bradley Tusk is the Founder and CEO of Tusk Holdings, which includes Tusk Ventures, Tusk Strategies, Kronos Archives, Ivory Gaming and Tusk Philanthropies. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1578245409.1110506/Tusk-Ventures-Closes-Second-Fund,-at-$70M?ref=audio_experience